Buy American

[Ashful]

Where I work EET are not considered for any engineering jobs...

I'd hire an EET for a product engineering (support) role, but not a real design role. I work with several BSEE's, and even they struggle with the necessary skills to do hardcore design, almost always requiring some hand-holding from an MSEE or Ph.D. anytime real R&D is required. The good thing is that only a small fraction of "engineering" jobs really require any level of true engineering calculation. How many BSEE's can remember how to do Fourier transforms 10 years out of school, let alone calculate Chebyshev polynomials for filters or field modes in a waveguide? How many EET's even learned the required mathematics for these common design problems, in the first place?

The reality is very few (much less than 5% in my experience) engineers actually DO any real design work, which is where the EET (and I would also assume the MET) comes in handy. There's no need to have a company full of Ph.D. engineers for every role from product engineer to app's engineer, although I have indeed worked in this environment (fiberoptic telecom industry). Many times a wrench turner who can read tables and use common sense is exactly what fits the bill.

Back to the OP, I find most foreign-schooled BSEEs know their theory and math much better than us, but I don't trust many of them around power tools.

 

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At places I've worked the actual design work is generally don't by the designers and/or detailers. The engineers usually end up being relegated to project management and support rolls. A couple of the good ones are kept to do fea or simulations of some sort.

 

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Another thought. I think a lot of companies have been burned by hiring degreed engineers that can't design their way out of a wet paper bag. People who will design unmachinable parts and people who say this is the way it has to be since they have a degree and they know what's best, despite the company building the same part for the last 20 or 30 years.

 

[razerface]

Another thought. I think a lot of companies have been burned by hiring degreed engineers that can't design their way out of a wet paper bag. People who will design unmachinable parts and people who say this is the way it has to be since they have a degree and they know what's best, despite the company building the same part for the last 20 or 30 years.

Amen. I come from the Tool & Die trade. We got quite a few giggles from things paper engineers thought would work.

 

[Ashful]

Another thought. I think a lot of companies have been burned by hiring degreed engineers that can't design their way out of a wet paper bag. People who will design unmachinable parts and people who say this is the way it has to be since they have a degree and they know what's best, despite the company building the same part for the last 20 or 30 years.

Completely true. I've been astounded by a few engineers who've said the same to me, but it has only been a very small fraction of those with whom I've worked, only two examples coming immediately to mind. Guys like that can hide in a big company, but usually don't survive long in a real manufacturing environment.

However, I don't think you can blame the collegiate system for boneheads like this. It's not like your EET prof's spend a semester saying, "lefty loosey, righty tighty," or "this is the difference between a socket-head cap screw and a cup point set screw." Perhaps the more bookish and less hands-on types are more likely drawn toward a graduate program and get their MSEE or Ph.D. Likewise, a guy whose father was a mechanic who'd have more likely grown up around tools and machines, might see the EET or MET has the right fit between a 2 year associates degree and the full BSEE. There are trade-offs in everything.

Me? I grew up working for a plumber and an engineer (my grandfather's and father's businesses, respectively), maintaining many rental properties (everything from electrical and plumbing to carpentry and masonry), and helping dad with repairing cars and lawn equipment. At the same time, there were family expectations that I get a college education, and that better be in something that will serve me well. Now in the working world, I've been surprised by the majority of MSEE's and Ph.D.'s I know who are serious gear heads and amateur farmers. They're a surprisingly dynamic group.