Work clothes 1

[Liftingengineer]

Well Black Friday is coming up and I am thinking and I am thinking it would be the perfect time to buy some sets of work clothes. I am a reliability engineer, so I am looking for some clothes that are both business professional but can also hold up to inspecting equipment. Something in-between the office and the shop. Any suggestions. Jeans are fine for my job.

I've got a PHD is Broscience

 

[dhengr]

Ya, Ya..., the other week I wore a double ruffle tutu and ballet slippers. I was dancing around a particularly difficult issue on the job, with the owner and several contractors. I wore the steel toed slippers so I could dance and kick ass at the same time, and the second set of ruffles so they knew I meant business. Be clean and neat and comfortable, and know when a suit or blazer is required, sometimes they are. Know what the norm is in your area and at your level of the profession and dress and act accordingly. Otherwise, the quality of your work, your knowledge of the area of practice and your demeanor are what really counts.

 

[berkshire]

I learned the hard way some years ago to put feelers out and find out what the dress code is on a job. Before you get there.

I showed up the first day on a contract drafting job in a Golf shirt and Dockers blue jeans.
After a couple of hours on the job I was invited to the managers office, and given a copy of their dress code which required Oxford shirts and polyester pants of " Subdued" colors.
The office manager apologized to me saying that "quite obviously" my contract manager had failed to pass on the dress code , would I please read the paper and come to work properly dressed in future, and to "please" let my manager know what was required of contract hires.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[moltenmetal]

I learned that it was always better to overdress than under-dress if you don't know the rules. So I showed up for my first day of my first co-op engineering job in a suit. And promptly got silicone RTV on it- the only suit I owned. And learned my lesson.

 

[Ingenuity]

I dress local...Aloha shirt and flip flops...all-year-round...board shorts too, if I can be home office bound!

 

[rotw]

I also dressed with a suit and tie on my first day at a big company, reason is I was not sure..until the coatch/ engineer told me to stop doing what I was doing... I said thank you but with a tear in my eye because inside I was experiencing an intense moment of relief...

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

 

[Sparweb]

After working for one company for many months, the director of engineering e-mailed me the company dress code. First I'd heard of it from him. Since the e-mail went out during christmas holidays, I didn't see it until I got back in January. Jeans, and denim of any kind, were definitely out. Rushed out after work to buy dress slacks and get with the program. Next day I was better dressed, but he wasn't around to see the result, since my allotment of vacation time was pretty short, back then. The director returned a week or so later, and didn't mention the dress code. But I did notice that he was wearing jeans.
Lesson learned.


STF

 

[Ron]

Otherwise, the quality of your work, your knowledge of the area of practice and your demeanor are what really counts.

Exactly dh....that's why I get to wear what I want. Most of my clients don't give a damn what I wear...they want me to solve problems and issues. It's a lost cause for me to look pretty! The only reason I dress so for testimony is to respect the norms of the court system.

 

[BUGGAR]

Remember to always wear cotton when around electric substations. You don't want 480 kv melting your polyesters.

 

[rotw]

you want to make sure that the cotton shirt, around what remains from the body after a 480kv discharge, is safe and sound ?
I think I see your point...


"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

 

[KENAT]

Skipped the last few replies sorry but in time for cyber Monday nonsense...

At my current job most days it's DARK blue jeans (mostly Levi's 569 for the last few years if you care) and button shirt with collar. Used to be mostly short sleeve but I've started adding in long sleeves more often as I seem to be at more meetings with management etc. (and today happen to be wearing my long sleeve Eng-Tips shirt). I haven't yet emulated Jeremy Clarkson with the infamous 'Jacket & Jeans'.

Jeans come in handy when I do have to crawl around on the floor running cables & hoses etc.

(First day here I wore same as at my interview but my then manager pulled me aside and told me to remove the tie I was wearing and not to put one on again!)

At my first job it was suit & tie everyday regardless of if I had to crawl around on the shop floor or not. After a couple of year I cut back to black heavy cotton pseudo dress pants, shirt with collar and a tie in my top draw in case it was required. I still wore a suit if I knew we had a customer visit or similar.

What do your more senior colleagues wear, if you follow the paradigm of dressing for the job you want not the job you have then you may want to emulate them. (I gave up on this nonsense long ago when people laughed at me for coming in wearing a flight suit. I'll skip any 'bikini inspector' jokes along the same lines due to danger of causing offense.)

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[controlsdude]

Jeans, and more Jeans. You can get them in different colors besides blue. Cotton shirts for safety under that safety equipment. Follow your safety gear training.

 

[TheTick]

I really don't like jeans. Never wear them anymore, even on weekends. They restrict movement and soak up too much water in damp conditions.

 

[SLTA]

I wear cords and a nicer shirt, usually one of my logo polos, if I'm going to an official meeting. If I'm in the field, I wear jeans and a logo polo or my logo jacket. I also have a coverall with my logo embroidered on it. If I'm just in the office, like today, it's whatever I happen to throw on in the morning. Perks of working from home.

I know it's past Black Friday but the analysts have been saying that the best deals are actually closer to Christmas!

Please remember: we're not all guys!

 

[drawoh]

Right now, I am in casual pants, a short sleeved dress shirt and a fleece. I have a Gore-Tex jacket for going outside, but I have recently purchased a trench coat. This all works really well when it is 0[°]C (32[°]F) outside.

--
JHG

 

[MadMango]

I worked around a lot of hydraulics at one company, got tired of buying new cloths due to stains from the fluid or lubricants. I bought 6 sets of matching grey Dickie pants and generic black polo shirts with chest pocket. Best thing I ever did, and never had to worry about what I was going to wear to work. Now I'm mostly stuck behind a desk, so button-up camp shirts and jeans for me.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[BUGGAR]

Long sleeve shirts to cover up my def leopard tats all up and down my arms. But I think the boss suspects.

 

[1gibson]

Used to work at a pump factory that had Cintas uniforms as an option. I got just the pants, flat front dress pants, khaki and dark grey. They were great for yard work, working on the car, and the best part was that you just turned them in every week and they were washed and returned. Something like $7 a week, definitely worth it.

Steel toes, polo or button up. Jeans on Friday, but then I would come home and change into work pants to tackle some projects around the house.