Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions? 2

[PaperClipFixesAll]

I will be graduating in May with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (and a minor in English, how many of those do you see? lol) and plan to move to the Manhattan borough of New York City within a short time of graduating (and by short I mean within a month).

By the time I graduate, I will have about a year and a half of oilfield drilling and well-abandonment equipment design experience working under a licensed PE.

Where I think I would like to end up is working as a staff engineer at an industrial design firm. If my understanding is correct, industrial design firms hire engineers to take the clay moldings of the industrial designers and turn it into a manufacturable reality. Does anyone here have any experience as an engineer at an industrial design firm to elaborate on what such a position would entail and if they would be interested in a degreed engineer that lacks a PE or senior engineer status?

If an industrial design staff engineer is out of the question due to my current experience level, does anyone know of any other companies in NYC (preferably Manhattan) that deals in design for mass production? I'd prefer to work in a position where I design common small products like electronics or appliances (the mechanical aspects, of course) with emphasis on manufacturing several thousand units. I know some of these jobs (many?) have been outsourced to China or India, but surely there are still some left.

I'm also welcome to any suggestions. If anyone is an engineer in NYC, let me know what's out there and what companies are open to newly graduated engineers with some solid hands-on experience. I want to stay in some sort of machine design, I want NOTHING to do with fluids or thermodynamics, even if it does pay better.

In case anyone is wondering, I am NOT interested in jobs outside of NYC. My sister is already living in Manhattan and I have a room waiting for me in her apartment. Without question, Manhattan is where I want to be, it's just a matter of finding a job to go with it.

 

[MikeHalloran]

In product design, the PE license is not ordinarily needed, but fluids and thermo usually are, because things that move need lubrication and cooling.

The market for engineers who "want NOTHING to do with" one or more of the skills ordinarily associated with their nominal specialty, may be quite limited. You might want to review your marketing strategy.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[GregLocock]

wot he said.

Turning shapes into products is often more of a draughstman's job than an engineer's.



Cheers

Greg Locock


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

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[TheTick]

I suggest that you fully spell what "MCHE" stands for on your resume. Mechanical degree is commonly referred to as "BSME". "MChE" is masters in chemical engineering. You don't want to confuse the people that you hope to have hire you.

 

[zdas04]

Well, your geographical limitations will increase your difficulty in finding a position. I work in Oil & Gas and buy a lot of stuff for projects in this industry and they tend to be designed and manufactured in Houston, Calgary, Oklahoma City, Denver, etc. I don't think I've ever bought something from a company on Manhattan.

Your desire to be a physical model maker seems to push you into the unemployable category. I've seen models (both full scale and reduced scale) of Oil & Gas stuff, but for the last 10 years they have all been a linkage between a CAD package and a Fast Prototyper company.

I don't know what industry still uses clay models, but I would expect them to be scarce.

Since you don't do windows (i.e., Fluids and Thermo) I have a feeling that 6 months from now you'll be on RetailSales-tips.com asking how do you break into a sales job that pays commission.

David

 

[Qshake]

I've never known the Manhattan area to be a engineering resource. Perhaps you'd like to put you analytical skills to work in the busines/market area? I've known several engineering friends who've worked as programmers in the business analyst area.

Regards,
Qshake

Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.

 

[TheTick]

If my understanding is correct, industrial design firms hire engineers to take the clay moldings of the industrial designers and turn it into a manufacturable reality.

Your understanding is grossly oversimplified. That's OK. You are young.

At any rate, firms engaged in product design need engineers to be engineers. That means bringing competence in a number of disciplines to bear on a product design project.

If you want NOTHING to do with fluids or thermodynamics, by extension you want nothing to do with molding processes, and nothing to do with plastics. All electronic devices emit heat, and thus require at least a passing knowledge of thermo and heat transfer.

Materials science and basic statics and dynamics come to bear. If you can not employ these effectively, then the spotlight will shift to someone who can.

 

[stanford94]

my guess is that you will have a hard time finding work in the field of engineering in nyc. mche is not a standard acronym for a mechanical engineering degree. i would fix that first.

 

[bridgebuster]

I spent the first 38 years of my life in NYC - still work there - and I can tell you, IN NYC, MANUFACTURING IS DEAD! Has been for quite some time.

A lot of subway/mass transit tunneling work right now - design & construction - might be work a look. The big engineering companies with that work include PB, PTG, AECOM, STV, LiRo.

There's also civil service if you need a job to come up with your half of the rent.

BTW - I also thought you were a ChemE.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Wrong handle. Should be WireCoatHangerFixesAll.

- Steve

 

[Guest0527211403]

The only engineering firm I know of in Manhattan is Honeybee Robotics, and what they do is certainly not design for "mass production".

It might just be worthwhile to call them and have a chat and discuss what it's like to run an engineering firm in a metropolitan area. That might help put your job search into perspective.

Where I am (Toronto), most of the engineering firms have moved to the outskirts of the city due to the high cost of square footage downtown. I suspect it's even worse in Manhattan, where rental rates are notoriously high.

 

[Twoballcane]

Hi PaperClipFixesAll,

I’m from New York City, however I moved out about ten years ago, but I can tell you that there is not much of engineering in Manhattan. Manhattan is known for food, fashion, and business. All of the manufacturing / engineering are out on Long Island. You can work for Verizon or Con Ed, but most of the engineering work is to keep their infrastructure from collapsing. If you are into Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) you can work with the Civil Engineers to build or refurbish buildings in and around boroughs.


Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[KSor]

Paperclipfixesall,

Why not start by contacting the industrial design firms in Manhattan that you are interested in and seeing if they employ any engineers, and if so what skills they require their engineers to have? You'll learn pretty quickly if there is a market for someone like youself.

 

[PaperClipFixesAll]

Thank you all for your advice.

 

[bridgebuster]

"...they have had some sort of personal squabble and he hasn't returned any of my e-mails since."

Must run in the family.

 

[plasgears]

I escaped from NYC many moons ago. The word then as now is 'get experience out of town and return with some marketable experience.' Between jobs I got an offer on Long Island, but it was not high enough to justify the move from 800 mi away.

Another possibility is the high rise building specialties like HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, etc. My brother is a highly paid engr in that field, and he is in demand. You need to work yourself up the ladder providing CAD services.

 

[CarbonRod]

I've always wanted to move to NYC as well, Manhattan or Brooklyn, and did a fair amount of job searching. Only engineering that seems to exist is architectural, MEP, and HVAC stuff. What you would expect is needed to keep the buildings working. Not terribly exciting stuff but I guess you can't have everything. As far as far as HVAC, unless you are DESIGNING the units doesn't really involve thermo...

If you are any good at software there seem to be quite afew jobs in that area right now as well.

 

[HgTX]

Have you looked at commuting outward for work? (Not that I know whether there's anything in NJ, LI, CT, but it will expand your possibilities.)

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[plasgears]

The trouble with working in a megalopolis is the commuting. Not only will you be commuting a long distance, companies will not move you for mutual convenience. In the Chicago area, I was obliged to move closer to work, but the company guidelines did not allow compensation.

I decided to put the house up for sale, get a swing loan, and buy house no. 2. The house didn't sell, and I was getting deeper and deeper in ****. I found it easier to get another job. House no.2 sold overnight. A firm letter to the CEO of the company got results; they paid all interest expenses amounting to five figures.

It's a blessing when you can live close to work.

 

[TheTick]

As far as far as HVAC, unless you are DESIGNING the units doesn't really involve thermo...

It does involve thermo. Unfortunately, it also involves designers so thermo-handicapped that even the most basic concepts of conservation of energy get overlooked, much to the chagrin of customers.