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Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

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Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#21

Post by rayiner »

My advice would be: don't underestimate the opportunities available on the east coast of the U.S. There are a lot of companies here in the D.C. area who need programmers with domain expertise in mechanical, aerospace, and electrical engineering. Also, my gut feeling is that the PhD will carry relatively more weight here and that the lack of CS degree will carry relatively less. A who understands the physics is a lot more valuable to many companies than a guy who knows the latest design patterns.

FWIW, I've got a BS in AE, and never worked in the field professionally. I went into a software job doing simulations. Most of my coworkers were EEs. We finally hired a CS PhD years in to do AI stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#23

Post by Iftheshoefits »

anon100 wrote: post #12

Find a company like Ansys or Abaqus, where you can work on FEM software. This way you can use your training in mechanics while still programming. The big advantage here is that: a) Most engineers suck at programming. b) Most CS majors don't understand the mechanics. By having skills in both mechanics and programming, you can be an extremely valuable asset to companies that make high-performance computational mechanic…

"a) most engineers suck at programming."

I find that to be not true. Most engineers suck at regurgitating the correct textbook CS algorithm or data structure from memory, but they are very good at engineering, which is what the overwhelming majority of programming is.

If I had to choose between a CS major and a ME for an engineering project that involved software development I'd choose the ME almost every time, all else being equal. The exceptions would be cases where academic CS knowledge is required. They exist but not nearly as frequently as Silicon Valley would have anybody believe.

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#24

Post by pcvarmint »

Work in High-Performance Computing [1], whether at a research lab, an HPC manufacturer, or even a big company like Intel, or at an independent software vendor like MSC, ANSYS, LS-Dyna, Cd-adapco, Mathworks, etc.

There are usually openings at HPC companies or HPC business units for mechanical or other engineers to port and tune engineering software to supercomputers. At research labs which use HPC, there are usually lots of experts in various fields, and having someone fluent in both mechanical engineering and programming can bridge gaps and fill voids.

[1] http://www.hpcwire.com/

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#25

Post by phdp »

balls2you wrote: post #20

Don't join Silicon Valley. Your skills are more valued and paid for in Finance. Real hard cash not worthless options that may have value in the future. EDIT: also do not "commoditize" yourself by becoming a web developer or an iPhone/Android developer either. Do the difficult technical stuff, aim for the "non-low-hanging-fruit" and you will make tons of money, esp. in Finance.

I did this, and played up my ability to analyze real world situations when applying for a quant modeling job. A lot of my lab work was empirical modeling, so transitioning from student to my current job wasn't difficult. It also helps to have some background in coding. I did c++/matlab/java in college for lab work and classes. Everyone that is under 35 in my group has a scientific background, ranging from me (MSE in Mechanical Engineering) to PhDs in Chemistry and Physics. Most of my day is spent doing c++ or java development and the rest is R.

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#26

Post by mhickie »

I have a BS in ME and worked ME jobs for about 11 years. During the last 1/2 of this time, worked on my MS in IE and was doing simulation modeling. Simulation modeling is where I learned how much I really enjoyed programming but had also been writing some statistical analysis programs for QA on the side. At year 12, I was able to jump to the Information Systems side to write B2B code for outsourcing of manufacturing. I have been doing programming jobs now for the last 17 years and have enjoyed it.

My advice is to keep working on your coding skills. You don't need a degree in CS. You have proven you can handle technical topics with your current degree(s). Maybe search github for some open source projects dealing with mechanical topics (something like robotic movement or control systems or CNC). Join these and contribute.

When it comes to finding a job, there are companies the will value your full skill set. It may take a while and sometimes you might have to work as a ME for a bit. But in some technology companies, you will be able to move horizontal.

Wish you the best!

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#27

Post by jkubicek »

scottndecker wrote: post #2

I have an MS in Mechanical Engineering from an Ivy League university. While I got my degree I too learned Matlab as well as C. I wrote my masters thesis on a controlled mechanism for the breakup of microdroplets in a bidisperse emulsion. Eight months after graduating and working in industry, I came to the same conclusion as you: that I preferred writing code to working in the mechanical world. I started learning Java…

Agreed. I did almost the exact same path. Once you've gotten that first job and have a few years of professional software development under your belt, changing jobs is very easy. Potential employers see "software engineer" and "PhD" on your resume and don't care that it's an ME degree.

Btw, scottndecker, did you go to Rose-Hulman for undergrad?

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#28

Post by krschultz »

Iftheshoefits wrote: post #23
anon100 wrote: post #12

Find a company like Ansys or Abaqus, where you can work on FEM software. This way you can use your training in mechanics while still programming. The big advantage here is that: a) Most engineers suck at programming. b) Most CS majors don't understand the mechanics. By having skills in both mechanics and programming, you can be an extremely valuable asset to companies that make high-performance computational mechanic…

"a) most engineers suck at programming." I find that to be not true. Most engineers suck at regurgitating the correct textbook CS algorithm or data structure from memory, but they are very good at engineering, which is what the overwhelming majority of programming is. If I had to choose between a CS major and a ME for an engineering project that involved software development I'd choose the ME almost every time, all e…

No he's saying most mechanical engineers can't program and most CS majors can't understand the mechanical engineering math. The OP is perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between the two.

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#29

Post by astral303 »

Read "Clean Code" by Robert C Martin. It's Java-centric, but very applicable nonetheless. It's a compilation of years of insight about how to design your programs, and it explains well why you should care about writing your code one way or another. It's the first time ever that I have seen an illustration of violating Demeter's Law that was actually believable and the proposed solution deeply communicated the intent of the law.

The book progresses from smaller details (like code formatting style) to very large concepts, gets very deep towards the end, so don't be afraid if you get lost a third of the way in. Just leave it and come back to it as you gain experience.

Re: Ask HN: Mechanical engineer that wants to work in the programming field

#30

Post by ashwinaj »

Dewie wrote: post #4

Maybe first travel to the West Coast on a vacation or something to get a feel for what it's actually like. If you haven't already.

I second this. Don't be swayed by what you see and read in the media. Silicon Valley isn't a place for everyone and can be incredibly stressful. On the bright side, it's a very diverse place with tons of stuff to do, great weather, smart people and is easily one of the best places in the US (IMO anyway).
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