MET grad wants to be mechanical, not manufacturing 1

[frankart]

Hello all,

I graduated in Dec 97 with an MET degree and an Officer's commission in the US Army. I served my 4 years as a Maintenance Officer in the Army and had some great experiences there. I learned that I enjoy working more on my own or in a small group with projects and less with people as their leader. That was my main motivation for leaving the Army. The next big step was for me to be a company commander, something I did not think I would enjoy, nor would I be good at it.

Regardless, I left the Army and have been working as a Process Engineer for a year with a major tire company. I don't really think the manufacturing environment is what I want though.

I have already given my notice that I will be leaving this position in the next 3 weeks and moving to Virginia (from Tennessee). I am getting married and my fiance is tied to her job by contract. So now I'm in a position where I have 1 year of manufacturing experience, 4 years of Army experience that is barely related to engineering, and not much else. It's been 5 years since I've done anything in CAD. I can only spell ProE correctly 9 out of 10 times, and I have no idea what SolidWorks is. A lot of the ads I see online or in the newspapers require these skills. I am a master at excel, and have a knack for computers that helps me pick up programs fairly easily. I know I could regain my CAD skills in a short time and could probably even learn ProE if I had the chance. How do I move into more of a mechanical engineering type role instead of a manufacturing role without the experience everyone is requiring? I really feel like at this point my decision to go into the Army after college has hurt me professionally, but I'm very proud to have served my country. I've thought about going back to school to pursue something else, but I really don't know what it would be. I think I've found the right field, just the wrong job. I know my geographical limitations will also hurt my ability to find a new job.

Is it worthwhile for me to pursue the FE/EIT exam? Any other certifications I should consider?

Thanks
Jeff

 

[testy]

Check with your local community college to see if they have any courses in solidworks. Although it will not do everything ProE will (my opinion), it has a much shorter learning curve. I find Solidworks is also a less cumbersome program to use. Your manufacturing background should help in any cad you use. More important than what you know, is are you trainable, because in the end employers will want you to do it their way. Adaptation is the key.

Best of luck,

Ray

 

[TateJ]

Look here...

http://www.solidworks.com/html/retraining.cfm

Good Luck.

​

tatej@usfilter.com​

aka: Little Debbie's Boy-Toy​

 

[frankart]

Hey y'all

thanks for the info. I looked into the SolidWorks deal to get a free trial license, but I have to eligible for unemployment to be eligible for that offer. I guess that means I have to get fired or laid off.

Sounded like a great deal until I found that out.

Thanks anyway.

 

[MASSEY]

Pursue passing the FE exam, that will give you direction as to whether to pursue engineering or continue in technology.

If you pass the FE and get current with CAD, you should be able to land an entry level ME position.

Relax & have fun. Don't lament doing a hitch in the service, you'll never regret it - it you don't allow yourself to. I just got my ME degree and I'm 36.

Can we all come to your wedding?

 

[RDK]

Frankart

I do not think that spending time in the military has hurt you. You were only there for 4 years. Since a 40 year working life is not unusual, its only 10% of a career.

In the USA there are a lot more people with some short time military experence (as opposed to the Canadian model where the military is usually a long term career) and you have a good chance of running into prospective employers who were once in the same position as you were.

Sell your experience as having served your country with pride and show your willingness to make the transition to civilian life. Look for skills in the miliraty that are transferable to civilian work. Organizational skills and communication skills for example,

You also learned some things in the military. You learned teamwork and leadership. You also learned that you do not want to be a leader but to work independently or in smaller groups. You also learned a lot of the organizational politics that exist in every collection of people. From your post you have also learned how to write very well.

Thee are not trivial things to have learned. With the exception of some technical skills you have the basic skills that a junior engineer would have learned in the same time frame.

You know what the technical skills that you are missing. They can be learned. Find a community collage or some other way to pick up these skills and start job hunting. A MSc might not be a bad idea as well.

Since I am Canadian and the P.Eng (what we call a PE up here) registration is decidedly different, I am not really qualified to advise you on this area, but I think it’s a good idea in any case. If nothing else it would help you pick up the technical skills you need and would show commitment to the profession.

Your additional maturity and experiences will help you. You will most likely have to start at an entry level position but with your background you should be able to move quickly and within another 5 years be in the same place that you would have been in had you not entered the military but with some additional experiences and skills.

Good luck
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[MASSEY]

frankart,

I spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. I went in right after high school when I was 17 years old. I got to travel around the world, was even stationed in Japan for a year. I laugh about the fact that after being in the Marines for 4 years, doing all the things I did, and seeing all the things I saw, when I got out I was finally old enough to buy a beer in my home state of Michigan.

I've got no regrets whatsoever about my time served in the military, the points that RDK makes about it are obviously true. I didn't learn as much as I could have because I was so young and I was distracted with distractions. But I think spending those years there then as I did could not have been spent better elsewise.

I always encourage young people to go in the service for a while. Shoot, it's great place to go to college while you are in there.

I guess the invitations to your wedding got lost in the mail. I hope it went well. Congratulations. Now get back to work!!