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Anxious about my Entry Level job I just got hired for 19

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Space213

Space213

Mechanical
Oct 27, 2017
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HI guys, Its been a struggle since I graduated in May'16 to get an Entry Level ME job. Just last week I finally got hired by a startup company with a nice decent starting pay. They initially just want me to do solid works modeling for them and then later jump into more engineering type roles as they mentioned. Without any technical questions they ended up really liking me since my reference called me and mentioned the same.

I was honest and upfront and said I am familiar with solid works just not at a senior level and the CEO mentioned thats fine we will train you. So I guess I'm nervous I want to prove to them that they made a great choice in hiring me and will work my butt off no question. The thing is the overall goal is they want me to design a more sophisticated aeration system from the one they already have so its not easily reproducible by others. I am worried because how can an entry level engineer be expected to innovate? there is just so much you would have to know. They mentioned they will train me so it should be fine. My biggest thing now is I got the job but can I keep it? even if i work my ass off day and night. Please any advice would be much appreciated if you were in my shoes how would you go about this? Thank you!
 
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Since you were open about your experience level when interviewed, they shouldn't have unreasonable expectations of you. I think there are two reasonable expectations they will have from the outset - one only slightly more obvious than the other:

1. That you will give of your best, within the constraints of your limited experience

2. That you will learn while on the job so that, in a year or two's time, they can expect much, much more of you.

Free advice:

Work hard.​

Learn as much as you can: Ask sensible questions; learn from your inevitable mistakes; learn from others' mistakes.​

Strike a sensible balance between under- and over-confidence. Remember that, as you learn, what you will be able to promise to deliver will (must) change.​

Enjoy the experience. It sounds like a good opportunity and there is a real buzz to be had from becoming competent in some specialist field.​

A.
 
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If I've learned anything in my years its this: don't be too intimidated when you're looking a seemingly massive job head-on with no idea how to do it. Engineering school has already taught you to break all your problems down into small pieces. Do the same thing with the aeration system. Initially all they really want is for you to document their ideas. As you do that you will develop thoughts and ideas of your own. Some worthwhile, some not. Relax. Focus on doing what you're told. Always try to go above and beyond.

And NEVER forget that much of what other people think about your work will be decided within the first few seconds of seeing it, before they have even absorbed any of its meaning. So take the extra effort to make sure your work is clean, clear, well organized, concise, and has a professional appearance. Study the work (drawings) of others in the past, especially from pre-CAD days. Notice the small details of how they made their ideas easy to understand.

You'll do fine.
 
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Not a specialist in the field, so just a general idea here..

Try to look in the archive system (if there is one) for a design or specification that is relatively close to what you have now (analyze drawing, sketch). Then try to stick to the old design as much as you could (i.e. limit innovation at this point).
Just adapt that design by making the necessary variations to it so it would fit the new purpose.

 
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thank you guys. I can honestly say I am not no expert or even advanced at solid works but basic parts that do not have complex geometry is definitely something in my grasp even though I have been out of school for 2 years. Solid works was one of those user friendly programs that was easy to work through compared to the ever so confusing Auto CAD. I enjoyed Solid Works during my undergrad. I can Assure that I will work my butt off and keep a humble attitude. Just a bit nervous since Its my first actual engineering job.

How was your entry level job experience ? did you just get thrown into the fire or was it steady training and growth?
 
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I was on a structured program for my first two years, which was going to lead to a job in a R&D division. BUT they had funding problems, so instead I was given the job of learning modal analysis and running the modal analysis lab, from the manuals, as the previous SME had just walked out the door. So yes, I was dropped in it. My boss knew some of the ideas, and was pretty good at the instrumentation side, but didn't know anything much about the analysis side. Good fun in retrospect.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
 
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Solicit input, identify pros/cons/risks, document decisions

Don't take things personally when you find yourself having to put together multiple proposals, redo designs that you thought were fine, etc. It is all part of the process and isn't a criticism of you specifically. You peers and supervisors do not expect you to get it right the first time
 
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Worst case scenario: it doesn't work out and you look for another job. This seemingly critical situation today will feel unimportant in the not too distant future.

It's simple - you try your best, put in an honest effort and it will either be good enough or it won't. Simple...not easy.
 
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IME most every new role in engineering is a trial by fire. You either bust your butt to learn the material, ask intelligent and appropriate questions of colleagues after trying your damnedest to solve them yourself, or you go into project management, teaching, or something unrelated. You're not going to be "trained" in the sense of most blue collar jobs. Nobody's going to hold your hand, they're going to expect you to teach yourself the engineering with maybe an odd question or two a day to a mentor. Always keep in mind that mentors have their own workload and are likely judging you/reporting back to the boss so dont embarrass yourself too much with basic issues. Every few years at least, your employer should send you out for some formal non-engineering education (a class in advanced solid modeling, lean or agile manufacturing, etc), but with every job change expect to pick up and read another few texts on that specific niche and also expect to study legacy and competitive products.

To start off with I'd recommend learning Solidworks dam good, dam quick. Personally I've found (five modeling packages later) that there's no replacement for seat time. Sit and model something before or after work 5-10 hours/week and in a few months you'll be decently capable. Also, careful study of others' models can be a good way to learn assembly structure and surfacing tricks.
 
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Isn't the university degree as much about having the basic skills that will help you acquire the specialist skills that you will learn on the job , by experience or otherwise.
Your degree teaches you relatively little but gets you to the place where you should learn alot.

Sounds like you are in the right place with the right frame of mind to start that journey. Work hard, ask lots of questions , read and research and do your best.

Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"
 
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As far as "can you keep your job" the answer is yes, absolute minimum of 1-2 years if you are competent, have a good attitude, and are eager to learn. They're not going to put in the time to train you and then quickly get rid of you if things aren't perfect. They'd just have to either try again with another new grad, or hire someone with experience at a higher wage.

You do need to quickly get a feel for how long to struggle with something before having a rough draft checked by whoever did the work before you were hired. A 10 minute chat might save you a few hours of scratching your head.
 
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So the offer is contingent upon one condition. They want to test my solid works skills this friday before they actually bring me on board starting next monday. I have been using the student version of Solid Works and drawing up certain parts i find difficult to approach just to refresh myself. I hope I can meet the standard of skill they require to start. I already mentioned I am not at a senior level but i am familiar with the program. I don't know how else I can improve my skills other than just drafting more parts from YouTube.

Hopefully it works out.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
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They probably want to make sure that you can actually use it , not just say you can. You are probably going to pass that trial if you are already fairly competent on it, even if not an expert user.

Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"
 
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I started out the same way with Solidworks in 2001. I watched a guy using it, and doing things the Cadkey program I was using at the time could not do. Then the company bought 2 seats and I did a three week course to master Solidworks . Since then the program has evolved so much that if I tried to use it today with the knowledge I had in 2001 , I doubt if I could even turn the program on.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
 
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A job that you fully master from day 1 cannot be much fun, at least not for long. It's perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed.

Entry level engineers can definitely innovate. You have not been pre-formatted in "the way we always used to do it". Enjoy that time, in a few years it will be over :) Use your rookie status to ask many questions. Identify things that look funny. When your guts tell you "I think this can be done more easily / more efficiently / more cheaply / better..." then that could be a golden idea that you should investigate further and see if it holds.
 
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I won't be worried about learning new things st all. I can work my butt off and even take work home to do my homework on things I'm weak at so I don't need to waste anybodies time at work. I'm just worried about how they will go about testing my Solidworks skill because the offer is all ready to go it just contingent on my solid works skills as the CEO said.

I'd hate to have the offer taken away. So ive been studying and re drawing stuff on solid works all week to get better at it. I'm familiar with majority of the features. My only weakness is approaching and completing the complex geometry figures. The company already told me don't worry about being a senior at SD. So im anxious about what they will test me on in regards to SD.

 
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