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!

 

[COEngineeer]

It sounds like you want to work for Lockheed Martin in colorado.

FE (EIT) is a test you need to take. You can take it asap since you have engineering degree already. I dont know if you really need it though for your line of work. I am not sure.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[msquared48]

First and foremost - DO NOT eat any Rocky Mountain Oysters!

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[HgTX]

Aw, c'mon, they taste like chicken. One breaded deep-fried thing is very like another.

Why are you considering the procurement job?

Hg

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[COEngineeer]

I went to National Western Stock Show party and they had rocky mountain oyster. There was guy infront of me tasted it and said.. mann.. this is good popcorn shrimp. Dont know why he thought it was shrimp.. Maybe because of the cocktail sauce? It tastes pretty good.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[Overvoltage]

Hmm....I always thought they were kind of like gizzards...but then again, HgTX really has a point...so that makes sense.

 

[HgTX]

Gizzards are chicken!

But I didn't think they tasted like gizzards. Then again, I prefer my gizzards stewed, not fried.

And considering all the offal they eat in the UK, I don't think FutureAmerican has much to fear.

Hg

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[FutureAmerican]

COEngineeer - Lockheed Martin is the long term plan, once I get my US Citizenship and hopefully a few years good experience. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has an MBA in Engineering Management with an emphasis in Space Operations, which is something I really want to do, so once I get the necessary funds I'll be looking into doing that part time if possible.

I've considered doing the military as well, such as National guard, but as OCS is off-limits till Citizenship, as well as the type of jobs I'd want to do, that's 2 years away as well.

HgTX - I'm looking at the procurement job as that was part of my previous work experience. To be honest, I would prefer something more technical, and so the Field Engineer job would be preferable...but financially I can't really afford to wait around right now.

My wife warned me about Rocky Mountain Oysters before we moved here - but being a fan of the Bizarre Foods series with Andrew Zimmern I'm tempted to be adventurous and try it out!

 

[COEngineeer]

futureamerican, I just did my citizenship examination today actually. That is odd, I am in colorado too. I think in 3 months I will be American.. yippeeee.

FYI, if you are under 26 yo when you received your green card, you need to be listed in the selective service. So when the US attacks the UK, I am afraid you need to shoot your brothers down. Just kidding.

P.S.: Take your wife to Buckhorn Exchange for you anniversary. You can order the oyster for appetizer.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[HgTX]

Keep yourself in as technical a position as you can, and keep going to conferences and whatnot where you can meet the right people. An acquaintance of mine took I want to say close to 10 years to finally land his NASA dream job, but it eventually came round to him.

Hg

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[JaredS]

yay more coloradans!

FutureAmerican, how about a shot at Raytheon, I don't have any contacts over there but their office is over off 225 and they are almost always looking for engineers

 

[FutureAmerican]

COEngineeer - great to see another ex-pat Brit in Colorado here! One problem I've had is that a lot of engineering jobs out here want familiarity with SolidWorks or AutoCad...on my BEng course we only touched on AutoCad briefly, and only the MEng students got to to Solidworks - so I'm trying to see if any local colleges offer courses in that so I can get it on my resume.

I registered for Selective Service as soon as I got here (I'm 24), as a lot of my career plans include work for the government or contractors, so I didn't want to hinder my path to Citizenship.

BTW, do you know of any good ex-Pat Brit communities round here (I currently live in Wheat Ridge/Denver Metro area)? I've thought of attending some meetups to make good contacts, social network etc, but not sure where to start. I've also looked at groups like the FreeMasons so I can get involved in Charity and community work, as I was invited to join in College and a lot of my ancestors were Masons, but I was in my final year so it would have been too much with finals and my other committments.

HgTX - NASA would be a dream come true for me eventually (yeah, I've dreamt of being an Astronaut since age 5)

JaredS - I'll take a look into Raytheon, but when I spoke to them at the Farnborough Airshow in '06, they said that I needed US Citizenship to work for them - but I'll keep an eye on the website in case anything comes up which doesn't need it.

 

[COEngineeer]

futureAmericans... I never once mentioned I was british .

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[monkeydog]

FutureAmerican,
Check-out Ball Aerospace up in your neck of the woods.
That may give you the foot in the door for other aerospace companies or NASA.
If your working on a NASA project the Green Card should be adequate.

 

[KENAT]

FutureAmerican.

I too am from the UK, and now in the US (California) with about a year to wait till I can apply for citizenship. Likewise I'm here because my wife is US citizen.

Forget about defense or aerospace or anything vaguely related until you have citizenship. You cannot get a full clearance without a citizenship and the partial clearance (by program as I recal) you can theoretically get generally isn’t worth the employers hassle/the government wont allow it. It’s not that there aren’t any exceptions but unless you are the world expert in something they really need it wont happen.

EIT – this may not be a simple as taking the exam. It varies by state so look up the Colorado board however, in CA at least my UK BEng does not count as an acceptable/accredited degree. Also most of my experience wont count because is wasn’t under the supervision of a PE. Basically the rules are written around a typical US education/career path and while there are work around’s it seems like it will take more time and effort to exercise them. Once I saw how difficult it was, and how it wasn’t directly relevant to my field, I put it on the back burner.

PE is not the same as CEng, though there are similarities. In certain fields in the US (varying slightly by state) you need PEng to call yourself an Engineer/offer your services to the public. Typical fields requiring PE are those related to construction/infrastructure so Civil, Structural, Building Electricals, HVAC for mechanicals etc.

For aerospace/defense and similar ‘exempt’ industries there is no specific PE, at least in CA, the closest I could find was Mechanical but even them a lot of the exams etc were more aligned to people working on HVAC or elevators and the like. You are unlikely to need PE for the field you’re looking at although it may be viewed positively.

Hope it helps, best of luck.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[HgTX]

I don't know about the abovementioned NASA buddy, but another NASA buddy definitely does not have a PE. She almost landed in trouble for not having an ABET-accredited engineering degree. Her degree in engineering technology was not a problem during her years with McDonnell & subsequently Boeing, but when she went to work for the feds, the HR department almost nixed her appointment at the very last minute over that issue. (I think the resolution involved pleading, wailing, and gnashing of teeth but no additional education on her part.)

So PE not required. But watch out for that degree thing. A PE might get you past that hurdle; if you managed to convince a licensing board that your degree is good enough, that might be enough for an employer.

Hg

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[FutureAmerican]

COEngineeer - apologies...totally spaced that bit out!

Monkeydog - I haven't yet seen any jobs at Ball I qualify for, but I may just try cold-calling them to see if I can get an interview or over-the-phone discussion that way.

Kenat/HgTX - thanks for the info regarding PE...I'm going to see if the companies who would/do end up employing me like to get their engineers qualified as PE's, in which case I'll make it a priority to sort out.

My interview for the procurement job seemed to go fairly well today - I did an aptitude test (basic math/english), then was interviewed by potential co-workers, and the manager of the procurement department. I'm not entirely sure overall about the job, as it's definately procurement/logisitics, no technical stuff whatsoever.

I have a phone interview for a Field Engineer job with Schlumberger tommorow, and then Halliburton in-person interview next week - any advice on which of these to go for should I be lucky enough to get offers from both, and also if Field Engineering work in the Oil&gas sector could potentially transfer over to a Project Management role in Defense after I get my Citizenship, especially if combined with an MBA?

Thanks for all the advice and replies so far!

 

[KENAT]

One thing to remember, in the US a bachelors typically takes 4 years. Many job applications etc refer to bachelors degrees as 4 year degrees.

In the UK as you're probably familir, a 4 year engineering degree would probably be a Masters.

So if they ask if you have a 4 year degree just say yes, and explain later;-).

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[COEngineeer]

For me.. I think to be successful with companies like Schlumberger, you have to be willing to travel or probably relocated every a few years. If she does not mind moving around then that would be a good opportunity. if you want to stay in colorado, I dont think that is the job for you. My uncle is pretty successful with them but man... he has moved A LOT all over the world. Now he is in Houston.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[KENAT]

thread731-159181 vaguely relevant

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...