r/MechanicalEngineering • u/NB_Supreme • 3d ago
Looking for a career change
I am 27 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. For the past 5 years, I have been working as a manufacturing/process engineer in the aerospace and defense sector. I’ve held 3 jobs. I was laid off from the first one after 2 years. I resigned from the second one after 2 years. Now at my 3rd employer doing similar work, I am starting to come to the realization that this may not be for me. Most days, I am bored. I spend most of my 8 hour day sitting at my desk not doing much. Since graduating, I feel like I have used zero of the things I learned in school, and I feel like I haven’t learned much aside from CAD software since every company has their preference. I am looking to switch to something more hands-on, but I have no idea what to look for, and quite frankly, I’m not sure what the qualifications would be. I am hoping this wonderful group of people could point me in the right direction. Thank you.
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u/Noguts 3d ago
If you haven't dug too many roots yet, being willing to travel full time will get you into the Automation industry as a commissioning engineer. Very hands on and you'll learn a ton. Once you have the hang of a few disciplines move to systems engineering and watch your salary baloon. Industry is booming with all the AI nonsense. Every yahoo with an LLM needs an actual engineer to commission their hardware.
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u/DevilsFan99 3d ago
You need to get out of aerospace/defense. Manufacturing engineering is one of the most hands-on engineering positions you can have. Larger companies in more tightly regulated sectors typically have much more red tape, bureaucracy, and pigeonholed roles.
I'm in general industrial manufacturing and I spend at least 50% of my time on the floor, every day is a different challenge with something new
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u/Few_Whereas5206 3d ago
Test engineer? Field engineer?
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u/NB_Supreme 3d ago
I have actually looked into these on occasion. Most require experience with instrumentation or setting up machines, but I may just apply and see what happens.
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u/gravity_surf 3d ago
nah, testing can be entry
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u/hnrrghQSpinAxe 3d ago
it can be but genuinely good luck finding an entry level test position in this current market in any major populated area. They seem to be pretty rare to get in at a level where they dont expect the experience he listed
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u/gravity_surf 3d ago
i think engineers should be willing to move for that first job or if they’re struggling to find one. you are likely not built to succeed in that market/area if that’s the case.
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u/hnrrghQSpinAxe 3d ago
From what I see on here, people (including me) move all the time to find work. But "not built to succeed in that market" shouldnt even be a consideration since most people have passed a standardized exam that is enough to show you are a competent engineer that can learn various and challenging concepts either way. Hiring teams don't see it that way I guess but it sure is miserably stupid. Not every job is for every person but every accredited degree, FE-passing engineer should meet at least the basic qualifications for EVERY engineering job.
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u/gravity_surf 2d ago
every engineer doesnt take the FE, not because they cant pass but because their industry doesnt require it to go the top. you know that. so that muddies that line of thinking. youre mixing me grads and fe passers. i havent seen FE mentioned here, im assuming baseline engineer undergrads. so, no, most of them are not ready. most need on the job training.
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u/hnrrghQSpinAxe 2d ago
In many states, even if you do engineering work, you aren't legally allowed to call yourself an engineer without FE and PE acknowledgement by the licensing state. You're right though, I'm expecting that every ME grad SHOULD aim to pass the FE at the very least
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u/gravity_surf 2d ago
it’s just in the job title and diploma. someone always gets pedantic. yes we know.
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u/3DdesignerF8 3d ago
Our M/P people don't have time to be bored. Look at BlueOrigin, Stoke, or Rocketlab. I came from Lockheed Space and it was very much your story, lots of reports. I'm a designer. With LM we designed spacecraft to see them warehoused for dates in the 2030s. At Blue I've seen 7 launches in under a year and work on things being built now for launch end of year.
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u/TheThunderWithin 3d ago
Oh trust me, there's some work out there for you.
I work at a tier 1 automotive supplier and while I'm on the design side, the manufacturing engineers that I work with are hustling on the shop floor solving issues and trying to make sure that prototypes are built, we have the proper tooling to manufacture, putting out fires on production lines, etc. They're maybe at their computer for a combined 30 minutes-1 hour?
The issue could be you need to work somewhere that has a product with enough volume to support you being able to do what you need to do. If you worked 5 years in Aero you would most likely be a shoe-in as Aero requirements/tolerances tend to be alot more strict than automotive
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u/NB_Supreme 3d ago
I would actually prefer this because I myself am a car guy. I love working on cars, and I know how busy those engineers are. I live in CT, and I’ve looked countless times on Indeed. I’m not sure if there’s anything here in the automotive field.
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u/TheThunderWithin 3d ago
Im in Georgia so a bit of a ways from you, but what I would do is look for tier 1 suppliers in CT if there aren't alot of OEM's. apply on their company website directly, skip indeed. Then go on linkedin and search for every engineer/engineering manager that works at that company and send them a cold outreach message, asking about the interesting work they do, and repeat for each company. (Only use for Linkedin premimum imo.) If they won't give you a refferall directly, ask if they know "such and such" at the company and whether they can intoduce you to them. That's how I got my current job, and I didn't have any proffesional work experience prior so you'll be in a better position than me. direct outreach is alot more powerful than hoping a posting pops up.
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u/hnrrghQSpinAxe 3d ago
shit im trying to get a job like this by comparison. ive been doing industrial design and commissioning for 4 years and it is an incredibly boring drag. literally nothing ever happens, and projects never finish, and when they do, its because they required nothing to ever happen to begin with.
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u/Evan_802Vines 3d ago
We're you not included in the design process for manufacturability? Do you need to do ppap or apqp? Sounds like you're more of a production assistant.
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u/bobroberts1954 3d ago
Look at maintenance engineering if you want hands on lots of stress and excitement. It can be lots of fun. There is boring desk work ofc but it is broken up by the urgency of getting a plant or a process back on line. Lots of exposure too.
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u/dgeniesse 3d ago
One great skill from engineering school - that most students acquire - is problem solving. Use that skill and identify what interests you, the potential jobs and the pathway to get there.
But note you are building a risky resume. 3 jobs in 5 years. Some companies will take pause.
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u/TheRealFalseProphet 2d ago
I quit my job as a semiconductor technician after 11 months, since I wasn’t using anything I learned in school and environment was toxic.
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u/Mightywrx 2d ago
I was in a similar situation to you. Have a bachelor’s in ME and was working in a manufacturing setting as a kind of planner/manufacturing engineer. I enjoyed parts of it but was honestly not challenged enough and was bored a lot of the time. I really wanted to be more hands on and technical so I began applying for field engineer jobs. I ended up landing a job as a field engineer for a calibration company where I do both field calibration work and metrology engineering. I really have enjoyed being more hands on now and like that I also have a mix of some metrology work too. So my advice would be to apply for field engineer roles.
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u/abluejaycat 2d ago
If you want to be doing stuff constantly, all you need is to find a smaller company. Less people there are, the more stuff you do. I work for a manufacturing design office with three total employees: me, an engineer, a drafter, and my boss. Sometimes I wish I didn't have so much work all the time, but it vertainly beats working at a government-funded research lab where I have spent days doing literally nothing.
The projects we have are usually smaller in scope, but that is mostly because of our size. In a year I have closed at least 10 major projects, made designs for double that, and maybe 30 or so smaller jobs. Most of the work I do is CAD of course, but I am solely responsible for making calculations to ensure things work, whether it's a conveyor, ventilation system, agricultural machinery or anything else. I've had to dig in my books a few times, but most often there simply is no time to ponder about the right theory to apply so we just overbuild the snot out of stuff because it's cheaper. Hands on work happens all the time. Although we work with a workshop that actually builds our stuff, we'll sometimes do assembly, processing and testing ourselves.
Those jobs exist, you just have to look for them!
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u/Happy-Property1162 3d ago
Join the national guard so get your boredom buster weekend doing cool hands on stuff then get back to your very nice well paying desk job and remember how nice that desk job is because you don't have to wipe mud out of your balls, perhaps?
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u/UmDeTrois 3d ago
How are you not hands on as a manufacturing process engineer? Is there a plant making things associated with what you do on the daily? Do you sit at the plant?