I got my BS in mechanical engineering, but I didn't like the internship I had as a design engineer. I went into business/tech integration consulting instead.

Does software engineering count?

I design environmental controls (temperature, humidity, CO2, etc) for large storage buildings. I also design refrigeration controllers. I am the main design engineer for the company I work for and do everything from designing the circuit boards on up. Most of my job, though, is programming the micros that run the boards.

Very nice. I have mostly supervised aero engineers and currently sit on the board of a small engineering firm. I however do not have an engineering degree. It is the exceptional engineer that desires to lead people.

I'd say yes

Network Engineer/Architect

I am biased, but I definitely agree with this.

Although it is interesting reading this thread to see how many people call themselves engineers and what they actually do.

Metallurgical Engineer

Missed Rain Man by a few years. '93 grad.


At my house I'm sometimes the sanitation engineer.

very cool. what do you do?

I started out as a mechanical engineer, but fluid dynamics and thermodynamics ,while very entertaining, were not interesting enough.

I really enjoyed the material side of mechanical engineering, and so I opted to instead pursue the mechanical side of metallurgy. Smaller department, amazing faculty.

Failure analysis turns my crank.

I had one summer gig at the NASA Langley research center in VA. Supersonic Transport Project (since cancelled), age hardened aluminum yada yada yada. Fun times.

Decided in the end that all of life was engineering, really, and problem solving was what drove my brain. That works for engineering, and also works for people.

I've actually been in ministry for the last 20 years, less glamorous, but problem-solving every day. Very fulfilling.

I did cast my wife's wedding ring, and every once in a while the kids and I fire up the forge in the back yard and bang on hot metal.

Strongly disagree.

Being a PE is a good thing...especially if you are in the consulting industry.

However....

Being a PE does not automatically make you a good engineer.

I know numerous PEs that I would not trust a high value project.

When working for McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, Martin Marietta, I knew many engineers who had forgotten more about aerospace engineering that I would ever know....and didn't have the PE.

^awesome. thanks for sharing Groves

In my experiences, the only people who care about PE certification are the engineers who are PE certified.
I've only worked with electrical,mechanical and software engineers. It might be more valuable in other engineering disciplines.

I think that is why he said it depends on the discipline.

In structural engineering, you pretty much have to have your PE. (That does not mean that you are a good engineer though, like you said.)

However, for some of my friends that are mechanical engineers, they had no need or desire to even take the EIT, much less the PE.

Structural Engineers have to have it for any design that is put out.