I am curious as to what it is like working in the CFD field. What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? What are the typical tasks done daily? Is there an "art" to working in the area? What do you need to know to be really good in the field? Any help would be appreciated.

It is mostly an underpaid job for overeducated people. In the United States, you make twice the money as a nurse as you do being an engineer with a BS degree. It is sad!!! A true sign that a civilization is declining if you get paid more for wiping someone's ... than for developing better trains, planes and automobiles.

Ah yes James, but how much would you need to be paid to wipe someone's .... ?

Yes James is right, its the same in the uk !! however he did miss one thing out, and that was the fact that you work twice the hours with the CFD! Ok ok so we don't have to work shift. Fine. But you tell me, does it sometimes feel like you're working every hour under the sun to meet a deadline ??? But it is very rewards ! mmm something smells around hear !! sorry - bad day at the office !!

I guess that depends on who's ... it is. I can think of a few where I might be doing it for free.

It is a really phantastic job....

If you do cfd and the machine is ok, then the construction engineer at CAD is the hero. Great design !!! If there isn't enough efficiency, then the question is: what's wrong with your very expensive cfd-system ?

or

We have here a machine with a measured efficiency of 85.5% and your cfd-code gave 87%. We get the same result by a short calculations by hand..and what are the license costs for your cfd-system ?

or

Why do you need such along time for such a small change in the geometry ? Look at my CAD-System: Only three new lines...

or

In the future, we'll use transient calculations, because the results are much better. Oh, no..you cannot get a new cpu. cost-reduction, you know...

or

(Chief): You need xxh for meshing a standard-part. I heard of a new high automatic tool. With that, you could mesh 10times faster...

or

(Chief) Could you make an animation ? You know: colours for directors. It should be impressing...and it is very important to show our competence to the customer..

The same one, one year later, he became the great-chief: We don't need animations. We don't have the time to produce and look such bullshit. We only want a number..

or

We have to reduce our costs for hard- and software... . . .

If you want to do something with numerics, do fem with ansys, nastran or abaqus and learn to work with codes like asme and ubc.