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

 

[FalsePrecision]

I have always downplayed my MS degree. Too many people would construe the MS as an unnecessary enhancement in my education.
However, internally, I think the MS is worth every dollar I spent to get it.

 

[lonecrusader]

Guys,
I do appreciate the good responses and suggestions everyone of you have contributed to my post and my problem.
What CRG just said about MS and BS does make sense and I do agree with it may be not totally but still it does make sense. Moreover I dont want to loose focus of what my aim is just because I have a MS degree or little experience.
My main aim here is to find whats wrong with either me or my resume or cover letter.
Also the input given by others regarding not hearing back from the company where I recently interviewed in high extent does mean that either I did not make it or I am just not at the top of the list.
But on the brighter side the interviewer asked me many things about my experience and then was impressed with my varied skills and knowledge (I could sense she was not so happy with my less experience). Later on she started telling me what I was expected to do in the Job and what my responsibilities will be, IF Hired.
So overall I was satisfied with the responses and interview. I do more or less same work in my present company (a small one which underpays me for my work). I told my interviewer that I would want to switch because I need to have more responsibilities at work and advance my career. Also I am interested in handling projects to utmost details. So overall I was happy with the interview with only a fear of less experience in the back of my mind.
Anyways as CRG said all is still not lost as I have not heard a No from them till now. Who knows whats going on. But I can just move on and dont loose hope and start a fresh.
May be if I can improve my self or my skills and present them in more attractive form for a future employer I should do fine.
Just one more thought on resume and cover letter. For last one year, I have been working for my present employer mostly on CAD (SOlidworks and Pro/E) with minimal or no engineering analysis (For eg. thermal or fluid or nething). How do I reflect it on my resume. I tried to learn many things about thermals and heat transfer on my own which are used in fuel cell testing but no experience what so ever on a real life project. I know I can do it but I never got a chance to really prove it for my present employer. And in grad studies I worked on control system design and have done a good job in that. But my grad advisor being relatively new did not have enough contacts in the industry to help me land up in a job. So now I have a mix resume. I clearly know what I want but I just dont have that cutting experience to back my resume and liking.
Your thoughts and suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Thanks
Lonecrusader

 

[ivymike]

For what sort of jobs & at what kind of companies have you been applying? Here are some listings I found online that sound to me like they might be up your alley based on what you said above:

http://www.ricardo.com/pages/jobresult.asp?jobID=229

http://www.ricardo.com/pages/jobresult.asp?jobID=227

Are these the kinds of jobs you've been applying for, or have you been "shooting higher?"

 

[jpankask]

lonecrusader, call the person you intereviwed with before this week is out. It may be that the company is just slow at getting things done and they probably won't tell you anything until the offer is made. However, if they are trying to decide between you and someone else and you are calling to check on the position, it shows that you are really interested. You just need to call them and say something like "don't want to bother you but I just wanted to see how the selection process is going and whether I can provide any more information for you..."
1. It shows initiative
2. It shows interest
3. It differentiates you from most other applicants because they are probably not calling either
4. It may be just what puts you over the top

I didn't get my offer for 2 months after my interview but I called every week or two to check on status. Now I have my perfect job.

 

[CRG]

A word of caution about, “don't want to bother you but I just wanted to see how the selection process is going and whether I can provide any more information for you.” I personally dislike the over used conjunction “but.” Is it sincere to say, “I don’t want to bother you,” and then proceed to do just that. My recommendation is to leave out the, “don’t want to bother you,” because it may be someone like me to whom you are talking.

 

[lonecrusader]

Hi Ivymike,
I am really happy that you have suggested two links to me for a possible job opening. From the first look I find the the first job posting

http://www.ricardo.com/pages/jobresult.asp?jobID=229

to be something I would be keen on pursuing. It does align perfectly with what I wish to pursue and what I have been doing for my present employer. The only difference being I am working on design for fuel cell test stations. I did learn DFM&A, Value Engineering on my own so as to utilize it in the designs I make. I have background in control systems too and can build upon it too, But its unfortunate that my company does not utilize my skills fully and even if they do sometimes its without compensation. I do like, what I am doing but I think its not sufficient enough to utilize my skills to the maximum and ofcourse compensation remains an issue too.
Anyways, Thanks for introducing me to the company. I will surely apply for this above said position tonight as soon as I get back from work.
Regarding finding companies to apply for I was relying on the list of companies from

http://finance.yahoo.com

and

http://www.engineeringjobs.com

. I was sincerely applying to companies from there.. But as you know these lists are humongous and, list mostly companies listed on NYSE or NASDAQ. Also the available time for job search everyday after work is just 4-5 hrs and to find right job and right company it almost gets to hardly 1-2 companies per day :-(.
Regarding the interview I had, I will call my contact in the company today and check if he has heard back anything and also email the HR manager tommorow to check on any updates on the interview. I just had the first round of interview and am awaiting a decision on that to see if I will be invited for second round or not.
Anyways I am so happy to recieve all your responses and constructive suggestions. I am very much indebted to you all for the same.
Thankyou once again for your help
Lonecrusader

 

[lonecrusader]

Thankyou all for your replies. I contacted the HR department of the company where I interviewed and got to know that I did not make it to the second round. I feel bad learning this, moreover because I got this interview through one of my contacts. Anyways, I believe it just means start a fresh and try to remove certain short comings that my resume or cover letter or I may have.
Also, your suggestions about initiating cold contacts will be appreciated. I work in a very small city with just one more company that can provide me employement. But the the problem is I cant contact them as it might put my present job in danger. I am looking for professionals in other big companies who can help me. I will be happy if any of you can let me know the best method or strategy to seek help.
Thankyou for your replies and suggestions in advance.
Regards
Lonecrusader

 

[GregLocock]

I have had to move house for EVERY new job I have ever taken.

That may be a clue.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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