Stagnating in current job - other options?

[BGarside]

Some background. I'm a 47 y.o. Materials Engineer/Metallurgist (BSc, MSc, CEng), have been working last 5y as a contractor at an aircraft mfr. in the SW, currently in lab-based failure investigations. It pays well but I feel I am stagnating, carrying out essentially one function without learning anything new and I'm concerned I will limit my options for finding future employment. Plus the new IR35 regs next year might put a stop to Ltd. Company working, and my rate will never increase in the current contract, so I am likely to end up worse off as time passes.

Have considered some sort of retraining, maybe taking a year off, to do something different, but my perception is that engineering is quite restricted in scope for transferring into other roles, given the highly specific disciplines it consists of. Materials Engineering was not a lifelong ambition but rather an expedient choice while studying multiple subjects at Uni and realising that I was pretty crap at Maths, Physics and Computing!

So, really I'm trying to find out what sort of options might be out there for transferring from my current discipline, with or without formal retraining, into related or possibly unrelated roles. I'd also be open to working overseas, though currently I would have to work in English. Have any of the engineers on here done something similar?

Cheers,

Ben

[rog007]

What would you love to do?

What would you not want to do?

Those may help to bring some focus to your potential options.

[edc]

I used to work for an aerospace design and manufacturing business. We had what were titled Environmental Test Engineers. One of them left to join on of the test houses. That could be a potential option.

[cml24]

Some engineers are quite good at the project management side of things. Is that something you would consider?

Some aren't that good or have no desire to leave a technical role though.

Materials engineers, welding experts, and similar are well regarded in oil and gas. Not a subject I know much about but do you think your skills would transfer? Could open up interesting locations etc if you're willing to travel.

[BGarside]

Thanks for the comments.

@cml24: Oil & Gas: I worked in Aberdeen for 2y initially in a test house environment on failure investigations (left due to ridiculous workload) then writing specs and documents for Wood Group. Massive job losses in 2014 when the oil price crashed. I believe there are far fewer engineers working in oil and gas in the UK than there were then!

@edc: I have an interest in environmental matters so that sort of thing might be of interest. I guess if it's to do with implementing new equipment/methods of working it would require keeping abreast of the latest technologies, or are you discussing more of an environmental / pollution monitoring type of role?

@rog007: Don't really know TBH, but I prefer not to be sat around all day using a computer. Quite like hands-on aspects, maybe diagnosing and fixing things. Using equipment, etc. Some travel would be OK but wouldn't want the extra stress/hassle of spending every day stuck in UK traffic. Overseas would be good too.

Cheers,

Ben

[GT03ROB]

BGarside said:

@cml24: Oil & Gas: I worked in Aberdeen for 2y initially in a test house environment on failure investigations (left due to ridiculous workload) then writing specs and documents for Wood Group. Massive job losses in 2014 when the oil price crashed. I believe there are far fewer engineers working in oil and gas in the UK than there were then!

Material engineers/Metallurgists are still very much in demand on the design side. Good ones are a rare commodity.

[edc]

Not pollution. These are environmental reliability tests for components and units fitted to aircraft. Heat, vibration, pressure whatever, whatever tests are specified to meet the spec. I'm no engineer but we had a few rooms with equipment but for other tests shipped the units out to external test houses either contracting them to complete the tests or going out to use their facility.

[BGarside]

GT03ROB said:

Material engineers/Metallurgists are still very much in demand on the design side. Good ones are a rare commodity.

Interesting, although TBH I've never really been on the design side of things, specifying materials. I thought the bottom had dropped out of the O&G market though, in the UK at least....

[BGarside]

edc said:

Not pollution. These are environmental reliability tests for components and units fitted to aircraft. Heat, vibration, pressure whatever, whatever tests are specified to meet the spec. I'm no engineer but we had a few rooms with equipment but for other tests shipped the units out to external test houses either contracting them to complete the tests or going out to use their facility.

OK, got you. Sounds like the kind of thing outsourced to test houses. Having worked in one - briefly - they don't seem to offer very good conditions of employment though and seem to suffer a high turnover of staff.

[GT03ROB]

BGarside said:

GT03ROB said:

Material engineers/Metallurgists are still very much in demand on the design side. Good ones are a rare commodity.

Interesting, although TBH I've never really been on the design side of things, specifying materials. I thought the bottom had dropped out of the O&G market though, in the UK at least....

Uk O&G is more than what happens in Aberdeen. I've been O&G all my working life, closest I've ever been to Aberdeen is probably Newcastle!!