What are the personality traits of mechanical/technology engineers?

[Southern4sure]

My Dh is an engineer...some of his personality traits include:
o Very analytical
o Excellent mathematical ability (it is almost scary how good he is with numbers)
o Takes time with decisions
o Methodical
o Thorough
o Very logical
o Very good at seeing issues from all viewpoints
Those are the ones that really relate to his choice of being an engineer - imo

Edited to add - he is also very good at spatial thinking. (I am not! )

My DH is a civil engineer here in FL...never have to worry about not having enough work to do... DH is all the above mentioned but I also wanted to add to the list:

Perfectionist
Beautiful Print - horrible cursive writing
Hardworking
Great at map reading!

CON: Dh always takes his eyes off the road while he drives to "inspect' road work/design esp while we are on vacation.

 

[septbride2002]

Dh is an Electrical Designer (step below engineer) and he is very creative. He can focus on what he does but not on the environment around him. Therefore usually I have to put things away behind him - it kills me. How hard is it to use the hairspray and set it on the shelf? Nope - we're going to set it on the sink instead He can stare in wonder at a piece of art or a blue print all day long, but when it comes to paperwork he would rather me deal with it. He is very picky when it comes to hanging a picture on the wall, rolling paint, or taking measurements.

My friends that are enigneers - one is technical and the other is electrical are very analytical. I've never seen people pour over fine print like they do. They have a cleaning schedule for their house they research EVERYTHING they buy. And I do mean everything - including resturants. They can tell you where they can get the cheapest meal!

~Amanda

 

[ryan840]

My husband is a mechanical engineer and he is quiet and keeps to himself, interested in engineering stuff (Duh) and computers... He is extremely smart (I call him my human enclyclopedia- he knows almost everything, seriously!) and when he does talk he makes me laugh like nobody can with stupid jokes and comments.

About the knowing everything comment- he is not a know it all or arrogent in any way, he's quite modest and thinks I blow it out of proportion (well maybe I do, but I've yet to ask him a question that he couldn't answer...)

 

[Pluto2003]

You describe my brother who is an electrical engineer.

FASCINATION WITH GADGETS. To the engineer, all matter in the universe can be placed into one of two categories: (1) things that need to be fixed, and (2) things that will need to be fixed after you've had a few minutes to play with them. Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems. Normal people don't understand this concept; they believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet. No engineer looks at a television remote control without wondering what it would take to turn it into a stun gun. No engineer can take a shower without wondering if some sort of Teflon coating would make showering unnecessary. To the engineer, the world is a toy box full of sub-optimised and feature-poor toys

I think this pretty much describes every engineer I know!

 

[DawnCt1]

Dh is an Electrical Designer (step below engineer) and he is very creative. He can focus on what he does but not on the environment around him. Therefore usually I have to put things away behind him - it kills me. How hard is it to use the hairspray and set it on the shelf? Nope - we're going to set it on the sink instead
~Amanda

Exactly, we have deodorant on every bathroom counter without the COVER! Toothpaste with no cap. He brushes his teeth 5 times a day. I needed to get him an extra Christmas present last year to even it out. I picked up the Sonic Care and told DH, DS24 will LOVE THIS! DH couldn't believe it. He said, "you can't get him a toothbrush for Christmas, that's awful". Guess what was his favorite Christmas present. He loved it.

 

[DawnCt1]

and when he does talk he makes me laugh like nobody can with stupid jokes and comments.

..)

DS 24 has an interesting sense of humor. Loves Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Terminator. (of course). He has loved airplanes since he was little. I found him sitting on the roof of our house when he was four. Thank goodness we lived in a ranch then. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was watching the planes. I think he would have gone into aeronautical engineering but his university didn't offer it and he was happy where he was.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My DH was a ME but is now in management. He works on Gov. defense contracts. He works extremely hard. He is brilliant, funny, loyal and a man of wonderful character. He is neat, likes to work outside on the weekends and thinks he can fix anything. He invests in our future until it hurts, takes 6-12 months to buy a car and he can't find anything in our house of 16 years.

He plans and plots everything to the nth degree. He will develop a "flow chart" to show my son how to take out the trash!

Lori

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

My DS 20 is an Engineering major in college. He loved "Legos" as a child,First job @ 15 yrs. old was a "Bicycle Mechanic", which he still does on the weekends that he's home from school, Loves to "tinker" with his pride & joy...his BMW. Very serious student,highly motivated,and loves to excel in whatever he does.He wanted Mechanical Engineering in school,but decided to major in "Plastics Engineering",so he hopefully can make lots of $$$ when he graduates in this specialized field !!!! Good Luck RYAN!!!

 

[nwdisgal]

Ok, I love engineers because I have two in my immediate family, but I have to dish them, since neither them are on these boards to defend themselves. Birthday parties are never a dull moment when someone in our family receives a toy that has to be assembled. My dad's first words are "Get me the schematic" and my brother's reply is " Father, I can handle it, I'm a civil engineer." Bottom line, though, when that swingset is assembled it is structurally sound and can withstand adverse weather conditions

My other dish is when I was in highschool, I was having trouble with a math class, so I went to my dad for help. My dad took one look through the math book, rolled his eyes in disgust, then started lecturing me about how they should be teaching "real" geometry in highschool. I guess they were teaching "real" math when he was in school. He even went so far as to take my book and edit it, by writing his own theorem in it to help me prove the problem. I was mortified, for sure, thought the math instructor would expell me for writing in the book. When I took the problem to my math teacher the next morning, he looked at my dad's perfect block print with a smile on his face, and said, "Yes, that's a valid theorem, but we don't teach that level of math in highschool"

OP if you're son has his sights on being an engineer, all I can say, is more power to him and at least you can sleep at night knowing the house is structurally sound.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

DH is an ME, and my degree is in electrical engineering (although I gave it up when I became a mom). Beleive me, there's a hierarchy within the different fields, and the personalities are slightly different, but maybe an "outsider" wouldn't notice.

Definitely agree with most of what's been said--don't even get me started on the things my DH has "fixed"! Well, one example--it's Jan. and the tenant doesn't have water. He checks around and decides the leak is underground. Rents a backhoe, digs up the yard, breaks the wire to the well, rewires it over land, and come to find out the leak was in another building! You don't even want to know what that little party cost us, and the electrician sees $$$ when we call!

Engineers are definitely quirky and have their own jokes and sense of humor. Others frequently don't "get" them. What I'm having fun with now is, we're raising the next generation of geek, and it's just interesting to see. Our DD10 wants to be a forensic pathologist (or a Rockette...), and DS8 hasn't expressed a choice yet, but "strong is he in the ways of the engineer!". It's just so, so funny! I mean, smart as a whip, but can't tie his shoes. Comprehends way beyond his years and is always "creating" something. Socially, he's improved, but I don't know that he wins friends by quoting "Blazing Saddles" for hours at a time.

Other traits of engineers--they tend to be really, really cheap, but selectively. It's not unusual for an engineer to have a car stereo that cost more than the beater car it's installed with. They'll spend 6 hours studying maps to save 10 minutes of travel time.

The good news is, they make decent money and they'll fix your computer.

BTW, when I was in college, I took organic chemistry as an elective. How stupid is that? Engineers!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Ok, I love engineers because I have two in my immediate family, but I have to dish them, since neither them are on these boards to defend themselves. Birthday parties are never a dull moment when someone in our family receives a toy that has to be assembled. My dad's first words are "Get me the schematic" and my brother's reply is " Father, I can handle it, I'm a civil engineer." Bottom line, though, when that swingset is assembled it is structurally sound and can withstand adverse weather conditions

My husband throws assembly instructions away. These are all too funny. My father, FIL and DH are all engineers. Do my children stand a chance??

Lori

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Oh--my Dh reminded me when I told him about this thread, about my dearly departed FIL (BSEE, MSEE, MSME). Not only was he general contractor on his self-designed house (with the help of his teenaged sons, now both engineers), but he would work half days for the two weeks around the summer solstice. Why? So he could use the maximum available daylight to landscape his yard! Ah, engineering minds!

 

[Southern4sure]

My husband throws assembly instructions away. These are all too funny. My father, FIL and DH are all engineers. Do my children stand a chance??

Lori

I dont know how many times I have dug through the garbage looking for the instruction booklet. DH is very opinionated!!

 

[chrissyk]

DH is an ME, and my degree is in electrical engineering (although I gave it up when I became a mom). Beleive me, there's a hierarchy within the different fields, and the personalities are slightly different, but maybe an "outsider" wouldn't notice.

I SO agree, and getting "pidgeonholed" early is not a good thing. It happens to a lot of engineers, unfortunately. There is also a hierarchy BETWEEN the different fields IMHO.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I dont know how many times I have dug through the garbage looking for the instruction booklet. DH is very opinionated!!

Especially on Christmas Eve!

Lori

 

[sharbear]

My DH's says that best part of Christmas is putting the toys together. We cannot put the toys together before Christmas because "that the fun of Christmas, putting stuff together" When he was a kid, his family would go over to his cousins. The parents would drink Bloody Marys and my DH would put together all the toys!

Now my DH loves instruction booklets. He has to follow the instruction booklet to the letter. It is handy to have someone who can read a how to book and then do the work.

Most engineers don't have hobbies, they have HOBBIES!!! This summer my DH found a logic puzzle book. He would do puzzles for 6 hours a day. Drove me crazy. Do you know anyone who can spend 6 hours and make flow charts solving a puzzle.

Most engineers are not snobby. They really admire the plumber and the electrian and the guy who does construction. But valet parking will put my DH over the edge. He'll park 3 blocks away because he doesn't know what to do! He can do million dollar projects and can help the kids with calculus but he can't remember how to get money out of the ATM.

I love him to death though. Makes life interesting and he's the best husband in the whole world. My DS a senior in HS is looking at engineering schools. Other kids want to write science fiction or be a theatre major, mine wants to major in Chemical or Material Science Engineering! My DD, a sophmore in HS announced the other day that she wants to major in Physics. Not many girls apparently are Physicists!

 

[Southern4sure]

My DH's says that best part of Christmas is putting the toys together. We cannot put the toys together before Christmas because "that the fun of Christmas, putting stuff together" When he was a kid, his family would go over to his cousins. The parents would drink Bloody Marys and my DH would put together all the toys!

Now my DH loves instruction booklets. He has to follow the instruction booklet to the letter. It is handy to have someone who can read a how to book and then do the work.

Most engineers don't have hobbies, they have HOBBIES!!! This summer my DH found a logic puzzle book. He would do puzzles for 6 hours a day. Drove me crazy. Do you know anyone who can spend 6 hours and make flow charts solving a puzzle.

Most engineers are not snobby. They really admire the plumber and the electrian and the guy who does construction. But valet parking will put my DH over the edge. He'll park 3 blocks away because he doesn't know what to do! He can do million dollar projects and can help the kids with calculus but he can't remember how to get money out of the ATM.

I love him to death though. Makes life interesting and he's the best husband in the whole world. My DS a senior in HS is looking at engineering schools. Other kids want to write science fiction or be a theatre major, mine wants to major in Chemical or Material Science Engineering! My DD, a sophmore in HS announced the other day that she wants to major in Physics. Not many girls apparently are Physicists!

My DS 15 has been talking the last three years of becoming a chemical engineer. He is taking mechanical drafting in highschool this year and loves it. Poor Kid!

 

[chrissyk]

My DS a senior in HS is looking at engineering schools. Other kids want to write science fiction or be a theatre major, mine wants to major in Chemical or Material Science Engineering!

I LOVE Materials Science! I think that it's the most interesting engineering subject by far. I wish that I'd been able to take more materials courses or even gotten a masters in this subject. There weren't a ton of materials-related jobs out there when I graduated, but if there were I would have pursued it. I don't blame your son a bit for being interested in this field!!

 

[luvmy2sams]

My DH has his Masters in Mechanical Engineering...disgusting boy graduated with a 4.0 and even finished his thesis 6 months early in order to take a job for which he was recruited. DH researches everything to a T. If anyone in our family needs to purchase a big item, DH is the first one they'll call. He does all the research, creating a spreadsheet to compare his top choices. We make fun of him, but it really does come in handy. This even trickles down to our Disney trips. You would not believe the spreadsheets that are currently on our computer.

DH is very good at math and science, of course. He can solve any sort of spatial problem that's put in front of him. He loves video games and woodworking. He's designed some beautiful pieces of furniture for my parents over the past few years. He's the most gentle soul you could ever meet and the most doting dad on the planet.

DH is currently working as a tire designer. His biggest brag is that he designed the tire for the vehicles at Test Track. A few weeks ago he took the exams to become a six sigma black belt. Preliminary scores give him the highest score in the corporation, but he thinks he could have done better. The boy didn't even study for the thing.

 

[BunsenH]

What a wonderful thread. I don't think that I've ever heard such compliments bestowed upon engineers as a group. We have our oddities, but the concensus seems to indicate that we're good to have around.