How to break into a new industry?

[ysm]

I have been working with a small Aerospace industry. I started looking for jobs in bigger companies in the auto industry. Correct me if I am wrong here, I found out that they are very software driven. If one does not have lot of experience using a specific software then it seems like there is no chance. In such a case how can one break into a new industry ?

Thanks
ysm

 

[KENAT]

Well, you can wait till they're really hungry and willing to relax on requirements, or maybe try to learn the relevant software on your own time, or find a way to show them that what you offer above & beyond specific software competency is worth their effort to get you up to speed on said software.

Thing is, right now is pretty much still a recruiters market, so they can afford to be fairly picky.

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
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[spongebob007]

For instance, if a company were looking for someone who was proficient in a specific CAD program, and I wasn't, but met every other qualification for the job, I would highlight how I am a fast learner and I have a hunger to learn new things. I have nearly 14 years of experience with Pro/E and I have used CATIA, AutoCAD,IDEAS, and I have taught myself UG/NX and Solid Works and I am confident that I can come up to speed on your CAD program very quickly.

 

[GregLocock]

We could probably give you more specific advice if you were more specific.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[MadMango]

Networking. Every time I have changed industries, it was due to knowing someone in or connected to that industry. I've transitioned from Architecture, Transportation, Medical Devices, Aerospace, and now Lighting.

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

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[ysm]

I was interviewed for a position with an automotive engineering company. The work would mainly be of CAE. At the company that I have been working for the past 9 yrs, I have used Pro/Mechanica. I have however tried and gotten familiar with Abaqus and Nastran through some moonlighting work I did along with my professor. But the kind of products and analyses that I have worked were not enough to impress the interviewers. How do I learn new stuff without a project or a product to work with. Playing around with the software can only do so much

I have experience in
Linear Static
Dynamic
Non-linear (large deflections and elasto-plastic)
Thermal (steady-State)
Of course Hand Calculations

They asked me to site examples from my work which I did but then they had little idea of the kind of product I work with and the challenges in it.

One of the reasons I want to change jobs is because I want exposure to different kinds of work but without relevant experience it is not looking good.

 

[GregLocock]

Firstly CAE is not a synonym for FEA, FEA is a small subset of CAE.

OK, you have a problem. Real FEA analysts regard the built in FEA in CAD packages with various degrees of negativity, rightly or wrongly (it doesn't matter in this instance if they are right or wrong). The chances are that the people you interviewed with only use automeshes for nasty hack jobs. As an example of the difference in perspective, how many elements would you use to model a spotweld in a whole vehicle model?

So, what are your next steps? (a) stop trying to prove that using a CAD package is the same as Hypermesh. (b) emphasise solutions and correlation. How did you validate your model? How did you get the loads to apply to it?

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[ysm]

GregLocock, thanks for the pointers. Yes all my FEA is validated by hand calculation as well as actual testing. I only hope that the interviewers ask me these things or let me steer the conversation towards these points.

Thanks
ysm

 

[indme]

I recommend staying away from any automotive job that is based on you knowing a particular software package, CAD, FEA, CFD, etc. Most of the large companies are attempting to farm this work out to engineers in India, Brasil, China and Poland. This doesn't happen easily, because the guys there tend to screw things up and require lots of babysitting. But after the babysitting is done, the US based equivalent engineer ends up at the unemployment line. Beware.