design qualification

[landrover77]

I wondered if soemone could provide a spot of guidance.

I'm looking to develop my career in the direction of pressure vessel design. The company (UK) i currently work for has a need for vessels which are currently out-sourced, whilst i also see the skill as an internationally transferable skill.

I have a copy of of PD5500, kinding denoted and have skimmed through this, i also have some example calculations, which i have run through.

What is the best method to enhance my experience and how do i go about getting a reconginsed qualifcation / experinece, not having a expetise withiin my current company is quite a barrier.

How do i get to stage at which i am able to carryout vessel design within the workplace?

Has anybody any thought on the course run by IMECHE in the UK?

As a note I have a Masters in mechanical engineering and have be designing bespoke cast iron pressure machinery for some time, via ANSYS.

Many Thanks

 

[adamuk]

Strathclyde University do a pretty good vessels design course. It's mainly for PD5500 and we have sent some of our younger engineers on it and their feedback has been favourable.

Adam Potter MEng CEng MIMechE

http://www.ax-ea.co.uk

 

[MJCronin]

Creedo...

Rethink your "career in the direction of pressure vessel design".

Undoubtedly, your appeciation of this mature technology would utilize your engineering, scientific and math skills. It is an attractive path for many young engineers who want to see applied solid mechanics turned into heavy metal.

Resist that urge.......look eleswhere....

An engineering carrer in this particular field will pull your lifetime wages down into third world levels. You will be competeing for work that always can and should be outsourced. If you try to stay in the western world you will somehow be sucked into jobs where you must quickly evaluate cracked and broken 50 -60 year old equipment and stake your PE on the outcome. Worst of all, you will always be working for an MBA of one kind or another.....

A few of my analyst friends here in Pennsylvania with 20+ years experience and Masters degrees have recently been discharged from ANSYS. Thier final job at work..???

Why, it was to instruct thier replacements in India on the subtleties of pressure vessel modeling using the latest ANSYS solids modeller.....These replacements will be paid US$6.25 per hour....

Read the tea leaves, my friend...

Keep us informed of your decision

-MJC

 

[C2it]

MJC's advice is good. Have you considered a career in pipe stress analysis ?

 

[landrover77]

Cheers for your comments,

MJC - its a fairly bleak picture you paint. I had heard rumours that the larger petrochem companies were outsourcing some of the simplier structural design to india, it appears that your suggesting the vessel design is following.

Can i ask C2it what is it about pipe stress analysis that protects it from moving to india?

Finally despite the bleak picture are there an positive comments suggestion anybody has, should i forge ahead regardless?

 

[adamuk]

Depends on what you want to do:

Straight vessels design for new build'll just get farmed out to India and it's a race to the bottom.

If you do fitness for service type work then there's a better chance you'll be able to get a better salary as half the job is going out and looking at the problem on site and coming up with some solutions.

Engineering's never been the career for big salaries. Anything that's nation-specific e.g. health care, lawyers, accountants which can't easily be turfed out to someone on peanuts has always been better salaried. I even know PhD chemists in R&D (really clever guys indeed) be made redundant when the multinational moved the labs to India.

Get a job in the city siphoning money from pension funds... that's the way to easy money. Just leave your soul on the doorstep on the way in ;-)

Adam Potter MEng CEng MIMechE

http://www.ax-ea.co.uk

 

[adamuk]

Pipe stressing's just as vulnerable to outsourcing too... especially for new build - often once the front end engineering definition is done, the iso-bashing (and stress analysis) goes offshore.

Adam Potter MEng CEng MIMechE

http://www.ax-ea.co.uk

 

[vesselfab]

And China now has it's own AIA for ASME vessel fabrication work.

I'm glad i retire in a few years before the yellow peril really gets up & going

 

[SnTMan]

Unfortunately, I don't see any obvious place for it to stop.

What probably won't get much offshored is service/maintenance/repair work. It has to be done where the equipement is.

Regards,

Mike

 

[landrover77]

cheers once again:

Just wondered what is the best method to enhance my experience and how do i go about getting a reconginsed qualifcation / experinece,

Not having a expetise within my current company is quite a barrier.

How do i get to stage at which i am able to carryout vessel design within the workplace?

 

[SnTMan]

creed12, the best way is to do design. Take your examples, go over them, comparing to the code of construction, until you understand them. If you have the software available re-run the designs. The more you can get, the better. You will need someone to answer your questions. Any training you can take should fill the mentoring role that apparently does not exist at your company. Otherwise membership in a professional organization might meet that need.

Make up your own designs.

Regards,

Mike

 

[adamuk]

Maybe it's time to look for another job. If you are keen and it's what you want to do then someone'll take you on. You might have to take a drop in salary down to something like graduate level pay as the company pays for your training and development but if you have the 'right stuff' you'll soon be earning more. Attitude is more important than intelligence in the workplace. When I worked for a multinational we often found graduates and PhDs who thought the world owed them a living.

Good luck!

Adam Potter MEng CEng MIMechE

http://www.ax-ea.co.uk

 

[SnTMan]

Maybe your company would like to bring the work in-house, and would support your efforts. Might check it out.

Regards,

Mike

 

[GenB]

One day you may excel in the PV arena and get the big bucks. learn learn and learn. A Master in Eng... not a bad start.
good luck.