Structural looking to make a change?
Structural looking to make a change?
(OP)
So I have been working in the structural(light frame construction, custom residential, hillside foundations) in Southern California since I graduated 4 years ago. I plan on taking the PE in April 2010 but now I am having second thoughts about my chosen career path.
Besides the current economic climate, living in the beach cities of Southern California does not afford much choice of Structural employers unless you want to sit in traffic 1-2 hours a day and commute 20 or so miles each way to work. To me, wasting hours, days, weeks and years of my life while sitting in traffic is totally crazy, while for some people it is no problem.
Therefore in order to make a decent living that leaves me with 3 choices:
1. Continue to work at a small structural company, get my PE and eventually go out on my own and work out of my house.
2. Commute 20+ miles each way to work a day, work for a large structural company where the pay and benefits are a lot better then the aforementioned small company.
3. Change career paths to another engineering field or related to structural, that would allow me to make a reasonable income here in Southern California.
I can't afford to go back to school since both myself and my wife work full time and if one of us started working part time we wouldn't be able to pay our mortgage. I am open to career change but at 36 years old I feel that doing so may set me back another 4 years.
Just curious if anyone else has switched within the engineering fields, and if so how, what, when, what happened, did you like the results?
Besides the current economic climate, living in the beach cities of Southern California does not afford much choice of Structural employers unless you want to sit in traffic 1-2 hours a day and commute 20 or so miles each way to work. To me, wasting hours, days, weeks and years of my life while sitting in traffic is totally crazy, while for some people it is no problem.
Therefore in order to make a decent living that leaves me with 3 choices:
1. Continue to work at a small structural company, get my PE and eventually go out on my own and work out of my house.
2. Commute 20+ miles each way to work a day, work for a large structural company where the pay and benefits are a lot better then the aforementioned small company.
3. Change career paths to another engineering field or related to structural, that would allow me to make a reasonable income here in Southern California.
I can't afford to go back to school since both myself and my wife work full time and if one of us started working part time we wouldn't be able to pay our mortgage. I am open to career change but at 36 years old I feel that doing so may set me back another 4 years.
Just curious if anyone else has switched within the engineering fields, and if so how, what, when, what happened, did you like the results?





RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
See a little more that the profession has to offer before you abandon it for another career or discipline change...you've invested a fair amount of time already, so give it a little while and a reasonable chance.
A structural engineer is challenged with some good problem solving opportunities that will serve you well if you decide to make a change.
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
My sister and brother in law are engineers (not even low wage structural engineers) living in SoCal and are willing to accept the fact that they'll never be able to buy a house. They live in a place 1/4 the size of mine in the midwest, and 4x the cost. Unless you have family down there, I don't see having nice weather being that big of a draw for you to be there if the commute bothers you so much.
If this is really that big of an issue you need to either move or go back to school for something like a law degree.
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
It is difficult and stressful to break into a new field, but you are far more marketable if you have done so.
Now I wouldn't suggest for you to try to find work in the Semi Conductor Industry, but working for a firm that does Heavy Industrial or Process Engineering or Bridge Construction would not only be interesting; but would greatly increase your marketability.
That and a PE lic.
this message has been approved for citizen to elect kepharda 2008
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
I wouldn't want to travel over an hour one way to work, anything more than that will drain you out in no time.
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
How did you get in forensics? Is this something you had experience with before? What are your most common assignments?
RE: Structural looking to make a change?
i had an offer to do this type of work away from my home, but i was afraid i'd lose my engineering touch. much of the work are things that have very little to do with structural engineering (water intrusion, hail damage) but sometimes you get something like a collapse of a roof or a wall or a total building. i've had to look at those a few times and i've only been doing this for about 6 months.
it's a lot of travel, so one needs to be mindful of that. i'm on the road and out of the office around 3-4 days a week. most of it is within an hour or so away, so i'm not staying away at night time.
i got into it by looking for forensic firms in my area and just sending them a resume. it was a shot in the dark, but it turns out it's a pretty cool position. if you like to be outside, are in relatively good shape, and don't have a problem with driving around and being on the road.....you should give it a shot.