Can an engineer escape from a black hole?
November 7, 2014 1:52 PM Subscribe
I have an engineering degree and seven years of experience working as a mechanical engineer in a niche industry. I was laid off over a year ago, and I still can't find a job.
There aren't many jobs in my industry, so I'm trying to make a career change. However, employers outside my industry think I'm too specialized and aren't willing to train me.
My career-change strategy has been to identify and market my transferable skills. I'm simplifying things a lot, but the duties from my previous jobs fit into the following categories:
• Requirements analysis
• Computer aided design (although I dislike this type of work)
• Structural analysis (although I dislike this type of work)
• Programming (but mostly writing simple scripts for automating software rarely used outside of my niche industry)
There are some jobs in other areas of mechanical engineering in my current city. I've gotten a few interviews, but the employers always end up hiring someone with more experience in their industry. I'm presenting myself as someone making a career change and looking to learn new skills, but no employer seems willing to train me. I've tried applying at big companies, medium-sized companies, and startups. At this point, I've given up on mechanical engineering.
Most of the engineering job listings in my city are in software engineering and IT, so I've been trying to tailor my resume to these positions. I can sometimes get an interview, but I always get rejected due to not having enough programming experience or not knowing enough about computer science principles. Again, I'm applying to companies big and small. I'm currently learning programming and computer science on my own, but this process could take many months, and I'd prefer a job sooner.
I've talked to career counselors, but they seem to be unfamiliar with specific engineering career paths. Their advice is to network, talk to more experienced engineers, and request informational interviews. A year of informational interviewing has been somewhat helpful, but most people only know about their tiny segment of their industry. No one knows of a job that fits my skillset.
In addition to fitting my skillset, an ideal engineering job would involve interaction with other people and not chain me to my computer for most of the day. However, I don't want to work in sales. Does such a job exist?
I'm not sure what to do. How do I find a job that fits my skills? Are most of my existing engineering skills useless? For job openings where I have most but not all of the qualifications, how do I convince the employer to hire me?
Also, are there careers outside of engineering that I would be qualified for (without having to go through years of additional schooling)? I know many non-engineering companies will accept fresh engineering graduates but not mid-career engineers like me.
I keep hearing that an engineering background is extremely marketable, but I can't find a job after over a year of searching. What am I doing wrong?
There aren't many jobs in my industry, so I'm trying to make a career change. However, employers outside my industry think I'm too specialized and aren't willing to train me.
My career-change strategy has been to identify and market my transferable skills. I'm simplifying things a lot, but the duties from my previous jobs fit into the following categories:
• Requirements analysis
• Computer aided design (although I dislike this type of work)
• Structural analysis (although I dislike this type of work)
• Programming (but mostly writing simple scripts for automating software rarely used outside of my niche industry)
There are some jobs in other areas of mechanical engineering in my current city. I've gotten a few interviews, but the employers always end up hiring someone with more experience in their industry. I'm presenting myself as someone making a career change and looking to learn new skills, but no employer seems willing to train me. I've tried applying at big companies, medium-sized companies, and startups. At this point, I've given up on mechanical engineering.
Most of the engineering job listings in my city are in software engineering and IT, so I've been trying to tailor my resume to these positions. I can sometimes get an interview, but I always get rejected due to not having enough programming experience or not knowing enough about computer science principles. Again, I'm applying to companies big and small. I'm currently learning programming and computer science on my own, but this process could take many months, and I'd prefer a job sooner.
I've talked to career counselors, but they seem to be unfamiliar with specific engineering career paths. Their advice is to network, talk to more experienced engineers, and request informational interviews. A year of informational interviewing has been somewhat helpful, but most people only know about their tiny segment of their industry. No one knows of a job that fits my skillset.
In addition to fitting my skillset, an ideal engineering job would involve interaction with other people and not chain me to my computer for most of the day. However, I don't want to work in sales. Does such a job exist?
I'm not sure what to do. How do I find a job that fits my skills? Are most of my existing engineering skills useless? For job openings where I have most but not all of the qualifications, how do I convince the employer to hire me?
Also, are there careers outside of engineering that I would be qualified for (without having to go through years of additional schooling)? I know many non-engineering companies will accept fresh engineering graduates but not mid-career engineers like me.
I keep hearing that an engineering background is extremely marketable, but I can't find a job after over a year of searching. What am I doing wrong?
Have you looked into the solar industry? They need mechanical engineers.
posted by mareli at 2:12 PM on November 7, 2014
posted by mareli at 2:12 PM on November 7, 2014
Is relocating an option?
I imagine MechE's and ChemE's would be in high demand in the North Dakota Bakken Oil Sands right now...
Does the college/university where you earned your degree have an engineering career services office? Might be worth giving them a call and asking where MechE's are in demand (i.e., in what cities are recent MechE grads getting jobs?) , or asking for assistance in changing career fields.
posted by tckma at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2014
I imagine MechE's and ChemE's would be in high demand in the North Dakota Bakken Oil Sands right now...
Does the college/university where you earned your degree have an engineering career services office? Might be worth giving them a call and asking where MechE's are in demand (i.e., in what cities are recent MechE grads getting jobs?) , or asking for assistance in changing career fields.
posted by tckma at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2014
It would be helpful if we knew what city/region you are located in now and if/where you'd be willing to relocate. I think you'd have the most luck looking in the Metro DC, Colorado, and California.
What are your friends in industry doing now? Do they know you are looking for work? Most of the jobs I have gotten have been because I knew somebody at the company or had many mutual network connections.
I second tckma's suggestion of looking into alumni career services if your school has them.
I believe that most of your existing engineering skills are not useless. I've know MEs that work in flight operations. They do fine. Based on your skillset I'm certain you could work in the space biz. There's some overlap between aerospace and ME. Consider space, aviation, and defense if you haven't already.
How do you convince an employer to hire you? Demonstrate a match between the job requirements and your skills. Also, ask for less money than your competition.
I don't think that you are doing anything wrong, it's just that there are more candidates than there are jobs.
posted by Rob Rockets at 2:41 PM on November 7, 2014
What are your friends in industry doing now? Do they know you are looking for work? Most of the jobs I have gotten have been because I knew somebody at the company or had many mutual network connections.
I second tckma's suggestion of looking into alumni career services if your school has them.
I believe that most of your existing engineering skills are not useless. I've know MEs that work in flight operations. They do fine. Based on your skillset I'm certain you could work in the space biz. There's some overlap between aerospace and ME. Consider space, aviation, and defense if you haven't already.
How do you convince an employer to hire you? Demonstrate a match between the job requirements and your skills. Also, ask for less money than your competition.
I don't think that you are doing anything wrong, it's just that there are more candidates than there are jobs.
posted by Rob Rockets at 2:41 PM on November 7, 2014
Have you thought about systems engineering? There are a lot of different ways you could go with that, and they're usually fairly open as long as you have an engineering background and like looking at the big picture. Drop me a line if you want to discuss it.
posted by backseatpilot at 4:47 PM on November 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by backseatpilot at 4:47 PM on November 7, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'd also be interested to know where you are and what your niche industry was. There are some surprising overlaps between fields (for example, aerospace and subsea).
Out of curiosity, what functions of your previous work did you *enjoy*?
I also thought to recommend systems engineering as backseatpilot did. That's what I do, with an EE/bit of ME background. I'm also happy to talk via MeFi mail if you're interested.
posted by olinerd at 6:37 PM on November 7, 2014
Out of curiosity, what functions of your previous work did you *enjoy*?
I also thought to recommend systems engineering as backseatpilot did. That's what I do, with an EE/bit of ME background. I'm also happy to talk via MeFi mail if you're interested.
posted by olinerd at 6:37 PM on November 7, 2014
A mech eng background is unlikely to get you a software engineering position, but if you have large enough software companies in the area you might look for a program management/product management role: lots of coordination, requirements analysis, communication between teams, and here a limited understanding of programming would be a bonus.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 10:32 PM on November 7, 2014
posted by the agents of KAOS at 10:32 PM on November 7, 2014
Mod note: From the OP:
Hi everyone, and thank you for all of your responses. I really appreciate the advice.posted by taz (staff) at 1:51 AM on November 8, 2014
My niche was performing structural analysis to support ground testing of aerospace components. I didn't like structural analysis because it was small-picture work many steps removed from the final product and the company's profits. Another big negative was that I spent all day sitting in my cubicle running computer simulations, and there was little interaction with other people. The parts of the job that I liked were big-picture things (like design studies) and opportunities to solve problems (like writing scripts to analyze test data).
I've applied for multiple systems engineering jobs, but I'm rejected because I'm too specialized. I've also tried applying for jobs in another engineering specialty to broaden my background. However, I don't have enough experience for mid-level positions in the new specialty, and employers refuse to consider me for entry-level positions because of my existing experience (even though I tell them that I'm willing to start at an entry-level salary).
How can I market my skills for a systems engineering position? Is there coursework or training that would significantly improve my chances?
I'm willing to relocate. The only restriction is that I want to live inside a major city. All of my engineering jobs were in small towns or suburbs hours away from downtown; I've wasted my young adulthood living in the middle of nowhere with no friends or family. Unfortunately, my desire to live in a major city eliminates many, many engineering jobs, since engineering facilities are usually built in remote areas where land is cheap. A few months after losing my job, I left my small town and moved in with a relative in Chicago - where I'm currently living.
I've been networking, but all of my industry friends are either unemployed or working in jobs located far away from major cities. Also, my school does not offer alumni career services beyond a few career counseling sessions and a LinkedIn group.
Regarding the suggestion to look into a program management/product management role, how should I market myself for a management position if I have no management experience (other than leading student organizations back in college)?
Besides systems engineering and management, are there other career paths that you would suggest?
You may be encouraging interviewers to view you as too specialized because of the language you are using in your resume or cover letter. Is there a way to emphasize the problem-solving, requirements-crafting activity you have engaged in such that you can show you considered interfaces and stakeholders, negotiated paths to solution, and oh, yeah, in passing automated a lot of drudgery? And BTW you are a talented structural analyst who runs CAD systems!
If you can re-cast your experience as big-picture thinking with the capability to deal with it and involve others it might help.
posted by jet_silver at 4:20 PM on November 8, 2014
If you can re-cast your experience as big-picture thinking with the capability to deal with it and involve others it might help.
posted by jet_silver at 4:20 PM on November 8, 2014
Regarding the suggestion to look into a program management/product management role, how should I market myself for a management position if I have no management experience (other than leading student organizations back in college)?
Product management isn't management in the "I have people I manage" sense, it's an organizational role that we hire people straight out of college for. It's a combination of feature designer/schedule co-ordinator/user representative, perhaps? Try this article and this one, or look up "product manager at facebook/google/microsoft/amazon" for stories and job descriptions.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:09 PM on November 9, 2014
Product management isn't management in the "I have people I manage" sense, it's an organizational role that we hire people straight out of college for. It's a combination of feature designer/schedule co-ordinator/user representative, perhaps? Try this article and this one, or look up "product manager at facebook/google/microsoft/amazon" for stories and job descriptions.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:09 PM on November 9, 2014
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posted by strelitzia at 2:08 PM on November 7, 2014