Technical Career Survival: 2017

Newspaper Tackles Myths and Majors

In a recent Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper article, the author Jefferey J. Selingo, writes about six myths behind majors. They are:
1. STEM always delivers- "Always" is a bit specific but for majors: science, technology (computer science), engineering and mathematics generally provide greater lifetime incomes than many other careers such as teaching, history, nursing and liberal arts.
2. Women want it all- This fall 56% of college students are women. However when they graduate, they tend to chose lower paying career/fields than men.
3. Major matters more than choice of college- Data shows that students who graduate from highly rated colleges tend to make more money.
4. Liberal arts majors are unemployable- Contrarily, the author claims that these majors emphasize writing, synthesis, problem solving and are sought by employers.
5. Choose a major early- The author claims 20% of those who choose a major upon entering college change it after their first year.
6. You need a major- There is a tendency now toward eliminating majors that are now considered artificial and restrictive by some colleges.

Do you agree with these myths?

Win A Copy Of Technical Career Survival Handbook!

It's easy, here's how:
1. Click on the book image which takes you to Amazon's website
2. Be the first to review the Amazon abbreviated version of my book on their website based on your "look inside".
3. In your review comment on subjects covered, format, usefulness of information, who would benefit from the book and whatever else would be helpful to others considering the book purchase.
4. Copy your review and paste it on my blog under "post a comment" and provide me with your name and contact email address.
5. I will respond and request your mailing address in order to send you a brand new copy of my book.
Thanks and Good Luck!

How does one become a Plant Engineer ?

What are the requirements for plant engineers? Many current plant engineers are technicians and hold AA degrees or have technical military backgrounds. However most applicants in today’s marketplace will need a BS degree in engineering of varying disciplines. Different industries have preferences for the specific disciplines they require depending on whether they are a manufacturer, healthcare facility, chemical process or electrical power generation plant.

What is the outlook for plant engineers? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts plant engineering positions will grow by 5% between 2012 and 2022. This is substantiated as about half of their plant engineering readership are over the age of 55 and their retirement will create a major void in the workforce according to recent research conducted by Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine. The void will likely be filled due to more hiring and mentoring of technical personnel.

What is a certified plant engineer? A CPE is a credential earned through the Association of Facilities Engineering for candidates who possess a combination of work experience and education that take and successfully pass an eight hour multiple choice exam. A CPE is not a mandatory requirement for plant engineers but it demonstrates competency to perspective employers and may help achieve advancement with existing employers. Core competencies in the CPE program include: electrical, mechanical, environmental and civil engineering, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, controls, management, economics, maintenance, energy and OSHA regulations.

What do Plant Engineers do?

There is a uniqueness about this technical function because plant engineering personnel are the behind the scenes, jack-of-all-trades folks that maintain the operation of power plants, manufacturing establishments and chemical processing plants.

Where is the plant engineer in the company? They are typically part of a multidiscipline department/organization consisting of engineers and technicians reporting to a manager who is sometimes titled chief engineer or plant manager. Plant engineers must be flexible to survive.

What are the duties of plant engineers? Energy consumption, water, cooling, heating systems, compressed air, electric power consumption and pollution are all important considerations for plant engineering personnel. Also, as part of their daily routine, plant engineers deal with seemingly minor maintenance issues such as compressed air and water leaks, electrical overloads and outages, machinery repairs, and safety issues.

What are the trends in plant engineering? Water conservation and energy efficient buildings will be a cause for concern for building owners, engineers and municipalities. Legislators will push for water-efficient fixtures, water reuse systems and high efficiency boilers. More demand is foreseen for “smart” building technologies that utilize products that can be controlled, monitored and managed from across the planet will increase. Increased healthcare facilities expenditures will likely create opportunities for plant engineers for decades.

Engineering without a license?

In a recent Richmond Times Dispatch article, writer and commentator George Will sited a legal case in Oregon where a graduate engineer was fined for voicing opinions about how long traffic lights stayed yellow as they transitioned from green to red. This was in response to what he believed was an unjust red-light camera traffic ticket his wife received. In his rants, he sighted his engineering education as his credibility. The Oregon authorities refuted his arguments claiming he was not an authority because he lacked a “Professional Engineers" license and therefore investigated him and ultimately fined him $500 for expressing opinions.

This may shock those who labored to receive an engineering degree. So what difference does it make having a P.E. license? It simply represents that the individual is “competent “in the subject and as a PE is sufficiently knowledgeable, capable and fit to render a design that could affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, satisfactory. Licensing requirements in most states extend to landscape architects, architecture, engineers, land surveyors and landscape architects. In my book I include typical requirements for obtaining a P.E. license.

Do you have an experience to share?

Is a Technical Career Right For me?

My brother and I enjoyed a lunch together recently and talked about a major career change he made several years after graduating with an electrical engineering degree. After struggling in a technical position, he completed an “aptitude test” where upon he discovered he was better suited for accounting. The test pointed toward strength in ability of working with numbers versus engineering principals. Unfortunately this was discovered after considerable time and money had been invested in an engineering career path much to the dismay of our parents.

So how does one know if they are suited for a technical career? In addition to aptitude testing, there are some basis questions you might ask yourself.

A. What are my interests?

A curiosity of how and why things work the way they do is typically an attribute found in a lot of budding engineers, scientists and technicians. Perhaps structures such as bridges, stadiums, or high rise buildings fascinate you. This might be a sign that you are interested in studying civil engineering. Interested in marine life or the environment? Find out what engineering opportunities exist in those areas.

B. What subjects do I like?

Naturally math is an important subject at the high school level for those contemplating technical studies. I would also recommend evaluating what aspects of physics and chemistry you find appealing, particularly the former. High school physics deals with many of the aspects of engineering, i.e. chemical, electrical, mechanical, aeronautical, nuclear and more. Chemistry and mathematics are key subjects for chemical engineers. So take the opportunity to judge your interest from a subject perspective.

C. What subjects are my strengths?

Often your likes are your strengths. But do not necessarily take that for granted. The technical subjects you excel in are a good indicator that you have the ability to grasp technical concepts be they of a mathematical, physical or chemical nature. Whereas strength in artful subjects, literature or history would suggest a different career path.

D. Who do I know in the field?

Knowing someone working in the field that you are considering is a great way to become familiar with what the work entails. Do your parents work in the field, cousins, neighbors, aunts, uncles or siblings that work in the field? If so, spend time with them, ask questions or possibly spend some time with them on their job site or in their office or shop.

Beware however, that none of the above questions alone can ensure survival in your chosen technical field. Also there are many books available that delve deeply into career choices. It is unfortunate that little time is spent understanding what a particular career encompasses until later when we are fully committed.

Engineering Careers for Women

This is a puzzling subject that I chose to include it in my book. When I was a high school student, I knew many girls that excelled in math and science and therefore it was surprising to me that so few elected to pursue engineering careers. After all, technical careers generally don’t require brute strength, getting muddy or handling explosives. But with all my work experience, I have only known 10 women in engineering or design positions. I think I am finally beginning to understand why.

1. Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine published that it is well established that only one-tenth of employed engineers are women. I would have guessed less.

2. A 2011 research study found that the percentage of female engineering graduates accounted for approximately 18.4% of the BS degrees awarded in total.

3. A 2011 US Census Bureau publication concludes that nearly 1 in 5 female science and engineering graduates leave the technical labor force versus only 1 in 10 males. Many receiving BS in engineering degrees then pursue non-engineering careers such as law, education, health care and even accounting.

4. In a recent study compiled at Harvey Mudd College in California, the number one reason why young women do not chose technical careers is that they think they are not interesting. The second reason, the young women don’t think they would do well.

Back to my dilemma, so why have I known so few women engineers? In addition to the above conclusions, I also recognize that there has been more press in recent decades highlighting chemical, biomedical and “save the environment” issues. Perhaps the front page stories constantly focusing on these problems has motivated women to pursue these fields of study thereby explaining the survey results.

One of the consequences of this scarcity of women in engineering has created a great opportunity and a high demand for their recruitment particularly companies advocating diversity in the work place. It would seem that in the future, improvement in promoting technical careers for women will be necessary.

Your thoughts?

Will you lose your job due to Automation?

If you are an engineer, technician or scientist is there a risk of losing your job do to automation? Likely not, as automation is actually attributed to the efforts of technical personnel. I am reminded that back in the 1980s while I was employed as an engineer at Sundstrand Fluid Handling, the so-called Data Processing main-frame personnel worried about their careers. Why, because they feared that if the engineers each had a personnel computer there would be no DP folks required. But surprisingly, the opposite was true and those DP people morphed into what we now refer to as the IT department that we can’t survive without. And let’s not forget that computers were predicted to eliminate paper.

As I indicated in my previous blog post, technical personnel have been involved with many aspects of automation for decades. But now, the media’s latest rants sensationalize automation as if the “Robot” is some sort of villain. Here is an example of a catchy headline: The Robots are coming (for your job). I guess the media is not focused on global warming any longer due to the so-called “warming pause”.

What the media does not explain about “robots”.

There is a current trend in the media to treat automation and robotics as a looming threat to workers including engineers, scientists and technicians. Article titles like: Rise of the Machines: Factory jobs lost to robots. OK, I get it about making the news sensational, it sells. But as usual, it’s what they leave out that I find interesting.

Historically, first came the hand held wrench, then the human operated pneumatic wrench then finally the robotic operated pneumatic/electric/hydraulic wrench. Think of Robots as essentially advanced tools. Also keep in mind:

Robots are designed by engineers, scientists and technicians.

Robots must be sold by sales personnel.

Robots require raw materials that must be produced including electric motors, air and hydraulic cylinders and electronic controls.

Robots must be assembled, tested and shipped.

Robots must be powered by compressed air, hydraulic fluid and electricity, all of which must be produced.

Robots must by programmed to operate.

Robots must be repaired when they fail and they will.

Automobiles replaced the horse and wagon, but we still have horses and wagons.