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Mech E about to start the search for a new job...help?

942 views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  arcticamt6 
#1 · (Edited)
Sooo I graduated last December ('12) from the University of Missouri Columbia with a BS-Mechanical Engineering. I ended up starting my current job around March of this year, so I have been there for about 9-10 months.

The current job I have is ehhhh. My official title is "Applications Engineer" and the company I work for is a sales/service center for industrial pumps. We do a lot of work with the local municipalities and industrial plants around here (water service, cooling lines, etc). The pay is not that great, and I am not really doing what I want. I am mostly just inside sales (quoting, processing orders, customer followup, etc) but at the same time I do a fair amount of actually scientific problem solving such as sizing pumps and power requirements.

The reason I took this job was because my GPA was pretty mediocre (2.4ish, worked 40+hours a week all through school, did make honor roll a few semesters) and I figured I should take this job, get some experience, and then look for what would be better.

So I am hitting the point where I should start looking, but I am really unsure as to what I would actually want to do.

There are sooo many options from my looking so far. Design, project management(construction, product development), sales engineer...

I would kind of like a job with some travel (international, if possible), because I have never had the opportunity to do it in the past, and might as well do it while I am young and not tied down. Also having it be on company dime would be nice.

I am pretty open to relocating, depending on where to and for how long.

Any tips/advise to guide me from you more experienced folks? Job does not have to be engineering exactly, but would be nice if it was at least related.
 
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#3 ·
I would get some more solid experience. Shitty GPA's go away pretty quickly when you've got a couple of years of experience in the real world. In my field at least.
 
#4 ·
I'd stick with that job for a few more years. "Three years experience" sounds good on a resume`. "One year experience" sounds like you got yoruself trained then hit the bricks. What makes the new employer think you're not going to do that to him too?
 
#6 ·
Check out some of the oil and gas jobs. They are hiring to work on/around the black sea.

The Middle East (Saudi Aramco, Basrah Iraq).

Libya is a bit dicey, but Tripoli is not bad as long as you don't drink. There are plenty of jobs.

Alaska has some options and Australia (if they issue you a visa).

Afghanistan has oil, but it's all Chinese and they don't have a reciprocity agreement with any nation to process the oil so are shut down. The last tender the govt. released there had zero domestic and zero international respondents. There is no safety or stability.

A buddy works oil and gas in Australia as H&S and works a month on/month off. He travels first class back and forth from Alaska and makes a good buck.

Natural gas is another one. Look up and downstream of the pumping...i.e. Schlumberger and some of the maintenance companies that do pump repair, keep the gennies running, etc. Had one hayseed Texan here in Bahrain that made 6 figures as a site manager for maintenance repairs and was a few bricks short.

Africa has plenty of options if you don't mind shit holes or dengue fever. I skipped a Uganda trip last year because of an Ebola outbreak...lol

With risk comes reward...or at least you get some dodgy visa's you have to explain to the TSA and Customs everytime you come home - true story, I'm always that random guy.

Seriously though, these are all short term contract jobs where I wouldn't think a year or two per location would be as bad as job hopping in the US. They can also move you around from site to site (project to project) within the same company.
 
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#8 ·
All of this does sound very VERY tempting. I am definitely going to consider these options, as the travel idea is very appealing.

I was looking at a few jobs with Anheuser Busch in STL being a process engineer at their brewery, which would be nice. But I think I would like to do that in like 5 years after doing some travel work like above. I will definitely be getting in contact with you about some of these options in the next few weeks.

Vince
 
#10 · (Edited)
I graduated in May 2012 with finance and worked in accounts receivables since then. The work didn't really use my finance degree, but it counts as work experience.

Now I'm getting some legit interviews after 1.5 years of experience. Hustler invited me for an interview and my experience did not match what their ad said, so they still gave me a chance even though the ad said 3-5 years of experience in an analyst position, experience I did not have. So sometimes you can apply to stuff and they may still be interested to invite you to an interview even if don't exactly have that experience. I got that interview because of my time I put in for work experience, not my GPA.

Just don't put your GPA on your resume. Most work interviews never really ask for my GPA, only a few do.
 
#11 ·
^translation:
I barely passed, my GPA sucks, I hope no one asks about it, and I also hope I get to walk onto a porn set.
in session.
 
#18 ·
"I would kind of like a job with some travel (international, if possible), because I have never had the opportunity to do it in the past, and might as well do it while I am young and not tied down. Also having it be on company dime would be nice. "

Go see your US Navy recruiter. They will PAY you to ride around in big grey canoes. Tell the recruiter just what you told us. :cheers
That 4.5 won't matter very much, if at all. GPA is only important if you want a career. If you just want to see the world, meet interesting people and occasionally shoot at them, the US Navy is the way to go. :thankya
The US Military is NOT the place for a career. Not anymore. But for a young man with the itch to travel and a taste for adventure that loves a challenge, there is no better alternative. Sign up for 4 years and after about 3 1/2 the headhunters will be after you. :inout
Experience to flesh out your training, proven leadership skills. You won't get to write your own ticket but you will get to select from many offers.:wait
 
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#19 · (Edited)
Not sure about international travel here, but if you are willing to relocate to work, a move to Warren, Michigan could be in order. Here at TACOM, (search TARDEC, we are defence) we are almost always looking to hire mechanical and electrical engineers within certain areas of expertise, as well as designers. My base alone employs some 6000+ military and civilian employees. It's worth a shot. You get in here, continue your education, which they pay for, and you can write your own ticket, my friend. I see it all day long.
 
#24 ·
Hmmm. Well I have a slight update for you guys on this front. We had our annual reviews here at work on Friday of last week.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, I knew there were not going to be any problems in my review, so I was not worried. But also I had not really planned on staying for much more of the next year, so I did not really prep to much to negotiate for things.

Summary: My boss said he thought I would probably be getting bored with what I am doing sometime soon, and he didn't want me to look for other things because he has plans for me and the company.

So he ended up giving me a 20% raise, a $3k bonus, and he is buying me a new iPhone and adding me to the company plan.

Also he said that 6 months into next year he wanted me to take over managing the single biggest account we have and at the end of the year completely transition into outside sales. The taking over the existing account means I would immediately start earning commission on it. That is huge because the account is setup, and would require none of the usual cold calling or prospecting, which is a pretty damn good leg-up for going into outside sales.

Along with that he said that he wants me to hire on someone mid year to take over my position, and train them up. Which means I will be crazy busy with my normal responsibilities, plus managing the account, plus training someone.

With the transition to outside sales he said he would be buying me a new company truck to use as my own car (said I could sell my personal vehicle, if I wanted to), along with credit card to cover expenses (100% gas cost, excluding if I went on a weekend trip somewhere on my own time, that gas would be on me).

I think he could subtly tell that I was thinking about exploring other options, which was clearly advantageous for me.
 
#29 ·
Umm, am i the only one that this sets off all kinds of alarm bells for. cause this smells slicker than deer guts on the door step to me.

Last time i had a boss who tried to make me dependent on him (trying to have me rent a house he owned, wanting me to use a company car, trying to have me on a company cell) i took it as a sign that he was corrupt and a scum bag.

six months latter the company was bankrupt, the bank siezed his house, and the I.R.S wanted to know where their tax money was.
 
#26 ·
Most definitely. I am still going to network and look for what else is out there.

My boss even said that along those lines he understands that everyone is an at will employee, and if someone makes me an offer I can't turn down he doesn't expect me to not take it. I told him I really appreciated that, and if that were to ever happen I would try and do things as best I can with giving notice and helping in the transition. Told him I respected him/company/everyone I work with (which I do) so I would never want to leave things in a bad situation or burn any bridges.
 
#27 ·
he sounds like much less of an ass than mine.

I told mine that if he doesn't soon get us back to work on this condo (I've been jobless for a month now) that I am gonna be job hunting. He replied with "Oh? Mcdonalds is hiring?"
 
#30 ·
And there is the upside of the private sector and 401k's. My pay sucks, my employer sucks, the equipment they give us is garbage, yet I won't leave because I haven't yet done the 15 years required to be vested in the pension and get the bare minimum. Leave before then and you get nothing. It's a hassle but it's nice to be able to hop between jobs hunting for better pay and conditions.

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#32 ·
Grass is always greener.

One could say similar things to you. Having a pension is killer. The vast majority of people now don't have any, or you lose it and won't get another one if you hop jobs. More secure employment. Much less stressful (not necessarily you since you are Police, but the majority of government/government contractors. My first job out of school in CT was like this).

Really, it's about picking which things you want more and gambling. In 2006-2007, the private sector was killing it, and most people wouldn't take a government job. Come 2008-2009, everyone is bitching about how government jobs are overpaid, over benefitted, etc.
 
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