Weighing 2 options - shipbuilding vs. energy storage

[arokisbobcat]

Question for the board

I have potentially two offers that may come through and am trying to decide which one is the better opportunity. I respect the opinions of others and am seeking advice based on experiences and to help weigh pros/cons.

I have two very strong possibilities that are polar opposites in terms of culture, size, training, and organization. Both positions are Industrial Engineering/Manufacturing/Operation Analyst positions that are in each companies respective fabrication department.

Company A is in the shipbuilding industry and is a total of ~4,000 employees at their facility. I would be supporting manufacturing operations and learning applications such as Primevera and Earned Value Management Software for the benefit of managing/improving the fabrication department. The benefits of this opportunity are structured training, process oriented/structure in place, and name/industry recognition. This would also allow me the opportunity to pursue a Master's in ME at a local university since I'd have to relocate. The downside I see is that it feels, in speaking with the HR and hiring manager, that it's a highly stressful atmosphere with alot of turnover. I'm also not sure how much hands-on work I would get to do either.

Company B is in the pressurized cylinder business for cryogenics and transport of chemicals and gases. They are a small plant of 500 people and in my current location, so I wouldn't have to relocate. For this position, I would be making improvements on the factory floor and supporting manufacturing operations. The benefits of this opportunity is that I would be very hands on, the company has many tenured workers and seems to have a more relaxed vibe, and I wouldn't need to worry about RELO packages or uprooting my family. The downside is that I feel the company doesn't invest much (for employee training or for bettering the operations) and I fear that I might not have any direction or mentoring.

As a side note, I'm an experienced professional by way of IT, information systems but in terms of Engineering/Manufacturing, I am entry level.

Benefits and salary aside, which opportunity would you choose as an entry level engineering candidate and please cite any pro's/con's I may not be seeing in these opportunities.

Thanks and I appreciate the knowledge of everyone!

 

[NorthCivil]

I think you've left some of the more important information towards the end, regarding your family.

Have you thought about the possibility that you move your family across the country, get there, and realize its not all its cracked up to be? Or the "structured training" isn't as great as they made it out to be?

I'd be very weary about moving my family somewhere where you know there is "high turnover" and you will be in a "highly stressful atmosphere"... Remember, your work rubs off on you, if you go home exhausted, stressed out, and in a bad mood all the time, that is going to rub off on your family.

 

[truckandbus]

You specify this as an entry level position into engineering and that you have a family to look after - stay local to decide if this is the profession for you. If you are going to make a go of it, you can move on to bigger and better things later. No sense in uprooting the family twice.

 

[zelgar]

I also agree that Company B would be my choice. Company A may have more opportunities, but in the end you don't know if you'll have the time to utilize them. With the high turnover rate of A, do you think it's stable enough to risk your family's future? Additionally with A, there'll be a lot of stress for you and your family with the move, finding a place to live, schools, cost-of-living changes, lack of support of friends/family, etc. that you don't need to worry about with B. Also, if your spouse works, can they find a job if you work for A? If not, will your salary be sufficient?

 

[IRstuff]

It's unclear, perhaps intentionally, as to what YOU want to do. Is "hands-on" that important? You talk about getting an MSME, but "hands-on" isn't the end-all/be-all for doing ME, although it's certainly a bonus. Which one will actually get you engineering experience of the kind you want/need? What does your family want to do?

TTFN
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[arokisbobcat]

Thanks everyone for their insight. My family is absolutely top priority and weighing how they would adjust to a move is one of my concerns. With that said, my wife has stated she supports my move if it is the better job/opportunity and my son is an infant so we thankfully don't have to worry about withdrawing him from schools, etc. If I chose A, the move would be 5 hours away so we wouldn't be too far. I do agree with all posts that company B is the safe bet.

NorthCivil - you make a good point about the stress and how it may affect my home life. I don't know for fact that Company A is high turnover and a lot of stress. I've read mixed reviews on Glassdoor but a connection of mine who has a friend that works there says she loves it; so I'm not really sure what the culture is like. I have an in person interview next week and I'll be taking the family so they can "interview" the surroundings and decide if it's a place they could live or not. It will also help me analyze the ethos of their work culture.

Thanks again, for everyone's input and I truly appreciate helping me weigh my pros and cons of each.

 

[racookpe1978]

With recent US defense cuts in budget, shipbuilding will be low for a while - if not for a looooooong time.

I'd go with the smaller company - what you change will have a more visible impact much faster.
Then again, are you mentally strong enough to assume that kind of responsibility? In a small company, you will be able to make a difference, but you can't hide behind somebody if you screw up or get a group of people mad at you for what you propose to change.

 

[MikeHalloran]

There are 'nice' pockets in any large company, but high turnover is not a good sign.

I wish I'd kept my hard hat; some wag painter put 'scrambled eggs' on it; I was quite proud of that, while I lasted. ....




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[TheBlacksmith]

As noted, most shipbuilding is tied to the military, therefore in flux at this time. A side effect is that they want champagne on a beer budget, so there is a constant stuggle to compromise. They are rarely satisfied with your answers, even if they are technically and contractully accurate.

 

[cvg]

"applications such as Primevera and Earned Value Management Software"

sounds incredibly boring to me and very little relevance to actual engineering, more to project controls, budgeting and scheduling