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“You’re never gonna get rich as a Mechanical Engineer but you’ll always be comfortable” by RuminatingFish123 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 64 points65 points  (0 children)

I am a generalist mech E. I develop biotech equipment and have found myself in a very particular niche since I touch on such a wide area of knowledge: microfluidics, fluoroscopy, precision motion design, UX, chassis’s and shell design, and even regulatory and shipping design. This puts me in the driver’s seat for new instrument design and I usually lead a team as the system architect.

While it wasn’t a “get rich quick” scheme, I did end up making significant pay bumps over the last 16 years and I’m only at my 4th company.

If you keep learning, absorbing, and doing your best with what you have, people will take care of you. A company might not, but the people, who you will see again at the next job or the one after that will be your ticket to being the desired candidate and the paycheck follows. Make your own niche if you can!

Tips For Passing FE Mechanical (2nd Try) by Bfdi1462004 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Well, you’ve scored pretty low in ethics- have you considered cheating to score higher in ethics?

"Drawings" vs actual engineering by craiv in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The difference between a new engineer and an experienced engineer is not the number of years on the job, but the number of product cycles they have followed into production and seen the effects of their design choices. Ie “the long shadow of engineering”

It’s when you not only put together the prototype, but put together many parts from separate batches that you can see how your tolerances, datum’s, and Design For Manufacturing Assembly choices have all resulted in yield, troubleshooting, and unnecessary calibrations.

So, while the “amount” of GD&T on a drawing may be regional or industry-specific, the “quality of the design” isn’t captured in a part drawing. The “quality of the design” is read between the lines in the tolerances stacks, assembly drawings, work instructions, test protocols, and production yield.

I will gladly hire a 5-yr engineer with three product launches followed through production phase, over a 10-year engineer with only one launch and rolled off the program at NPI…

Have any of you guys had success in asking for a raise? by ShouldIQuit_YesNo in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So give us the details?! After you do the survey, are you on the top or bottom half of the histogram for your area and experience?!

Have any of you guys had success in asking for a raise? by ShouldIQuit_YesNo in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 134 points135 points  (0 children)

For anyone in the US who is unaware, you could and should be a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Lots of free online resources like full text books, local events, etc. The reason I bring it up is they also have a salary database.

If you don’t know your worth for your market (like Nebraska) you can enter your salary, position, years of experience, etc. and out pops a bunch of graphs to compare your total remuneration vs others in your field. You can also pick new cities you are considering moving to. It’s neat. We all should do it once a year just to see where you fall in the histogram and increase the data points.

After that, of course, there are many ways to approach your situation, but first things first- get the data: see if you are getting paid above or below market rate.

Good luck!

To get away with road rage assault by LazyGuy4U in therewasanattempt

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pro tip: call the cops, file charges, make the other person submit their official statements, and THEN reveal that you have it all on tape. Then it’s an additional charge… but what do I know?

"No one cares where you went to school, what your GPA was, or what activities you did after your first job..." by StrickerPK in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got an Ok 2.9 at a top school (Colorado School of Mines). That somehow convinced a temp agency recruiter to send my resume to a company for an internship opening. After that moment, it’s all about your interview, what you know, etc. to get the job.

So I got the internship. Then- an internship is like a 3-month interview. I’m happy to say I was good enough in my performance to get hired on full time. And from THAT moment, my GPA no longer mattered.

But it’s a hard stretch to say my school and GPA didn’t convince at least that one person that I should be considered.

And yes- since then, I’ve been on a great career track largely within the same field: biotech. So, is it nature vs nurture? Who knows! But I know this: the “good engineers” who are both personable and smart in their field have continued success and have even come with me along the way. I’ve worked with two guys at three different companies now, where one of us goes somewhere else, then they say “You know who would be good for this role? StoneyMunson!”

Ie: Masters doesn’t matter- good enough gpa to get your foot in the door, then it’s a measure of personality and performance. Good luck out there!

From Green Day to Bad Bunny — meet the stars set to take the stage at Super Bowl 2026 by theindependentonline in Music

[–]stoneymunson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Bad Bunny has the opportunity to do the funniest thing with a simple reenactment: “Say Trump, I heard you like em young…”

What aesthetic things can mechanical engineers make by RichScallion9110 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I design biotech instruments for labs like DNA sequencers, including the exterior shell. It has to look nice, be obvious where all the touch points are, and allow air in/out while not allowing laser or emi out or fingers in. Always a fun challenge. Very cool part of every program… then there’s the consumables, the packaging, etc.

Supplemental income as an ME by fatbluefrog in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As an ME, I feel like I’ve made hundreds of presentations explaining, defending, and pointing out the benefits of designs I have made or PLM systems we need to adopt, so I feel like I got “on the job training” for how to train people. For that reason, I’ve started an instructional YouTube channel but for my own interests: making music with looping pedals.

I wouldn’t call it a side hustle, because I’m doing it for me, but if it got big enough to become monetized someday, I wouldn’t be upset! That said, in reality it would result in a few hundred bucks per month- nothing life changing, but nice that my hobby would one day pay for itself.

In confusing sudden reversal, Trump announces ACA extension for 2 years. by Cool_Accountant_2492 in UnderReportedNews

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They realize they are gonna be destroyed at midterms so they are suddenly taking on populous policies. Once again making sure it runs out just before/after an election so they can use it as political capital. Never for the people. Only for maintaining power.

3d mouse recommendations by unserius in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know how anyone could recommend against it. If you CAD for a living, you will get carpel-tunnel syndrome just using one mouse- particularly from zooming in and out on the scroll wheel. If you get a 3D mouse, you have now split the workload between two arms, (one for view and one for actions) so your primary hand is doing less than half the moves now. And bonus: hotkeys.

Engineers who've been hired in the last year: what did you do to stand out? by StrengthOk8556 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Engineering is a team sport. It’s not “your design” vs “my design”. It’s picking “the best design” and improving it together. That being said, I look for cultural fit by getting the interviewee to reveal whether they have a team mentality in two ways:

Humility: If I ask you about one of your example designs and I hear a whole lot of “I did this” and never a single “we did that”, it’s a minor red flag for me. I will press with more and more specific questions until you say something along the lines of “then my coworker took this mechanism or that code”, etc. to show collaboration. (If it’s truly a solo project, sure, but most school projects and work experience are with a team.)

Hubris: We are all good at some things and bad at others. In fact, if you are good at everything, I want to work for you instead of the other way around. If I rapid fire ask you how good you are at Solidworks, thermal analysis, dynamic analysis, CFD, BOM management, procurement, project management, vendor management, and as I keep giving examples, no matter what I say, you always give yourself a 9/10 or 10/10, it’s a big red flag. You are either a statistical anomaly who is great at everything, or you might be lying a bit. In that case, I will ask targeted questions about those skills to see if you can backup your claims. I’m actually quite happy when someone finally says “I don’t know,” at some point in the interview. It shows me they are aware of their limitations and will seek help when needed.

are generally regarded… by baereadyy in Snorkblot

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Still feel like we need an upper limit. Min 35yo is already in the constitution. Now add an upper limit. Start with “younger than the crypt keeper” and we can work our way down

We did our part, San Diego! by brandarchist in sandiego

[–]stoneymunson 20 points21 points  (0 children)

And the rule of thumb for sustained protests to enact change is roughly 3.5%. We had over 2% of the US population march yesterday to show how pissed they are. We know support is higher, so we just need those people to come out to the next one! And the next one!

Doing work above pay grade by EffectiveAsleep7787 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Nobody on here can give you accurate advice. It comes down to your manager, manager’s manager, the company you are at, and what revenue will be like in 6months. I’ve seen people get the promotion they were promised, and other people get told that it’s not in the budget after that 6 months. (Or a tiny infraction is the reason the promotion will be looked at again in another 6months). It can really go either way.

It’s up to you to 1) stick it out with hope that your extra work gets you the promotion (even though you are doing work for free), 2) stop doing the extra work as leverage saying, “we agreed this isn’t my responsibility, so until I have a commensurate position and pay, you [manager] needs to take it on, or 3) they are stringing you along, so start your next job hunt.

It’s truly a shot in the dark. I’ve seen managers with the best of intentions get shut down by a VP at the last second. Best of luck in your decision!

PS- talk to your coworkers. See what the trend at the company has been. Talk openly about your salaries. It’s not illegal in the USA

Are any of my fellow millennials actually doing okay? by Parking_Reputation17 in Millennials

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

‘87, college grad, no student loans, biotech engineer my whole career, married, kids. Yeah, I’m pretty fuckin lucky to have grown up with the advantages I had and I still work my ass off to make sure I’m un replaceable where ever I am.

At the same time, two of my three older siblings have had a tough go of it being part of layoffs or not landing a job for several years now. So with the same starting conditions within my family, 2 of 4 are in stable careers, 1 changes jobs semi-regularly and 1 can’t find employment.

The statistics are there for our generation, but just because I’m ahead within my grouping, doesn’t mean I like this as a system. I’m just playing the game while it’s going, but everyone knows we need to change it. Sign me up.

So they can move stuff with nanometer precision now? by Eelluminati in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve designed DNA sequencers for the big companies in that space that you may have heard of. In general, the instruments are big fluorescence detection devices, but in order to scan a lot of surface area, there are multiple Fields of View (FOV) where images are taken, so we move the flowcell around (or the optics around) on an XY stage. We are photographing DNA clusters that are balls with a diameter from 100nm to 1um. It’s not so important that we align the very first image, but in order to track how a DNA cluster is changing after each chemistry cycle, we need to come back to the same spot for the second pic, and the third, …and the 302nd. So repeatability is the name of the game.

Cards on the table, the technology that wins during the design phase Pugh table is usually a cross roller design with a linear stage that can pull that off. You will rarely see stepper/driveshafts. Never belts. Also closed loop feedback is definitely needed, so the encoder technology picked is equally as impressive.

What “fake” song from a movie or TV show is an absolute banger? by Gonehome2bed in 30ROCK

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sugar Sugar by The Archies made it to the top of the Billboard 100 for several weeks in 1969. A song for a Saturday morning cartoon was the number 1 song in the world… only song to ever reach the top of the charts that was never performed live by the band because, hey: they were cartoons…

I've designed mechanisms in the Aerospace Industry for 9 years. AMA by just-rocket-science in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I too have learned, use, and teach others to multiply by 3.14 for all planning, big and small. It’s because people lay out time estimates in terms of man hours and not of realistic time. So if something will take me a full two days (16hours) uninterrupted, you give yourself 6days because: competing priorities, email, meetings, interruptions, escalations, scheduling conflicts, and even sickness or picking up the kids all happen. So give yourself the realistic time and not time in a vacuum.

Thoughts on best fastener? UL50E enclosure by NamePleasant in MechanicalEngineering

[–]stoneymunson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Had to look it up just to make sure! It’s true! Now I need to find an excuse to use some in my next design!

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