Young engineer needs help becoming such

[BigEGT]

I'm kind of at the end of my rope here. This may get a little complicated so I'll try to keep it brief and concise.

I graduated from GA Tech in '03. I had worked in 2 small consulting firms (electrical and civil) during my time at school. I am mechanical and don't want to enter the consulting arena. I know I shot myself in the foot by not obtaining relevant internships. I really stretched myself to graduate in 4 years, but even so I had a few campus interviews. I had one with an auto manufacturer that went (in my opinion) very well. However, I received a rejection letter. Shortly thereafter, my resume found itself to the same people via other contacts. They called and began discussing salary over the phone (as if I already had the job). I was surprised. They then realized they had already interviewed me and said that the (rejection) letter stood.

In any event, I graduated without any prospects and began searching full time. After several weeks, I accepted an offer of employment with a former (civil) employer based on the assumption that I would leave when I found full time work in my field. I intended to stay a month or two. It ended up being a full year. My job was more of a draftsman/secretary/IT/do-it-all position than engineering. I spent that year searching the paper, Monster & company, contacts (limited) and talking to recruiters. A recruiter found an Engineering Change Coordinator contract position for me with a Tier 1 supplier to the auto industry. I took it but it's 65 miles away from home, has no benefits, pays less than entry level engineering salary and (worst of all) is more of a technical assistant position. I don't even work in engineering. I interface with engineering but I work in and directly under maintenance. I have been there 5 months. That brings us to the present.

I'm pretty lost. People ask me what kind of job I would like to do and like all gearheads, I say design engines. But in reality, I don't know if I would like manufacturing or quality or sales or etc. just as well because I've never worked in those specific jobs before. I do know that I prefer to solve problems and think analytically than to push paper and mull over codes and standards. I like to work with things I can lay my hands on: connect the abstract design with the concrete construction.

My apologies for the novel. But I would appreciate any advice that this group can provide. This site is the only place I can ask people who are in my field/situation. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[GregLocock]

I suggest you hang in there, and look for an engineering job inside your Tier one supplier. You should also be applying to the OEMs you supply - do you go to project team meetings with them?

However, and I know you don't want to hear this, 5 months is not very long in one job, even if it is apparently irrelevant.

Why not start to apply your engineering abilities inside maintenance?

I don't think anyone else can tell you what sort of job you'd like. FWIW I have been angling to get the job I do now for 10 years!






Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[TheTick]

I was in a similar situation upon graduation. All of my schooling was geared towards becoming a naval officer when I graduated. My senior year I was medically disqualified and was headed toward the civilian workforce. I had not done any internships.

Consider doing some contract work. I did contract work as a designer and drafter for about a year (two separate contracts). For both, I was asked why a degreed engineer was looking for such work. I stated plainly that I was making up for not having done internships. Both hired me and eventually offered permanent engineering positions I took a pass on the first one. Another advantage of contracting is it gives one a chance to see a company's workings before getting too involved.

If you're young and unattached, contracting is a good way to get some miles. Do take the time to get major medical insurance. Chances are you can find that cheaper through a broker than through whatever your agency offers.

I could be the world's greatest underachiever, if I could just learn to apply myself.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

-SolidWorks API VB programming help

 

[tygerdawg]

Don't panic, don't let the current poor economy (really, it is very poor) make you think that having an engineering degree from GaTech is not extremely valuable. In the long run you will realize that an engineering degree teaches you to solve problems and that is what employers find valuable. Get experience in whatever field where ever you can find it, and spin it properly on your resume. The good job will come along and you'll have to work your tail off soon enough.

TygerDawg

 

[ewh]

TheTick and the others have given good advice. Try contract work for awhile. It generally pays much better than a direct position, you get to sample a variety of work situations and fields, and it won't hurt your resume (especially in this economy). You can see what it is like in different parts of the country, and it let's you get your foot in the door when you do find an employer/industry that your happy with. Above all, hang in there!

 

[svanels]

I agree with Greg to apply your engineering abilities inside maintenance. You want to solve problems? Make equipment sketches, analyze drawings PID's, PFD's etc. Figure out why a certain pump or engine is not delivering conforming specifications, recognize a pattern in succesive failures? Make root cause analysis?
Try maintenance...

I don't want to design engines, I want to tear them apart and put together again. (after finding the problem of course).

Steven van Els

 

[BigEGT]

Thanks for all of the kind and encouraging words. I suppose I just thought I would have started out in a little better position but I have only myself to blame for that. But good news. I received a call Friday about a metals sales engineering position in town. I also applied for a design engineering position at an automotive exhaust company. Perhaps my luck will turn around.

BTW, I'm having a cranial infarction, what does PID stand for?

 

[SolderingGunslinger]

Proportional (P), Integral (I), and Derivative (D) In the Electronics and Controls world.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in medicine

 

[McCormick93]

Not to be confused with P&ID, Piping & Instrumentation Drawing, of course.

 

[Heckler]

BigEGT,

If you really want to get into the auto industry.....start networking....network: at your current job like Greg mentioned and one other tip that worked for me your local SAE chapter. If their is not one in your local find the nearest. I wanted to be involved in the auto industry during my college years: I did SAE Mini Baja, Supermileage and Formula. I built a 1970 Datsun 510 autocross machine. After graduation I ended up working for a Tier one truck component supplier making way under the average wage. I eventually got lured into aerospace. But then again I didn't want to move from California....and auto design jobs not easily had in Northern California. Best of luck....network

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 2.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NIVIDA Quadro FX 1400
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_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Do you trust your intuition or go with the flow?

 

[jenn454]

With a Mechanical degree there are a large number of job opportunities in Facilities Maintenance. I am a recent graduate myself and this is a field I never considered until I saw an on line posting on Career Builder. I am a civil engineer working in this position but there is a large demand for Mechanical's. Look at hospitals and large Facilities looking for people to work with HVAC's and AHU's.

Otherwise hang in there. I got lucky and found a job three months after graduation. My husband is going on two years since graduating with a computer engineering degree. He did a similar thing he pushed for a four year degree and thus had no time for relative internships. He has had many interviews but no job offers. He has started expanding his search outside of design and is looking for anything that requires a technical background.

In his job search I have found that the local news paper is more productive than career builder or monster.

 

[goldnwhite]

First of all, I'd like to say "What's the Good Word?" to my fellow GaTech alum and to hang in there.

I also agree with Greg and Steven that applying your engineering to maintenance is good idea. I'm a mechanical and currently work in the maintenance department of a growing biotech firm. They created a position for me after my work in another department. You wouldn't believe the amount of work you can do from this position to improve the company's bottom line directly. Involving yourself in Preventative Maintenance, savings project (energy, water, time), capital projects, etc. could go a long way to having people create a position for you.

Also, 5 months may seem like a long time, but it takes time to find out what you truly enjoy. Mechanical engineering is as broad a field as you want it to be. There will definitely be days/weeks when you're first starting that you won't enjoy your work, but just take it as a lesson and apply it to work. Soak up as much knowledge from vendors, associates as you can and appy your own background to it to start building your base.

Best of Luck!

Great to be a buzzy bee,
Phil

 

[svanels]

PID stands for Piping & Instrumentation Diagram
Drawings showing the piping, valves, instrumentation etc. in process plants (hardware).

PFD stands for Process Flow Diagrams, these are similar drawings except they indicate flows, process limits (temperature, pressure and control loops) in process plants

regards

 

[That1Guy]

Mind you there is a difference between PID and P&ID, but the difference could potentially be defined differently in different work areas.

Every time I've heard PID, it's been referring to something electronic or electrical based, as in SolderingGunslinger's post. P&ID has always meant Piping and Instrumentation Diagram, as in McCormick93's post.

That's not to say it's like that everywhere and to everyone, but that's my experience.

 

[svanels]

Oke, oke P&ID, that is the way we pronounce it also, although english is not my native language.
We grouped our autocad P&ID's in an application, called it PIDView.exe, just .dwf files with a tree structure showing the contents.
The compiler didn't except \@#!~*)/^& characters in the name.