New in I&C field .... 3

[yasmine01]

Hello every body,

I am a new graduated engineer just starting my career, which by the way I love. The pb or the Pbs I am facing look to me huge ones....Working in I&C field is completely different from what I have studied, colleagues are not too co-operatifs....I want to be successful and learn as quick as possible to be completely independant ....what are your tips/books/websites/tutorials ...in one word any thing that may help me in getting those millions of little things about instruments and their control so I feel better and more confident.

I appreciate any feedback ....

 

[GTstartup]

My tip?

Take the time to type all of the letters in the words you are using unless,of course, they are well established acronyms.

Pb, pbs =? Public Brodcasting Corporation? Lead Sulphide? Phosphate Buffered Saline?

OK I assm "problems" bt thts jst a gss

 

[yasmine01]

Wow...Of course Pb stands for problems....AND I&C for instrumentation control...well..I tough you guys understand that....

Anyhow...did not get your tip yet ....

 

[jsummerfield]

Thought? Join a professional society such as ISA.org and attend the meetings, table top shows, etc.

Actually, there are a few good tips. If you are located near instrumentation representatives, visit their warehouse with a sales person. Many representatives provide free training to recent graduates. The best example is Fisher Controls a.k.a. Emerson. This will cover control valve sizing, pressure regulators, etc. Do you know what a f-inch ASME B16.5 Class 600 raised face flange looks like? Touch one.

Field experience at an operating plant or perhaps a construction site is excellent. Jump at the opportunities if available.

What industry, or which aspects fall within your job description? Are you with a contractor? Will only do programmable logic controllers? Do you specify field instruments?

John

 

[GTstartup]

Sorry Yasmine01,

Little cranky today.

I agree with Jsummerfield especially on getting some field experience. The old chestnut that 1 yr in the field is worth 5 in the office, is true to some extent. Also, it is useful if you can latch on to an experienced engineer in your company, use him as a mentor.

 

[yasmine01]

Thank you for your tips...I am working for a consulting firm, and I will definately jump on any more practical(Site-construction..etc )opportunity!

Thx again!!!

PS: Thx stands for thanks ;-)

 

[yasmine01]

GIstartup ...thank you.

Crucnky??? [sadyes] apply, don't worry ....Be happy

Hope you are smiling now !!!!

Yes you guys are right, But for now I have this job...and I want to make it a " + " for me and my knowledge!!!! To have a mentor is an excelent idea ..but who ???? the persons with whome I am working now..are not so nice ....even worse..I remember ...a month ago ....one of them ...who I wanted to have as a mentor ....simply told me that I am GREEN , can you imagine that ....???

Anyhow...will try my best ...and I will make it for sure....

Thx every body.

 

[JimCasey]

Join your local ISA. Go to the meetings. My experience with ISA meetings is that they are salesmen and retirees, so as a customer you will get a lot of attention.

Talk to your customers. LISTEN to what they have to say about what works and what does not. Ask them is you can go in their boneyard and take stuff apart. See if the instrument techs will show you how to service and calibrate some of their equipment. Listen to them about what they do, and what works for them and what does not. Talk to the vendors and listen to them about why stuff works and why soem of their stuff did not work.

Take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. OK, with a 50-pound BAG of salt.

Collect catalogs and study them.
Collect material compatibility charts and memorize them.
Get familiar with codes and standards. NEMA standards, Safety classifications, ASME (was ANSI) pressure-temperature ratings(B16.5 and B16.34), FCI 70.2.

Get really comfortable with Google. You can find almost anything on the net these days.

Take courses in Fieldbus. If you are the fieldbus Guru, you will command respect.

Come in first and leave last. Learn by doing. Keep a toolbox in your cubicle with your hard hat, safety glasses and steel-toed shoes. Volunteer to be the first on site to deal with problems. Most people CAN deal with stuff but they are afraid to try and they don't read the literature before they throw up their hands.

 

[ilan7]

yasmine01
Assume that's a female name, and for a female to enter an almost 99% male group is not very simple. Think the ideas were wrote are good. Start with the local ISA courses and group meetings. Talk and interview agents and salesmen. Basically, older instrument engineers and others are more relaxe and weelling to help when we are part of a factory and not a consultant firm. Take one line for a begining, and try to learn all about it. New communication technics would be a good idea. Measuring just one parameter (flow, temp PH or other one, but start with only one).
For the last point, I started working as a journy man, while studing at the university. I learned more at work then from other colluge engineers...