Graduate Mechanical Engineer - Need career advice and job hunting tips 1

[Dacheeky]

Hello,

I just graduated in July 2009 as a Mechanical Engineer in Australia and have 6 months work internship experience within a large manufacturing company but I am looking to join a design consulting firm.

Recruiting season for most companies down here is from Feb/March until May/June every year so job prospects especially for graduates is pretty scarce at the moment.

After graduating I realise that the job scope of Mechanical Engineers are not as well defined as lets say Civil or Chemical Engineers who enjoy a much better job prospect especially down here in Australia.

I am looking for advice on how best to position myself for a job in an engineering consulting firm specialising in HVAC building services, Oil & Gas or Project advisory.

What would you suggest will be the best skills to acquire and master so that I will be of value and will be able to contribute immediately upon employment?

Thanks,

 

[MartinSr00]

Coming out of school, it can be hard to position yourself -- new grads, almost by definition, have little experience.

Why consulting? The problem with consultants can be shared ignorance. Often consulting firms are euphemisms for contract work. Think about it, why would someone want to hire a new grad to obtain expertise? The material I see coming from consulting firms is, at best, OK. Yes, there's talent there, but will that talent inform you so that your career can grow?

Why not work for equipment or equipment system suppliers? Especially in Oil and Gas there must be many. Then with "real-world" experience, you can join a consultant later and have "street cred".

Just a thought.

 

[swertel]

I would have to agree. A consulting position is NOT the best place for a new grad to get his feet wet. Find a job in an industry you enjoy and start grinding away.

If you really feel that consulting is where you will be happiest, try to find the initial jobs that make you travel or put you in the field - face to face with the customer. Get your name out there!

--Scott

http://wertel.eng.pro

 

[Niwot]

If you are based in Australia, I would strongly recommend looking into the CBM (Coal Bed Methane) Industry. They are punching thousands of wells a month there and I would think that there are opportunities at many levels. I am based in the US, but I have taken several trips to Australia over the past year working on CBM projects. In addition, Australia companies are increasing their customer base to include China, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Asia in general. There aren't many "hot" markets now, but CBM, especially in Australia is one of them. Good Luck!

Jake

 

[ScottyUK]

Parsons Brinkerhoff in Aus seem to take in a reasonable number of good grads: we used to get them showing up in the UK offices from time to time. Some smart kids among them, but not sure how many were raw grads when they joined the company. These days I can't tell 20 from 25 from 30 anymore.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[KENAT]

I have to agree with those that doubt that starting out at a consultant is the best idea. Generally firms contract a consultant to get some expertise they don't have (enough of) in house. As a new grad what 'expertise’ do you have that every other mechanical engineer with a bachelors wont have?

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[Electic]

Best skills to aquire would be to clearly understand what the boss or customer is asking for and do it. That is one of the biggest challenges of Consulting, and it is surprising how often an engineer will decide to solve something the customer didn't ask for.

I've just had to terminate work with another very smart and deeply experienced colleague because he could not read and understand our work scope and started doing much work that we would not get compensated for.

 

[EngAddict]

I disagree with what most people have written, I am a graduate engineer in Australia working for an engineering consultancy specialising in oil and gas.

At the larger companies you get stuck on a rotation and learn very little. At consultancies there are some very smart people who are experts in their fields so you learn from the best. Generally they are smaller companies so you get to have much more experience over different areas. You get to perform more technical engineering work that generally you wont get even in design departments of larger companies.

Someone said they look to recruit people who are experts, which is true, especially if they are expanding into new areas, but they also take on graduates every year.
Some I know of don't advertise but have positions vacant on their website. This is because they want people who genuinely want to work in that field, are familiar with the company and its produce.

These companies all specialise, so narrow it down to what you want to do and give them a call. Learn CAD, all engineers should know how to use 3D modelling packages. At smaller companies you may spend some time drafting when they are busy, or it can come in handy when you don't have to log time with a drafting department just so you can proceed with your engineering work. Also most of them use FEA and CFD which is fully integrated with all major CAD packages. I spend a lot of time modelling for my FEA work and this gives me an edge over older engineers who cant use the programs.
Having a design background definitely game me the edge when I rang to see if a position was available. They weren't going to take anyone on but we spoke on the phone, got a call in for an interview and I started two days later.

All that said there are some good larger companies, like PB as someone mentioned, they have a very good PDP program. The only down side is you will have to wait till about march/april to apply. Have a look around though because some of the big companies do two intakes a year, or additional intakes when work picks up or they have too many people leave. You can always take a design job until they open for applicants and that will give you experience none of the other fresh grads have.

Small companies are always hiring though, I know some that can't find people, just give 'em a call.

Bit of a ramble but hope it helps ya.

 

[PeterStock]

Check and see if Solidworks is still offering an educational license to engineers out of work. If not try Alibre, they have a free trial period. Not the most widely used CAD, but it will help you understand the concepts.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net