Technican/Field Engineering/practical type role advice?
Discussion
Right - I left Uni a couple of years ago and work as a Junior Designer/Engineer for a very small company with whom I cannot progress and continue my career/increase my earnings - I'm starting to feel a bit 'trapped' already. Plus the fact that they are one of the multitude of small employees who are using a so called 'recession' as an excuse for undertraining and underpaying their junior staff.
I am finding I am becoming very much a 'desk' engineer/admin person, and just chase emails/phone calls/prices/quotes all day, and other stuff that's not engaging me. Its really starting to affect me in a negative way and I'm very keen to move on from it. Its very occasionnally that I get to do the stuff I'm trained in, enjoy, and with the best means, am good at. That is - working with products, tools, being creative, pulling things apart, solving problems etc etc.
My interests are design, manufacturing, mechanical things, how things work and how they are made, all those type practical type skills.
I'm far more practical than academic. I have good IT skills, good basic knowledge of CAD/CAM etc. Very technical type brain, I understand how things work, the physics and mechanics, and how and why things are manufactured the way they are, and how to improve them.
I'm just not sure how to make this move? I am overqualified/over age to start from basics doing some kind of apprenticeship (My biggest regret is that I didnt follow this route at 16, and rather was steered towards the promised salary and guaranteed job of an Engineering Graduate. Thanks Tony!)
Yet I dont have the relevant experience for a lot of the roles I've seen? I'm struggling to find the middle ground? One of my strengths (I hope?) is that compared to many engineering grads I know which end of a spanner to pick up and how to twirl it, and I'm prefectly content and capable lying on my back covered in filth getting stuck in on a job, rather than just wanting to sit behind a CAD station. I'm trying to see this as a positive - is it really? Deluded?
I am not looking for much money at all as frankly almost anything will be more than I'm on now. What I want is a good opportunity, some structure and training, a career path if you will (currently I have none, I dont even have a flipping contract of employment after 13 months).
Examples of work I can see me really enjoying is working for a larger company either in a large manufacturing/heavy engineering type enviromment, or working out in the 'field' doing repairs, commissioning, installation, testing, that sort of thing. I recall watching the recent 'How to build a' series being extremely jealous of the young people working on fantastic projects, Wiring up and welding Submarines, or assembling Helicopters, and becoming really skilled in something.
What kind of companies need people like me? I think one of the major things is I need to work for a much larger company that is far better setup to help me develop and learn and maybe specialise in something.
Half of the problem is I dont really know what I need to be looking for when searching.
Can anyone give me any hints on what I could do to make this step?
ETA - Just to add - I'm in Yorkshire if anyone perhaps might know of anything coming up but I'm pretty open and uncommited - I'll consider working just about anywhere for the right role.
I am finding I am becoming very much a 'desk' engineer/admin person, and just chase emails/phone calls/prices/quotes all day, and other stuff that's not engaging me. Its really starting to affect me in a negative way and I'm very keen to move on from it. Its very occasionnally that I get to do the stuff I'm trained in, enjoy, and with the best means, am good at. That is - working with products, tools, being creative, pulling things apart, solving problems etc etc.
My interests are design, manufacturing, mechanical things, how things work and how they are made, all those type practical type skills.
I'm far more practical than academic. I have good IT skills, good basic knowledge of CAD/CAM etc. Very technical type brain, I understand how things work, the physics and mechanics, and how and why things are manufactured the way they are, and how to improve them.
I'm just not sure how to make this move? I am overqualified/over age to start from basics doing some kind of apprenticeship (My biggest regret is that I didnt follow this route at 16, and rather was steered towards the promised salary and guaranteed job of an Engineering Graduate. Thanks Tony!)
Yet I dont have the relevant experience for a lot of the roles I've seen? I'm struggling to find the middle ground? One of my strengths (I hope?) is that compared to many engineering grads I know which end of a spanner to pick up and how to twirl it, and I'm prefectly content and capable lying on my back covered in filth getting stuck in on a job, rather than just wanting to sit behind a CAD station. I'm trying to see this as a positive - is it really? Deluded?
I am not looking for much money at all as frankly almost anything will be more than I'm on now. What I want is a good opportunity, some structure and training, a career path if you will (currently I have none, I dont even have a flipping contract of employment after 13 months).
Examples of work I can see me really enjoying is working for a larger company either in a large manufacturing/heavy engineering type enviromment, or working out in the 'field' doing repairs, commissioning, installation, testing, that sort of thing. I recall watching the recent 'How to build a' series being extremely jealous of the young people working on fantastic projects, Wiring up and welding Submarines, or assembling Helicopters, and becoming really skilled in something.
What kind of companies need people like me? I think one of the major things is I need to work for a much larger company that is far better setup to help me develop and learn and maybe specialise in something.
Half of the problem is I dont really know what I need to be looking for when searching.
Can anyone give me any hints on what I could do to make this step?
ETA - Just to add - I'm in Yorkshire if anyone perhaps might know of anything coming up but I'm pretty open and uncommited - I'll consider working just about anywhere for the right role.
Edited by snotrag on Thursday 23 September 23:16
Edited by snotrag on Thursday 23 September 23:19
Thanks - your not the first to suggest that and its something I'm looking into.
I have seen (and applied for) a number of jobs previously that are of the 'Commisioning engineer' type role - I.E. travel out to site, and work on the install and setup of a Gas Turbine or whatever.
But one problem is that all these jobs are aimed at 'experienced' level. I am really struggling to find anything at an entry level - and I fully appreciate you'll have to do the boring stuff before you get to the interesting jobs. Am I missing something - are there other key words, or job types I should search for?
I have seen (and applied for) a number of jobs previously that are of the 'Commisioning engineer' type role - I.E. travel out to site, and work on the install and setup of a Gas Turbine or whatever.
But one problem is that all these jobs are aimed at 'experienced' level. I am really struggling to find anything at an entry level - and I fully appreciate you'll have to do the boring stuff before you get to the interesting jobs. Am I missing something - are there other key words, or job types I should search for?
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