Hello,

I am currently working for a large engineering business as a Mechanical Designer.

Recently a friend has come to see me and ended up chatting about a piece of equipment he is having trouble with during his work and was thinking about designing and building his own.
He then mentioned that I would have more experinece coming up with the detailed engineering designs.

My question is, how common is this throughout the engineering sector?
Is is generally acceptable to take on extra work like this in my own time?
Do I need to set up my own company in order to start doing this?

If any of you have experience with this sort of situation I would be grateful if you could share your experiences.

Many Thanks
Spggodd

I started my own company while working for another (part time).  I was upfront about it, made it clear that the two would be separate time-wise, and because the work was totally different, they were fine with it.

Make sure you talk to your boss and/or the dreaded HR, to ensure there aren't any conflicts of interest.  And definitely set up your own company - it takes a bit of work up front but can save you from personal liability down the road.

Good luck!

> Make sure you get written OK from company
> Bear in mind that many states will require you to have a PE license if you are offering "engineer" or "consulting" services.  There many be loopholes in the way your company is named that you'd need to explore.

TTFN
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Just be up front - make sure there are no "clashes".  Some states are very adamant about this!!  and so are some employers!!

Quote:

There many be loopholes in the way your company is named that you'd need to explore.

These are the kind of loopholes that will stretch your neck.  My state's code is very specific about what constitutes engineering activity, regardless of whether you call yourself "Bob's Engineering" or "Milt's Ice Cream Soda Emporium".

Thanks for your advice, im actually based in the UK so I guess the law could be different.  

spggodd, yes the UK is a little less uptight about such matters but you may still want to double check any regulatory or liability concerns.

Do you have an employment contract, does is say anything about moonlighting or similar?

Are you looking at setting up some kind of consulting business, or is this more of an 'invention' kind of think with your associate?