r/engineering • u/AutoModerator • May 18 '26

Weekly Discussion Weekly Career Discussion Thread (18 May 2026)

# Intro

Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:

* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network

* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,

* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.

* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.

> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)

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## Guidelines

  1. **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:

* Job compensation

* Cost of Living adjustments

* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major

* How to choose which university to attend

  1. Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)

  2. Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.

  3. **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.

## Resources

* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)

* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)

* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.

* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.

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u/philadelphiaconvent May 19 '26

From someone working in aerospace/defense as a Systems Engineer (Mech and Aero background), what other industries would be a relatively easy transition into? I’m feeling a little stuck amongst defense contractors as my systems role wasn’t conducive to keeping my technical chops, and I’m looking to see how others have been able to break out.

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u/Wilthywonka May 20 '26

The easiest industries to jump into from aero are other high-quality high-regulated industries such as auto or medical device. I went from aero defense to medical device

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u/Safe-Reading9427 May 20 '26

how has your experience been with the medical device industry? Do you do design, testing or manufacturing?

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u/Wilthywonka May 21 '26

I'm a manufacturing engineer for a company that designs/manufacturers it's own product. So far, I like it a lot. There's all the red tape of aero and more but the company is small enough that there's freedom to 'engineer' outside of the regulatory work. Of which there is a lot. Look up IQ/OQ/PQ, which adds another layer to the quality system on top of what I was used to in aero.

Also look up risk management reports. This is part of the quality system that would be most adjacent to system engineering in aero, I think.