Should i be an electrical engineer?

[rickselectricalprojects]

Hi everyone!
I would like to become an electrical engineer when i am older. (i am 14)
My regular science grades are B- to A+ and my regular maths grades are B- to A so are my grades good enough (And i am aware that calculus and algebra are very important) but the main thing i have heard is that engineers are over worked. (like many professions) i am willing to work hard but i have heard that you work 7 days a week and 12-14 hours a day. I would work 12-14 hours and like to get weekends off. I don't really care about how much i earn as long as it is enough.
Is that true ?(that engineers are over worked)
Thanks

[10101]

From what i heard when you are an engineer you don't know the meaning of resting 

[retrolefty]

Hi everyone!
I would like to become an electrical engineer when i am older. (i am 14)
My regular science grades are B- to A+ and my regular maths grades are B- to A so are my grades good enough (And i am aware that calculus and algebra are very important) but the main thing i have heard is that engineers are over worked. (like many professions) i am willing to work hard but i have heard that you work 7 days a week and 12-14 hours a day. I would work 12-14 hours and like to get weekends off. I don't really care about how much i earn as long as it is enough.
Is that true ?(that engineers are over worked)
Thanks

  EEs work for all kinds of different companies and organization. An EE employed by a government department may work no longer hours and days then postal employees. A new start-up company might work their EEs 12/7 for months at a time, but they may give them all stock options and all become millionaires in 1-2 years. Most EE jobs probably come in between those extremes.

 Also EE jobs are drastically different for different companies. We had about a dozen EEs working at our refinery and it was basically all paperwork, telephone, and on-site inspection/signoff type of jobs. Some EEs work supporting marketing (salesman) types.

 So in conclusion an EE describes a educational qualification accomplishment, not a specific job function. Trust me some EE jobs suck and others are fantastic, with most between those. 

 

[retrolefty]

From what i heard when you are an engineer you don't know the meaning of resting 

Yea? Then why are so many of them fat? 

[IanB]

Hi everyone!
I would like to become an electrical engineer when i am older. (i am 14)
My regular science grades are B- to A+ and my regular maths grades are B- to A so are my grades good enough (And i am aware that calculus and algebra are very important) but the main thing i have heard is that engineers are over worked. (like many professions) i am willing to work hard but i have heard that you work 7 days a week and 12-14 hours a day. I would work 12-14 hours and like to get weekends off. I don't really care about how much i earn as long as it is enough.
Is that true ?(that engineers are over worked)
Thanks

Let's try to give you a good answer here.

Engineering is a professional job. This means that you don't work to the clock, you work to get the job done. For the most part it is going to be a 9-5 job, but there will be times when this doesn't apply. Such as when you are on a job site, or when travelling, or when there is some kind of crisis that needs immediate attention.

The reality is that anyone who works 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week is a dead person. The human body cannot sustain that for any length of time. So be assured that anyone who does that is crazy, and if anyone asks you to do that you will be resigning on the spot.

As to whether you should become an engineer, I would say it is early days yet for you to decide. It can be a rewarding and very enjoyable career. If you have a creative mind, if you like problem solving, if you enjoy mathematics and science subjects, then certainly it may be for you. Don't let people scare you with horror stories.

[NiHaoMike]

The reality is that anyone who works 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week is a dead person. The human body cannot sustain that for any length of time. So be assured that anyone who does that is crazy, and if anyone asks you to do that you will be resigning on the spot.

12-14 hours of work per day plus the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep still leaves 2-5 hours every day for everything else. It all depends on your definition of "work" and how much you enjoy it.

As for grades, rest assured that I know several friends who aren't that good academically but can design and/or program very well. Don't trust synthetic benchmarks too much...

Yea? Then why are so many of them fat?

Because at least in the US, fat people are very common? Though one notable exception are the Asians - only a small percentage of them are "fat" by US standards. Obesity is a big problem that needs to be solved, but that's a discussion for another thread...

[VK3DRB]

Electrical (power) or electronic engineer? I can only speak for the latter.

To be a good electronic engineer, up to date with the latest technologies or to hone your skills, you must put in extra hours for free. That is, more hours at work and more hours at home. The best engineers live and breath electronics (and software), both at work and at home. Not 24/7, but nine to five does not cut it. You should be prepared to do self education or do extra courses throughout your working life. Be prepared to study hard. An engineering degree is a difficult course, and it is not for everyone. Many Australian engineers and programmers are at work 10 hours per day, five days per week.

"Should I be an electrical engineer?"

Are you interested in electronics?
Do you have passion about electronics?
Are you good at maths?
Do you like seeing the results of your efforts?
Do you have a reasonably high IQ?
Are you creative?
Can you follow standards and procedures and processes?
Are you prepared to do paperwork, like documenting your work?
Can you work with other people?
Are you prepared to work long hours when the need arises?
Do you like to pull things apart to know how they work?
Are you fascinated by science?

If the answer is "yes", definitely consider engineering as a profession.

[lapm]

If you can keep those grades up, you could be looking nice career in sciences as well. Nothing is preventing you learning electronics design and engineering just for fun as hobby on side...

Your are still very young, you have little more time to think what you really want to do with your life. Don't be afraid to make  choice that might be in longer run turnout to be wrong one, people now days do change careers later in life (Some of them anyways).

Trust me you need rest as well. None can bare 12-14/7 working very long. Yes, in engineering days like that might come up (project hits unexpected problems and they need engineer there ASAP to figure it out onsite...).

I think best advice i can give you is, do what feels right. You can always later in life learn to do something else. Job that actually interest you, benefits you much more then just paycheck. Since you have interest of some career already, maybe you should try find people that work on field and ask them questions. See if getting some insight from field, changes your mind. 

God knows i have made more then my fair share of mistakes in life.

[pickle9000]

If you have the hunger. Can't wait to get on the bench and play with your stuff you can be a great engineer.

Is it worth it? It depends on how good you are and some luck.

Good luck to you.

[woodchips]

As has been picked up, electrical or electronic?

I graduated as an electronic engineer, power seemed so old hat 40 years ago. But now I am emptying my book shelves of electronics and buying electromagnetism books, about 150 at the last count.

From this, look up an induction generator, and if you can't see the beauty of it, or its use, then perhaps engineering isn't for you.

[dferyance]

I had the dilemma when going to college of picking between electrical and software engineering. I liked both but ended up going with software. What I have seen is tons of managers who's philosophy is to push engineers to work as many hours as possible. What is sad is people give up large parts of their life and health. While special-case short-term overtime can help move a project along, sustained overtime actually slows it down and hurts the project. Smart managers don't try to push this, but the engineering field is full of bad managers. This, combined with people who love the field and get narrow vision, can result in some pretty crazy hours.

So if you do go in the field and find a good job that is reasonable hours, don't undervalue it. They certainly exist but it is easy to get sucked into giving your life to the company. It just has to be a priority and an important value to you. Plus if you find yourself in a good position like that, it is more likely that the company will do well anyway. Overtime is a sign of a failed project and company decline.

I recommend that you have other interests too. Maybe EE seems really exciting right now, but after living in meetings and poorly managed projects it can lose its excitement. I do software engineering for a living and electrical work as a hobby. That way I can still do something I like where I don't have deadlines or politics get in the way. It is good to enjoy your job but don't expect that it will always be enjoying. Have a life outside of work, even if it is still related.

Oh yeah, if you end up with a desk job, make sure you exercise.

[Galenbo]

... i am willing to work hard but i have heard that you work 7 days a week and 12-14 hours a day.

That maybe exists, but there are also 8-17h 38hrs/week jobs with the weekends off for engineers.
and everything inbetween.

I don't really care about how much i earn as long as it is enough.

So you do really care. And you did not specify "enough"

[tszaboo]

I say read a few pages of Dilbert.
There will be times when you work long hours, but also, you can tell your boss to back off if it is gone too far. If you are a good engineer. But this question shouldn't be about the hours, you should do something that you ultimately like.
I've decided that I'll become one when I was 16, and tried it by working as an intern during the summer. I got experience that I'm still using and benefiting from.