Getting the hang of things

[nise56]

I started working about half a year ago straight out of college. I feel as though I should already have "the hang of things" but I don't. It's frustrating not really being sure if I am doing my work correctly and feeling like I didn't learn a lot from school. I ask a lot of questions however it's hard to get a hold of somebody since we are shortstaffed. I understand everyone is different and you can't really put time on it, but how long did it take some of you to get used to your first job?

 

[prohammy]

'but how long did it take some of you to get used to your first job?'

That is usually the point in time when you decide its time to move on to your next job

Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Lets see - I have been in engineering since 1973.... Still getting the hang of it....

After your first 12 months - you should feel mildly comfortable and be able to handle say 80-90% of the work assuming that it is a bit repetitive.

You will spend the rest of your life figuring out the last 10%....there is ALWAYS something new and that's what makes Engineering fun and interesting.!!!

You are probably doing just fine -- hang in there - be inquisitive and have fun!!!

Good Luck!!

 

[SnTMan]

nise56, I've been in my field for 14 yrs, and am still trying the get the "hang of things". Don't mean to be discouraging but there is just lots to learn even in lo-tech industries.

Serioulsy, I believe it was about a year of largely "OJ Self-T" before I started to have some confidence in the things I did all the time. Then something different would come up.

School is about fundamentals which will serve all your life, not about training for industry, but that's another rant.

Hang in there, you're doing the right things.

Regards,

Mike

 

[ScottyUK]

I've been at my current site for nearly nine years. There still bits of the plant which I don't know much about, a fair few things that I can barely identify let alone explain how they work, and whole systems which I have only a cursory knowledge of. The more I learn the more I realise how much I won't have time to learn, not this lifetime anyway. Don't worry about it - be good at what you do, and try to learn a little bit more each day. You'll never learn everything - and if you think you have learned everything then you are deluding yourself, or you have become a manager!


----------------------------------

Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

 

[ttuterry]

nise56, I am pretty much in the same situation as you. I have been at my job for about half a year as well straight out of college. I know how it can be trying to get help from people. At my company I am the ONLY civil engineer so nobody can really answer my questions, so it's hard to know if i am doing things right. One thing that I do is read my textbooks from college. I would say that if you like your job, then try to stick it out and keep trying to ask questions. If they won't answer your questions then it really doesn't benefit you in your development as an engineer and it may be time to look elsewhere for employment...That's what I'm doing.

 

[MadMango]

Ask all the questions you want, but never ask the same question twice. If you are truly worried about your performance, talk with your supervisor.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[nise56]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I know right now I am overwhelmed with all the new information and things I am learning. I want to meet my supervisors expectations and since I feel confused most of the time it feels like I am letting them down. This website will be a good source of information.

 

[IRstuff]

I can tell you that one particular aspect of my job took nearly 10 years to really understand.

Just think, back then, I couldn't even spell anjinear, now I r 1!!

TTFN

 

[MechanicalChef]

In the 9 months I've been working since graduation, I'm comfortable with the atmosphere, and what's expected of me. Ans I'm comfortable with the fact I won't know as much about everything we do, since most of my coworkers have been doing it for 20+ years. Also, I routinely tell myself, "I don't know a lot. Just enough to be dangerous."

 

[GregLocock]

I was a sponsored student, so I had one year before uni, and a year after, and 2 months a year during, of placements in different parts of the company (although something like 8-12 months of that was in the section I ended up in). So that company obviously thought that it was worth spending a couple of years of training. I doubt I did much that was useful to anyone else in the first year, at least.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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

 

[kat6787]

If you're worried about your supervisor's expectations than you should ask him/her how you are doing so far. I'm in a similar situation as you with only about 7 months of eperience in my current field and I sat down with my supervisor at the 6 month mark to make sure I was on the right track with my progress. There is so much to learn in any engineering field and nobody can expect you to understand all of it within 6 months of graduating.

At this point I'm not even doing what I went to college for so I'm completely lost most of the time, but I'm loving every minute of it because I'm basically getting paid to learn a new segment of the industry. Get used to asking questions and be prepared to do a lot of research on your own. If you can show that you did some of your own research before you asked somebody for the answer people will be a lot more willing to answer your questions (or at least point you in the right direction to find the answer).

Good luck and remember that you are not alone in feeling lost, I've been lost ever since I walked across the stage at graduation.

Cheers,
Kat

One after thought, you might look into joining a couple professional societies. Most of the ones I belong to have young member networks that are great resources for both technical information and also career questions like this.

 

[nise56]

It's been hard because I get bombarded with questions nonstop and I only have one other person to get help from. Of course he is always busy. But I sat down with some of the other department leads and explained to them that I am new to the industry and that it takes me longer to respond to some of their questions, as I don't know all the codes and requirements off the top of my head, but I will give them info as soon as possible.
I honestly don't expect to get babied but when they hired me they knew I was recent grad so sometimes it would be nice to have a little more guidance. I guess it doesn't make it easier when we are shortstaffed by about 5. I'm hanging in there.

 

[STYMIEDPIPER]

Higher education does not teach the individual to be a 'know all' in a particular technical field.
Higher education teaches the student how to think problems thru and how and where to find the technical infornmation that is necessary to respond to the situation at hand.
The expertise that you desire will eventually sink in thu osmosis over a period of time by routinely performing your job duties.

 

[SomptingGuy]

A slight digression perhaps, but the "Eureka moment" for me came when I realised that there I wasn't doing coursework, this was the real thing and there weren't any textbook answers. Plus of course colleagues a generation or two older than me suddenly had first names and weren't always right. I guess the words I'm looking for are "Self Confidence".