Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
(OP)
I'm a structural engineer but with less than 1y work experience. I've been working in finance/management for about 10y now, earning good (about US$ 160k - but this in Europe where life is more expensive than the US).
The thing is, I don't really see myself doing this in 20 years. Is it just a crazy idea to go back to engineering? I would take a pay cut of course, but it's not about the money. Anybody heard of somebody doing something similar? Any relevant feedback is welcome.
The thing is, I don't really see myself doing this in 20 years. Is it just a crazy idea to go back to engineering? I would take a pay cut of course, but it's not about the money. Anybody heard of somebody doing something similar? Any relevant feedback is welcome.





RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Maybe get in touch with whatever the professional society for your location is and see what they have with regard to professional development, maybe they have something vaguely comparable to the FE test. h
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
The FE exam would be the practice exam, not the full blown nail biter.
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Not a real big problem - although I did have an "in" where I was employed.
Go for it - what do you have to lose??
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Maybe I'm jaded. Job satisfaction means nothing, compensation means everything. Don't let your job be your passion - choose a job that will pay you the most money so you can pursue your passion, be it travel, expensive hobbies, big house, or providing for your family. Suck it up and stick with what you got. The best job you can have is one you aren't worried about losing. To me, it doesn't make much sens to make that kind of fiscal step backwards unless you are already independently wealthy and truly work for 'something to do'. That didn't come off jaded, did it?
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Nonetheless, if you're unhappy with your current profession, then you should get out of Dodge, regardless of compensation. Doesn't much matter if you earn $160k if you have a heart attack at 39 from the stress.
TTFN
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RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
ClaytonMagnet: I definitely see your point, and share it to some extent. I have a family to provide for and correspondingly want financial security. But I would like to look back on my career with satisfaction, and I'm not sure I'll get that by remaining a controller/finance manager.
Some background on me: I live in Switzerland, and I'm not sure if there is an equivalent to the PE here. I worked as an engineer for less than a year and didn't like it, but it was during a construction downturn, we had only dull feasibility projects, boring atmosphere in a small office earning badly, I was the only engineer and my boss was 70 year old. So I left it and joined a financial services firm that was looking for suckers like me, and now I'm wondering, what if.
MiketheEngineer, moon161: I'd really be interested in your experiences. Could you tell me a bit more how it was for you?
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
I passed FE as a senior in college. Went back to work for a company that I had been working for for about 3 years. I took one year off between sophomore and junior years. (Grades were bad) Then worked part time for them junior and senior year. Grades went to almost 4.0
Worked for them about another 7 years - got my PE.
Went to work for a friend in the booming real estate business. Didn't sell but wrote computer programs and ran their financials. Kind of a Controller/Director of Ops, COO type job.
Owner was bailing out and I went to work as a Tooling Rep where I did programming and selling of a very particular line of tooling - slitter knives, etc.
That business was going overseas and could see we had real problems. Worked independently for about 2 years - did OK.
First company needed help and I was still friends with the boss and he hired me back - engineering and software support in the wood truss industry.
Job was OK - pay not too good - benefits OK.
Somebody in town was looking for a Head Engineer for a large scale scaffolding company - been here almost 14 years and love it. Licensed in 42 states!!
That's the Reader's Digest version. Any more questions - I'll be happy to respond.
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
My dad purposely left an engineering job to become a teacher, taking a 30 percent pay cut in the process. At the time, he was a sales engineer with Dow Chemical and was tired of the constant travel that was taking him away from the family. To him, the pay cut was worth it. The year he took to get his credential, we lived off savings and his National Guard pay. I was about 8 at the time.
One of the things that attracted my dad to teaching was the relatively autonomy that teachers had back then, versus the large corporate bureaucracy. Unfortunately, by the time he retired in 1997, the educational bureaucracy was at least as bad.
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"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus
Though, to the OP I dont think this is a wise time to quit a good paying job in this economy with relatively no experience. I think you're too far into finance for any engineering firm to hire you for more than $50k. I think the switch should have been made by year 3 into your current job if you really wanted to switch careers. I think you need to take your financial background and do something with it.
RE: Getting back to engineering after 10y hiatus