How to advance in a career as mechanical engineer 1

[lonecrusader]

Hi guys!
I am a mechanical engineer with a MS degree in mechanical engineering from a hign ranking university. When i graduated in 2003 the economy was bad and it took me 3-4 months to find a job after graduation. The work required a BS degree competence and I readily agreed to work for the same.. as I thought it would pay some money for my loans and also my survival. Now it is almost 2 years in the company.
The company is a small company with 60 odd employees and people in the company are ok to work with. But I feel frustrated now.. as the owner of the company hired me for a far below market rate seeing that i needed a job desperately and also did not raise my salary even after about 2 year's work. He never had problems with my work.. although we all make mistakes at work and so did i but i have quickly learnt and have been producing results at what all work i was given. I have been learning new stuff so that I can increase my skill set too.
Now i hear that economy is improving and ppl are getting good offers and so i want to move on.. but the problem is I am not at all getting even interviews with any company. I have been trying for interviews for almost 3-4 months but to my luck not even interview calls are coming leave alone job offer.
I just feel so frustrated and lost... with my current employer paying me far less than market average (technically exploiting my situation) and no job satisfaction (as i believe I can deliver far more than what I m doing right now).
It will be great if any of you can give me some insight what i shud b doing. I just want to get out of this mess as soon as possible. I think I can work day and night for any company only if they treat me for the worth i m... not just use my situation.
Thanks in advance
cheers
Lonecrusader

 

[GregLocock]

If you aren't getting to interviews then

1) Your resume may be wrong

2) Your covering letter may be wrong

3) You are applying for the wrong jobs

Off hand, I can't think of any other possibilities.



Cheers

Greg Locock

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

 

[CRG]

lonecrusader,

Having a MS degree vs BS degree is of little value for most consulting engineering firms. I am not sure how a MS degree can make you a better engineer unless you are working on cutting edge designs in your field of study and you are significantly smarter than most of your peers.

A few questions:

How does your MS degree make you more effective at your job?

What type of engineering firm do you work for?

What are your current responsibilities?

What was your starting wage 2 years ago? (I recognize that you may not want to discuss your salary; however you brought it up and the number is germane to your question.)

 

[Maui]

I can appreciate your circumstances because I am in a similar situation. My advice to you is this: network. More jobs are obtained through personal connections than just about any other method. You should belong to a professional society such as ASME, MRS, TMS, ASM International, etc. Go to the local meetings and get to know the professionals in your field. Use these contacts to search for your next position. Another way to do this is through former college classmates. If there are any jobs fairs within driving distance, you may find them productive. I recently landed an interview this way. By methodically approaching this problem you will eventually succeed in finding your next job.

I have a PhD in Materials Science, and recently earned my PE license. The phrase "overqualified" has become the standard response from most HR departments when they receive my application (if they bother to send a reply at all). It is very discouraging to see the lack of opportunity that there actually is out there for materials and mechanical engineers, given the pickup in the economy. Eventually I may start my own business, and am learning the ropes in terms of putting together a viable business plan. If companies don't express an interest in me, I now have the option of starting a business myself. I wish you good luck.

Maui

 

[EddyC]

I've been in your situation in the past and am now in it again. What I've done is get additional credentials to boost my value. Over the years, I've taken software classes, gotten additional PE licenses in other states and have taken home study courses. My current employer doesn't value all of these, but someone will. I'm in a similar situation to you where I'm underpaid and underutilized. Its a bad feeling, but remember that not all employers try to exploit workers. Its usually give & take with most employers, but with some its just take. Good Luck with your search.

 

[lonecrusader]

Hi Greg Locock,
Thanks for pointing out some of the things probably wrong with me and I agree they can be main reasons. I have tried many ppl to go over my resume and they say its ok.. some suggest write experience on first page some say write skills on first page. some say dont write objective some say write it.. neways I agree its personal choice. Neways I am also looking into my resume and cover letter. Thanks for the advice though

Hi Crg
I agree to what you point out as how a MS degree makes me a better engineer than a BS degree. To my understanding, a degree of higher level does/shud make a difference otherwise to put it, simply why is there a need of advanced degree anyways. more over doing MS does give u an insight as to how to approach a problem in a structured way and reserach solutions which might be out there. we dont have to reinvent the wheel. I totally agree a BS guy who has worked for 3-4 years is better than a fresh MS guy bcoz he has real life experience, but i still believe a BS guy with 1-2 years of experience does lack somewhere to a MS guy( just my personal opinion)
and more over we are not discussing who is better a MS guy or BS guy both are engineers and a person who can perform well in the job is the real engineer be it any degree.
Also as u have raised the issue of salary i think around 30K for an engineer anywhere in USA is far below avg. My employer works in an area which according to industry experts is going to be a hot field in 3-4 years. its fuel cells research.
Cheers

Hi Maui and EddyC
Thanks guys for sharing your situation too. I know it is really very frustrating right now... when u r underpaid and underutilized. But we have to do something. I have tried to contact many ppl past alums from my univ ppl I know but some how it seems everytime i run into a wall. I try my level best to be as positive as possible. But gradually i m starting to loose it also. I know its wrong but what can i do.. I know I can perform but some how that opportunity is not just showing up and I keep hitting a dead end.
Guys can u just share like what all things u guys are learning to increase ur chances. i learnt pro/e n m trying heat exchanger designs.
cheers
lonecrusader

 

[MikeHalloran]

I hope U R not using that Chatroom Shortcut grammar and vocabulary in important correspondence.

It sounds like your resume needs a tuneup. There is such a career as a Certified Professional Resume Writer, who specializes in translating a complete and coherent English document into a short PR piece in the strange third party pidgin language that HR weenies think they can read. If it nets you a job, it's probably worth the money.

You can get uncertified help for free at your local unemployment office, and at places like Compuserve's Career Management Forum, and maybe at wherever the 'jobs' button on this Forum takes you. (I just found it yesterday, so I'm not familiar with what goes on there. I hang out on Compuserve a lot. Okay, too much.)




Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[MedicineEng]

CRG hit the point. NETWORK.
You can be the best of the world, but if nobody knows you, you are nothing.
Besides CRG suggestions, you can also look for virtual networking, like

http://www.linkedin.com

Godd luck.
PR

 

[HVAC68]

I have landed in all my last 5 jobs (except the 1st one I joined as a fresh graduate trainee) only through networking.


HVAC68

 

[PSE]

I would echo GregLocock's post and add taking a look at polishing your interviewing and presentation skills. Your cover letter will be at least as important as your resume'. It will be looked at before your resume' is. I have seen resume's go directly to the trash bin (not even looked at), because the reader was not impressed enough with the cover letter to bother with the resume'. You can also try picking a few firms in your area and knocking on doors. Actual "face time" even with HR managers can be invaluable.

Regards,

 

[waskillywabbit]

Network - getting a job isn't who you are, so much as it is who you know.

Got my current job because my mother happened to be having a casual chat at work with one of her co-workers...this co-worker is the wife of my now boss. The world gets smaller everyday...

Good luck!

Brian

http://www.mcabeeconstruction.com

Opinions expressed are my own and are not those of the company.

 

[lonecrusader]

Hi
I appreciate the responses given by you all. I am not dumb enough to use the chat lingo and grammar for my resume and cover letter. Anyways coming back to the valuable suggestion of networking. Some one posted the link for one of the sites. I will surely look into it and thanks a lot for the information. Right now any thing and everything that can help me land up with a job is good for me.
Regarding the cover letter and stuff. Right now I visit the websites of individual companies draft a caover letter for them and then either email them my resume and cover letter if email address is given or apply online if they have an online application.
So that leaves me with the question do I need to send my cover letter and resume through mail or through fax too..
your replies are highly appreciated. I am grateful to all of you who have taken time out from your schedule to post replies to my queries
Thankyou once again
Lonecrusader

 

[That1Guy]

I had an interviewer once tell me that he gave high preference to those resume's that he received on nice paper through the mail. He said that showed a sincere desire to work for the company, as it takes a little effort to do, versus the effort involved in emailing. I personally am not sure where I sit on the topic, but any advantage you can get is good.

NewSouthernPE

 

[lonecrusader]

Hi PauloRibeiro
The web address u suggested looks promising tonight when I get back from work I will explore it further. I really appreciate you for sharing this info with me. I am truly thankful to you
Thanks
Lonecrusader

 

[jpankask]

Having just changed jobs myself, I can tell you that personal contact with the potential employer is very important. My new boss has told me he was very impressed that I took the time to call him every 7-10 days to check on the position. I know that sometimes it is very difficult to get the name or number of where to MAIL your resume and CALL but someone will take notice that you put in that extra effort to find out the information. It may just be the thing that gets your foot in the door. Try to find out who is the hiring manager and get a letter to them as well as HR-you will stand out from the crowd. While I was job-searching, I read a statistic that you will send out 100 resumes before you get a response-and that response may be NO. Keep at it and take any advantage you can to get your name noticed.

Also, I noticed somewhere up above you said something about putting something on the first page of your resume. Unless you are very special and highly educated, your resume should be no more than one page in length. I have had managers tell me in the past that cover pages or resumes that are more than one page each get filed in the in the round file cabinet (trash) right away because they don't need to waste time reading that much stuff about an applicant.

One other thing to consider is that no matter where you are located, there are undoubtedly several engineering recruiters (headhunters) in your area. Contact them, it shouldn't cost you anything because the companies they find positions for pay them. If nothing else, it gets your resume into the hands of someone who sees resumes all the time, you may get some good tips on polishing up your resume and cover letter. Good luck!

 

[lonecrusader]

HI jpankask
Thanks for sharing your success story. and yea congratulations for pulling a new job. Now the thing is I had an interview with a company through one of my contacts and it has been more than 2 weeks since I have heard back from them. The thing is the job required about 3 years of exp but with a BSME. and I have a MSME with about 1.5 years of exp.
Till now I was of opinion that contacts do help in getting job and no reply from this company is the last thing that has broken me.. first of all as I said I was not getting interview calls on my own and now that I got a call through contacts (actually working with the hiring manager) and still nothing working out.. It surely is not very good sign. But anyways I will try to see what I can do. your suggestion is great I did pass on my resume to couple of head hunters in my area but never heard back from them... I know job search is a full time job but I dont want to screw my present job (how ever unsatisfied I am.. after all it gives me money ... which at the end pays my bills).
Any suggestions or comments about the interview which I had will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Lonecrusader

 

[CRG]

Lonecrusader, I never intended to imply that having a MS degree verses a BS degree makes you a better engineer. I intended that my statement was to be conditional in that it is only an advantage if you are working on cutting edge technologies and you are exceptionally smart. I can assure you that having continued your education past a BS degree has made you no smarter; however, it might have made you more mature.

You stated that, “Till now I was of opinion that contacts do help in getting job and no reply from this company is the last thing that has broken me,” you came to this conclusion because you did not get a positive response for a job that required more experience than you have??? For most engineering jobs, a person with a BS degree and more experience is of greater value than someone with a MS degree with less experience. You ended your last post with, “Any suggestions or comments about the interview which I had will be greatly appreciated.” What can anybody say about your interview without specific information? I can say that it seems you are highly excitable and tend to overreact.

My recommendations:

Make a plan stating what type of engineering work you would like to pursue. Be specific. Then make a list of things that you can do to make you more valuable to a potential employer. Value meaning how you can make money for a potential employer the day he hires you. Spend half you spare time working on the things you have listed. If you are sincere, it will change the way you construct your cover letter and resume when you apply for a job. It will also show in your interview. The next time you feel broken, work harder at becoming the type of engineer someone wants to hire (you will have your list to tell you what to do). Note that this has worked for me yielding better results than I could have ever imagined after I graduated.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Okay, you were a little light on the stated qualifications.

No word in a while usually means you didn't get it, but it often means that you're just not at the top of the list, so don't assume all is lost ... and don't stop looking elsewhere.

You can debrief yourself after an interview. It may help to do it in writing. So, speak (and record) or type a narrative of the interview, while it's fresh in your mind. Include names and times and every detail you can possibly remember. You'll remember more during the process. When you've run out of things to say, review the narrative. Look for inflection points; places where the nature of the conversation changed.

One that's a good sign is if they stop asking you to sell yourself, and they start selling you on the benefits of being there.

If, on the other hand, the interview tanks, and they start talking about the difficulty of getting good help, and how long their decision process is, and saying "Don't call us.", take specific notice of what you did or said immediately prior to that. Whatever it was, don't do it again.






Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[knji]

lonecrusader, also do not forget to look at the bright side. You are employed, albeit underpaid. This alone may take some desperation (if any) out of your cover letters.

 

[CRG]

About the rejection thing, you can never tell who actually got the job. I quit my first engineering job after 8 months. The first job interview after that did not yield a job. My next interview landed me a position. 6 months later the interview that did not land me a job did yield a different job offer; however, I turned them down because I already had a job. 4 years later the same folks called to see if I was interested in working for them. I told them that I could only commute to their office 2 days a week and would work the rest of the week out of my house. I had my PE and was self employed, hungry, and still looking for clients. I could not start a business working full time for them. They said no. A year after that, they called again, with a lucrative 2 month contract that I could do out of my home. I said yes.

Note that this is a lot of opportunity from just one unsuccessful job interview from months/years before. I still don’t know the full opportunity that will result from that job interview I thought I had blown. If an interview goes well, no telling what opportunity may come in the future from the contact.