| | It happens whenever I meet someone new outside the office or school.
stranger: Hi, I'm so and so... blah blah... What did you major in?
me: Mechanical engineering.
stranger: Does that mean you can, like, fix stuff?
me: Yes. (sigh) Yes it does.
I don't know why, but when I say "mechanical engineering", they don't hear anything beyond "mechanic." Why do people think mechanical engineers are just people who fix things? If anything, we design the things that later break and require mechanics to come fix. There's a very clear difference between the two!
It doesn't help that I CAN fix things. It's especially hard to explain when I'm in the middle of fixing something. For instance, I've been asked that question while fixing a friend of a friend's toilet fixture and several times at the base while working on a car.
me: I'm a mechanical engineer.
stranger: So you fix things?
me: Yes, I do, but that has nothing to do with education. Now pass me that 1" box-end so I can beat you with it.
I didn't go through 6 years of college/grad-school to be mistaken for something I could have done straight out of high school. So I've decided from now on, despite my major, to simply tell people I'm a biomedical engineer, because that's my job description. That way, the morons of the world can mistake me for a doctor instead.
me: Biomedical engineer.
stranger: Are you like a doctor?
me: Yes. That leg looks necrotic. Hand me that saw and I'll take it off for you.
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| | Posted 6/12/2008 9:03 AM - 9 views - 0 comments
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