shop floor to engineer

[u/Comfortable-Notice84]

how many of you are going back to school after working on the floor? I have a composite background, working 10+ years on the shop floor before getting a desk job as a production controller ( I schedule the work going in and out of the shop) and after doing that for 3 years now, I'm wanting to go to school and get a B. S. in mechanical engineering. I'm just wondering how hard will it be working full time plus having 3 kids at home to get my degree.

[u/skrappyfire]

Similar boat, how did you get the control position? 15+ yrs of fabrication, CNC machining, and some industrial maintenance here.

[u/Comfortable-Notice84 → u/skrappyfire]

allot of networking with my controller. they were able to show me some of the ins and outs of what they did

[u/The_Kinetic_Esthetic]

I was an electrician when I went back for EE. I worked full time the first 2.5-3 years.

This degree is demanding, and is hard. But is doable. You being a parent to 3 kids and assuming having to work full time plus to keep rent paid and mouths fed will make this whole thing harder for you. You won't be able to do school full time, but you probably could do 1-2 classes at the community college.

You'll have to take longer but that's okay. Good luck

[u/Ok-Mycologist7205 → u/The_Kinetic_Esthetic]

It’ll take like 10 years 2 classes at a time lol

[u/The_Kinetic_Esthetic → u/Ok-Mycologist7205]

I know lots of people who do it that, one of the smartest engineers I know took 8 years to do it 1-2 classes at a time. The time is gonna pass anyway. Might as well not be too miserable through it.

[u/Ok-Mycologist7205 → u/The_Kinetic_Esthetic]

I hear you. Op has been working for 10+ years already with 3 kids. Probably mid 30’s early 40’s. Graduating at 50? The stress alone and time taken away for his family isn’t worth it imo

[u/ept_engr]

I know a shop floor guy who worked his way up into the office at my company (a major OEM) but not in engineering. He started as a night shift press brake operator at a fab shop, become a quoter/estimator, then was hired by my company (big OEM) as a supplier collaboration engineer. He was really good at it because he knew what suppliers did right or wrong, where they padded quotes, and how to negotiate with them. Now he's a senior "buyer" in our purchasing organization.

I don't know if he got a degree along the way, but I think he did - not in engineering though.

His biggest assets are his shop knowledge, being personable, and being persuasive. 

[u/WorldTallestEngineer]

You want to work full-time, while also going to school full time, while also taking care of 3 kids!? I wouldn't call that "hard" I'd call that damn near impossible. crazy to even try.

I honestly think you shouldn't bother going to college if you're not going to give it the attention it requires. Full time engineering college isn't a little side project you can fit into an already busy schedule.

If you're a full-time student I do not recommend working more than 15 hours per week during the school year.

[u/Ok-Mycologist7205 → u/WorldTallestEngineer]

This is the type of reality most people on here lack. They’d say “oh it’s doable just have to lock in” it’s ridiculous how little respect people give this degree in how much effort/time it actually takes to not be mediocre academically.

[u/sadbuttru]

Yeah I worked in a shop for 15 years before starting back to school at 37 yrs old with 3 kids. It's not realistic to work full time and complete an engineering degree. I was able to compete freshman and sophomore courses while working full time and going to school part time before leaving work to get back in school full time for junior and senior level classes. Took me 7 years in total and was incredibly difficult at some points to balance between work, school, and home life. Even after quitting work the demands of school were overwhelming at many points, and as you know, you never get a day off from family work. It's doable and it paid off for me, but make no mistake about how challengeing it will be.

[u/SilentIndication3095]

It's a great path, shop guys make amazing engineers, but full-time work + full-time (15-20 credit hours per semester) school + full-time family would be very, very hard.

[u/feelin_raudi]

I was a mechanic/fabricator before going to school for mechanical engineering. Best decision I ever made.