2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Engineers can be idiots!!!

[Taz]

And to note. Most all car parts are not designed by engineers. The majority of a car is designed by an industrial designer. Engineers at automotive companies do nothing but check to make sure what the industrial designer comes up with is safe and will hold up structurally. Rarely do they actually design the parts and the cars, except for internal parts of engines, transmissions, etc. One of my professors in college came from working for one of the big three as an engineer, he quickly steered me away from that career path.

It is true though, most engineers can't work on a damn thing. When I started school, very few of my classmates could even tell you how an engine works - hell some didn't even know what a wrench was. I was dumbfounded coming from a very hands on background.

2000 Mechie U of Alabama -----> Now Avionics Engineer

 

[Forrest Nearing]

How are you going to sell it if it doesn't work?

Ford sure sells a lot of Powerstroke trucks

 

[Jefff929]

For being so smart clinically, some of you (engineers included) have limited vision and it seems some of you are missing a few marbles.



My dad is a Civil w/PE, my brother is an ME. That doesn't mean they have never made or will never make mistakes. But when it comes to anything not built to be serviced or repaired, I give them hell. From where I stand, as a consumer, if it can't be repaired without costing me a small fortune it was made incorrectly, period.



If I wanted cheap crap, I wouldn't care if the truck has a Cummins or a _____.



As the purchaser and consumer of products I expect things. Like: not having to reroute vent tubes, fix fuel delivery systems, install gauges that ought to be there from the factory, put steering stabilizers on, the list is long. From my perspective it seems like stuff that should be there isn't or needed another look.

 

[scotmartin]

I know that one can find "idiots" in any field. Those who were offended by the title of this thread may need to "lighten up" a little. Please take note... The title includes the word MAY, not ARE.



I hope that we can move forward, realizing that no one meant to offend engineers.



That being said... I found some proof, on the internet, that sometimes idiocy is a fitting word. http://upload. wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Teton_Dam_failure.jpg

 

[Forrest Nearing]

exactly, you said "Engineers can be idiots"



not "All engineers are idiots"



I guess some engineers aren't so good with grammar? (or you struck a nerve? )

 

[Batphreak]

Pointing out that some engineers can be idiots doesn't bother me in the least. I graduated with a couple that make me embarrassed I have the same diploma that they do. I was a little more concerned with statements about a PE license being necessary to be a "real" engineer.

The grammar and nerve questions are probably valid as well.

 

[ekroman]

I'm the beancounter at an Engineering firm. It's interesting to see what goes into hiring a new person, especially a recent college grad.



There's typically two piles of resume's. One pile is for all the straight A students. That's the pile we won't even look at.



Once in a while, you get one who's worked every summer on construction sites, or they've been around construction their whole life. Typically, these resume's get wet, because everyone is drooling over them.



Give us someone with real experience over textbook knowledge. You can't fake the real deal. The best ones we've hired are all experienced in construction or some othe related field.



Most of the time, the problems like the original post brings up is something that is decided upon by management in some cost cutting measure. When an Engineer finds out about it after the fact, there's usually an incredible amount of profanity spewing from his (or her) mouth.



Eddie

 

[scotmartin]

I remember an Engineering student telling me that she went to a recruiting meeting at school. The recruiting firm's manager asked all the straight A students to please stand up. Then asked them all to leave. The Engineering Faculty was furious. But I think that the firm knew quite well what it was doing.

 

[jelag]

As a dad with a son who worked in a machine shop, went on to college and earned his BA in Engineering, his Masters and passed the PE on the first test.....



I can tell you that he often comes across designs that might work from what he calls the newbee's, those engineers that don't have the seat of the pants experience...



Last night we were talking about a 50 year old bridge crane that just went through a rehab by a contractor... . He worked on the structure of the crane and didn't follow the outline by the engineer... they now have stress cracks in beams that are 48" long (like your truck frame rail) and these cracks are with the crane sitting under its own weight... and not working... . this crane runs on a set of tracks (RR track) in the deck of a large structure... . if it fails under its own weight it will cause at least a Million in damages... BTW, its rated at 100 tons...



Those engineers who must pass (stamp) prints for construction, like bridges, buildings and other structures that have fire, life, and safety considerations must be PE's. .



But your right... it's really funny to see a set of drawings that can't be machined, or manufactured with common machines because you can't get there to machine it... .

 

[BigEasy]

"Some people are educated beyond their intelligence. "

One of Jerry Clower's most profound statements... and most true!

 

[Grizzly]

... ... ... ... ... . "Some people are educated beyond their intelligence. "

Sounds like an oxymoron!

 

[Alphacowboy]

My 83 year old neighbor has a saying that fits perfectly here. "Some people are educated beyond their intelligence. "

sounds like most politicians! :-laf

 

[KnightR]

Never a idiot, lack of comon sense well we could discuss it. I was one or are one at one time a short time in building, electrical, design and can see how anyone could wash out but if you say so maybe I should have asked for more money. Anywho it was boring so I went back to climbing poles.

 

[JLEONARD]

Rarely do they actually design the parts and the cars, except for internal parts of engines, transmissions, etc

Obviously you don't really know.

I am an engineer, mechanical engineer actually, and when I worked for a company that desinged and manufactured steering shafts and columns, they were all designed by mechanical/manufacturing engineers.

But the truth of the matter is that all designs that start off good are usually then driven by the assembly plants into being a poor design that can be quickly and easily assembled to the car with minimal effort by the autoworkers.

Invariably that had happened to most of our products.

I really don't want to go into details in a public forum but trust me on this. I've been in the business for 30 years and the story remains the same.

 

[GHandt]

I work as a mechanic and I curse engineers daily. I also work with field service engineers from time to time. I have found that the best ones to work with are the ones that have experience working on cars and trucks. The ones that havent come up with some ridiculous unworkable ideas for repair or improvement on vehicles. Tests that are not practical or not even doable in the field. I think it should be required that engineers should have to intern in the field that they are going to work in and do it every so often to remain in touch with things. It would make things much more workable and probably improve quality and workability in the long run.

 

[RGardner]

I have always thought that if engineers had to work on something they designed for the next three years, they would do a much better job the next time.

 

[Grizzly]

I retired from the US Army Corps of Engineers after 34 years. When we'd get new civil engineers right out of college, they were assigned to a rotational training program for no less then two years. They were assigned to all phases of the design work and then they were assigned to a construction project. They weren't experts when they completed their training program, but it gave them a good feel for a project from the beginning to the end. It also gave the engineer trainee and the Corps District an idea of what was best suited for that individual.