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spwrozek posted:I have my new guy (1.5 years out of school) working with two guys with 12 years experience on two big projects. They are expected to train him via this process. Going pretty good so far. He has had good feedback for me. I have made the expectation pretty clear to the older guys. I also have him doing a small project with a mentor. Thank you for actually doing a proper job of being a boss to a new engineer. My old boss, despite his faults like making fun of me for asking about what ppe i needed, demanding hard work etc, actually did teach me and go out of his way to get me in to training classes. My new boss signs my expense reports, and not much else besides telling me im fairly compensated.
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Nov 24, 2017 19:03
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I like my new boss. I don't have any experience with designing fixtures, so he's patient with answering my questions about the quirks in that discipline, the whys, not just the whats. And good about explaining the capabilities of the shop so I can design to their strengths (ie, don't make poo poo that's too expensive to manufacture). He has an engineering meeting every two weeks to go over projects and to discuss various things to make everyone's job easier (talking about standards, tips and tricks, group brainstorming sessions on new projects or design issues people may have, etc).
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Nov 24, 2017 19:09
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My new boss is a fantastic engineer but was thrust into a management position that he obviously wants no part of. I shouldn't be filling out my own yearly review buddy.
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Nov 25, 2017 00:03
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Gorman Thomas posted:My new boss is a fantastic engineer but was thrust into a management position that he obviously wants no part of. I shouldn't be filling out my own yearly review buddy. Most companies have you do a self assessment for comparison...actually writing your own well...when you write the rules of the game you tend to win.
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Nov 25, 2017 00:22
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After I get my Masters in Mechanical Engineering, how long am I looking at to get a PhD? Is it a single year, or is it another 2 years or something? How does it even work, would I be a full-time student again, or would I be working my day job and studying in my free time to nab the PhD?
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Nov 27, 2017 01:06
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You’d be a full time student and it’s likely 3-4 more years, depending on the program and specific area of research. Other variables include if you’re staying at the same place you get your masters or if another institution will give you graduate coursework credit towards the PhD with what you’ve done already.
Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Nov 27, 2017 |
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Nov 27, 2017 01:48
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paternity suitor posted:Honest question, not trying to be a dick. Have you ever been anywhere with a useful formal training program? I've never experienced one. The (very) few formal training programs I've done have been worthless. IMO, it's much more useful to figure stuff out on your own and ask the experienced guys questions when you hit a snag. I’ve heard good things from my friends in automotive. Ford has a college grad program where you rotate through different departments. Question for thread: I’m going to leave my job at the end of the year because I’m burnt out. Thinking about freelancing and taking a lot of my contacts with me across government, industry and academia, and offering myself and my Rolodex, plus skills of course. Any good reads on taking the road of an independent consultant? The IEEE publishes an annual survey which is nice for numbers and some context. I’m an EE with 10 years across automotive, defense, consumer and aerospace (space Avionics mostly) and I’m a hardcore hardware guy, for context.
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Nov 27, 2017 02:29
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Q8ee posted:After I get my Masters in Mechanical Engineering, how long am I looking at to get a PhD? Is it a single year, or is it another 2 years or something? How does it even work, would I be a full-time student again, or would I be working my day job and studying in my free time to nab the PhD? A friend that graduated at the end of 2012 with his bachelors in aero will complete his doctorate end of spring 2018
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Nov 27, 2017 04:52
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Big-three supplier assistance is also a great opportunity to wield absurd amounts of power over experienced engineers at other companies early in your career
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Nov 27, 2017 06:12
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movax posted:I’ve heard good things from my friends in automotive. Ford has a college grad program where you rotate through different departments. I wish you luck. I was also extremely burned out and took off a year, with the goal of using my contacts in aerospace to do consulting after some time off. I know people who have done that, and it's extremely lucrative if you can pull it off. I don't think I'm there yet, it didn't work out for me, and I ended up going back to full time work. In retrospect, I probably needed more experience, and an active clearance. I also had about 10 years experience, but in aerospace that still makes me a kid. I also found that I had a problem with all of my best contacts retiring on me! I had quite a few contacts fairly high up in NASA, and literally of them retired or died (  )within the last two years. That sounds morbid, but it's true.EDIT: So here's an example of one guy I know, who is paid for his rolodex. He's got about 30 years experience, and a PhD, and about 10 years experience with ARL. He uses his government contacts to win small R&D contracts with whoever his current employer is. He brings in enough work to justify his salary, even though he does absolutely nothing of value. But hey, if you can bring in $500k worth of work, your $200k salary is fine. paternity suitor fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Nov 27, 2017 |
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Nov 27, 2017 15:00
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CarForumPoster posted:A friend that graduated at the end of 2012 with his bachelors in aero will complete his doctorate end of spring 2018 Yikes. On the same sort of topic, what's the difference between an MEng and an MSc in Engineering, if I plan on doing one or the other in the UK and then studying abroad (America or Canada) for my PhD? My sponsors have told me getting an MEng is better than just getting a BEng, which is pretty self-explanatory. But is an MSc more prestigious or respected compared to an MEng? The only thing I can find on this is they both help you become an accredited engineer, but being a Chartered Engineer isn't really a thing over in the Middle East AFAIK, which is where I plan on working full-time once I graduate (my home country). I just want to do what's best for me if I definitely plan on studying in the US or Canada for my PhD, but no one really seems to know whether it's best to do a BEng + MEng, or BEng and MSc. Qubee fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Nov 28, 2017 |
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Nov 28, 2017 02:42
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Look up specific programs, but a common difference was that MSc required a master’s thesis (research) while MEng did not and was more commonly seen as a terminal degree. The MSc thus would be more valuable as a stepping stone to a PhD where research is basically all that matters. Things might have changed though as more programs incorporate a non-thesis, terminal MSc to their curriculum. Basically, Google around a bit to compare requirements, but it probably doesn’t matter for PhD-prep as much as it used to. At the end of the day you just need great research and good letters. Also you might want to start checking in with the grad school threads in SAL for some of these questions too. Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Nov 28, 2017 |
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Nov 28, 2017 02:51
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Thanks a bunch, man. Recently hit me that I need to start taking care of my parents and sisters, and it's lit a fire under my rear end. loving pathetic that I faffed about when I was younger and wasted my time, now I'm 25 in my 2nd year of Engineering. Will definitely speak to a careers advisor at uni and ask them too.
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Nov 28, 2017 03:18
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25 ain’t that late.  There are plenty of us in the non-traditional student thread (again, in SAL) doing it later than you! Good luck! Edit: also career advisors aren’t useless, but they’re often not the best people to talk to about PhDs. Talk to professors, talk to current grad students, and talk to the people who have the job you want to find out if a PhD even makes sense. Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Nov 28, 2017 |
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Nov 28, 2017 03:20
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:25 ain’t that late. I graduate in the spring... assuming I pass my Water & Wastewater Design class this semester. I also turn 40 in February. 25 ain't that late.
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Nov 28, 2017 04:42
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:Look up specific programs, but a common difference was that MSc required a master’s thesis (research) while MEng did not and was more commonly seen as a terminal degree. The MSc thus would be more valuable as a stepping stone to a PhD where research is basically all that matters. At least in the US, a MSc is more common, and usually a little more flexible in terms ld being able to apply it elsewhere later on in your career. No one will think you have too little knowledge with an MSc compared to an Meng, but it does leave more doors open. Technically speaking my degree letters after my name (which i have never used outside my masters thesis) is MSE.
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Nov 28, 2017 05:41
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:25 ain’t that late. It is what it is. You get quite a few people (Ex-military, folks from the trades or others) who may be graduating in their mid to late 30s or older. In other news I am still hunting for a new job. So I recently heard something from my sister who used to work in tech in California... Is it true you folks get really low 401k plans? How hard is it to find something in the 5-9% range? (Or am I better off staying away from tech and trying to get in with a utility?)
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Nov 28, 2017 05:44
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I work at a utility. 8% gets 4% match. But I have a pension?!? Everything goes away slowly though.
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Nov 28, 2017 05:55
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Senor P. posted:So I recently heard something from my sister who used to work in tech in California... Is it true you folks get really low 401k plans? How hard is it to find something in the 5-9% range? (Or am I better off staying away from tech and trying to get in with a utility?) I think it’s all over the place. The two companies in the Bay Area that I’ve worked for are 50% up to the maximum, but when I was looking for the second job it seemed to vary a lot. Pre-ipo I’m generally seemed pretty bad on matching. Matching is replaceable though so I’d assign it a value and add it to total comp to compare. asur fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Nov 28, 2017 |
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Nov 28, 2017 06:44
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spwrozek posted:I work at a utility. 8% gets 4% match. But I have a pension?!? Everything goes away slowly though. Whats a pension? Lol I get 100% match upto my 4% i put in my 401k, and then a 401k bonus a “years of service” bonus that adds another 3.5ish %. Actually despite all my griping its not shabby. No pension though.
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Nov 28, 2017 06:53
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Tnuctip posted:At least in the US, a MSc is more common, and usually a little more flexible in terms ld being able to apply it elsewhere later on in your career. No one will think you have too little knowledge with an MSc compared to an Meng, but it does leave more doors open. This is interesting. I'm in the US, and I've never had an employer or potential employer bat an eye at my MEng vs and MSc. Everyone has cared about the M, way less about the letters following that. Also, to be contrarian, my school's MEng program was thesis-by-default, although they did have a non-thesis option (that a whole lot of folks took).
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Nov 28, 2017 14:26
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Zuph posted:This is interesting. I'm in the US, and I've never had an employer or potential employer bat an eye at my MEng vs and MSc. Everyone has cared about the M, way less about the letters following that. After you've had a job for a while there isn't a lot of reason to prefer an MEng or MSc over even a Bachelors. If you have two similarly qualified candidates and they both aced the in-person interview and you can only pick one, well maybe you would think about it? It pretty much never comes up in post-interview hiring meetings that I have been in.
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Nov 28, 2017 18:59
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Zuph posted:This is interesting. I'm in the US, and I've never had an employer or potential employer bat an eye at my MEng vs and MSc. Everyone has cared about the M, way less about the letters following that. Thats interesting about the thesis option for MEng, i actually dont know any schools doing the MEng instead of the Msc. Also you are right about havimg an advanced degree, no one cares which style it is in the real world. I was thinking more felxibility academically if you want to go on for a phd later, but even then i doubt theres much of a difference between the two as long as you have good publications. The moral of the story is have good publications lol.
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Nov 28, 2017 22:05
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Any field service engineers here have advice on coping with high amounts of travel? I'm feeling like I'm starting to burn out a bit after about a year and don't know if it's just time to move on or to stick it out for a bit and figure out how to deal with it better. I'm salaried (75-80k range), 50hrs/week minimum, and starting to get a bit grumpy about the time/ nationwide-travel. I think I could probably get a job doing similar work, making the same money, and only being responsible for a more local territory - but I'm just guessing here. I can tell that I'm getting flabbier from the eating out / lack of exercise and am just unhappy with my current quality of life. I know that turnover is high in the field for a reason, but I do (generally) like the work. I guess I'm just looking for some tips for hotel living and to see if my situation is in the realm of "you're getting screwed/can do way better" or "not a bad gig". e:biotech lab equipment is what I work with
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Nov 30, 2017 15:34
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Mr Newsman posted:I'm salaried (75-80k range), 50hrs/week minimum, gently caress that poo poo. I assume you are travelling on top of 50 hours a week..gross. I personally love being outside but finding a balance between office and field is doable. Working 40 hours a week is doable too. I could only see sticking it out if they are paying you for all those extra hours. I would look for a new job (but get it before you quit).
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Nov 30, 2017 17:25
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Not quite that bad, we bill for travel time so that's not additional time for me. I'm usually over 50/week though just due to there not being enough people to cover everything.
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Nov 30, 2017 17:42
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Most hotels have dumbbells and treadmills. I've been doing FSE work for 6 months and I use those and also skip meals with frequency (I get the per diem regardless). I will say that while I personally enjoy the work it may have been a mistake to take the job. I have two young kids at home and domestic bliss is hard to maintain with me on the road so much.
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Dec 3, 2017 19:16
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Sunny Side Up fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Dec 14, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2017 06:17
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I've seen the same thing in that getting into econ planning and eventually trading would probably require 1.5-2 years at a refinery before being able to make the jump. Assuming you didn't have any planning/blending/LP experience. It'd probably be easier to go from process engineering straight to process controls (especially if you have some relevant experience), and then network with the planning group to get in at the next opportunity. Are you location dependent or open to moving? Getting into technical sales or vendor services seems like a viable option too. I would think networking is key to getting hired into a service company like Baker or even a catalyst vendor. Several of our major contracting services are staffed by former refinery employees. It helps because they already know some of the people and how things typically get done so they're able to be effective contractors straight out of the gate. All about relationships/networking for embedded contractors. Have you looked for jobs with AspenTech? They own the LP program we use (PIMS). I'd imagine working there for a few years could get you the relevant experience to jump to an econ planning job in a refinery or a trading/optimization spot in a corporate office.
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Dec 6, 2017 14:07
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Sunny Side Up fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Dec 14, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2017 20:51
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Sunny Side Up posted:Sorry for the shotgun wall of words. All advice is appreciated. To me it seems like I&C (instrument and controls) or instrumentation people are in demand all the time... EPC work can be very hit or miss... (One project can be great with a great team. Another project can be... extremely frustrating. But at least it changes every couple of years.)
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Dec 7, 2017 05:30
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Sunny Side Up fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Dec 14, 2020 |
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Dec 7, 2017 09:37
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Mr Newsman posted:Any field service engineers here have advice on coping with high amounts of travel? Switch to a plant operator job somewhere. Make the same and sit around watching gauges. The only concern you would have when looking at a masters is if it's terminal or not. If I take the thesis option where I'm at, they switch the MS Engineering Management half to MS Industrial and Tech Management since the MSEM is terminal. Read up in the grad student thread to see how stressed and miserable the PhD students and be sure you want it though. Also have a realistic time line for graduation.
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Dec 9, 2017 09:27
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Sunny Side Up posted:Hey all, I'm looking for career advice. ChemE at 9.5 years in O&G, almost entirely refinery process engineering, some capital project work. One of the business majors in my undergrad went to Chevron right out of school and has been working his way up the trading side. A girl in my Engineering Management Program graduated from UT with a degree in petrolium engineering right when oil prices crashed and is looking to get back to Chevron when she finishes these programs. She got a project for Chevron looking for correlation between speculation and futures prices for the engineering part and has a Chevron paycheck waiting for her when she gets her papers. You could always expand your educational background if you really want to get there. You will need to show some business background including finance classes. I did not recieve any of the business classes or statistical analysis stuff in my undergrad and am glad I'm getting to it. In the last ten years we also have big data and I'm really glad this program has a bunch of analytics and some programming on top. lightpole fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Dec 9, 2017 |
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Dec 9, 2017 09:40
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Sunny Side Up posted:Yes, I'm sorting through all available opportunities, not just searching for explicit terms. Thanks for making sure! I also looked at working directly for Honeywell and FoxBoro. I believe those people are in demand, but moreso people who already have experience. My wife is a ChE who has been working in the EPC world for the last 6 years and made the move ~2 years ago to instrumentation, electrical, and controls. That specialty has been relatively secure so far despite a few rounds of layoffs. I've considered the project world, definitely an option. If you want to do project work, look into in-house/Owner engineering at the big Chemical and O&G companies over EPCs to start. You do a lot of the same work, but with generally higher pay, better security and work/life balance. It's also a good stepping stone towards planning type roles, since you get to do a lot more early-stage front-end work and are often in the same group as the schedulers/planners
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Dec 10, 2017 19:43
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ChipNDip posted:If you want to do project work, look into in-house/Owner engineering at the big Chemical and O&G companies over EPCs to start. You do a lot of the same work, but with generally higher pay, better security and work/life balance. It's also a good stepping stone towards planning type roles, since you get to do a lot more early-stage front-end work and are often in the same group as the schedulers/planners If you can get in with one of the big oil companies or super-majors, then chances are that is as good as things are going to get... (Unless you can land an overseas/expat jerb or contracting gig...) Although moving within the bigger companies is also an option too...
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Dec 13, 2017 04:53
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Sunny Side Up fucked around with this message at 02:20 on May 28, 2019 |
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Dec 14, 2017 11:31
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Sunny Side Up posted:Thanks---I spent ~6 months in refinery capital projects as a process engineer direct hire for Shell. It is definitely way more stable than working at an EPC firm. Besides the annual reorganisation and reapply for your job, making 6 months out of the year fruitless as you’re stressing out about your job status. I went from an EPC to a Major, and really enjoyed it as it was what I wanted. However, at the Major I realised how tied I was to this part of the world and in a heartbeat someone in the HQ could sell up and then I wouldn’t know what was going on. (See Maersk selling to Total). Whereas with an EPC you can do work for all around the world from that one location. It’s swings and roundabouts. It depends on your personal situation, as I have young kids and don’t want to a) travel or b) relocate.
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Dec 14, 2017 11:43
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I graduated with an EE degree in 2015, and my only job so far as a 6 month stint over a year ago that i had to quit for medical reasons. Is there any chance to get a job, or is my degree basically useless now?
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Dec 17, 2017 20:14
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You might have to explain yourself a bit during interviews but degrees aren't usually a use it or lose it thing.
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Dec 17, 2017 22:00
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