Retraining to be an Electrician 16

[LaplacianPyramid]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice about moving away from a career in engineering and to a profession with more demand for new workers.

I graduated with a master's degree in electrical engineering last year and have been unable to find an electrical engineering job after nearly six months of searching. I've applied for jobs all over the U.S. with small companies, large companies, and the government. Most of the open jobs I've found either require or strongly prefer several years of experience. There just doesn't seem to be much out there for newly minted engineers, and with unemployment the way it is, I think there are too many experienced engineers looking for a job for me to have a shot.

With my engineering career prospects so bleak, I'm considering going back to school to become an electrician. Job openings for electricians seem to be abundant, and I think becoming an electrician should be a quick and easy transition with my background in electrical engineering. I know I won't make as much money as an electrician, but it's better than spending the next year unsuccessfully looking for an engineering job while waiting tables.

Has anyone else here transitioned away from engineering to a new career? If so, were you happy with your decision? Did the transition go as well as you hoped?

Thanks!

 

[berkshire]

I have stayed out of this until now.
As an employer I did not want to hire somebody who wanted a job.
I wanted somebody who could solve a problem for me, or show me a better way to do things.
Or as now, with a tight economy, show me a way to get work in the door.
If you can do any of those things, employers will be jumping to hire you, if you cannot, you are just one more in the pack.
B.E.

 

[rmw]

I think I might have picked up a clue in "pyramid's" post of 9 Jan. You mentioned your fiance and his being a him. I hope that that means you are a her. But if you are a her and are engaged, and engaged to a guy who owns and operates a restaruant, is that limiting your ability or desire to relocate?

rmw

 

[gadkinsj]

When I was looking for an engineering job, I wrote a custom resume' and cover letter for every job I applied to which listed every skill or class that I've taken that applies to the job highlighted at the top. I sent out 11 resume's in 4 weeks time for jobs that fit my degree and experience, got 5 calls three interviews and two offers to choose from. This was nov. 2008 when the economy was in the middle of taking its nose dive. I know it was very much luck but it was also selecting which opportunities actually fit me and going after them instead of blanketing my resume on every job site on the internet.

If you want to get something that makes you more valuable to put on your resume, then get a job that will teach you PLC programming. There are 4 seats down the hall from me that will be filled with MSEE's with PLC programing experience, and that's because 4 people found more money elsewhere and its been taking a while to fill those desks. Honestly, we'd probably train you if you had the right attitude.

 

[gadkinsj]

One last piece of advice that I came to after reading all of your responses.

You don't want to bring up anything that would be considered "controversial" in your job interview. I think bringing up your passion for PITA would be almost as bad as telling the interviewer you have been saved and want to know if he/she has accepted Jesus into their life.
As much as I respect that you spend time volunteering for PETA, it is such a hot button that a conservative engineering manager might write you off as a kook.
Smile, pay attention to questions and answer them as asked, Be engaging and get the interviewer talking about what they do. Have some anectdotes about your life that don't involve engineering and some that do involve engineering. like 10 stories that could be plugged into 100 different possible questions. But keep things you are passionate about to yourself even if they bring it up.
In fact I'd make sure you don't include PITA on your resume

 

[moon161]

"After a while longer I sent them a letter thanking them for the interview and asking why they apparently decided against me. I just wanted to know for future reference, but I again never got a response. I've been told that employers don't like to give specific reasons for rejecting an interviewee for legal reasons"

I'm not the best at this, but the thank you letter should be written and in the mail before you take off your interview suit.

Some variation on:

Dear <person I talked to, you got their business card, right?>

Thank you for the time you took to discuss <the position> at <the place> with me on <the date>. I enjoyed the discussion and would love to be part of your team.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, or to arrange a second interview [ask for it!].

Sincerely
<you>

If you got along great or there was some other noteable (and positive) point in the interview, mention it very briefly so they make the association, but be careful and professional, avoid 'GO RAMS' or 'Hello Kitty 4eva', you want to be remembered for aceing the matlab quiz they dropped on you.

I used to send 'why didn't you hire me/feedback letters'. I doubt you'll ever get a reply, especially in writing- too easy to get sued that way.

One temp agency I worked with asked me to send a follow up after an interview, the other yelled at me for doing the same. Find out the protocol in advance.

 

[moon161]

Fiancee- he, she, cat, dog, irrelevant to hiring process, illegal if it figures into the decision, don't mention it. Same with kids- they mean runny noses, ear infections, maternity leave, day care pickups you can't miss. All potentially (and illegally) disqualifying.

Waiting tables- you say it keeps you on your toes, you enjoy dealing with people and it teaches you to keep track of and balance a busy workload.

 

[moltenmetal]

Laplacian, an electrical engineer with a background as an electrician is going to be gold in the marketplace at some point. If for whatever reason you can't find work as an engineer right now and you would consider (and are capable of) the hands-on work this involves, I would encourage you to pursue it. Sitting around waiting tables ain't gonna do it for you. But view it as a means to an end. The trouble with work in the trades is that it gets harder to do that work as your body ages.

Take what advice you can from the drubbing you've received here and move on. It surprises me a bit, the extent to which people here have kicked you when you were down. Some have done so in a sincere but not very empathetic attempt to be of help- to shake you up a bit, since the status quo doesn't seem to be working for you. But some have done it because they don't like to hear that their profession isn't in as much demand as they'd like to believe. I hope you can distinguish between them. By the way, I didn't note a sense of entitlement in what you posted- merely disappointment that the hype about an engineering education didn't pan out.

I don't know what it's like in your jurisdiction because I don't have the stats there, but here in Canada the steady state is 2/3 of people with engineering educations work outside the profession at any given time. Those 2/3 aren't all unemployed, nor are they all outside the profession because that was their plan from 2nd year on. Whether or not you become one of them depends on you- your skills and aptitudes and interests and how aggressive and motivated you are- but also on timing and location and on some circumstances beyond your control. One thing is sure, though- if your first job after school isn't an engineering job or in a related field (i.e. as an electrician's apprentice in your case), the likelihood that you will end up with a career in engineering diminishes dramatically.

Best of luck to you. Just be aware that as some here have pointed out to you, doing the same thing and expecting different results is either stupidity or madness. You do need to shake things up a bit, and training as an electrician might be just what you need.

 

[calguy07]

best post of the entire thread by moltenmetal. i'm also in canada. i also found it disappointing seeing the type of responses in here.

 

[controlsdude]

Not very empathetic bunch are you?

I have had 3-4 engineering jobs in last 3 years, its a rough economy. Finding jobs are hard and I see for myself how hard it can be. Most companies have their pick on candidates.

All of my jobs have been through contract agencies, no one hires direct.

I would go that route thru a contract agency.

 

[moon161]

"Engineering degrees are the new liberal arts degrees." Turnabout's fair play. How many of us have wished a liberal arts 'major good luck finding that philosophy factory'. Friends of mine who went to arts school managed to miss the wave of manufacturing layoffs. The usefulness of an education is not solely defined by whether or not your job mirrors your textbook problems.

 

[BJC]

"It surprises me a bit, the extent to which people here have kicked you when you were down."
It's not the fact that he or she is down, but they are there because of their own doing ( or lack of doing).

"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats." ~Voltaire

 

[Twoballcane]

Laplace, my apologies if I can across too aggressive, however, it burns my maximums gluteus when I hear people blaming the profession than their own initiative. So this is not directed to you per say.

I’d rather champion for Engineering to beat the nay sayers than to blame Engineering for my failures. For the past ten years I have been on this board, I have been seeing a growing negative trend on people blaming the profession than their own initiative. From not getting a job to my career is not growing. Has anybody notice that your Engineering background is the same as everybody else’s? Like in any field (yes doctors and lawyers too so don’t give me that) it is how you learn, plan, and then execute your soft skills (other than Engineering) that will separate you from the others. There are whole seminars and books on this topic, but for some reason many dismiss them as non-essential and then have the audacity to blame the Engineering profession for their poor efforts to secure the job or promotion.

Some of these skills are branding, presentation, and persuasion. Branding yourself is how you tell others what you are good at and what you can do. In other words you are the Subject Matter Expert or go to person. Presentation is how you show or carry yourself at interviews / meetings and how you clearly disseminate your ideas. And, lastly and most importantly “persuasion”, part of this is knowing what kind of person you’re dealing with (i.e. introvert, extravert, or thinker, bottom line respectively) and what are their concerns that you can find solutions or prove that you can shoulder the responsibility. Some people think just because they have the same degree / years of experience as others that they have the power to materialize a job or promotion. This is not the case. You will have to persuade hiring manger / management that you deserve that job / promotion. You will have to build a case to “their” particular needs not what “you” think you deserve.

Did you ever think if you did not get the job or promotion that somebody else did with the same engineering background as you have, but they had a “better” case than you did. In other words, Engineers are getting hired or promoted, it’s just wasn’t you. So please, don’t blame the profession, degree, or company, you are responsible for your life and career. Don’t depend on others to charter it.


Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

 

[calguy07]

Laplacian, you're better off talking in person to recruiters and others in the field you want to be in than wasting your time on this forum with people who have nothing encouraging for you.

 

[Twoballcane]

Sorry calguy, but nothing is a waste of time if you can learn from others. If you cannot take the criticism, you cannot improve yourself. Sometimes encouragement comes in the form of tough love.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

 

[Twoballcane]

For our international audience, tough love is an expression used when someone treats another person sternly with the intent to help them in the long run.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

 

[moltenmetal]

Perhaps if we collectively stopped selling this profession as if it were soap, or "the next big thing", about to go through the roof in terms of demand etc. etc., we'd have fewer people disillusioned when they get out of school and can't find work right away in their chosen field. But while our profession continues to be sold as if this were the 1950s, when we couldn't train enough engineers to meet demand, Laplacian's disappointment is understandable and forgivable.

Is that "blaming the profession"? Not really: it's blaming the universities (and here the governments who run and largely fund them) for cranking out far more grads than the economy could possibly use.

Engineering is and will continue to be a great career option for many, but to say that it's a great career option for all who choose it flies in the face of fact. For 2/3 of those who graduate here, it isn't so for whatever reason. Not all of them are unemployed or at all unhappy about their choices, mind you- engineering IS a good preparatory education for many other endeavours.

Here in Ontario, the fact is that the average eng grad is actually about 20% MORE likely to be unemployed 2 yrs after graduation than the average graduate of all university programs combined. I can tell you from speaking with numerous fresh grads seeking that critical 1st job over the years that a good fraction of that 2/3 aren't there by choice, but as a result of being unable to land an entry-level position in the profession in a reasonable period after they graduate. If the universities were shouting that from the rooftops and from the front of those 1st year classrooms so the students could make an informed choice before they're too far in, perhaps it would be OK to be as hard on Laplacian as some have been.

Properly informed people make better decisions. Don't believe the hype- get the stats, as they tell you the real story.

 

[vthomidis]

@laplacian :

Don't get discouraged ,you just have to keep trying.

Possibly you should try to "customize" your CV (or resume as you call it in the USA ) according to the job you are applying to.

If you feel like getting electrician training, you may do so.Some additional knowledge will only get you improved.

Anyway, be yourself and keep doing things your way, this will compensate you at the end, even if in some delay.

Think positive and ignore discouraging replies given by engineering "rambos" - be sure that they doubtfully ever
would do better than you ( it surely is very easy for some people to play "judge dredd" )....

 

[IRstuff]

How many people actually make their major declarations based on someone touting engineering? I knew I wanted to be an engineer since junior high; nothing whatsoever was said about job prospects.

People who are that fickle are unlikely to be good engineers...

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[controlsdude]

All this advise putting down this persons decision reminds me of all the jerks called professors who said you need to figure this out but would never give you any tools.

Give it a rest, like my mom would say if you dont have anything good to say then shut up.

 

[BJC]

dontrosdude

His first words here were,

"I'm looking for some advice about moving away...."
Dumb place to look for advice and if you do you should know what to expect.
The guy should join the army, they can fix attitudes and give you a new perspecitve, and they can train electricans.