Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
(OP)
I will be graduating in May with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (and a minor in English, how many of those do you see? lol) and plan to move to the Manhattan borough of New York City within a short time of graduating (and by short I mean within a month).
By the time I graduate, I will have about a year and a half of oilfield drilling and well-abandonment equipment design experience working under a licensed PE.
Where I think I would like to end up is working as a staff engineer at an industrial design firm. If my understanding is correct, industrial design firms hire engineers to take the clay moldings of the industrial designers and turn it into a manufacturable reality. Does anyone here have any experience as an engineer at an industrial design firm to elaborate on what such a position would entail and if they would be interested in a degreed engineer that lacks a PE or senior engineer status?
If an industrial design staff engineer is out of the question due to my current experience level, does anyone know of any other companies in NYC (preferably Manhattan) that deals in design for mass production? I'd prefer to work in a position where I design common small products like electronics or appliances (the mechanical aspects, of course) with emphasis on manufacturing several thousand units. I know some of these jobs (many?) have been outsourced to China or India, but surely there are still some left.
I'm also welcome to any suggestions. If anyone is an engineer in NYC, let me know what's out there and what companies are open to newly graduated engineers with some solid hands-on experience. I want to stay in some sort of machine design, I want NOTHING to do with fluids or thermodynamics, even if it does pay better.
In case anyone is wondering, I am NOT interested in jobs outside of NYC. My sister is already living in Manhattan and I have a room waiting for me in her apartment. Without question, Manhattan is where I want to be, it's just a matter of finding a job to go with it.
By the time I graduate, I will have about a year and a half of oilfield drilling and well-abandonment equipment design experience working under a licensed PE.
Where I think I would like to end up is working as a staff engineer at an industrial design firm. If my understanding is correct, industrial design firms hire engineers to take the clay moldings of the industrial designers and turn it into a manufacturable reality. Does anyone here have any experience as an engineer at an industrial design firm to elaborate on what such a position would entail and if they would be interested in a degreed engineer that lacks a PE or senior engineer status?
If an industrial design staff engineer is out of the question due to my current experience level, does anyone know of any other companies in NYC (preferably Manhattan) that deals in design for mass production? I'd prefer to work in a position where I design common small products like electronics or appliances (the mechanical aspects, of course) with emphasis on manufacturing several thousand units. I know some of these jobs (many?) have been outsourced to China or India, but surely there are still some left.
I'm also welcome to any suggestions. If anyone is an engineer in NYC, let me know what's out there and what companies are open to newly graduated engineers with some solid hands-on experience. I want to stay in some sort of machine design, I want NOTHING to do with fluids or thermodynamics, even if it does pay better.
In case anyone is wondering, I am NOT interested in jobs outside of NYC. My sister is already living in Manhattan and I have a room waiting for me in her apartment. Without question, Manhattan is where I want to be, it's just a matter of finding a job to go with it.





RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
The market for engineers who "want NOTHING to do with" one or more of the skills ordinarily associated with their nominal specialty, may be quite limited. You might want to review your marketing strategy.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Turning shapes into products is often more of a draughstman's job than an engineer's.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Your desire to be a physical model maker seems to push you into the unemployable category. I've seen models (both full scale and reduced scale) of Oil & Gas stuff, but for the last 10 years they have all been a linkage between a CAD package and a Fast Prototyper company.
I don't know what industry still uses clay models, but I would expect them to be scarce.
Since you don't do windows (i.e., Fluids and Thermo) I have a feeling that 6 months from now you'll be on RetailSales-tips.com asking how do you break into a sales job that pays commission.
David
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Regards,
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RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
At any rate, firms engaged in product design need engineers to be engineers. That means bringing competence in a number of disciplines to bear on a product design project.
If you want NOTHING to do with fluids or thermodynamics, by extension you want nothing to do with molding processes, and nothing to do with plastics. All electronic devices emit heat, and thus require at least a passing knowledge of thermo and heat transfer.
Materials science and basic statics and dynamics come to bear. If you can not employ these effectively, then the spotlight will shift to someone who can.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
A lot of subway/mass transit tunneling work right now - design & construction - might be work a look. The big engineering companies with that work include PB, PTG, AECOM, STV, LiRo.
There's also civil service if you need a job to come up with your half of the rent.
BTW - I also thought you were a ChemE.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
- Steve
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
It might just be worthwhile to call them and have a chat and discuss what it's like to run an engineering firm in a metropolitan area. That might help put your job search into perspective.
Where I am (Toronto), most of the engineering firms have moved to the outskirts of the city due to the high cost of square footage downtown. I suspect it's even worse in Manhattan, where rental rates are notoriously high.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
I'm from New York City, however I moved out about ten years ago, but I can tell you that there is not much of engineering in Manhattan. Manhattan is known for food, fashion, and business. All of the manufacturing / engineering are out on Long Island. You can work for Verizon or Con Ed, but most of the engineering work is to keep their infrastructure from collapsing. If you are into Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) you can work with the Civil Engineers to build or refurbish buildings in and around boroughs.
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Why not start by contacting the industrial design firms in Manhattan that you are interested in and seeing if they employ any engineers, and if so what skills they require their engineers to have? You'll learn pretty quickly if there is a market for someone like youself.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Must run in the family.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Another possibility is the high rise building specialties like HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, etc. My brother is a highly paid engr in that field, and he is in demand. You need to work yourself up the ladder providing CAD services.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
If you are any good at software there seem to be quite afew jobs in that area right now as well.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
I decided to put the house up for sale, get a swing loan, and buy house no. 2. The house didn't sell, and I was getting deeper and deeper in ****. I found it easier to get another job. House no.2 sold overnight. A firm letter to the CEO of the company got results; they paid all interest expenses amounting to five figures.
It's a blessing when you can live close to work.
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
I would suggest you apply at Goldman-Sachs, who are in the forefront of the cap'n'trade business.
If Cap et al goes through, well abandonment will be a growth market.
(along with "shotgun shells & canned goods" (paraphrasing the 'Brain Gremlin')
RE: Soon to have MCHE degree, moving to NYC, suggestions?
Cedar Bluff Engineering
http://cedarbluffengineering.webs.com