office-based role 12

[engeeneer]

hello

I am looking to start an engineering career but not in a production/plant environment or in a greasy environment. Instead I am looking for a clean office based career.

Is this feasible with an HNC only and no experience at all?

Which such roles can you suggest me? Roles that are in demand and pay well, would be preferred.

Thanks!

 

[msquared48]

HNC = ?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[IRstuff]

HNC ==

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_National_Certificate

a UK thing. I'm guessing that's sort of like an AA or EET degree in the US?

So, yes, it's theoretically possible, but mostly likely the best you might get is doing test in a moderately clean lab environment. Frankly, I'm dumbfounded with your apparent desire to get this sort of work that's "in demand and pay well" without putting in any investment.

TTFN
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[engeeneer]

I will invest in getting a BEng/MEng, but I need as soon as possible to secure a job, in order to gather experience, which is more important in my opinion.

But I think there is a misunderstanding: I didn't mean that the first job will pay well, but the prospects with further experience and/or qualifications in the field will lead in a role that pays well.

Also, I would like to note that I exclude civil engineering, as it's the only engineering I don't like.

 

[IRstuff]

Experience is a definite plus, but I wouldn't delay your eventual degree just to get experience. I don't know how it is in the UK, but getting an internship between school years is often an adequate discriminator.

Obviously, you need to find out:
> what are you good at?
> what makes you the happiest?
> what can pay your bills?
> what actually has a shortage of people
> will your personality be a "cultural fit" to a given company

Naturally, all of these may be mutually exclusive. I think that it would unlikely that the answers you get here will lead you in a specific direction, given the diversity of disciplines here. I would scour the employment sites, like Monster.com, or even LinkedIn to see what types jobs are available and whether I can see myself doing a given job.

TTFN
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[engeeneer]

reed.co.uk is the website I research alot, as it provides info about salaries and applications posted

but I can't figure out if it's an office based job or not

for example C&I engineering, is it 80% office-based as I imagine?
pump engineer in oil industry?
maintenance engineer in food industry?
etc

 

[GregLocock]

Jobs that involve 100% office/lab work unless you are very lucky are things like CAE, design, CAD, technical inspection and so on. If a job description includes the words process, maintenance, production, assembly or field then it will be mostly in the big scary factory or outdoors.

Guessing you are in the UK, I think you'll find the openings for interesting work for a year or two are few and far between if you have an HNC only, unless you are good at CAD.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[IRstuff]

I would estimate

http://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/c-i-project-engineer/23437633#/jobs?keywords=C&I engineering

at probably 50%+ office work, but I'm just guessing based on the deliverables.

Unless the word "design" or "develop" or "analyze" or synonyms thereof are in the job description, it'll have lower probability of being a desk job.. Your other two examples are clearly field repair or testing types of jobs.

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[KENAT]

When you say "clean office based career" do you literally mean 100% office based in which case you are massively limiting your potential options. If you aren't willing to leave the hallowed office to help build a prototype, or help test a prototype, or answer a drawing query in the machine shop, or help trouble shoot a problem in production... then give up now.

If on the other hand you mean 'mostly' office based then things open up a bit. I've spent most of my career at a desk but also time in labs, on production floor at customer sites, at supplier sites at testing ranges...

From a Mechanical point of view the CAD work Greg mentions would be the obvious path so look for Designer/Draftsman/CAD technician or similar roles. These days I'm not sure how many fresh HNC chaps get to do much in depth analysis but I could be wrong.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[GregLocock]

engeeneer - you might notice that very few UK /based/ engineers are chipping in, perhaps there is a lesson there.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[TenPenny]

Most engineers in Canada are quite familiar with HNC. Hockey Night in Canada is a national Saturday Night institution.

That said, the short answer to your actual question is 'yes, it's possible'.

 

[zdas04]

If you really don't want to ever leave an office to go to a big, scary, greasy place where work is actually done, then you should probably get your Engineering degree, immediately enroll in either law school or an MBA program because no one ever lets MBA's or Solicitors visit a place where work is done.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

 

[Latexman]

I would not hire an engineer for a mostly office-type job who did not want to go to the field/plant/shop/etc. I recommend you rethink your career.

Good luck,
Latexman

Technically, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.

 

[HPost]

UK based engineer perspective...

Get a job, any job in engineering. Do the HNC on day release or at night school.

Even if you have to do manual work, it won't be for ever and would make you a more well rounded engineer. Then you can do the office based job you crave.

I wouldn't employ someone who was so fixed on desk based work. The best engineers have experience of office and manual work.

There is nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty.

HPost
BEng (Hons) CEng MIMechE

 

[ornerynorsk]

Look at medical regulatory or design & development, IE risk management, ver/val protocols and testing, documentation, quality systems management, etc etc.

No end of paperwork. Might be just what you're looking for.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[engeeneer]

thanks for your replies

but HNC (certificate) options aren't that specialized
I must choose from: mechanical, process, chemical, control&instrumentation, electrical&electronics, etc
should I choose for a specific one that would lead me to mostly office-based career or a general one and then pursue an office-based career?

 

[SLTA]

What is your reason for being so adamantly office-based? Do you have mobility limitations for being on-site? Do you have a dirt-phobia? Are you concerned about transportation issues? Just trying to understand.

You can look at something all day on paper and never actually get it until you're in the field, messing with it yourself and listening to the people who use your item. I design houses, so I also volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (

http://www.habitat.org)

and have learned so much about what actually matters, construction-wise. I also know folks are getting a safe, affordable place to live.

Unless you have a serious issue precluding you from being easily on site, then like others said, you need to rethink your career ideas.

 

[engeeneer]

the main reasons I would like to be office-based, is that I am concerned about health effects of emissions and noise

 

[IRstuff]

Even at that, each of the disciplines cited have widely varying degrees of outside or plant work. Do you consider laboratory or test lab work in the same context? At the minimum, anything that you design will require you to spend some amount of time out of your office. If you're concerned about noise, then don't pick a field with heavy machinery, but I would bet that your hearing is mostly likely already trashed from listening to loud music. "Emissions" is so broad a term that even an office environment could be loaded with "emissions" since your furniture and carpeting are likely, if new, to be emitting all sorts of interesting vapors. A "new car smell" is largely from emissions from the plastics and upholstery.

While CAD was suggested, our company's CAD is all done by MEs who will need to go to the lab to verify fit checks, or visit vendors to determine whether the vendors are capable of producing their designs. We have no one who is solely a CAD designer, because even the most mundane parts need to meet mechanical requirements that require analysis by an engineer.

TTFN
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[ScottyUK]

Process engineering might well lead into a career which is reasonably well paid and relatively clean. You will end up on site, but not often in a 'dirty hands' role. Credible process engineers do, however, usually have a 'dirty hands' background.

PLC or DCS work might be a possibility from either a C&I or electrical & electronic HNC. Again, fairly clean and in reasonable demand. Most PLC work will see you on the shop floor during commissioning or fault-finding, often working with maintenance personnel.

The pump engineer role in your link is specialised and will need a fair bit of experience in the field, plus it is nuclear industry which just ramps up the requirements a bit further.