Career Guidance / Training? 2

[tidytext]

I can't tell if I'm burnt out of engineering, unhappy with the stress and instability of R&D, or what. Any ideas where I can get career guidance? 12.5 years in, although about 5 years ago I switched from my low paying high skill R&D job to do what turned out to be glorified consulting, and in recent years my company has turned entirely crooked.

Not sure exactly how to best dig myself out of the hole or if there is a more promising career to transition to. I worked in defense so never got my FE, never worked for a PE. Lots of successful complex R&D projects and good work ethic, I have a much longer list of stuff I would have liked to learn, than I will ever have time in life. I am also seeing that in engineering, politics and sleaziness hold more bearing to career progression than skill development.

I suppose my question is: where do I get real advice? Are mechanical engineering and disciplines therein really as niche as it seems? What's a realistic path to get back on track (i.e. grad school, FE, just apply places, do my own personal projects, learn about optics, learn about electronics)?

Very lost in all this. My old job might hire me back but pretty sure they sheltered me from the politics via a "low salary in exchange for skill development and psychological safety" type arrangement. No one getting rich over there, and the higher the salary the bigger target on your back when layoffs happen.

 

[DriveMeNuts]

I was at the same point in my career until recently. I was a highly paid lead Requisition Engineer in London, who had a really good job where I had the opportunity to spend 50% of my time in R&D, and about a month a year at various corners of the globe at plant sites or workshops. But I got burnt out with Engineering and fed up with the politics. When my regional office decided to shift half of its capacity to cheaper India (which they regretted and later reversed), they offered anyone wanting to leave a massive redundancy package, and I took it. And I never't regretted it.
I took a couple of years off to consider other career options, but found that my interest in Engineering returned. Being a one-man consultancy lacks excitement, and running a business is stressful. Being a contractor was very high paid, but the work was boring. My first two jobs were for small companies doing exciting things, where it is less of a meat grinder. So I took an opportunity at a small company on 20% less pay. I enjoy it. But I have learnt from my mistakes of previously working for small companies. I now only do the absolute minimum socialising with staff, otherwise within two years, I will be part of the politics again. Also, learn your jobs boundaries. Every time someone asks you to do something, analyse whether it is part of your duty. Never do favours, or you will get sucked into the politics. Never take on any more work than what is required (A young Engineer has no choice about this).
Just do a four hour morning and afternoon shift, and then go home. Doing all of this enables me to focus more on my home life, rather than work politics. I now have a much better work-life balance.

 

[Gr8blu]

In my half-century of industrial and engineering experience, if you're seeing non-technical expertise and skill sets (not including basic ability to communicate ideas consistently and clearly) as the path to advancement then one of two things is happening. You're in the wrong company - or you're in the wrong industry (or, presumably, both at once). Job TITLES might look like niche opportunities (in any field, not just engineering) - but the reality is that most rely on the same basic background (i.e. engineering knowledge). Besides, being an experienced engineer, you should know enough about most things in your general field of interest to at least realize what you don't know - and where to go find the answers.

Sometimes there is a bit of "tribal" knowledge that never gets written down - often, this is a case of "it's how we do things because it WORKS!" ... and the ones who came up with solutions weren't engineers (or scientists, or mechanics, or ... etc.). To overcome this, just talk to those involved. They're (usually) happy enough to share the knowledge so that someone else can carry the torch into the future (hint - it's the old-timers that have the detailed knowledge and the experience).

As far as the steps to becoming a registered professional - not all places/employers require it. If you're interested in doing so - for YOURSELF - then do it. If not, not. (At 50 years in, I'm not a registered PE - but I AM an internationally-recognized subject matter expert in a number of related engineering fields).

My personal recommendation would be to not quit on the learning angle, though. There's always something else out there to investigate. And as my significant other (who teaches) keeps reminding me - learning is FUN! If it ever gets to be a chore, then MAYBE consider hanging up the textbooks and bench testing.

Converting energy to motion for more than half a century