So...what is an HVAC job like? 2

[CheckThePlug]

OK, to start, I'm living in New York City for a number of reasons and I have no intention of moving.

My past experience is in heavy industry engineering (oilfield equipment) and I really want to get involved at a product design consultancy as a design engineer. The only problem is that it seems most design engineers have years of experience and/or a masters in industrial design. I've applied to an industrial design masters program, but I'm not certain spending 2 years and thousands of dollars will necessarily get me a job at one of these firms.

Alternatively, I would gladly take a job in something similar to my past experience like manufacturing or other mechanical design, but those types of jobs seem fairly uncommon until you get out to remote parts of Jersey, Long Island, upstate New York, or Connecticut, and I'd rather move to another city than live in the suburbs.

So, seeing as there are literally boatloads of HVAC, plumbing design, and other building-related mechanical engineering jobs in the city, I would like to hear from someone what day-to-day life is like for an HVAC or plumbing design engineer. I would prefer a desk job rather than a field engineer going to job sites, etc. My only concern is that my thermo/fluids skills are much weaker than my machine design skills and without really knowing what an HVAC job entails I'm not sure if I would be very good at it.

The other question is whether or not I can transition from an HVAC job back into manufacturing/product design once I get more experience and build my list of contacts in the industry. I mean, HVAC seems really boring, but maybe it's not so different from other machine design jobs and there's more to it than I think.

So, what career path should I take:

#1 follow my dreams, get a masters in industrial design and hope the economy improves enough to get in at a firm via internship

#2 find a pedestrian job to have some sort of income in the meantime and wait for something more similar to my past experience to show up

#3 start applying to HVAC because it's not actually as difficult or monotonous as it seems.

I know some of you might not understand my desire to stay in New York, and I'm not asking you to, but suggestions of moving somewhere else are not useful to me as if I were to become desperate I have connections that could get me employed in Houston. In case anyone is wondering, no, it's not over a girl or something ridiculous like that.

 

[CheckThePlug]

Bored: where do you live now?

like I've said, what I really want to get into is product design engineering and there are tons of firms in the city, the only problem is that they seem to be super picky and near impossible to even get in the door. Most of the machine design-related jobs seem to be pretty aesthetically oriented, which is good as that's what I want to do, but there's just too few of them. I don't want to leave the city, but I really don't think I would want to work in HVAC either as designing air conditioning tubing doesn't strike me as being very fun.

 

[BoredEngineer]

In Jersey...Yea, I hear you on HVAC. You can also work HVAC for some time until you find what you want. What firms are you looking at?

 

[tys90]

I went into HVAC right out of school. Here is my take on it:

A lot depends on what type of the work a firm does. I could easily get bored designing retail space over and over. On the other hand, I never get bored of healthcare. Every project is demanding and unique in healthcare. Designing ductwork or piping is usually a relatively small portion of a project. Making sure the equipment works as designed and meets the clients expectations takes up much more of the thought process. It requires both an attention to detail and the ability to see the whole picture.

I've heard stories about large firms where you can get cornered into doing the same task over and over on large buildings. I work in a mid-sized firm with lots of a freedom and the ability to work on all aspects of a project. Four of our mechanical engineers have been with the company for over 20 years so that's probably saying something about the company as well. Maybe it's not for everyone but I've enjoyed it so far. I could see myself not enjoying it with a different company though.