Career change and salary 3

[Norm01]

I am a professional engineer with 8 years experience with a fire protection contracting company. The company has been declining for the past year and most senior members have already left for the competition. I am not interested in moving to a competitor and have been contemplating leaving the industry altogether. I have been taking courses through ASHRAE to increase my knowledge in HVAC (something that I've always been interested in). Recently, I have had an offer from a consulting firm to join their HVAC department. They have offered me approx. 40% less than my current salary since I do not have any experience designing HVAC systems and there would be a learning curve involved.

Will taking a cut in salary now benefit me in the long run?

Has anyone had to make a similar decision in his or her career?

Thanks.

 

[GregLocock]

Would you regard yourself as extremely well paid now?



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[Norm01]

I am paid at a management level with a vehicle allowance and a gas card (my total compensation is just under 100K). The environment is very high stress and fast paced with high turnover so the compensation packages are there to entice people to stay.

My wife and I do not have any kids yet, and she has a pretty good job that she is happy doing, so I thought that if I am going to make a career change and take a cut in salary maybe now would be the best time.

Thanks for comments.

 

[KENAT]

So you're looking at 60k, with a PE but no directly relevant industry experience?

Do you have some idea for what a fresh PE in that sector in your area is making, is it around 60k?

I'd find it hard to take the 40% drop, but if it's a case of jump now or be thrown later then maybe.

At least get some idea of how rapidly your pay may rise once you get up to speed in your new industry.

I'd have thought you'd have a lot of skills & experience that would be useful to the new employer, maybe not 100k useful but well above new grad.

When I jumped industries I got a pay raise, but it also involved changing countries so it's difficult to make a fair comparison.

Good luck.

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

 

[EddyC]

They are using your lack of HVAC experience as an excuse to hire you at low cost. I'm sure that once you start working for them, they will expect you to immediately work with the rigor of someone who is fully experienced (ie...they won't cut you much, if any, slack). That has been my experience. I also think that a 40% drop in salary is too much.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I guess I disagree with the last few posters. 60k sounds like more than reasonable pay for a fresh college graduate going into the field, so for someone like you with no direct experience but plenty of other experience, it doesn't seem that bad to me. Taking the 40% cut would be difficult, but if it means you do something you enjoy, it's probably worth it in the long run.

 

[Norm01]

Thanks for the comments. I have only applied to two firms so I should probably investitage some of the others. The firm that made me the offer is one of the bigger companies that I have had experience with before. The partners that interviewed me are very nice and very professional (something that I'm not used to in my own company), but I was caught off gaurd with the offer. The offer letter does state "... it is probable that your previous experience will be called upon as well", so it seems you have a good point EddyC.

 

[ivymike]

I'd look at it as a 2yr developmental position - after 2yrs in that role (Assuming you can afford it), you would have experience to shop around if they didn't see fit to give you pay commensurate with your overall level of experience.

 

[ykee]

If the company does HVAC consulting(?), I'd seriously expect them to draw on your fire protection background. This means that you are bringing quite a bit of technical ability to the table. Not to mention other non-technical skills that you have. To me, I think a 40% reduction is way to much.

While you could expect a potential reduction, the questions is, will you be doing newbie technical work, or will you be doing more senior type work?

I think you are on the right track investigating other companies.

 

[EddyC]

Things to look out for are:

a) Does the company do the kind of HVAC work that will give you the experience to make a proper career out of it? Or are they a bottom feeder firm that does the garbage that no one else wants to do?

b) Are there folks already working there who have the skills that you seek to acquire? Are they willing to share them? Is the company willing to give them the opportunity (time) to share their skills?

c) Will you be given the opportunity to properly learn HVAC or will you be "an island" who is totally dependant on yourself & your own reources?

d) Bear in mind that many companies & leaders are great at making the kind of sales pitch that makes a lump of coal look like a diamond. They do this to both potential customers & potential employees. Reality sets in afterwards.

These are the kind of things that I would watch out for when contemplating a career change that requires me to take a significant pay cut. To some folks, these are self-evident, but I had to learn it the hard way.

 

[PJones]

Counter-offer at $80K. You don't get what you don't ask for.

 

[MechEng2005]

I think you are probably better qualified than a new grad, and should be compensated appropriately. As a fairly new engineer (circa 2005), I would say that the biggest thing that I didn't learn in school that I use in engineering is where and how to find information. In college, it was typically just given to you... There was no ambiguity to deal with or having to research, pester people, clarify, demand that customers nail down their part that you need to do your part, etc. Now I'm rambling though...

The point is, you have the experience for the METHOD of doing the job, which is a good portion of what a new grad lacks. If the hiring company doesn't see this, maybe negotiate a set date and amount for your first raise in 3-6 months. Prove your efficiency above that of a new grad, and demand the compensation.

Just my 2.0 +- 2.0 cents worth...

- MechEng2005

 

[Aconnell]

Hi Norm,

I worked as an aircraft structures engineer for about 3 years before changing industries to work in the engineering department at a chemical plant. The company gave me a higher salary without any prompting and although the two industries have pretty much nothing in common it didn't take me very long to become self sufficient (as others have said much of engineering is knowing where to find information and apply it). In your case fire protection probaly has more in common with HVAC, and as it is a consulting company your experience in fire protection would bring value to the company as your experience may allow them to expand into that field if they chose to. If it were me I would probably expect a salary close to my current salary but that would depend on the level of responsiblity.

Just my two cents as well

 

[GregLocock]

I switched from designing cars to designing underwater acoustic systems. My pay went up. Rather nicely, it also went up when I switched back.

I'd much rather have experienced engineer familair with the industry, but unfamiliar with the exact field, than a grad, and would expect to pay them the normal rate for the job. Any loss of efficiency in the first year should be negligible, assuming that there are other people around to question.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[gerhardl]

The truth for one market and one person is not always the truth for another.

1. Be prepared to take a (temporary) cut if you really want to change, and this is the only way, after checking the market further. ( I did not at an occasion and regretted later)

2. Consultancy always has some commercial aspects. Do the nice professionals expect you to negotiate on their offer, say 20% off the first year and reconsideration on the business you bring the company?

 

[Helicopterjunky]

Norm,

Professional Engineer with eight years engineering experience should not be at 60K in US. The 100K was probably overpaid. I like P.Jones recommendation. Ask for 80K and they either take it or leave it. You will not get it if you don't ask now or hope for it later on. And 60K will be your value to them! They will think this guy is easy and we got him sooo... cheap. Otherwise, after one year of probably doing everything from A-Z for the company it will be "you are doing such a great job" and here is your 3-4% increase.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Reading what everyone else has to say, I'll have to go back on my orginal post. 60k does sound low to me given your experience.

 

[csd72]

In senior engineering you tend to get paid for responsibility level rather than experience.

What experience level is the 60k equivalent to for a graduate?

Would you have the same level of responsibility as this graduate or more?

If you have more responsibility you should be paid more. You also have acquired many very important soft skills that the graduate would not have.

I would renegotiate for a better salary, meet them half way.

 

[lowedogg]

I would very clear on what your expectations are for the tasks you are going to be doing. Many consulting firms do fire protection within the mechanical department. If you are going to be doing fire protection you can definitely get more money considering your experience. If you are going to be running load calculations and laying out ductwork, 60k is not bad (depending on your locality). Are you going to be sealing drawings? This also makes a big difference.