Advice for ex-pat Brit starting career in Colorado

[FutureAmerican]

Hi all,

Well, to cut a long story short, I moved to Colorado last year after getting my green card thanks to marrying my American wife, and am trying to get an Engineering job here. My background (in US equivalents) is a BS in Materials Science & Engineering, and while at College I did 3 summer internships, all in University research labs (2 in the US - California and Indiana). Although I enjoyed them, I figured out that the academic/research route wasn't for me, so I went straight to work in England (my home country) for my Father's Engineering company. I mostly did Project Management/Procurement type work there which I really enjoyed, as I was able to work on technical projects in an organisational way which I preferred.

I've finally got to the stage where I have some interviews coming up - either at a Satellite/TV Dish company in a Procurement role, or at an Oil Company as a Field Engineer. I'm trying to decide between these two (should I be fortunate enough to get job offers from both) - as in terms of interest, I want to work in the Space Industry, but I also enjoy the outdoors and hands-on environment which the FE position would offer. My options for Space-related work are limited for the next 2 years until I become a US Citizen, and so can get the appropriate security clearances, so essentially I'm trying to find the best way to keep myself occupied until then.

In terms of future stuff, relocation is not a problem and actually welcomed by my wife & I, but for now we're trying to get something in Colorado, preferably in the Denver area, where we're currently staying with her family.

Any advice would be more than welcomed - I'm also interested in how to go about getting registered as an EIT or equivalent, if that would be beneficial (the British equivalent I believe is working towards becoming a Chartered Engineer, which requires several years of work experience and a report on a project you worked on, or a Master's Thesis).

Apologies for the lengthy post - just wanted to explain the full situation!

 

[JStephen]

I would suggest checking into the EIT/PE simply because you can do that while you're looking for work. It likely won't make much difference to you other than letters behind your name, but it is worth that at least. You'll need to have a degree acceptable to the board, and then take the EIT.

When we lived in CO, there was a lot of electronics manufacturing going on, Hewlett-Packard and similar companies. Assuming those kinds of industries are still going strong, that seems to me like your best route.

I interviewed at one of the aerospace firms (Ball, I think it was). At that time, they were looking for people with a particular security clearance. If you already had that clearance, they didn't care what skills you had, they wanted you. If you didn't have that clearance, they didn't care what skills you had, they didn't want you. Seems like there were two aerospace companies in town, and each expected to hire experienced and cleared employees from the other rather than investing a nickel themselves.

Keep in mind that once you get started down a particular career path, it can be very hard to change. Going into the oil and gas business may tend to keep you there, so be leary about going in until you find something better. Right now, that field is booming, but it can bust, too, and has in the past.

 

[nuche1973]

Futureamerican:
I agree with checking into the PE/EIT. The requirements for EIT status varies from state to state and you may be required to take a few courses from an ABET accredited institution. I took courses with a gentleman from Iran, and Missouri required him to graduate from an ABET institution. Two schools come to mind: Colorado School of Mines (Golden) and the University of Colorado (Boulder). There is alos Metro State in Dever, but I am not sure of the ABET accrediation. Mines is closer to Denver than CU.

As for the work thing: I spent 10+ years chasing my degree (I paid for it out-of pocket), however I made it a point that what-ever job I took somehow related to my field of study. As posted by others, there are several companies in Dever that involve your field, good luck.

on a side note, I was born and raised in south-western Colorado and a photo of my grandfather can be seen in the main concourse of DIA, to the north of the main security check point.