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[quote=Anonymous]I work in aerospace and am now in a more product management/design role but I used to work with a lot of aerospace and mechanical engineers. I found them to be personable and generally nice, although the oldest and most experienced ones could be patronizing towards women on their teams in an old-fashioned but not unkind way. My colleagues attended a vast variety of colleges and it was a great break from previous workplaces that were obsessed with prestige universities.

Like everyone else said, you have to be collaborative to be an engineer. But at some point you also have to defend your work to clients or management or push through an idea that you know is good. That takes a lot of skill and also a certain amount of stubbornness. So as you move through the ranks, there will be an increasing amount of schemers or stubborn jerks.

I’m sure it depends on the area and projects, but a lot of the bro-y culture I experienced came when we were in the workshop actively working on prototypes as a team. Something about getting away from the screen and being adjacent to tools could change the atmosphere and make me feel like I was walking by a bunch of guys working on a car in their front yard. I had a love/hate relationship with the skunkworks. I love creativity and freedom but bureaucracy and rules feel better to me in the workplace. I also don’t want to stand in a messy workshop all evening shifting parts and debating sixteenths. Some people find that fun, so it’s important to know how hands-on you want to be in engineering.

Also, check the social culture of the job during the interview process. A lot of my workplaces had intense social scenes revolving around hands-on, specific hobbies: classic cars, motorcycles, garden railways (!), home brewing, etc depending on the team. [/quote]

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