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No rating yet Subject: Re: [OT] Why there are so few New Grads who want to Author: Dave Lindeman Date: 2008-04-18 22:15:34In my opinion, what it means to be an "analyst" has changed significantly over the last decade or so. Ten or twenty years ago someone with an engineering BS and a good grounding in the basic theory (e.g., statics and deformable body mechanics) was a perfectly suitable candidate for an analysis position. They had the basic knowledge and problem solving skills required, and could be taught to use whatever tools were available. This was largely due to the fact that their skills matched the capabilities of the codes and the types of problems most frequently being solved (i.e., linear static analysis). Being an "analyst" simply meant you were proficient in the use of a finite element program (which was an achievement in itself).
But now that the ease-of-use issue have largely been eliminated, those that remain more-or-less full time analysts (as opposed to engineers who occasionally use analysis as part of their design process) are the people who focus on solving the more difficult problems. These people need to be comfortable with nonlinear constitutive theory, damage and failure mechanisms, etc. These are topics that are typically only covered at the graduate level, or are learned from years of experience. So, when looking to fill an analysis position, the pool of suitable candidates is much smaller than it use to be. Also, with the advent of multifield solvers, it's often not sufficient for an analyst to be well-versed in only one area or physics -- they may have to be conversant in structural mechanics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics and electromagnetics (and, dare I say, chemistry).
It's somewhat paradoxical that as the codes become more capable and much easier to use, the education and experience level required to use them effectively may actually be increasing. But if part of your job expectation is that you'll be able to develop and implement a custom constitutive model, for example, then a significant portion of your education has to be focused on what amounts to applied mathematics. Very few engineering students are interested in this -- the sooner they can get away from equations and get down to the "real" work of designing, the happier they are. I've met plenty of engineers who are quite proud to say that they haven't used Calculus since graduating.
YMMV and all that other internet disclaimer stuff...
Dave
------------------------- Dave Lindeman Lead Research Specialist 3M Company 3M Center 235-3F-08 St. Paul, MN 55144 651-733-6383
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