Entry level Materials / metallurgist seeking career advice

[lkrzyzan]

Hi all,

Background: BS MSE from good school but middling to low GPA (motivational issues caused by a lack of clear direction). Still managed to take a few grad classes.

Worked for hedge fund for 6 months to see what it was like. Last 9 months at ferrous foundry as QA Metallurgist.

I know how hard it is to get that first job after hunting through 2010-2011, especially since I'm not in traditional steel country. I currently assure appropriate chemistry for heats, inspect foundry sand, use LP NDT to inspect castings, modify heat treatment to meet specs, do shipping/receiving and occasionally grind. I'm looking to get NDT and ISO auditor certifications and learn how to weld in the next year. It's pretty hands on.

Family owned place. Good people. But I feel like I'm not getting enough mentorship and really don't see much beyond another year. I really like the science but I'm not sure if switching to another industry is viable without going back for a Masters with a research focus on something. I need some advice on how to proceed.

Thanks

 

[moon161]

Working hard at what you really want to do will always be easier than the alternative. If you enjoy a particular aspect of your job, get better at it, and find out where it's done more. Be prepared for the grass not to be greener on the other side.

It's a bit hard to condemn anything that doesn't involve clubbing baby seals or rampant nonstop stupidity, after < 1 year. Just out of school, I'd expect to be some form of (CAD, spreadsheet, data collection, qa, time study, etc.) waterboy for a while.

Unless it's a formal program like GE's new engineer training, good, ban or indifferent mentoring comes down to chance. At it's best and worst it's more personal than other on the job relationships.

 

[bigTomHanks]

Sounds like you are getting some good experience there and when you reach a point where you are no longer learning or realize the need to go back to school to advance, you will know. Unfortunately at smaller companies the smaller scope of the product and lack of more experienced engineers lends itself to the situation you are in. This is why smaller places are revolving doors a lot of times. I'm assuming you are young so I encourage you to back off worked a little and explore your life outside of work. It's those experiences that will enable you to become well balanced and effective in any position you hold.

 

[lkrzyzan]

Thanks all for advice so far.

I am still learning but have to do it myself. ie: why did a customer order 347 vs 316L for an application despite almost identical chemistry: extra Nb forms carbides increasing metallurgical stability at elevated temperatures instead of sensitization at austenitic grain boundaries thus preserving corrosion resistance. No one is there to really guide this process.

Often when determining heat treatment or chemistry modification within spec, I research prior work but find I don't have to do any math. After slugging through diff eq and stats in school I feel like I'm losing it by not using it (thank you to KhanAcademy and TTC I have a refresher every once in a while). Despite QA role there is no Lean, six-sigma or any similiar training/application. I was able to create a model of parameters for foundry sand grain finess and am currently trying to correlate physical properties to chemistry and heat treatment. However, my boss thinks this is unnecessary. Perhaps it isn't but I have a need to do something more ambitious than just inspecting for shrinkage, porosity and dimensions. After stats project (and I don't have Minitab) I want to self-teach myself gating and risering (finally some math!). There is no CAD work and though they mentioned getting Magmasoft, nothing so far and no plans that I know of.

I'm sorry for whining but I don't want to pigeon-hole myself into this role and would like to do more interesting things, at least involving math or some advanced metrology. I went to a major research university and saw carban nanotubes on lithium iron phospate cathodic materials on a SEM during a categorization study. However, any job that seems to do the same seems to require a Masters and five years experience at the very least. If I stay here I'll get the wrong 5 years of experience. If I go back to school thats just more debt and postponement of marriage and house. Damned either way. Thats my dilema.

Frustrated.

 

[metengr]

Go to Graduate school or look for another job.

 

[stanweld]

First, you have not pigeon-holed yourself with so little experience. I would advise seeking other employment, possibly with one of the major oil-field equipment manufacturers for added experience. If research in the areas stated is still your ken, go to graduate school.

 

[lkrzyzan]

Thanks to all again.

I have been looking for a job and am considering moving back to steel country to be closer to alma mater and finish taking Masters classes.

In the meantime what kind of qualifications are useful for a career in Metallurgy / Materials Science / Engineering Management / Research, etc? I was looking into PE Metallurgy but from what I've read I could use more practical experience. I think DOE, Lean, Pareto analysis wouldn't be a bad idea but I'm not sure what kind of qualifications companies look for in metallurgists / materials scientists/engineers other then the prerequisite 5 years of experience. NDT? Machining? Solidification Modeling?

I definitely want more stats related stuff but in the realm of the science I don't know where to go and what experience to be looking for specifically. I've been doing heat treatment adjustments and chemistry modifications to meet physicals. Through all this I've been getting some sense of the alloys. Are there any software tools specific to the field I should get familiar with? Or let me ask this of a metallurgist: How do you do your job of meeting specifications, lets say just physicals?

Again thank you all for posting responses. Obviously I'm in need to a little advice and some idea of career path.

 

[stanweld]

Ikrzyzan,
The best initial experience for me was in a fully integrated steel mill, where I was exposed to all facets of steel manufacturing, the metallurgical quality controls thereof (including NDE), and failure analysis. I received excellent mentorship and was able to provide metallurgical solutions to achieve desired mechanical properties in R & D projects assigned to me.

After moving to a major EPC firm, I also received excellent mentorship in welding and materials selection in a number of industries, from nuclear fuels reprocessing to petrochemical, power and metallurgical processing industries.

I had excellent mentors during my first 5 years; unfortunately, in today's corporate environments, you may not have the same opportunities. Make the most of the experiences that you have had and will have.

Each company employing Metallurgists/Materials Engineers has its own needs; EPC firms, Petrochemical and Power Industries, heavy equipment manufacturers, aerospace companies, electronic and semiconductor manufacturers, biomaterials, etc. Some need corrosion specialists, some need mechanical metallurgy/welding specialists, some need coating specialists, some want an individual with all of the above.

Good luck!

 

[EngineerDave]

I am/was a materials engineer, was in the field heavily for about 7 years and obtained a PE etc.

I always felt like there were 3 main types of jobs in materials engineering.

One at a company that makes a raw material (as in your case the materials manufacturer).

One that makes some type of consumer product. Most notably for us automotive companies, aerospace etc.

One at a independent test lab.

I never worked at a raw material manufacturer, but have worked for automotive companies, biomedical companies and independent test labs.

The test lab job at times could be the most interesting because you can see a variety of products. Unfortunately unless you own the lab, it tended to pay the least.

The product company in my case automotive, is probably the best, but it helps to be very interested in the product you are manufacturing. I've never been a car guy, I'm an A to B get there car guy, so I just couldn't maintain my enthusiasm for long enough, but it was a great relatively stable job with lots of travel.

Which brings me to my working in healthcare now. I actually want to work at a biomedical instrument manufacturer, found it tough to find a job, so I'm in a new career, which i won't specify only because it is so rare and specific I figure my bosses could find my critical threads one day!

I'd say go product side, and one thing I really enjoyed was a series of classes in finite element engineering that I took. I really wished i had the chance to use that in my job, it looked like I had an opportunity but alas the opening didn't materialize in the group I hoped to work in

 

[Metalhead97]

Ikrzyzan,

The best job I had was in a so-called "raw materials" manufacture. You get the full materials engineering experience. I have always preferred companies like Alcoa, Carpenter or US Steel where everything depends on materials engineering. In the design houses like GM, UTC, or GE 95% of the materials engineering jobs are in support functions like failure analysis, selection, and specification call-outs. It all depends on what makes you happy.

MH