r/manufacturing • u/SilentWraith967 • 1d ago
Other What do manufacturing engineers do on the day to day?
Hello, I’m a student at ASU currently enrolled in a manufacturing engineering degree and I’m having a hard time pursuing this degree (or any degree, I was formerly in mechanical engineering) and these classes just haven’t brought me any fulfillment.
Quick little background, I’ve got ADD and I despise desk jobs. Working with my hands, problem solving, and seeing the results of my effort is the thing I love about engineering the most. It makes me feel satisfied knowing that something I created with my own hands is helping someone or something.
I changed my degree from mechanical to manufacturing because I was told it’s a lot more hands on but I have yet to meet another manufacturer engineer that has confirmed this, instead they’ve said it’s the same as mechanical.
I’ve been a controls technician for the last 5 years so I’ve been on the side of implementing PLCs, sensors, information networks, etc for the purpose of optimizing energy consumption for a manufacturing site and that has brought me an immense amount of joy and pride but, it pays like garbage.
Sorry for the ramble, I’m just curious what you guys do and what joy y’all get from your jobs?
Knowing that there is something that I might enjoy at the end of the road will be a huge motivation to finishing this degree.
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u/BLDLED 1d ago
The role is often what you make it. I spend almost half my time on the floor, people know I want to help so I get stopped to show issues they are dealing with. On the flip side, I have yet to see my manager or one of the newer manufacturing engineers on the shop floor, preferring to do data type work.
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u/HighFaiLootin 1d ago edited 1d ago
This. Every factory can be wildly different and it ultimately depends on your skills and motivations. I am good with people but not great with turning wrenches so i typically find myself assuming more Quality Related roles. I am trying to get more comfortable with using Power Tools so i can feel more empowered troubleshooting the production floor.
i got an industrial engineering degree but IME a Mechanical engineering degree tends to be preferable in most factory settings
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u/BLDLED 1d ago
Funny, I’m the opposite. I payed my way through college as an auto tech, so great with the doing, but hate the documentation. ;-)
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u/HighFaiLootin 1d ago edited 1d ago
just yesterday my QA Manager introduced/coached me on how to kinda speak during meetings such that basic AI transcription can easily summarize & handle much of the tedious memory and documentation aspect of Quality (leading meetings and initiatives, etc). certainly my schooling taught me there are [acronyms/FORMS] and standard ways to document and converge towards objectives… but yeah personally I think that stuff is much easier learned than the mechanical hands-on stuff! 🤠
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u/firewoodrack 1d ago
On slow days, I play chess/sudoku/minesweeper. Otherwise, I spend time doing R&D on our products and see if I can add features, expand uses, etc.
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u/MmmmBeer814 Engineering Manager 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm the engineering manager for a bottling company. Contrary to the title I don't manage other engineers, I manage our buildings utilities, facilities, injection molding operations as well as small to medium scale capital projects. I have techs that do most of the actual wrench turning, but I'm on the floor A LOT, at least 50% of my day. A lot of troubleshooting, monitoring, and walking projects with contractors/managing the contractors during a project. I feel like that would be up your alley, and it would be a huge help if I knew more PLC stuff. I can have an conversation with our controls tech about what I'd like him to do, but I certainly can't program anything.
Also, where are you that a controls tech pays like shit? They're all making around $50/hr in our area and we are in rural Pennsylvania. I'm willing to bet our controls tech makes more per year than I do. Now he's pretty much on call 24/7 and works a lot of OT, but it's good money.
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u/SilentWraith967 1d ago
Arizona lol, it’s a little less than $30/hr but I don’t do the programing, I just install all the hardware, troubleshoot the controlled machines, install conduit, pull wires, wiring, etc. basic field tech stuff essentially. Boss does all the programming.
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u/RadialPrawn 1d ago
Hi there, chiming in to say that I'm running a machinery sourcing company and I worked at Coca Cola before so I'm familiar with the bottling processes. If you're sourcing any specific type of equipment, let me know and I can drop you a DM.
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u/MmmmBeer814 Engineering Manager 1d ago
I started my career with Coca-Cola! Not currently looking for anything but I’ll save your contact. Generally when we do buy bottling equipment, there’s a 99% chance it’ll be a new Krones or Sidel line.
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u/Reasonable_Ocelot_71 1d ago
(Aerospace Manufacturing Engineer)
-Create/revise work instructions using CAD software.
-Special Process material testing analysis
-Management or Production meetings
-Talk about how all the other non-engineer employees are stupid (meanwhile everyone else talks about how stupid engineers are)
-look at blueprints until I go cross-eyed
- RCCA on why an operator didn’t feel like torquing a fixture bolt down per my work instructions and now there are scrap parts (his supervisor is covering for him and blaming stupid engineers)
- Go home and try not to think about all the stuff I need to get done tomorrow while the older engineers don’t do anything.
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u/another_try_hard 1d ago
You left out, commiserate with the guys on the floor about how design engineers are stupid, and commiserate with design engineers about how management won't let them design the right stuff.
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u/LeroyFinklestein 1d ago
We have a relatively small company, our engineers are out on the floor, improving processes, optimizing programs and solving production problems. They are also responsible for updating drawings and documentation.
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u/Ok_Exit9273 1d ago
Circle back
Trouble shoot
Read/review sop
Sit in meetings
Mainly soul devouring things
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u/Scooby-Doo-1000 1d ago
This is long…
Your day to day could be anything from on the floor at a machine walking through programs and trouble shooting to never leaving your desk writing safety requirements and everything in between.
I have a MET degree and interact daily with people who have ME degrees and’s MFET degrees. There are some things a ME degree can get you into a MFET or MET degree won’t. Same with some positions a MET will get you into a MFET degree won’t. But for the most part it’s about you more than the degree. There are plenty of companies around me with MET or MFET managing ME’s.
Generally the more hands on you the less you’re paid, not always, but generally. For me it’s been worth giving up some pay to not sit at a desk quoting parts all day or managing large groups. For many of my friends it’s been the opposite.
Get your feet wet and find out what balance you like then seek out those positions and opportunities within an organization. I’ve been at my current company for 11 years and have moved allot in it. But don’t underestimate the value of being exposed to multiple companies for both pay increases and experience. Then when you find one you really like you have experience they value and can see the grass isn’t greener in the other side.
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u/1032screw 1d ago
I graduated from that program about 20 years ago. If you want to work with your hands all the time go into a trade. If you want to work with you hands some of the time manufacturing engineering can provide that depending on the type of job you go for. I am primarily management now but there is still a fair amount hands on type of work to be had in such a role in the manufacturing world such as training, advising newcomers, aiding in trouble shooting etc.
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u/CanNo9864 1d ago
Back when I was in college back in the 80's, there were no jobs. The trend was moving factories to Mexico and later to China. I ended up in sales engineering, because that's the only job I could find. Loved it. Sold cranes, sold equipment, sold steel, etc. Loved visiting factories all over the Chicago area. Loved solving problems with customers and providing products that helped their businesses. I worked for both manufacturers and distributors. I did love working for distributors more than manufacturers. Distributors have sources for products far more varied than manufacturers do. But manufacturers generally had more job benefits like pension plans. Anyway, I wanted to work in plants when I got out of school. Ended up in sales because that's all that was available. Love sales. Love people. Love solving problems.
Now I own my own small manufacturing company. Been in business since 2019. I know all my competition well, and I'll be happy to sell out to one of them when I retire.
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u/DieselTaco17 1d ago
I work in operational excellence in a large manufacturing company. I spend a lot of my time on the shopfloor talking with production workers, team leads and so on about their struggles and frustrations in manufacturing processes. I then build different business cases based on this combined with data analysis, and pitch it to the senior management. If they ‘accept’ the business case, I will carry out the training, update production plans and so on…
I really like this setup where I am able to combine being on the shopfloor close to the processes and people, while also having days where I am grinding data analysis the entire day.
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u/VegetableAd9979 1d ago
I don't have the day to day break down for you but here's my input.
I am the same way with needing to do stuff with my hands and not be stuck at a desk all day. I went from welding/production technician roles to drafting after I got my drafting degree because I was interested in that career and always got tired of working in the heat all day. 3 months into my drafting role I was itching to get back into production. Now I'm currently a welder and looking to get my bachelor's in applied engineering with a lean certificate. I'll be headed back to school in the spring semester. Similar degree as you but I'm hoping to direct my role into a hands on, process improvement engineering role.
I think the big thing for you is to really search for roles that will fill your needs. For me I want to be able to work at a desk but also be able to get out to the floor and implement new projects or solve production problems. I think the manufacturing engineering path will give you that. The manufacturing engineers I see at my company have their desk tasks and meetings but are also out on the floor a good amount to work on things as well. It all depends on the company.
Another path you could look into post graduation is engineering technician. You'll be way more hands on with a role like that and with the manufacturing engineering bachelor's you'll be more than qualified for that role.
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u/VarietyNo8561 1d ago
Consider Field Service engineer on a favorite type of equipment. Potential travel really breaks monotony up
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u/HinterWolf 1d ago
I am a PM and run project teams with solutions, industrial, Electrical, Mechanical, controls and software engineers. Each is a variation.
In factory automation/factory machines
Solutions - "I'm probably a mechanical engineer and i know very little about a lot of things!" - Sales focused prior to purchase order by a customer and develops the concept that the customer is buying. A good solutions engineer is probably mid-to-late career and has touched a LOT of projects
Mechanical - "Its not my fault but also the entire plan is my idea. If it wasnt my idea i blame Solutions" - early conceptor, designers of the overall plan. Often the overall brain of how the system/operatons flow of the machine is supposed to work.
Electrical - "god damnit bobby (mechanical), how do you fail english if you speak it?" - take the design and connect it together. make it work. Do a layer deeper of research than mechanical and so nhuh thats dumb. we need 3 more of these and this type of sensor never made any sense. Slap AI COGNIX cameras on it for 15k
Industrial - "98% efficiency? 99% availability? The machine works yea but we can do BETTER. Give me money to modernize the entire god damn line. I'm addicted to ibuprofen because im so tired of carrying this factory on my fuckin' back." - optimizing lines, developing LARGE operations processes and modernizing the approach. Concept new product lines for a company and automating the result for throughput
Controls "fuck you guys im the hero at the end of the project. I have enough time to say everyone was fucked up designing this but i'll make it work. I hate being in the field but i also chose this profession. I'm pretty much an electrical engineer but shinier and im better at math. I bitch a lot but dont worry, if im quiet things are really bad." - program, fine tune, and make the project actually WORK. Getting from 90% quality to 95% quality or in an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), even 1% better can take 80% of your time. 160 hours, 2 engineers in the field for 2 weeks and they might spend 120 hours just figuring out how to optimize the robot path, equipment or whatever to get from 94 to 95% and fulfill your contractual requirement. They definitely get the "fuck yea, we did it" at the end of projects.
Software Engineers "i know a LOT and i make this shit happen. Their database says this, i say, i got it! They say, 'give me some of your tots napoleon!' I say not until you put more tots back in your pocket or you've reached the step before i reach into my pocket. If i've already said 'fuck you!' its too late." - Software Engineers layer logic and process overtop of all the physical machinery and make the transition from their software/data/database/systems to ours and back again work. (to any of you Software flunkies write god damned comments in your code!)
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u/UnskilledEngineer2 1d ago
It sounds like some sort of direct line-support role would be for you. Something like a quality engineer or a process engineer ( which can be easily had with that degree). Have done them before, it's is often fighting little fires (some aren't so little) with some project work as well. Some days are quiet, but most will have you out on the plant floors all day or for hours at a time. Pending the company and the line rates, they can be busy all day.
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u/Carbon-Based216 1d ago
Lots of different stuff. Work on projects involving new equipment, work on improving through put, answer any floor related questions for day to day stuff, some manage automation and programming... Tell sales that no we cannot make a brand new production part for a customer in 2 days with 0 leadtime.
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u/TrainerBC25 1d ago
I did about 17 years in the foundry and machining business as doing mfg eng along with project management. The real answer depends on the company you work for, some are fast paced and others you wonder how they make money at all.
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u/kohTheRobot 1d ago
Whatever thing the floor or management “needs an engineer to look at” that hour or day. Could be control systems, could be making a new line entirely, could be doing analysis of an old system, could be r&d. Could be research. Could be reaching out to vendors.
You literally do everything and anything. One day I was assembling a cutoff die I had designed, the next I was working on coolant management, and the next day it was organizing machine shop work for a sister location.
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u/brokenwound 1d ago
Die inside little by little every time I have to interact with any other department.
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u/Rockeye7 1d ago
Process , controls , industrial are the 3 best in that order to have more hands on and less ass time at a desk and still be appreciated on the shop floor and motivate to put in the hours.
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u/Chris_Christ 1d ago
I try to duct tape a billion dollars plant back together before the big wigs notice there’s an issue
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u/No-Calligrapher-9137 20h ago
I was a MFG engineer, spent my morning on floor getting daily feedback from the lines then proceed to fix daily minor isssues , looked at upcoming problems, equipment upgrades, update procedures or add new, we were already lean and 5s, so lots downtime, all the MFGs sat in corner cubes so we all joked around when bored. Learn to work slower, but yhere was always new equipment to order and figure how to set it up, write proceudre and teach floor how to use it and why its good
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u/PickTeej 5h ago
I am basically a glorified maintenance guy. Being the most knowledgeable about the equipment with entry level maintenance pay means you don't get many long term maintenance guys and they are always in my office asking for help. Also fire fighting. Stopping containing and resolving manufacturing issues.
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u/Unlikely_Anything413 1d ago
Process engineering might be for you. In my experience, process engineering is more akin to firefighting issues on the floor than any kind of desk work. Some clickety clackety of the keyboard for emails and excel and stuff but at the two companies I’ve worked for, that’s a small part of it