New Graduate Materials Engineer - Advice 1

[pv31]

Hi

I just recently got my undergraduate degree in Materials Engineering from a reputable university. I'm having difficulty landing my first job. In my final year, some of the courses I took included subjects like powder metallurgy, surface coatings, corrosion, ceramics, polymers, fracture analysis and extractive processes.

I'm really interested in the subjects I took, especially areas dealing with surface coatings, heat treatments and fracture analysis. I need some advice as to what kind of companies would be interested in people with this sort of knowledge. I tried applying to some of the larger companies with student 1-2 year programs, but didn't get too much of a response.

I'm thinking of just going to some local heat treatment and surface coating plants to see if they would be interested in hiring someone like me.

Any advice and personal 1st job experiences are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[arunmrao]

Congrats on your successful completion of the course. With the kind of interest you have evinced,aerospace,is one industry,you could focus upon. These areas are bright and shining. There is always a cry that the young engineers are not attracted to core engineering industries,at the same time ,the industries shy taking fresh ones ,stating they have inadequate experience or exposure. This is an age old malady and many of us have had similar experiences.

I am sure you will find some one responding to your call and provide you an opportunity,grab it and learn well.

Good Luck!

_____________________________________
"It's better to die standing than live your whole life on the knees" by Peter Mayle in his book A Good Year

 

[Ron]

Agree with arunmrao. You might also try to get a job as you've considered, actually working in one of the industrial plants doing the work in which you have interest. The "hands on" experience will be invaluable in your career and it is usually easier to get a job when you already have one. Be patient and learn as much as you can from a practical standpoint over the next few years....you have an entire career ahead to apply your knowledge, much of which will be gained on the job.

 

[blacksmith37]

You are ready to start learning ,now that you know the words !
My third job, I stumbled into the "oil bidness", third job was the charm.They used everything ,(gold plated instruments, aluminium drill pipe, titanium pressure vessels, 625 overlay well head,etc : and what is better, you tell the suppliers what you want them to make/do. But you have to know if they are doing a good job.

 

[blacksmith37]

And the oil industry likely has the most applications of LEFM; with presure vessel walls up to 12" thick. But it is the 1 to 3" thick carbon steel that gives most fracture concern; I remember Dr Ripling (doing fracture tests for us) saying ,"if we can measure the K1c , you have a problem". And the industry has an uncountable number of welds (carbon, low alloy,high alloy), each one a heat treat job (in case HT of 12" plate isn't interesting enough ).
Did I say I really enjoyed my job ?

 

[cloa]

Just like me- Where was yours? Mine was university of western australia. Its a throughly worthless degree- far too general to be worth anything.

 

[redpicker]

I disagree with the thought that it is a worthless degree; most of the designers and mechanical engineers I work with have a poor understanding of materials processing and performance and a materials engineer that can work with them is rather valuable. Generally, these processes are performed by skilled labor that have limited knowledge of the scientific principles involved (but are very skilled at operating the equipment), and are specified by engineers that have limited knowledge how the processes are performed (and considered the materials courses to be some of the more troublesome courses they took).

I'd suggest, as others have, you find a manufacturing facility that utilizes the processes you are interested in; particularly one that has an active Metallurgy/Materials department. These can be hard to identify if you don't know the industry, but one source would be to see which companies are active contributers to the "Code" agencies; that is, API, NACE, ASME, ASTM, etc..., those agencies that write the manufacturing standards used by industry in processing these materials. Organizations that can contribute to Standards Development are also those that have the larger departments that deal with the processes you studied. You don't mention where you are located, so your situation may be different.

rp

 

[macmet]

I second Redpicker's opinion that it is not a worthless degree.

The jobs I've had since graduating in 2005 are typically filled by mechs, but I think the degree I obtained is better suited for some parts of my job and I still use the concepts I learned in school often. I may not have been taught some of the dynamics and other "mech only" concepts but if a boiler ever starts moving at 12m/s and collides with an plastic block while.... well I don't want to be near that anyhow...jk

It would be helpful to know where in the world you are though if you're looking at hints on finding jobs. I do think jobs at small companies where you get hands on experience are great places to start though.

 

[bcd]

Where are you and where do you want to work? My company is currently looking to hire a degreed materials engineer who will specialize in powdered metals, polymers, coatings, fracture mechanics, corrosion, etc. All the fun stuff. We need a recent grad. who will mentor with an experienced metallurgist who is close to retiring. You learned the basics at school, there is still lots more to learn in industry.

 

[pv31]

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

I also agree with redpicker and believe that my Materials Engineering degree is very useful. There's a lot of interesting stuff, which a lot of people may not know about.

As for my location, I'm about an hour's drive from Toronto, Ontario. Canada, but I'm pretty much open to moving.

 

[cloa]

bcd

Noone could specialise in all of

powdered metals, polymers, coatings, fracture mechanics, corrosion, etc

those are each enormous areas- maybe you mean small sections of each of those areas.

 

[macmet]

PV...

I'm in that area as well.

Don't know of any opportunities off hand, but I expect you're in the best spot in Canada to find a job. Lots of small shops as well as world wide corporations.

If you're willing to move, expand your search as far west as London and move east to Kingston, even Ottawa, and everything in between.

Try websites like knighthunter instead of the larger ones like Monster, etc...

 

[blacksmith37]

In line with petroleum; look in Calgary and Edmonton newspapers. Lot of effort ($) going into various syncrude/tar sands projects.

 

[pv31]

I guess the problem with most websites like knighthunter, monster,workopolis etc. is that their job postings in the engineering section, usually are for people with 3-5 years experience.

For someone looking for experience, would the best way be to just go to the local companies and submit a resume?

Another thing is that in university I learned about things like welding, heat treatments, metallography, die pressing, sintering and that as a material engineer you should be able to judge the quality of the manufactured material or process used. So would a small company say a heat treatment plant, have a need for someone with a degree or would they just be having their process/engineering/testing related work done by another company.

For example, a steel fabrication plant would be looking for welders and fabricators from college who have been trained with that stuff and would just expect one experienced person to check the quality.

Or maybe in a heat treatment plant, the owner would be the metallurgist and a lot of the other workers would just be general labour following the defined process.

Let me know if I am wrong as I don't have that experience as to how the industry works.

All previous posts have been really helpful.

Thanks.

 

[BMKR]

Graduated 2010 with BS in MSE, its still tough out there, try and find something just to get some experience and stay busy, you can always find another job once post graduation experience is established. Hang in there!

JC

 

[BMKR]

ps: start small think big

 

[BMKR]

The company that I am currently at outsources their testing, womp womp, but I am gaining tons of experience managing what gets what testing, dealing with suppliers and customers, heat treating as well as manufacturing experience, as well as heading up our quality program. small company means high visibility, both good and bad qualities. your screw-ups are magnified but so are your successes.

 

[mrfailure]

pv31,

I had the same problem in a down economy when I graduated. I ended up knocking on professors' doors at the university I had graduated from. Two of them hired me to conduct some research for them while I was looking for full time employment. It was this university connection that ultimately to my first full-time job while in the interim I got to perform work in areas I never would have seen otherwise. The knowledge I gained from this research had come in handy during the course of my subsequent career.

Good luck!

Aaron Tanzer

http://www.lehightesting.com

 

[Guest102023]

pv31,

I also had the problem of graduating into an awful recession (early 80s). If you are an hour from TO that places you at either Mac or UW (my school). Both excellent schools, and that should help get you get in the door for interviews. If there is a good aspect to your situation, it is that there is no stigma in 2012 about being an unemployed graduate.

My suggestion is materials testing laboratories - although they can be assembly line sweat shops, you will have exposure to lots of materials, test methods, standards, types of customers, but especially PEOPLE. One of whom may eventually rescue you. In the end, your success will be more about your relationships than your knowledge. Keep in touch with your professors - my first good job was through someone contacting my former thesis supervisor. Attend your local PEO, ASM, etc. chapter meetings and press the flesh with other engineers - they will be more than happy to share their experiences. Its not a cliché to say that there is a giant network out there that you need to connect with and tap in to.

Remember that everything in the world consists of materials, so your expertise will always be needed. Keep upgrading and educating yourself (you can NOT rely on employers for that) - the

http://www is

a fantastic resource, without which I could not be in business.

Good luck!

 

[HDS]

Try Swagelok or similar companies with customers in aerospace, nuclear, military or some other demanding industry.