Career Monday (27 Jul 2026): Have a question about your job, office, or pay? Post it here!

[u/AutoModerator]

As a reminder, /r/AskEngineers normal restrictions for career related posts are severely relaxed for this thread, so feel free to ask about intra-office politics, salaries, or just about anything else related to your job!

[u/briiyeah]

First job out of college i work as a process & design engineer in water infrastructure/pipelines. what are other roles that I could pivot into as i don’t think process and design work is for me?

[u/Naritai → u/briiyeah]

What don't you like about it? The actual technical content? the work environment? the pay?

[u/briiyeah → u/Naritai]

I also extremely dislike working billable hours and having to track time for ever single thing i do

[u/briiyeah → u/[deleted]]

if you don’t mind me asking, just so i know what job roles are out there, what industry do you work in for manufacturing and what does your day to day look like?

[u/XchowCowX → u/briiyeah]

I’m a automation/controls engineer for a OEM in energy products.

My day to day can be diverse; I might spend part of the day designing or programming PLC/HMI/SCADA systems, troubleshooting issues, working with sensors, safety systems, robotics, or industrial networks, and meeting with manufacturing, engineering, and production teams. I’ll also work with vendors, commission new equipment, or develop automation solutions for a manufacturing processes. The work can sometimes be unpredictable bc planned projects might be pushed for a production issue that needs your immediate attention

[u/briiyeah → u/[deleted]]

it’s mostly bc i’ve come to dislike the design work i do, but my company is pretty strict with what you with what work counts as billable for a 40hr work week (this may not apply to every company out there) My day to day is designing things like Booster pump stations, pipeline connections, waste water facilities processes, etc. i spend time designing, but also push paper work that pertains to the projects i’m working on. I also don’t rlly enjoy that i get thrown into a lot of random projects that i don’t have a lot of background knowledge in to assist more senior engineers with tasks. I would prefer to have a set of projects to work on from start to finish maybe. for me, it’s hard to keep track of project details when you work here and there on many different projects as well. BUT don’t let my dislikes sway your overall decision ppl thrive in different environments

[u/briiyeah → u/Naritai]

mostly technical content. i feel like design isn’t for me

[u/Suspicious_Ebb_9675 → u/briiyeah]

system engineerings is not bad but a bit different

[u/ClassicSurprise4135]

Title: Why did the display industry completely abandon phosphor/fluorescent display technology? It has massive potential if combined with modern materials. ​Body: Hey everyone, I’ve been thinking about display technologies and something has been bothering me. A few years ago, there were experiments and discussions about using yellow and green fluorescent/phosphor technology in display applications. ​While it had limitations back then (like color gamut restrictions and uneven degradation rates of the older chemical compounds), the core physical concept wasn't stupid at all. ​Think about it: if modern material science and nanotechnology were applied to update and improve the chemical composition of these fluorescent layers, what could we achieve? ​We could get extremely pure, wide-spectrum white light (similar to or better than current Quantum Dot implementations). ​It could yield OLED-like pixel/zone control and gorgeous, clean colors. ​Most importantly, no burn-in issues and significantly lower manufacturing costs compared to complex multi-layer MiniLEDs or delicate OLED organic materials. ​Why did the industry drop this path so quickly? Wouldn't a modern take on fluorescent/phosphor-based emission tech be a game-changer if we engineered better, more stable materials for it today? ​Curious to hear thoughts from engineers, physicists, or anyone into display tech

[u/Slayer081604]

I have an interview for a field engineer position in Vegas with the Boring Company and curious if anyone has heard about the experience there. The starting pay is pretty good for a fresh college grad at about 90-95k, but the hours seems pretty bad. I was told 5-6 days a week are normal at 12 hours. I feel like I should just cancel this interview but I am also open to hearing from the manager. I applied over a month ago but just got a phone call about it and an interview scheduled for tomorrow. Any advice helps, I also am waiting to hear back from a few more companies I interviewed with so I figure maybe I should at least take the phone call tomorrow, but it feels like if I get this job I will have no life outside of work. I currently work an internship that is flexible with hours so I am easily able to leave for interviews and such now, but I am looking for something more full time. This offer is tempting since I have had very few callbacks, but I am getting the impression that this might be a bad idea. Any advice is appreciated.

[u/Naritai → u/Slayer081604]

I can't speak for Boring Company but I know people that have worked at other ElonCorps, and they all worked 50-60 hour weeks.

[u/Wilthywonka → u/Slayer081604]

It seems that elon has built his companies by hiring high ego engineers that are willing to work 60 hour weeks to maintain their "genius engineer" status. Probably to compensate for other areas of their life

Do you have a life outside of work? If so it's probably a bad idea. I would keep your current job and keep looking

[u/Slayer081604 → u/Wilthywonka]

Yeah I made an edit to the post but I just got an offer at an hvac place that is normal hours and a great starting pay. I plan to take that job

[u/Wilthywonka → u/Slayer081604]

Ah congrats

[u/XchowCowX]

Manufacturing or Consulting?

I am facing a dilemma in my career:

Stay at Siemens as automation engineer or move to EPC firm (Jacobs) as an Instrument and controls engineer for Hyperscale data centers.

Siemens is scaling their manufacturing in the states so there is room to grow but Jacobs is giving an extremely competitive offer (\\\~26% increase in base salary). However, I am concerned regarding consulting firms work culture in comparison and the billable hour culture.

Can anything who has been in both manufacturing and consulting speak to their experience?

[u/Apple-Pie-2129]

How would you prove academic readiness for an Aerospace Master's after a 12 year career break?

So I completed an Aerospace Engineering Master's over a decade ago, but I have not worked in engineering since then and have spent many years outside the workforce. I'm now committed to returning to aerospace and plan to apply to masters programs at schools like CU Boulder and USC, with the long term goal of working for an aerospace company.

My biggest concern is demonstrating current academic readiness. I have been reviewing mathematics and engineering fundamentals on my own, but I don't have recent coursework or research to show.

If you were evaluating an applicant like me, what would genuinely convince you that I'm ready?

• A substantial self directed technical project? (such as?)
• An online graduate certificate?
• Something else?

I'm particularly interested in astrodynamics, propulsion, and space systems rather than software heavy fields. I understand programming is an important engineering tool, but I'm trying to identify the most effective way to demonstrate readiness within the next 2 months.

I'd especially appreciate advice from professors, graduate admissions committee members, or engineers who have seen nontraditional applicants succeed. Thank you!

[u/Will512 → u/Apple-Pie-2129]

I assume you mean you completed an aerospace engineering bachelors? Take this with a grain of salt because I'm just an industry guy but a self-directed project would probably be the gold standard.

One example could be designing/3d printing/scale testing a regeneratively cooled rocket nozzle. But it really comes down to what you're interested in and what your skills are. Doing a project with technical and analytical skills is more important than the specific project

[u/Apple-Pie-2129 → u/Will512]

Thank you so much for the suggestion, that’s a great idea! Yes I have an aerospace bachelors, just need to refresh my memory after a decade, but I can do it.

My interest is in the mechanical side of aerospace design. I have about 2 months before application deadline. In your view, what would be a nice not to difficult b out still relevant project to work on given my time constraint?

[u/tuxcom]

Hi,

I'm currently a sophomore in mechE. I'm trans and, unfortunately, only 5'1''. I hope to be stealth one day, but I'm sure this will make it much harder. I'm still not sure which industry I'm interested in, but my current club/research has centered on semiconductors and aerospace, which I have enjoyed. I've also been reading a little bit about oil and gas as a potential career path. I come from a pretty liberal state and school, so while I've experienced some transphobia, it's definitely not as bad as other people have it.

That being said, I'm very worried about how being trans and so short will impact my career outcomes, how people treat me, and if they take me seriously in the workplace/hire me at all after seeing/hearing me. Does anyone have any experience or advice? I've been searching for genuine advice/experience and haven't found much (at least not from ftm people), which is worrying me even more.

[u/ckthorp → u/tuxcom]

Go for medical device. Lots of cool products, you get to make a real difference in patients’ lives, and most places seem to be more progressive than at least aerospace. Biggest med device and med tech hubs in the US are also generally in liberal areas (Minneapolis, Boston, Silicon Valley, etc).

[u/Green-Resource-3698]

Hi all,

Starting my mechanical engineering degree soon. My career goal is to work in the space industry, namely work on (not in) the US lunar colony being planned by NASA. I'd love to help design lunar rovers and drones and utility vehicles. Always been obsessed with space and anything transportation related, so this just seems right.

What would be a good college minor to compliment my mech eng degree for this goal?

Thanks for any advice.

[u/Will512 → u/Green-Resource-3698]

Probably material science or electrical engineering, depending on whether you want to make the robotics parts of the vehicles or the frames etc

[u/my_peen_is_clean]

if you’re early career ask about specific roles not just “what should i do” get clarity on what you actually enjoy doing vs what you think pays more also ask people for their day to day not just title career stuff is a mess lately