Changing Engineering Discipline Resume Examples

[WYOPESE]

I am currently a licensed structural engineer with about 13 years of building design experience and 2 years in petro-chem structural design experience. I have all of the licenses, exams, etc. (with the exception of a California SE and a graduate degree) that you could ask for a structural engineer to have.

I was forced from buildings to petro-chem due to an unexpected invitation to explore other employment opportunities due to a downsizing resulting from a lack of work. It has been a blessing in disguise in that I was starting to get bored with buildings and I am having fun with the new challenges in petro-chem. So much so that I am in the process of going back to school to get a Chemical Engineering degree.

I've laid out a probable career path in my mind...process plant design manager with the ability to do both the structural/civil and chemical process design sides of the house. What I am lacking is an idea of how to lay this out in a coherent manner in a resume. Does anybody have an example or a lead to an example that I can take a look at?

Thanks for your help.

 

[racookpe1978]

Are you working now?

Don't bother re-writing a resume for a job you are not looking for an industry you are not yet in discussing qualifications and a degree you don't have yet.

Hint: Do NOT EVER AGAIN put in writing that you were "bored with" ordinary structural engineering in "boring" plain ole buildings! The guy (potentially) hiring you may just really enjoy buildings! But the other guy at the other end of the table may really like pipes, can't stand the chemicals that have to go in the pipes, but hate structural and supports and steel and concrete that are needed to hold up the pipes. Emphasize your combined experience, your cross-discipline skills.

Get PM and field management experience during outages and shutdowns and startups.

 

[WYOPESE]

Racookpe,

Sorry I confused you with my question. My intent is to use my "revised resume" as a roadmap for my studies. I really wasn't intending to rush out and look for a job next week. I still have the resume which I used to get my current job if I need to get a new job before I complete my education goals.

As far as the "bored" comment goes, please do me the favor of assuming that I have enough intelligence not to actually say that in a resume and/or job interview. I have a firm grasp of the concept of that work which challenges me intellectually may or may not be the same as work which pays the bills.

 

[CELinOttawa]

Wyopese: Easy there... We see all kinds around here, and racookpe1973 was just trying to help.

 

[GHartmann]

You may be better served trying to get into the construction side of petro-chem as a project engineer (in training for project manager). You may want to consider PMP type courses from a certified provider.

I hate to say it but your MS ChE degree won't offer much to an employer without some experience in ChE design or plant operational activities. Thus you may need to spend another 5 - 6 years gaining relevant ChE experience. Not sure if that's the career path you have in mind.

The modern companies of today are very interested in a candidate's experience with various software (process modeling, pipe flow calculations, heat exchanger sizing, project scheduling, etc). You will have to indicate you have that type of experience. (OOPs I almost forgot: structural load calculations)

That's not to say you can't do it. However, my personal experience and opinion is that a CE and ChE are pretty far apart in areas of expertise and it would be difficult to excel at both.

I would explore the various job boards to see what type of petrochem careers there are out there. Relate those to your own personal experience and determine if that's the path your want to pursue.