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drat, I need to look into the NCEES record for future states.
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May 1, 2016 18:47
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This is probably a weird situation I've put myself in, and I was looking for some advice or direction . . . Basically I got a ME degree but didn't actually go into ME after school. I had taken some CS classes during school and that made it possible for me to get a software developer job after I graduated. Honestly I don't completely remember why I went that route, possibly just because programming is in high demand, I don't know. Anyway, I have been doing that for a few years but it has slowly dawned on me that long-term it's not a good fit and now I'm wanting to return to engineering. It's not coding itself that I don't enjoy, just doing it in the context of the tech world. Unfortunately the kind of coding I was doing is probably not especially engineering-related, mostly web-based app development in C#, so I'm having some trouble seeing how to bridge that back into engineering. Besides that, I am not even really sure what kind of jobs are out there for someone who is into ME but likes coding. Any ideas? If such jobs exist, how could I move into them?
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May 2, 2016 09:16
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The Royal Scrub posted:So is the "work under a PE for 5 years" thing used loosely? My department head is a PE so he signed for me but his license is inactive ($250+ per year to keep it active, what the gently caress), it's TBD whether the state board will accept it or not. Finding two additional PE signatures ha been the problem.
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May 2, 2016 14:06
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HondaCivet posted:This is probably a weird situation I've put myself in, and I was looking for some advice or direction . . . Basically I got a ME degree but didn't actually go into ME after school. I had taken some CS classes during school and that made it possible for me to get a software developer job after I graduated. Honestly I don't completely remember why I went that route, possibly just because programming is in high demand, I don't know. Anyway, I have been doing that for a few years but it has slowly dawned on me that long-term it's not a good fit and now I'm wanting to return to engineering. It's not coding itself that I don't enjoy, just doing it in the context of the tech world. Unfortunately the kind of coding I was doing is probably not especially engineering-related, mostly web-based app development in C#, so I'm having some trouble seeing how to bridge that back into engineering. Besides that, I am not even really sure what kind of jobs are out there for someone who is into ME but likes coding. Any ideas? If such jobs exist, how could I move into them? Systems Engineering in Aerospace/Defense would think you're a fuckin' boss.
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May 2, 2016 22:56
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CarForumPoster posted:Systems Engineering in Aerospace/Defense would think you're a fuckin' boss. Have to imagine anything involving controls might be a great fit.
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May 2, 2016 22:59
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Shipon posted:Have to imagine anything involving controls might be a great fit. I think at my company they could put you basically anywhere. Not necesarily doing something related to your experience, just where theres some software integrated with some tangible process or system.
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May 2, 2016 23:05
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Awesome! I'm really interested in controls so that's great news. Right now I am just trying to figure out how to make contacts in the industry so I can talk to someone about it. I haven't seen any job postings that were an obvious fit and job sites are black holes anyway so I figure some networking will be required.
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May 3, 2016 01:44
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A longshot, but there is a strong push in the commercial nuclear world to move to digital controls and the process of convincing the NRC that this is an ok thing is herculean at best. Someone that knows how pumps, flow meters, heat exchangers, etc works as well as being able to program might be a huge boon to them. I'm not certain, but you could check with some of the larger companies like Entergy, Dominion, Exelon, Southern Nuclear, or Duke Energy. I met a sales guy from Schneider Electric at the last ANS conference, he was there trying to push their digital controls and comped my drinks for a night. A good dude™ 
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May 3, 2016 02:01
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CarForumPoster posted:Systems Engineering in Aerospace/Defense would think you're a fuckin' boss. Needs matlab as well a C.
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May 3, 2016 13:17
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Olothreutes posted:A longshot, but there is a strong push in the commercial nuclear world to move to digital controls and the process of convincing the NRC that this is an ok thing is herculean at best. Someone that knows how pumps, flow meters, heat exchangers, etc works as well as being able to program might be a huge boon to them. I'm not certain, but you could check with some of the larger companies like Entergy, Dominion, Exelon, Southern Nuclear, or Duke Energy. On the downside, you'll have to work nuclear. Putting a time delay relay on a diesel fire pump controller was a half year long process. If you want to get back into engineering, I don't think I'd recommend nuclear stuff, that's more regulatory/paperspace stuff. If you can put up with that though, just presenting yourself as an asset to their cyber-security engineering for digital upgrades would be a hilariously easy way to see jaws drop and drool puddle under your interviewers faces if they're at all cognizant of the hell that is upgrading legacy components and updating licensing bases.
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May 3, 2016 13:43
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Pander posted:On the downside, you'll have to work nuclear. Putting a time delay relay on a diesel fire pump controller was a half year long process. If you want to get back into engineering, I don't think I'd recommend nuclear stuff, that's more regulatory/paperspace stuff. Seconding that you should avoid nuclear if possible. I didn't even work directly for a power company, but even as a supplier for commercial nuclear it was awful.
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May 3, 2016 15:56
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HondaCivet posted:Right now I am just trying to figure out how to make contacts in the industry so I can talk to someone about it. Sorry if I missed this, but what area do you live in?
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May 3, 2016 18:57
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Ha, I had a boss who used to do nuclear engineering, he has up to a MS in it and had done research at a national lab. And now he's a manager at a software non-profit. Not a bad gig, just probably kind of a waste, he was a bright guy.P0PCULTUREREFERENCE posted:Sorry if I missed this, but what area do you live in? Seattle! So there SHOULD be plenty of stuff going on here, I just need to find it.
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May 3, 2016 20:02
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Ah, yeah there's definitely places up there. I was going to say if you're around LA I could put you in touch with people.
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May 3, 2016 20:04
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dxt posted:Seconding that you should avoid nuclear if possible. I didn't even work directly for a power company, but even as a supplier for commercial nuclear it was awful. I would avoid it simply because it's a dying industry. We've shut down far, far more plants than we are even pretending to try to replace. A preventable containment crack is enough to close a plant these days.
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May 3, 2016 22:19
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KetTarma posted:On that note, has anyone taken the EE/Power PE exam? I'm thinking of taking it in between 6 months and a year. I took (and passed) the EE power exam in 2012. The exam seemed fair, on par or maybe easier than the FE. I did mostly MV/HV work, so I had to study LV NEC requirements for the exam (a lot of motor protection). I just guessed on the lighting questions.
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May 4, 2016 15:19
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Hey guys I just finished my 4th year in EE, still got one year left. I'll have my third internship this summer. I'll be an Automation Engineer intern for a telecomm company however it's more along the business side. They weren't too specific with what I'll be doing but basically the gist of it is that I'll be assessing the engineering division to see what things can be automated to save costs and then present that to upper leadership at the very end of the summer. My second internship I researched electronic components and basically wrote product descriptions about them. My first internship (unpaid) I stopped by periodically at the office to learn about PCB design and microcontroller programming although honestly I learned way more from the microprocessor-based design class I just took this semester. TL;DR I've never really had a "real" engineering internship. I might want to go into power if I don't end up getting a full time offer, and to increase my chances of scoring a power engineering gig, I'd like to study for the FE. Perhaps take it in either October or November so when I start applying for full time jobs I put that I passed the FE on my resume. If I start studying for it in 2 weeks, about how many hours per week/day should I be putting in? I wouldn't say I'm the smartest guy in my classes, I definitely struggle a lot but have kept afloat so far. What are your recommendations given the time frame?
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May 7, 2016 00:28
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Since you're in school, my recommendation is to enjoy your summer. Then show up to the review nights your College of Engineering hosts a week or two before the FE 
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May 7, 2016 00:41
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Dangerous Mind posted:Hey guys I just finished my 4th year in EE, still got one year left. I'll have my third internship this summer. I'll be an Automation Engineer intern for a telecomm company however it's more along the business side. They weren't too specific with what I'll be doing but basically the gist of it is that I'll be assessing the engineering division to see what things can be automated to save costs and then present that to upper leadership at the very end of the summer. I didn't take the FE so IDK but holy gently caress you need to learn how to TL;DR. It is a very important professional skill. Let me fix that paragraph for you...and it could still be shorter and say the same: Dangerous Mind posted:Great thread. I've got one year left as an EE. I might go in to powergen and want to say I passed the FE on my resume. I struggle with class but have kept afloat so far. If I start studying for it now, about how many total hours are needed to study the material? Then you calculate hours/wk yourself.
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May 7, 2016 00:52
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Aight nvm then.
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May 7, 2016 01:19
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Find a practice FE and take it. That'll be what tells you what you need to study and how long you need to study it. The FE isn't that onerous of an exam -- for an EE the most important part will likely be reviewing mechanics and learning how to use the engineering economics section in the handbook. Otherwise, the bulk of the material is either just basic review of your class work or questions from other disciplines that you can answer by referring to the handbook.
The Chairman fucked around with this message at 12:14 on May 7, 2016 |
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May 7, 2016 12:11
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Really know the equation book. The test is only 6 hours now and on a computer so who knows what it is like (I assume the same and easy). These young engineers are getting off easy these days. Not to mention being able to take the PE basically right away in many states. You are all so lucky.
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May 7, 2016 17:45
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Thanks. I thought you needed to work for 4 years under an engineer with their PE before you could take the PE yourself? I'm in IL by the way. Edit: Apparently I can take it with only 2 years after graduating? That's cool. Dangerous Mind fucked around with this message at 20:09 on May 7, 2016 |
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May 7, 2016 19:46
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What kind of work would a typical entry level power systems engineer be doing? Also what kind of job titles or keywords should I be looking for when searching for jobs in power? I can think of substation, power delivery, and utility but not sure what else though. They say a lot of people are retiring from the field but what positions are they leaving exactly that I should be looking into?
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May 10, 2016 18:00
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Dangerous Mind posted:What kind of work would a typical entry level power systems engineer be doing? Also what kind of job titles or keywords should I be looking for when searching for jobs in power? I can think of substation, power delivery, and utility but not sure what else though. They say a lot of people are retiring from the field but what positions are they leaving exactly that I should be looking into? Substation design, Transmission line design, distribution "design" (lol). As an electrical you would probably want to be in subs. You can look into physical design, controls, system protection, there is probably something I am missing. You most likely can end up working for a utility, a co-op, a municipal, or one of the many engineering consultant firms out there (burns and Mac, black and veatch, power, ulteig, stanley, sargent and lundy, ECI, etc, etc, etc...) If you go into subs you will be designing substations, upgrades to existing, writing specs, ordering material, maybe working on standards, etc. Here is a job posting for reference at my company: https://jobs.xcelenergy.com/job/Amarillo-Substation-Design-Staff-Engineer-%28Electrical%29-Amarillo%2C-TX-Job-TX-79101/336852400/ added bonus of living in Amarillo Texas. If you have more questions just shoot them my way, I am a civil in T-Line Design but can probably get you an answer.
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May 11, 2016 00:48
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When HNTB calls you wants you to verify your gpa on a resume from your freshman year. Well, looks like I'm not getting an internship this year either.
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May 11, 2016 19:58
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Dangerous Mind posted:What kind of work would a typical entry level power systems engineer be doing? Also what kind of job titles or keywords should I be looking for when searching for jobs in power? I can think of substation, power delivery, and utility but not sure what else though. They say a lot of people are retiring from the field but what positions are they leaving exactly that I should be looking into? I kind of do something along the lines of distribution, although almost all my knowledge on the subject has been OJT so far. Walk down medium voltage electrical components and distribution, generate layout and one-line drawings, and then model them for short-circuit and power flow analyses. I only found out about this existing at all because my last company merged with a bigger corporation, of which my current place occupies a small corner. I wanted out of that place, and this job seemed loads more interesting/better. We're looking for someone who actually knows something about this stuff (so they're not interested in taking on another me-type jack-of-all-trades engineer), but I personally dunno how to actually find people in the field, it seems pretty niche. 80% of what I do requires more practical experience than book larning, and it's not too tough (estimating conductor sizes, recording transformer information, gather substation relay data, etc.), but then 20% of it involves putting it all together to make a working electrical model and report including suggestions and issues with the system.
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May 11, 2016 21:26
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Estimating conductor size...come on man. Every utility has some sort of GIS program with all the data in it. I suppose you could be verifying the info but yeah. it is all there.
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May 13, 2016 03:29
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lol data collection isn't even remotely niche
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May 13, 2016 04:05
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Dangerous Mind posted:What kind of work would a typical entry level power systems engineer be doing? Also what kind of job titles or keywords should I be looking for when searching for jobs in power? I can think of substation, power delivery, and utility but not sure what else though. They say a lot of people are retiring from the field but what positions are they leaving exactly that I should be looking into? It depends which part of the industry you get into. There's transmission lines (though this tends to be more civil engineers), substations, P&C, SCADA, big utilities will have dedicated telecom groups. There's also power system analysis where you run load flow studies, voltage stability studies, etc. in the planning or real-time operations space. It's more analysis focused, but can be a lot of fun (I've been working in operations for four years now.) I'm not sure about the US, but a lot of major utilities in Canada have rotation programs for entry-level engineers where you work in different groups for a period of time. This gives you exposure to different business units, and a lower-pressure way to figure out what you like.
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May 13, 2016 06:38
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Have any of you guys had experience moving out of oil and gas and into another industry that pays less? I just received an offer in the aero industry and all my research on their pay grades seems to indicate that the salary would maybe be about 5 or 6 grand more than what I'm currently at. However, just to adjust for the cost of living in this new location and make a lateral move I need like double that. Should I just kind of relegate myself to the fact that I will probably take a pay cut, or is there the possibility of having an outside shot of making it work?
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May 13, 2016 15:22
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spwrozek posted:Estimating conductor size...come on man. Every utility has some sort of GIS program with all the data in it. We don't work for the utility, and no they don't. Not even remotely. Our client's gis rarely even has primary voltage correct, let alone conductor sizing or even routing. Data collection is fun, but it's not really engineering and it's only the first step to model building and system analysis.
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May 13, 2016 16:21
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If you think you can get any good data from estimating conductor size from the ground it is pretty laughable. Is it ACC, ACCC, ACSR, ACSS, etc...etc... Well it looks 477 but maybe it is 397 or perhaps 556 or maybe it is some stupid custom conductor they tried in the past. If you sent out an engineer to do this collection it is the biggest waste of resources. You could put together a book of common equipment and teach someone everything they need to know in a week or two. (you don't happen to work for uc synergetic by chance do you? They seem to be buying all kinds of distribution related companies, and Pike engineering) To the OP of the questionn: At most major utilities the distribution engineers do about 10% of any design work. It is all techs who have high school degrees. They just look at the standard and plop poles at 200' and size transformers per house. poo poo falls down they just put the same stuff back up. They do no real analysis. Anything with big crossings, send to transmission to handle. Really look at going into sub design (one of the varying sub groups), real time ops, system planning, or commissioning (with zero design experience this would be a long shot though, most our commissioning engineers are 10+ year guys). It is a great industry and I highly recommend getting into it.
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May 14, 2016 00:11
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Kind of related to my earlier question . . . do any of you folks actually work in systems engineering, or controls, robotics, mechatronics, something like that? I was just interested in hearing more about what the day-to-day life of an engineer in that area is like, and what skills have been most useful to you.
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May 15, 2016 00:37
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I'm in controls engineering and it could be fun if you get the right customer. Most of the time time everyone wants "open that valve when the tank hits 3/4" and nothing more complex. Others want the sun and the moon but drive you insane either watching over your shoulder or using their subtle powers of scope creep. Day to day typical - work 3 or so hours on naming valves and sensors properly, get caught up in some technical round-table for an hour. It doesn't really matter what. It could be proper naming convention or the fine points of getting Hr:Min:Sec to display properly on the graphics. It's always something esoteric and it always takes around an hour. Lunch wooo, Come back from outside and no longer want to stare at a computer. Do meaningful and rewarding IF/THEN/ELSE pyramids for a couple hours before inevitably something breaks at 3:30 and you become process IT support. Remind yourself that this is better than actual IT because you can play dumb and be all "I only know engineering, The only thing I know about domains is that Thar be Dragons". Go home, Rinse and Repeat. My kingdom for a CASE statement.
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May 15, 2016 01:59
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HondaCivet posted:Kind of related to my earlier question . . . do any of you folks actually work in systems engineering, or controls, robotics, mechatronics, something like that? I was just interested in hearing more about what the day-to-day life of an engineer in that area is like, and what skills have been most useful to you. I work in robotics, half software half systems half test engineering is the one sentence version of what I do. One day I'm developing a new feature on a piece of software, the next I'm debugging a network on a vehicle in a field, the next I'm designing a safety state machine for a new platform. It's a very dynamic environment, but that's also the nature of my company (we're only about 40 people or so). Most useful skill? Writing. I could not keep track of what I do if I didn't take good notes and produce good written feedback/documentation/test reports/whatever. Also, learn Python. Python is amazing.
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May 15, 2016 04:31
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Thanks! Would either of you mind telling me what industry/company you're in and what kind of products you're working on? I'm assuming you don't want to post such things publicly so PMs would be great if you had the time.
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May 15, 2016 05:52
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Vaporware posted:I'm in controls engineering and it could be fun if you get the right customer. Most of the time time everyone wants "open that valve when the tank hits 3/4" and nothing more complex. Others want the sun and the moon but drive you insane either watching over your shoulder or using their subtle powers of scope creep. It's good to know we are not the only firm that loses approximately an hour per day reinventing the wheel with respect to naming and formatting conventions.
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May 15, 2016 17:42
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Anyone have any experience with PE exam prep companies (PPI2Pass, Testmasters, etc)? Planning on taking the mechanical PE in October and was thinking of signing up. $1600 seems steep, but if it improves my likelihood of passing I think it's worth the money. Just wanted some feedback before I pull the trigger.
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May 17, 2016 16:52
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PPI2Pass's test prep/reference material is pretty good, though I didn't take their classes (went to a local university's instead since it was cheaper).
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May 17, 2016 16:59
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