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Im a Marine Engineer. Ive worked in several power plants and onboard ships. Im considering taking a field service position with my current company. Ive been working at $75K+ since before I graduated. I still have plenty of offers above 80 even at this time. Im never in an office and work with my hands and improve my skills every day. I love my degree.
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Oct 9, 2009 05:23
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I graduated with a 2.69 and have never been asked for a GPA. Once you get your first job its all about what skills and experience you can pick up in your field, as well as demonstrating those skills and making sure you have good references. Actually getting your first job can be the tricky part.
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Oct 11, 2009 23:29
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DNova posted:Really? I'd imagine. I've never had a problem. If you are lazy in the classroom and in the field engineering might be the wrong career. I wasn't the biggest fan of class but have always enjoyed working on engines and thier auxiliares. Most places won't give a kid straight out of college responsibility of any kind but I have no trouble running hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment. My boss just told me the company is looking for EE's and ME's to spend a few years in the field and then go back to San Diego and design turbines. He put my resume in but I didn't really focus on design. If the job goes open I'll post it.
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Oct 13, 2009 00:57
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You don't get the new mark. The amount you can raise your grade is limited and I don't think the new grade replaces the old one like it never happened. I don't really remember, I was thinking of retaking classes for graduate school but gpa isn't all that importaint it turns out.
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Oct 13, 2009 06:25
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The Juggernaut posted:Sup fellow Marine Engineer! Graduated from California Maritime. Spent a couple years at a 118MW natural gas reciprocating plant. I left because there is a limit to advancement in skills and experience as well as in the company. Since then Ive picked up some random 3rds jobs to pay bills. Right now Im working for Solar Turbines Inc. and trying to figure out what I want to do when this job is up in 2 weeks.
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Oct 14, 2009 02:13
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grover posted:Not to interject work into this thread, but I'm trying to get some of the engineering data for a pair of 25 year old solar turbines (X"d of the attached generators, specifically)- is that something you have access to if I can give you the model/frame# of the units? I doubt it. The local FSR's can't help you out? They will have more resources than me.
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Oct 14, 2009 04:02
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Huskalator posted:Besides the $$$ why would someone want to be an engineer? For example what are some cool things engineers get to do? Working in a power plant I ran 14 Wartsila 20V34SG natural gas recip's with an output of 8.439 MW each. I had to start and stop them according to load, do general troubleshooting as the plant was brand new and the engines had a lot of problems and help with the overall plant maintenance. As a 3rd A/E Ive worked on steam and slow speed diesel power plants. A slow speed diesel is the biggest engine you will ever see while a running steam plant is the greatest thing ever. My current job is just maintenance on two Taurus 60 gas turbine generators and the plant auxiliaries and steam and condensate from the campus buildings. I interviewed for a field service position several weeks ago that involved the company flying me out and having me work with the district reps for a week and a half. There is a lot of commissioning work which involves installing engines, gas compressors, generators and EMD's. The main reason I love my job, aside from the travel and money, is always having to learn something new or finding new problems to solve. I get bored doing the same thing every day and it just becomes a chore.
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Oct 15, 2009 04:32
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Hofp posted:Hmm, I think I used chemistry in a water quality lab course, that's about it as far as I can remember. If you start taking environmental engineering courses, chemistry will definitely come up here and there. Oh yeah, I think we talked a wee bit about it in an engineering geology course too. So not much, really. I took a chemistry class sometime during college but I dont remember a thing. As it is, fuel composition and boiler chemistry are some of the most important parts of my job. Also lube oil and cooling water properties. Its important to make sure your $10kk apiece engines have the right lube oil in them with the right additives and low sulfur gas so your catalyst isnt coated or burned up and you dont go out of compliance. I could gently caress up a lot of things but if it even looked like we were out of compliance with the air permit heads would roll.
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Oct 23, 2009 05:25
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Dangbe posted:I wish I could know whether I would enjoy an engineering job prior to actually working one. I've read a lot about the jobs I'd be doing and they range from absolutely miserable to wonderfully interesting. So, I guess it depends on what job I land. I'm currently a software developer and the job market is similar, so, I guess if worse comes to worse I'll be in the same position I am now +70k worth of debt. Ouch. Most of my graduating class started at $80-90k getting out. Any who made less were either the bottom of the class or chose to do so. To make more you just had to work more. Engineering is a huge field. The basic concepts all run together and you will usually need to know a little of everything. At my current job I run two gas turbines with heat recovery steam generators, a steam turbine, two aux. boilers in case the HRSG's cant cover load, three emergency diesels in the plant, three absorption chillers and two centrifugal. Aside from the mechanical knowledge required to run them I need to know about the electrical distribution system, the data collection system (computer system) and fire and emergency systems. That includes knowing the logic for the GTG's being able to reprogram, cut out and weld up condensate pipe, operate any equipment, rebuild and perform maintenance on it. To give an example, I might start off the week replacing regulating valves on campus, help the shift with boiler chemistry or pm's, troubleshoot pressure transducers and finish off with some absorption training. There is never a point in engineering at which you can know too much, you have to keep learning every day. Thats just a sample of the work I do. Right now I can do anything from operating ships to power plants to building compressors or turbines. The school I went to only had around 600 students and my engineering class was under 80. There were a lot of older students who went through the military or didnt know what they wanted to do until they heard about the school so going to college at 28 doesnt seem that unusual to me. I love engineering, the job is extremely satisfying to me and I get paid well. I can always find work, that I like, in a place that I want to be. The field is huge and if you want to sit around and design or build or create new technology the opportunity is there.
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Oct 24, 2009 01:29
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Totally Negro posted:If you guys get tired of industry engineering, you could always go to medical school. Schools love engineers (medicine is a lot like engineering, just with a lot more people interaction). Also, substantial number of surgeons I know were engineers. Just thought I'd throw that in the mix. Principles are the same but engines dont bleed. Somewhere around 25% of my class wasnt straight out of high school I think. Its always hard to remember because about half the starting class either drops out or switches majors and a few of the rest take an extra semester or two.
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Oct 24, 2009 03:01
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El Kabong posted:If the courses are approved by the engineering school at the four-year school to transfer than I doubt they are lovely. And, I don't think community college have a monopoly on lovely classes as I'm sure you will discover. It really just comes down to the professor when you're talking about basic math/science classes. Physics, strengths, calculus, numbers dont change just because you are in community college. Its all about what you can learn from the class. If you dont learn the material you are wasting your time.
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Oct 28, 2009 16:36
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SecretFire posted:How is everyone else finding the job search? The part that's been getting to me is how scarce the jobs are that I'm both even somewhat qualified for and vaguely interested in. Company just extended me another couple months and is paying me out of pocket in hopes they can get me more controls, electical, automation, programming, turbines blah blah experience and find another spot for me. Aside from the company, my job search pretty much consists of networking. Anyone interested in field work might want to check here http://tbe.taleo.net/NA11/ats/careers/searchResults.jsp?org=SOLARTURBINES&cws=1
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Oct 29, 2009 00:19
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Nihilanthic posted:I should have said 'don't mind doing it' as in I would like it, probably. It came out wrong because I used to WELD pipes, which was a monstrous pain in the rear end to do. I swear to god I'll never ever make someone do any out of position or around a corner with a mirror welding they don't have to, though, should I design piping. HVAC is the most unexciting thing ever. I dropped it as soon as I could. Most of my refrigeration course covered it anyways. Steam, however, is the best thing ever. Diesels are dirty, noisy and require a godawful amount of maintenance. There is nothing so beautiful as the sound of smoothly running steam plant. If you want to wrench on engines you could always look to go into propulsion plants or power plants. Operations is quite a bit more interesting than design anyways.
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Nov 4, 2009 15:11
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SneakySnake posted:Yes and no. College in the military is one of the things that sounds great but isn't as great as it works out to be. He might not be able to take the engineering courses but getting all the general req's out of the way can be a big help. The most important thing about engineering is to make sure you understand and can apply the material since you will most likely need a large portion of everything taught at some point in your career. If you dont understand it or dont make an effort to you are just wasting your time.
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Nov 4, 2009 15:15
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Dooey posted:I'm wondering the same thing. My GPA is a bit better (although I'm still in first term so that may change (but hopefully not)) and I'd like to live a similar life to what this guy is proposing. Anyone else done something like this? I can make 10-20k$/month easily working 6 months out of the year if I sail. Its pretty laid back and lets you do what you want. You can also look for a company that needs commissioning engineers, building power plants somewhere in the world. The ones I talked to would be flown to the jobsite, work till it was finished and then get a ticket to wherever they wanted. Most would just fly to Bangkok and hang out till the company wanted them somewhere else.
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Nov 10, 2009 04:00
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Nihilanthic posted:Is there a list of jobs in the engineering field, and which majors/concentrations do which, to help people get a feel for what is what? A website? Or is it more a case of just rubbing elbows with your department and people in the field? Stationary Engineers union. Babysit a building, pay is 30-40$/hr (at least on the west coast) to change lightbulbs or adjust thermostats, full union benefits (health, pension). You can usually find some sort of power plant job as well if thats too boring.
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Nov 11, 2009 04:24
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Nihilanthic posted:That's a blue collar job that just uses the term 'engineer'. You're basically an operator for the equipment inside of a building that an Engineer designed/specced. Not all engineers sit around all day drawing pictures that are inevitably stupid because they have never worked on the equipment they are designing. Most stationary engineering jobs dont require much critical thinking and are pretty boring though. Its very easy to get into though. In California you just call up the dispatch office and they will give you a list of jobs available through whatever region you are looking for and then you apply directly with the company.
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Nov 11, 2009 18:35
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So only people who have their PE and sit around all day drawing poo poo can post? An engineering degree simply lets you skip the apprenticeship and go in as a journeyman. I dont really care what you call it. Its an option, pays well, is extremely stable, in demand, cant be outsourced. If I limited myself to what you think engineering is both my options and my pay would be cut in half.
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Nov 12, 2009 00:54
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Groda posted:That really sounds like a technician job you're talking about. The name of the union is the Stationary Engineers union. I did not name it. I dont really care what the job is, its an option for engineers that pays 80k-100k starting out of school with excellent benefits. Most of the ME's at my school get their FE and start looking for design jobs until they realize they will make more as a technician.
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Nov 12, 2009 15:12
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fatlightning posted:I have two questions; If you need the money for school try to negotiate for some kind of school aid if the internship works out well or something. Its iffy but it might work out better than asking for more money.
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Apr 16, 2011 01:33
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wav3form posted:I think it should be that way here in the US. If you're not an engineer, you shouldn't call yourself one. There's nothing wrong with being an experienced technician but engineers put a lot of time and effort into achieving that title and it should be respected. Ive met a lot of "engineers" with a poor grasp of the principles of whatever they are designing and a lot of "technicians" who could put in a minimum amount of effort and get their PE. Mainly the time and money involved mean its just not worth it. Most of my class didnt bother with the EIT and of those that did I think maybe two are actually trying to get their PE simply because $90k is about the minimum we can get out of school. Just because you dont have your PE it doesnt mean you arent an engineer.
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Apr 17, 2011 00:33
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School wasnt that hard and if someone wants to call themselves an engineer who cares? There is no definition that says you had to go to school to be one. If they can do their job and have a solid grasp of engineering fundamentals they are an engineer. I know what you are talking about but theres no reason to be pretentious about graduating from college, especially when you will have to work with the techs and those techs might have some good pointers for you.
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Apr 18, 2011 21:28
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SubCrid TC posted:In a lot of disciplines it's also true that many technicians and other similar technical people will have gigantic blindspots in their knowledge that they aren't aware of. This can be dangerous as hell. It happens to engineers as well, but not generally to the same extent. Im not denying this but thats where this comes in: SubCrid TC posted:Of course, all the above holds for dealing with Engineers as well. Really, listen to everyone and then decide things on your own. Never trust anyone, or anything and always have a crippling fear that things could go to poo poo. That's how to be sure you're always a safe engineer. In the US at least there are plenty of jobs and unions that use engineer without a PE. Since graduation I have worked on board ships and in power plants as a licensed officer and as a supervisor and when I first got out I was usually one of the youngest around. Sometimes you need to use a little tact instead of saying Im an engineer and you are not. In the US the field is extremely broad with so many different aspects and licenses that dont involve a PE but still involve being an engineer (government definition) that a simple classification doesnt work.
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Apr 18, 2011 22:17
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SeaBass posted:It is called industrial exemption. A pretty good article about the history and pros/cons: What Im trying to say is that as an engineer or a tech in the field, once you leave school the only thing really separating you from anyone else is your head and whats in it (and for some, a license). The title doesnt really mean anything (although in that article the title itself creates exemptions) so getting all indignant just because someone wants to call themselves an engineer or listing your BSc ME after your name is a little pretentious and a distraction.
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Apr 19, 2011 01:19
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oxsnard posted:I work in EHS (I'm an environmental engineer) and we quite literally could use someone who knows a lot about vessel inspections in the coming months. I'll send you a PM. If you still need this I know quite a few Marine Engineers/Mates but it would depend on where and how much. Most academy grads are looking at 90k minimum out of school and you would be looking for at least a 1st Engineer/Chief Mate and they are making around 180k+ sailing. As far as oil is concerned, I would expect prices to recover to around 90 in 5 years at the most. Even 70 is a decent price point for most operations and we should hit that sooner than later. There's not a huge oversupply so shocks will push up the price pretty quickly. The industry pushed hard with debt for equipment and personnel and needs some consolidation so things are grim right now but I don't expect it to last. lightpole fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Feb 28, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2015 05:14
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mitztronic posted:I don't even make that with a master's and four years of experience in the bay area. Why did I get into aerospace again??? Engineers in the bay should start around 90k minimum. Base pay is over $50/hr at most jobs I've seen, with built in OT and other sweeteners.
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May 20, 2015 20:27
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mitztronic posted:hahaha what is OT? is that like casual OT except you get paid? Yeah we don't have that here OT is 1.5x after 8 and 2x after 10 although some places use an 80 hour biweekly base before accounting for OT. movax posted:Starting at 60K on the west coast just seems untenable to me -- I started higher than that in Michigan immediately after graduating where the cost of living is far, far lower than anything on the West Coast. I guess if they're offering those salaries though, they have a large enough pool to choose from. It depends on where you are at. Anywhere in the Bay or LA I can't actually imagine someone offering me that. The central valley and north coast maybe since the coast of living and available jobs is probably lower but if someone expects me to move way out there I'm going to want to get paid as well so I dunno. Most offers I saw coming out of school and through 2009 were around 100k with a 5% raise per year in the contract. Anyone who doesn't want to get laughed at is offering over 120k these days and as rent in SF is out of control even that feels low to me. lightpole fucked around with this message at 21:09 on May 20, 2015 |
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May 20, 2015 21:01
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Gorman Thomas posted:My projects get billed at $205/hr for labor and I make $35 and change Benefits should at least double your base, add in insurance and backend support and your total cost might be close to $150 /hr minimum. A lot of people only see the take home and ignore any benefits, with a lovely 401k/retirement or medical that can mean they are well below industry standard in pay. The company will be trying to hit in between 10-20% profit on your labor so while that might sound a little low, it's probably not too far out. Of course hourly rate is going to be sensitive, if the competition knows your numbers finding work might get tricky. lightpole fucked around with this message at 17:02 on May 22, 2015 |
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May 22, 2015 16:58
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notZaar posted:Does anybody have advice for an ME looking for a job that actually requires moving around and using the body instead of just sitting in an office all day? I have a BS and MS in ME and right now I work doing CFD in a machine building company and it's starting to drive me a little nuts. Just sitting around all day is boring as hell. If you don't mind travel and are mechanically inclined field service can be good. If you don't mind working more as a tech, power plants and buildings are always looking for people. In SF, base rate for the IUOE is $50/hr with basically platinum benefits for babysitting a building, changing the thermostat. Most of my classmates that wanted to stay local went that route.
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Aug 24, 2015 02:01
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CarForumPoster posted:Just a heads up because I'm a bit of an evangelist about this. I lived in SF and in the valley. This will afford you a decent apartment with someone else or a very small apartment to yourself. You will not own a home on this wage. This is comparable to roughly $60k/yr in most of the no-income-tax southern states like Florida. $50/hr is $100k/year base. Add in differential, OT, whatever else and your base usually starts around $120k right out of school without even bringing up benefits. Costs of living, especially rent in the last several years, is very high but the numbers I'm quoting came from the last time I worked shoreside in 2009 and that contract had a 5% raise a year so it's probably much higher. Also, those numbers are at or above the median household income and you get to live in or near SF instead of the middle of nowhere. If you want to live in the middle of nowhere, field service can get you six digits but you would have to travel.
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Aug 24, 2015 04:16
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There are plenty of operator positions making 6 figures around the bay. Cal Maritime grads are usually hired into them straight out of school or even without graduating. It's not design but it's 6 figures without post grad requirements and you get to walk around and work on/with equipment if that's your thing. The one problem with them is that if you don't get in with a good company you can limit yourself to that and have trouble breaking out. As far as CoL goes it's only really bad if you want to live in a trendy neighborhood without roommates. I'm paying under 1k splitting a 2 bedroom house with someone.
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Aug 28, 2015 10:41
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Thatim posted:Hello thread! Doctors Without Borders has support positions, mostly logisticians, they need engineers for. It's pretty competitive if you don't speak French though. I was told if I spoke any French I would have been in the field as soon as they got my CV. There's also Engineers Without Borders in the US but I don't know much about them.
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Sep 11, 2015 18:54
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It looked like there was post university opportunities but they either don't send out emails to the meetings or send them out a day late so I've never made it to one. Could also look into Halo Trust. I'm not sure what else is out there, I looked into the organization doing migrant rescues in the Med but they have all their slots full for engineering officers on the ship.
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Sep 11, 2015 21:22
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CarForumPoster posted:I am the thread-resident salary curmudgeon I feel like...but I recall from graduating just 2 years ago that most people did not have reasonable expectations of salary when graduating. I lived the life youre describing as a CNC programmer in Florida and found that the salary cap as a guy with <5 years experience and an associates was $20/hr. The guys with lots of experience working as "manufacturing engineers" with a 2 years associates were making sub $50k. You can check my old posts for how Florida 50K is other places 70k but suffice it to say you shouldn't expect to be making "degreed engineer" salary with a tech degree, especially an associates. All the engineers from my school, ETs and MEs, expect to make 6 figures on graduating. ET's are just hands on engineers, if you really want to move design get a master's and take the EIT or something. Pay wise, it all depends on what you are looking for. I like CA which is good because the pay is up there as well. It's just one more thing to consider when taking a job. There are a lot of benefits being near a large metro area. It's always easy to move to a high CoL area when you are young but near impossible to do so when you are close to retirement.
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Sep 25, 2015 08:39
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Most don't bother with design as it starts low and doesn't top out too much further. Plus they would have to spend time working on the low end for their PE. They either stick in more of a tech spot or jump to management. Top of the list. Average is brought down by non engineers. http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article35262486.html
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Sep 25, 2015 14:08
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I don't have right at graduation statistics for engineers in my back pocket for you so that will have to do. There are plenty of jobs that let you travel and live wherever you want. My mail goes to Nevada for tax reasons.
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Sep 25, 2015 14:40
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Retirement is linked to pay as well.
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Sep 26, 2015 06:57
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Hed posted:There's definitely a lot of this. Granted we're a small firm (<20 employees) so not much leverage but just health care premiums for example have gone up an average of 25% a year for the past decade (sometimes years it's like 70% up, sometimes it's not much) while coverage has gone down. I think on the whole none of us notice it since we're advancing our careers and see our compensation go up, but the backoffice numbers are fascinating. We've been able to keep even entry level compensation up but if you're looking for higher-than-COL raises every year, well there's where a large part of it is going. ACA actually brought things down a bit so the last decade has seen lower increases going to healthcare. That will probably change at some point and large increases will eventually come back. Need to actually consider what you are getting in retirement benefits as well. A 401K is terrible but even a small matching % can make a huge difference over the long term. Many companies cut their match during the crisis. People don't see that money coming out of their pocket immediately and don't complain as much but it can add up over the long term. If you are getting something better than a 401K a lower salary is worth it. Retirement planning requires a very long view to be taken so start thinking about it now on your first job instead of 20 years down the road when you are 45, the market is stagnant or crashing and you NEED to see 7% returns despite the fact that finding any return at all in a world where governments can offer negative returns on bonds is next to impossible. Inflation and wage increases have remained low/nonexistent due to the large number of workers laid off during the crisis. The slack in labor has mostly disapeared now so small wage increases are coming back but currently everything is hosed up so who knows what's going to happen. lightpole fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Feb 20, 2016 |
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Feb 20, 2016 22:20
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This is from freshman year but was really good. http://store.elsevier.com/Introduction-to-Marine-Engineering/D-A-Taylor/isbn-9780750625302/ I think there was also one for aux. machinery that also covered components but that was 15 years ago. I can't find it, I think Marine Aux. Machinery would cover it. It's all for a marine propulsion plant but that just means you get to cover every single piece of equipment to make a ship move and provide habitation. lightpole fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Apr 2, 2016 |
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Apr 2, 2016 02:26
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4.2 is a catch all for stuff that can combust including oily rags and cotton, it's fairly common.
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Apr 5, 2016 13:01
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