asking advice as a new grad
asking advice as a new grad
(OP)
Hi,
I just graduated with a B.E Mechatronics in Canada.
I've always wanted to go into space industry.
However, I ended up in a small company that manufactures metering pump accessories doing R&D work as my first job.
While I like people in the office and my boss I find my job boring and confused about my future career path.
There is no senior engineer at work who has P.Eng so I won't be able to get my P.Eng by working here.
(is it normal?
I'm not sure what my boss is expecting from a fresh new grad
)
I am only planning to work here for a year to payback my tuition since pay isn't too bad.
I am wondering if my experience at current place will be useful if I want to get into the field I want in the future.
My current job has nothing to do with what I want to do in the future and I am worried that I am wasting my time here and might get stuck in the industry that I don't really want. I'd like to think any experience is valuable but I don't know anything about the real world yet..
Any comment will be really appreciated.
Please give any word to this confused new engineering grad!
Thanks!
I just graduated with a B.E Mechatronics in Canada.
I've always wanted to go into space industry.
However, I ended up in a small company that manufactures metering pump accessories doing R&D work as my first job.
While I like people in the office and my boss I find my job boring and confused about my future career path.
There is no senior engineer at work who has P.Eng so I won't be able to get my P.Eng by working here.
(is it normal?
I'm not sure what my boss is expecting from a fresh new grad
)I am only planning to work here for a year to payback my tuition since pay isn't too bad.
I am wondering if my experience at current place will be useful if I want to get into the field I want in the future.
My current job has nothing to do with what I want to do in the future and I am worried that I am wasting my time here and might get stuck in the industry that I don't really want. I'd like to think any experience is valuable but I don't know anything about the real world yet..
Any comment will be really appreciated.

Please give any word to this confused new engineering grad!

Thanks!





RE: asking advice as a new grad
Have you figured out how your company's stuff really works?
Have you examined field failures and understood what happened?
Do you understand why the production people think you're full of, er, beans?
Your job doesn't have to be boring.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: asking advice as a new grad
Fe (IronX32)
RE: asking advice as a new grad
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: asking advice as a new grad
Good luck!
RE: asking advice as a new grad
Fail early, fail often, it's the best way to learn.
-Kirby
Kirby Wilkerson
Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.
RE: asking advice as a new grad
If you are really interested with the space industry, there's a company called Space Exploration or SpaceX, based near Los Angeles, CA. They were recently in the news too!
I don't work for them, but they did contact me for a prospective opportunity once.
As for opportunities - Get them where ever you can. Here's a few options (listed no particular order):
Sometimes the most mundane jobs can lead to better opportunities. However, if one has a bad attitude towards it, it will show in your work & how others perceive you, which will not lead to better opportunities.Get affiliated with professional organizations - PMI, APICS, ASQ to name a few
Document "everything" you do while employed-training, software, accomplishments, etc. Later you can use this to strengthen your résumé
Good Luck...
RE: asking advice as a new grad
remember.... its the basics first and expertise later, which would help..... build ur experience and donot think more of here and there... time is precious and donot let it go wasted.....
though it maynot be my field but, in my opinion CoffinsCorner has conveyed a right direction to you
RE: asking advice as a new grad
It is very confusing time of my life since I just finished my education and landed on the first job.
The 'real world' is very different from what I expected..
I am still uncertain and confused about my job and future but who is not among people in my age?
I will take my current job as a stepping stone for my engineering career.
I am already missing student life so much...
RE: asking advice as a new grad
RE: asking advice as a new grad
I live in Ontario. I looked in to aircraft engineering but I couldn't find any entry position for new graduates.
I am hoping that after gaining some experience I can find a work in the industry.
RE: asking advice as a new grad
If the P.Eng is important to you, talk to the boss or a higher-up if he has a degree (he probably will). He may qualify, but doesn't bother with the PE membership stuff since he doesn't have to and it costs money. Small companies are not very oriented towards qualifications, but count this as a blessing in disguise! Seek a membership in the PE organization in Ontario anyway, as a way to discuss the subject with people in the PEO. You aren't the first to be in this situation (speaking from personal experience!) It may turn out that once you've done this much, you'll realize that you're not really rocking the boat to ask the boss to register with the PEO, if it helps a kid get a good start.
I can think of several ways you could apply a degree in mechatronics to aviation. Where were you looking for work? Hopefully not just at "MacDD". Are you free to re-locate from Toronto?
STF
RE: asking advice as a new grad
When I was in school I just wanted to get the heck outta there and start working.
Now I realize I jumped into the real world without enough preparation!
Can you tell me more about the ways I could apply my degree to aviation?
I am currently living in Toronto but I am willing to move anywhere in the country(or where ever I can find a job!). I've looked into jobs in Quebec where space industry is big but since I don't speak French and don't have much experience I wasn't too sure if I could get a job there
So I am taking my current job as my internship. Good thing about working in a small company is that I was able to learn a lot about how business world works.
Downside is that there is no one who can give me any technical advice other than mighty google god
RE: asking advice as a new grad
There are a number of avionic systems that are concerned with recording aircraft position, speed, status, health, plus any number of other factors, and processing that information to carry out a function, or just record it, or radio out telemetry. There are a lot of players in the aircraft navigation business, from mega-sized Honeywell, to individual inventors.
Even setting aside the subject of navigation, there are numerous other types of equipment needed on specialized missions, such as surveys, that combine data acquisition, instrumentation, controls, and mechanical systems. Don't forget helicopters, either. Fixed-wing and rotary-wing are used for VERY different things in Canada and demand different sets of equipment.
Lastly, when you put a robot in control of an aircraft, you get a UAV. You haven't mentioned that so far, but have you explored it yet?
STF