MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I’m looking for a bit of career advice from the Engineers amongst you all. I’m looking to move to more of a design / analysis type role but don’t have the usual background and would like to know what to do to make myself more suitable to employers. I did applied mathematics as a first degree because I didn’t want to do the management courses on the engineering degrees. I looked and could cover more less the same subjects to equal or greater depth but missed out on CAD, management and the workshop labs. At the time I had some workshop time but more would have been good. I now though have a good understanding of how mechanical and electronic items work though my own hard work over the last 10 years since I finished undergrad studies. I only know very basic CAD.
Since then I’ve done higher degrees in fluid dynamics and started using programming as a tool to solve problems, but since moving into industry I’ve done more programming and less using programming for analysis, all be it in an engineering company. I’ve looked into masters mech eng courses but the courses seem to 90% + cover either stuff I’ve done at uni, or stuff I’ve picked up at work or at home. What I need to learn is more on the job rather than theory learn on a MEng..
What would peoples suggestions on how to get companies to consider me. I need to target my efforts. Is my best bet to do a CAD course at get a job as a CAD monkey for a while then move into analysis? Or some other idea.
Getting an MEng might help (eg part time?) as quite often HR filter CVs on fixed criteria first....
The best way to get a job is to be recommended by someone who works there already.
I'd say you're already perfectly qualified for an engineering analysis role, you just need to find a job you want. 'Design' roles can be more difficult without a background in crayon-waving, I guess it depends what you want to design? What are you currently doing?
As above whats you interest?
I have most of a maths degree and taught myself CAD/Civ3D and now explain to actual engineers why they are doing it wrong 🙂
I would agree that you must be ticking most boxes already. I wouldn't necessarily advise undetaking a cad course yourself. Depends on what industry you fancy what one is flavour of the month.
I currently use Catia V5 (aerospace)
have used Foran (ships)
Unigraphics (engines)
If you need any of these your employer should provide access to training courses/ on the job material.
I wouldn't do a CAD course. You'll never have as much experience as others, so wouldn't help with a job. Your skills are enough, and CAD isn't that hard to learn as needed. You may need to focus on the industries that need to do a lot of analysis that you can do. I'm guessing, but things like aerospace, automotive. You may need to move to find these. Or the large design consultants, like (in Cambridge) Cambridge Consultants.
With a background in maths and fluid dynamics you could go for an analysis (stress / thermal) or aerodynamics role quite easily, many of my fellow stress engineers have started with a maths degree.
I know of one company in Edinburgh that is recruiting for an engineer to do design, stress, and fluid dynamic work on compressors.
I am not an Engineer myself, having maths / earth science / fluid dynamics academic qualifications, but I worked at an Environmental Consultancy for a number of years and know people in a number of different companies. One of the barriers you might be facing is, with the larger Engineering Consultancies, there appears to be a traditional view of what an engineer is, what a role entails and how that role should develop (IMO of course). If your degree isn't accepted by the Engineering Council (see [url= http://www.imeche.org/membership/membership-registration/Eligibility/academic-requirements/Check-academic-qualifications ]here[/url]), you might never be taken on as an Engineer because you will never gain fully Chartered status. So you might be better off looking for consultancies with a broader remit to get your foot in the door and gain experience.
I would say, try to focus your CV on software / programming skills that can be applied to a variety of problems and demonstrate your problem solving skills with reference to specific projects, and send your CV to smaller consultancies like Cambridge Consultants who will happily take on mathematics graduates. Or look at a software development role somewhere like Mathworks to get experience using analysis tools and to get exposure to the consultancies that use those tools.
I wouldn't bother with the CAD course, your skills are enough. Good luck!
Thanks for the info, late reply but I've been busy all day. Good to hear I'm not a million miles off. The analysis is more my bag and industry wise I quite enjoy the oil industry but stress analysis interests me too so I'm not fussy. I pretty interested in how most things are put together tbh.
Its interesting to hear what Dolcered and others say a about CAD, it is something that struck me that different industries are very set on different software packages, also that it probably does not suite me, it just seems like a common route. Sounds like I need to target my CV and energies better. Looking up Cambridge consultants now.
I did try Arup about a year ago but no luck.
Thanks for the Link Konagirl I've submitted the form so it will be interesting to get feedback.
You will find that a lot of the specialist analysis companies (buro happold etc) will look to people with maths backgrounds rather than the more qualified engineering or cad type people. In my background ( as a chartered civil and structural engineer in nuclear sector), the maths guys running detailed analysis were the ones on much bigger pay than us lot designing and detailing work day to day. Probably why I am not in he nuclear sector now....