Instrumentation Safety Career

[desnov74]

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=232946&page=1

I have a career question that I wish to direct for people in the field. I posted it on the career forum (see link above), but I wanted an opinion from you guys in the field.

I am a EE with post graduate work in fire protection. For the past two years, I've been specifying fire protection systems. Specifically, I design/specify fire alarms and special suppression systems. While there is always something to learn, I feel I am getting bored and see a horizon in my technical future with my company. I’ve been researching for some time & notice a lot of overlap of standards like ISA S84 and NFPA72. I have a background in controls/PLC, and have a few years practical experience in controls. I will be going for my PE in fire protection this October.

My question is how does one (like me) get into this market? Should I go for a controls or instrumentation job as a generalist, or is there a market to go after a safety expert position? What are process/instrumentation folks seeking in candidates?

Thanks in advance!Cheers

 

[cheute79]

I am a ChE with some background and experience in safety, and I find that I end up with a fair amount of work in Instrumentation and Controls (or electrical) safety. I don't think you can go in as a safety specialist without also doing the generalist thing as well, for 2 reasons: 1) there is a fair amount of work in the safety area, but probably not enough to keep you busy full time, unless you are the "corporate guy" for a large corporation, and 2) by keeping your hand in the generalist/routine work, your understanding of the safety issues and impacts are much better, and you get more respect from the guys you work with (and sometimes against). There is a lot to learn and help implement in such areas as intrinsic safety (IS) circuits, E-stop design, safety PLCs, Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and SIS. they are all fairly new or are still evolving. Your FP background can be very valuable to understanding and for getting the respect you'll need.