Hacker News Reader

Find a company like Ansys or Abaqus, where you can work on FEM software. This way you can use your training in mechanics while still programming.

The big advantage here is that: a) Most engineers suck at programming. b) Most CS majors don't understand the mechanics.

By having skills in both mechanics and programming, you can be an extremely valuable asset to companies that make high-performance computational mechanics software.

View on HN

"a) most engineers suck at programming."

I find that to be not true. Most engineers suck at regurgitating the correct textbook CS algorithm or data structure from memory, but they are very good at engineering, which is what the overwhelming majority of programming is.

If I had to choose between a CS major and a ME for an engineering project that involved software development I'd choose the ME almost every time, all else being equal. The exceptions would be cases where academic CS knowledge is required. They exist but not nearly as frequently as Silicon Valley would have anybody believe.

No he's saying most mechanical engineers can't program and most CS majors can't understand the mechanical engineering math. The OP is perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between the two.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com