|
Graduated a year ago, BSEE + BSCPE. Work as a field engineer for an industrial automation company, specializing in metals production (steel + aluminum mills, mostly). My job rocks. We mostly hire EEs, but there are some MEs there too. Bonus pic of a "typical" work environment for me: 
|
#
¿
Oct 2, 2009 01:46
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:30 |
|
|
Huskalator posted:Besides the $$$ why would someone want to be an engineer? For example what are some cool things engineers get to do? Because I get to travel the world on someone else's money. And get paid to do it. Serious answer: It's a very satisfying job if you choose well. I get to make things the entire world needs, play with the sort of machinery 99.9% of people only see on tv, and get to go all sorts of exotic places to do it. The money ain't bad either.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2009 01:00
|
|
|
Groda posted:I've got a master degree from a foreign school and will have one more (one of these days...). I'm living and working abroad for the near future. That's the process, AFAIK, but I'll ask some people at work (we have a bunch of foreign PEs). Which field are you in?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 4, 2009 13:21
|
|
|
Groda posted:nuclear/mechanical/process You did get the process right, one of my coworkers said the degree approval process was a bit of a PITA though.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2009 13:15
|
|
|
Groda posted:Thanks for getting back! One from Brazil, one from India. The Indian got his degree approved almost instantly, the Brazilian had a bit of a hard time, because he was 10+ years out of school by the time he took the FE.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2009 02:20
|
|
|
Groda posted:Was the fact that the Brazilian's papers weren't originally in English a big problem? Not significantly. They're used to dealing internationally, so translation isn't generally a huge problem. Speaking of international work, I'm off to a field assignment in ~8hr. Steel mill shut down for a 10 day maintenance + retrofit, and I get to do the PLC work. I'm going down there for the outage + a few days afterwards to make sure production gets restarted without any trouble. The glamorous life of a field engineer!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 9, 2009 04:00
|
|
|
Nihilanthic posted:Maintenance work of some sort? Design jobs generally are in an office. You'd be surprised. As a field engineer, I've met plenty of steel-mill workers, and most are certainly guys I could (and do) get along with. Keep an open mind and talk to people, you'll learn a ton about good design from the user's perspective. Also worth noting, on my last project, ~50% of the people on the customer's side of things that I had contact with had at least a BS in engineering. "Dirty work" is the implementation side of engineering, lots of engineers really don't think about the people who have to use/maintain their designs, and it shows. UncleSkunk posted:ME here, was wondering if any field engineers around these parts wouldn't mind detailing their jobs for me? I currently work in design, and staring at ProE all day is driving me insane. I'm curious what options an early-career ME has for getting his hands dirty. I'm an EE field engineer, but I work with MEs (we hire both for my job). I do industrial automation field work, though I've been in the office a ton due to the economy recently. Our field guys usually get hired either right out of a BS/MS EE/ME program or with 1-5yr experience. I got hired straight out of undergrad (BS EE+BS CPE) and I've been working on everything from qualifying new PLCs and switchgear to writing automation software for a big project (that I'll also be doing a bit of commissioning on). I should spend more time than I do in the field (normal is ~50%, projects are usually 30-180 days long), but the recession has delayed lots of our projects. As far as the actual work, I spend most of my time on site commissioning things and troubleshooting equipment. Making sure everything works, that it all communicates, operates safely, etc. I mostly work in steel mills, so lots of my work is drives/motors/hydraulically operated machinery. Most of our sites are international, and the hours usually suck (12-16hr days on site are not uncommon). We do get paid OT though, some companies don't. It's one of those positions where the compensation package isn't just salary and bonuses, OT, per diem, site pay, etc can make or break you. The corporate travel policy is also worth asking about; we get to keep our frequent flyer miles and can generally pick our own itinerary to get there (within reason, of course). If you have any other questions, just ask.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2010 01:20
|
|
|
Nihilanthic posted:Where are you working, exactly? I'm coming out of metalworking as a trade and most people seemed to have a very lovely, resentful attitude to 'all dem engineers right out of school making fifty thousand a year' - except for the foremen who basically did everything but fire me so I would go back to school while I still can. I guess I worked in a weird place, or shipyards are just crappy? I work for a pretty decent sized supplier to the steel industry (automation equipment supplier/systems integrator/general "make it work" contractor), mostly working in primary/secondary metals production. I've pretty much only worked in hot strip steel mills, but my group does hot and cold steel and aluminum mills, as well as production of both metals. Steel mills tend to be a more educated workforce due to the immense amount of technology in use now, so maybe I'm just spoiled, but the worst I've gotten is some lighthearted ribbing about being overeducated. Nihilanthic posted:I'm going M.E. myself, - what is ME field work like? I've wrenched on my own cars out of fun and later necessity for the past 9 years, starting at 16, and I've done my share of crawling into odd angles to hold or fix or fit or join things together. Will I be doing that or just inspecting things, measuring, etc? The MEs that work with me do almost the exact same job I do, most of it electrical/software in nature. I rarely get truly "dirty", unless I'm troubleshooting some particularly annoying issue; most of the time, I'm telling the grunt workers what to do, then checking their work, calibrating the equipment, measuring, etc. I do tend to do final wiring hookups, minor changes, etc, but I leave the major wiring runs to the electricians. Our ME guys tend to get a bit more into things, helping troubleshoot motors and such. You likely won't do much "hands-on" installation, but you will test equipment, make sure it works to spec, and troubleshoot it when it doesn't (all the time, FYI, Murphy is a bastard). Last project I was on, we spent 90% of our time with the ME from the mechanical contractor verifying that all our equipment was working and that the local contractors did everything right (they didn't). His job was almost exactly like ours at that point, just making sure everything works and is done right. More "hands-on" time with a radio than a wrench. Honestly, the biggest adjustment to a field engineering job isn't what you do at work, it's the effects on your life. I can't make real firm plans due to being called to jobs on short (at best) notice. For example, last field assignment I was on, I got ~3 days notice (booked tickets friday afternoon for 6am monday flight) for an 11 day international trip. I was supposed to leave this week/next for a longer assignment, but it ran into issues, so I'm stuck in limbo since I have 4 projects going on now (2 in the office, 2 in the field). The two in the field should start around the same time, and they're on different continents. This may get interesting. Nihilanthic posted:Also, does being a claustrophobic mean I should just stay in an office? I've had panic attacks trying to work inside of VERY small water tanks with 3 baffled sections the size of coffins to crawl through to get back to the manhole out of it. Not fun! Maybe. I don't usually have to deal with confined spaces, but I have had a few. Most of our work is in cabinets/HMI panels/wallmount panels, but some of our sensors get "interesting" mounting locations. Most mechanical equipment we deal with is designed for ease of access, but some of it is necessarily hidden/enclosed. Even so, they try to make stuff pretty accessible, as chances are it will fail at least once. Shalinor posted:I'm curious about this, and also how M.E. work differs between larger firms and smaller firms? Does the work get more applied and less cubical-based if you move away from corporate firms? Or is this purely a function of job title / "field work" in larger and smaller companies is identical? I think it's more dependent on job title/skillset. In my experience (comparing my company of ~500 people to GE, where I have friends), the work is pretty similar. The pay and travel policies differ hugely though. I talked to the guy from our mech. supplier on the last job, and he was making $30 less/day in per diem, no location premium, and vastly tighter restrictions on travel. EDIT: this is solely speaking of field engineering, there are plenty of engineers at both companies stuck in cubes. KaiserBen fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Jan 6, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Jan 6, 2010 00:48
|
|
|
NativeAlien posted:I've thought about it and I see pros and cons with contacting them about it. I don't want seem like I think I'm some hot commodity throwing my weight around when I don't have any at this point, and I also don't want them to think "well, this kid's got his opportunity, let's give someone else a try" either. I have no idea if that's how it works, but it's what I'm afraid of. There's no harm telling them you have another offer. When I took my job, I had 3 offers I was considering, told each company that I did, and none had issue with it. This was March/April '08 though, so better economic times to be sure, but none acted surprised or thought I was "throwing my weight around". They know that if they're interested, someone else probably is too. Don't accept then turn it down, just tell the power guys that you have another offer and would like to know sooner rather than later (most can at least try to accommodate you).
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2010 06:09
|
|
|
z to da ach posted:Tell me more. I graduate next May and am looking for a job outside the US for a while before I settle down with a family. If you're a CHE, investigate some of the oil companies, as well as bulk chem suppliers (Dow, etc). Most of them have significant overseas operations, getting a job there might be a bit harder though. I took the consulting company route, which means I get to visit more countries for shorter periods of time, but my job is a bit less stable due to the overall fluctuations in the market sector I'm in (I'm an EE working in steel production). I like it though, and as you said, it's a great job for someone young and unattached. Stup's experience was similar to mine, as far as getting the job, but I was assured international work from the beginning; it's in the job description. I expressed interest in a few sites, and I've gotten my pick 2 of 3 times. I'm actually in the field right now, at a site in India.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 22, 2010 09:45
|
|
|
Diet Crack posted:Some people need to redefine their ideas/definition of being an engineer. If you want more of the hands on, repairing faults kind of experience, then you should be looking into technician roles. In my experience, fully qualified engineers sit in offices managing day to day operations and creating design ideas and what not. I've never really seen anyone other than a project manager or higher management types on the actual work site who aren't technicians. Perhaps that's just your work environment, I go on jobsites all the time (in fact, it's in the job description). I'm not entirely hands-on, usually it's directing techs/electricians to fix something (they generally know the wiring end of it better anyway), but I do spend a lot of time with a meter in hand and a trend running on my laptop. Our PMs and management sit in cubes all day, with the occasional journey to site if something's really FUBAR (or if the site is somewhere they want to visit, like the job we had in Jamaica). The last engineering job I worked (Test Engineer at a storage device manufacturer) was pretty hands-on too, we were always examining test escape systems and revising the tests/process.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 13, 2010 12:26
|
|
|
seo posted:become a heavy drinker. FYI, this is what happens at remote jobsites even if you do have internet access.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 8, 2010 06:10
|
|
|
A Jew in Manhattan posted:Thanks for the input. It's certainly possible; I'm an EE/CPE double major, and I got a job involving serious travel straight out of school. Try the power field, either in generation side or in industrial/substation equipment side (I'm in the steel industry). Europe is pretty hard, my company has a few projects there, but they tend to be shorter term than the China/India/Brazil jobs. I've personally been to China and India (a few other places as well) on the job, working on a domestic job at the moment. If you have EU citizenship too, you're much easier to get into several countries, so that's a definite plus.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2011 05:28
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry. Power, and do field work for a supplier in the power or industrial equipment (VFD, large motor, automation, etc). Has taken me all over the world, though you'd better not be picky; you'll spend most of your time in the developing world. IIRC we're hiring at the moment, I'll check into that this afternoon.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 16, 2011 16:42
|
|
|
Safe and Secure! posted:Not getting my hopes but up, but along the same lines, anybody have any tips for a software (CS) guy to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? Same fields, basically. Heavy industry is usually in need of SCADA control system programmers (bonus if you know anything, and I mean anything, about security), and it usually involves at least some site-time. You could also do independent freelance work, but finding that can be hit or miss.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2011 01:23
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:30 |
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:That sounds neat, are they interested in entry level people? I totally understand if you don't want to post this, but I would like to know which company you work for so I can do some research. I can give you my email address if you would prefer not to post the name. We do hire entry level people fairly often (that's how I got in), IIRC we still have one position open for an entry level field engineer now. I'm not gonna post the company, but if you give me an email address, I'll send a link to the application to you. It varies by jobsite, I got to see pretty much everything I wanted to in China within a reasonable distance of the site (6 day workweek meant day trips only, sadly), but I've been working my rear end off (70-85hr a week) at my latest site, though fortunately there's not too much to see here. Our schedule is usually around 45-50hr/week, so that can cut into the sightseeing and fun a bit, but usually there is some time.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 19, 2011 17:30
|
|