Trade certification and mechanical engineering degree. 3

[jplumber]

I am a licenced plumber from Ontario. I am seriously considering getting a mechanical engineering degree. Will employers find my 6 years of on the field pipefitting experience and certification an asset with a mech eng degree?

 

[MikeHalloran]

In general, no, because as a mechanical engineer you could be doing a universe of work that has nothing to do with pipefitting.

On the other hand, if you go into the mechanical engineering specialities to which you have already been exposed in the workplace, e.g. HVAC, process systems, etc., the specific experience might be perceived as a slight advantage, if for no other reason than you can communicate with pipefitters in their own vocabulary, using the correct rude words to describe problems and solutions.

The practical experience also implies that you are willing to get your hands dirty, and that you know which end of the wrench to pick up. This may or may not be a a good thing for your career. It may cause employers to assume that you can't do the blue-sky math that you will learn in engineering school, and to only consider you for certain kinds of engineering work. I.e., you may be typecast as "Marmaduke Surfaceblow".





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[electricpete]

I would think most employers would take a 28 year-old with experience in almost anything over a 22 year-old straight out of school.

And if the experience is somewhat related to the job, that makes it quite a bit more attractive.

I work as an engineer in a power plant maintenance environment. We (plant engineers) try to figure out how to spend our resources wisely to improve equipment reliability. I think any experience brought in as a tradesman working in a similar environment would have been very beneficial to me in this role.

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[Beggar]

I'd second the statements of both MikeHalloran and electricpete.

If you want to do machine design or something similar, your experience won't count for much though I'd always hire somebody with trade or military experience over somebody with no experience.

If you want to be a plant engineer, I think you'd probably be a step ahead of many of your fellow graduates.

Now the tough question: Why do you want to give up your trade and become an engineer?

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[GregLocock]

The chicks

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[jplumber]

I'm getting the idea. In response to Beggar's question, a trade is for life, and like it or not,it sticks with you in one form or another. I don't feel like I would be giving anything up, but moving forward into a new and more interesting realm. I am not the typical tradesman type. I also have a 3 year college diploma in media design, so as you can tell, I get bored easy. Oh, yeah, and Greg Locock, I already have a hot chick, ha ha.

 

[dvd]

I'm an engineer who is also a journeyman sheetmetal worker. I also don't think that anyone really cares much about background as ability to do the current job.

I would caution you about engineering. It can be very boring, and many times your workmates are not nearly as interesting as tradesmen.

Maybe you should get the degree and stay in the trade. It's always nice to see tradesmen who are smarter than engineers.

Also, you might want to ask about the retirement plan for engineers versus the trade unions. Most of the tradesmen that I know have a much better retirement plan.

One last word is that engineering work is very easy to ship overseas and your Canadian jobsite will always be in Canada.

 

[strokersix]

When you are looking for employment as an engineer your practical experience will be seen as valuable by others with practical experience. Managers and engineers without practical experience won't see much value in your experience. Unfortunately, I think practical hands-on experience in the engineering field is decreasingly common.

 

[Beggar]

I would read dvd's post very carefully - he brings up some good points. Life as an engineer may be more interesting but it's likely to be less secure.

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[Heckler]

dvd - a star for you well put words of wisdom.

That made me think of my pre-engineering days. I was two steps away from being a Power lineman. The reason why that job caught my attention is being outside and the physical requirements to climb poles/structures. Then after I graduated from college the last thing I wanted to do was sit behind a desk in front of a computer. Twelve years later what am I doing sitting behind a desk in front of a computer.

Jplumber - I think you should get that ME degree then use you knowledge to run your own Plumbing Business focusing on design/build. Go Engineering

 

[jplumber]

Wow, it's starting to sound like most of you aren't thrilled about your jobs. Suprise, suprise, neither am I. Being in a physical trade is geat when you're younger. Do you think you want that until you retire? You should see the shape of some men I work with who have been plumbing for 30 years. How much harder will it be to go to school when I have a wife and kids compared to now? All of the comments have been very helpful so far, but not exactly what I was expecting. And to Heckler, I know where you are comming from, but I could run my own gig without a ME degree. Cheers.

 

[Heckler]

But you gain creditability with a ME degree and your experience to be much more then just a plumber. I'm talking about being a design & build contractor....not just a owner of a plumbing business.

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[GregLocock]

Ooops. OK I'll admit, I've got one of the best jobs around. I've been doing this particular gig for five years, and I still think about whatever I'm working on when I'm at home, and read books about it in my spare time, and if I retired tomorrow I'd carry on doing much the same sort of thing as a hobby.

On the other hand I dislike many of the non-technical parts of my job, but am now senior/grumpy enough to be able to ignore the meetings that I am not interested in, mostly.

In an average week I probably manage about 30 hours of real work that interests me.





Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[jplumber]

Alright mates, thats a little more like it. To Heckler, I understand now that you've explained a little deeper. I do agree with you in that respect. I know I could make 90 dollars an hour doing "shitty plumbing work" I know plumbers who do and make their own hours and have plenty of cash. I just don't think it's me or it would make me all that happy. I do know one thing for now. "shitty plumbing" work will have to pay for my degree har har!