How do I build a career in engineering (hardware design) ??

I have a serious question; How to start a career in electronic hardware design ?

A few facts about me; I'm 40 I started learning electronics at the age of 10. I have experience and knack for troubleshooting (technical electronics).

3 years ago got a BS in Computer Systems Engineering, which is, in short, a computer science - flavored electrical engineering program.

I've worked at a few jobs in the 3 years since I graduated, but find it so difficult to secure any position involving 'serious' engineering (actually employing advanced devices and principles ), that I've essentially given up that I will ever work in embedded hardware development unless I flip burgers until I can afford to buy development tools and do it on my own, because clearly no company hires anyone without 5-8 years of ''experience''. I'm sure I would fit well in any role employing any mix of analog design / digital design / computer interface / computer programming, but there are no companies willing to hire someone without xx years of experience.

So how the heck does a 'smarter' person with the technical knack ever get a career started when no one will hire someone who hasn't already logged years at another company ?

I've 240 earned college credits, in technical electronics (AS), and engineering (BS) .. and a general sense of futility that I'll ever get a shot at the things I think I'll be best at, engineering, hardware design.

How the heck does ANYONE get started in this field ??

With $ 30,000 in student loans that I can't touch, and no means of getting even to the dentist, I'd like to have a shot at my career.. and no shot can be had since no one hires 'newbies' ( remember, electronics since age 12).

I give up, literally, I'm leaving metro Boston in two weeks (because I can't afford to live here, and what's the point - no company recognizes talent or knack, just 'experience' .. it bears repeating; How the heck does ANYONE get started in this field ??

I look forward to your response and appreciate it.

regards- moi

Reply to
Eman
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Try military contractors like; Lockheed, Raytheon, Boeing. Civilian SW/HW engineering jobs tend to have a narrow criteria.

30-35 age, several years specific experience. :-)

Military contractors tend to keep their people till they die, so you have old farts that would not see you as damaged goods at 40 /w fresh degree.

Of course, you have to be somewhat of a sociopath since you will be building bombs/missiles for Rummy's ambitions.

Reply to
Bronco

Companies do hire graduate engineers. They think that they can get someone who will work harder for less pay. Just keep knocking on doors, and go back and knock again. It's not right to say that you have no experience, you've been doing electronics since you were 10. Make sure your potential employer knows that. Make sure you have a good resume that promotes your skills. If a job is advertised for someone with xx years of experience, apply for it. Don't look for high pay, you'll get that when you've proven yourself. Offer to work for a low rate.

Dan

Reply to
Dan

Why don't you scout for FAE positions with silicon vendors or distis ?

FAE is a challenging job. You'll have to meet targets (however sane or insane) or you're out. If you are really as good as you consider yourself -- give it a try.

/jan

The benefit: plenty of contacts Eman schrieb in im Newsbeitrag: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

Reply to
Jan Homuth

Although someone older (the OP said he was 40+) who's a recent graduate might be seen as having little in the way of upside for the company as they probably have something in the way of a life. Not that they'd ever admit that was the reason, of course.

I'm sure there are ways to work around it, but it might take a bit more effort than otherwise.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

First challenge is to work out what the hell it standas for.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Bell

There's nothing sociopathic about designing weapon systems to kill the enemy. The only sociopaths are the hippy tree huggers like you who would rather 'talk it out' while the bad guys plan to kill the good guys.

Reply to
Aaron

An older recent graduate would certainly be interesting from the point of view of needing less basic training in how to work effectively as part of a team, and generally in having developed the streetwise qualities needed to survive unassisted.

I've interviewed some very impressive "mature student" graduates for development jobs in the past and the best of them are very confident, highly organised self-starters with a real commitment to improving their academic and professional skills. They've usually realised that they need to get out of a (personal, professional) rut and gone off and got the education they needed, usually involving a significant degree of personal sacrifice.

You'd almost certainly start getting RoI sooner from a "mature graduate" than from someone who went straight from high-school to college and obtained the same class of degree, although the chances are the mature graduate would need a higher salary...

Fresh new college kids are cheap - there's a reason for that, though, it takes a long time for them to be truly useful and it takes a lot of someone else's time to make them useful.

pete

--
pete@fenelon.com "there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas."
Reply to
Pete Fenelon

That should be sociopath or idiot. Either way you could happily work for Rummy guilt free and oblivious.

Reply to
PredatorII

I think Field Application Engineer.

Reply to
PredatorII

FAE is FarmWorld Agricultural Exchange

FEDERACIÓN ANDALUZA DE ESGRIMA

Foolish Acronym Excretion

or just maybe

Field Applications Engineer

Reply to
Eman

This is the cookie cutter mentality, which is as long as everyone is like everyone else, we can all fake our way through life together without having any problem.

When I got out of high school, I went straight for technical comunity college electronics .. nearly all people there, just like engineering school, were different in that I love electronics, and everyone else was there because they didnt know what they want in life but knew thay could make money this way. They are on track to fake their way, so no wonder I have so much difficulty getting interviews, the market and workplaces are awash in people who don't care for engineering, but just want to have the money.

I'd could make some more salient points, but there is no use, this is public domain America, mostly, so it will quickly deteriorate into a lot of mud - slinging crap.

Reply to
Eman

It has always thought those who object to working on 'defense' projects to be rather naive. A little thought will reveal there are a vast range of jobs which may have the same effect although in not such a graphic manner.

Would they refuse to work fora process control company that might one day supply a system to a tobacco company. Would they not work on farm machinery on the basis that the company makes a sprayer that farmers might use it to spray carcinogenic insecticides? What about the large number of people killed in auto accidents? can't work for a catering machinery company because they might be used to make burgers.

The bottom line is that almost any job you do can have a potentialy harmful effect. To be truly ethical severely limits job opportunities.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Bell

There might be a much more practical reason for not working for military contractors: they almost always require US citizenship if not some kind of a security clearance. For this many people in the US will never qualify for these jobs independent of their technical expertise/experience. Of course I don't know if the OP is in this shoe.

Regards, Andras Tantos

Reply to
Andras Tantos

Emmmm... Well I've been around the electrical/electronics industry on 3 continents and many more countries for about

30 years and I didn't know either. Maybe it's a largely US expression - do remember the internet does have a few contributors outside US boarders.

Mike Harding

Reply to
Mike Harding

Really? I wouldn't think you will get much argument here in cae. It's a fact that there are people who are 9-5 engineers and there are, conversely, people for whom engineering is a raison d'etre, an avocation and not just a profession. And I suspect the latter are present here in quite high concentration.

I think the division can be seen quite plainly when the CS lecturer asks for a show of hands: engineering is an art? or a science? People in the latter category are more likely by far to be "cookie people".

Reply to
Lewin A.R.W. Edwards

The first questions that come to my mind are whether you are prepared mentally to succeed and whether or not you are sabotaging the opportunities you have. Zig Ziglar has an audio tape out called Success for Dummies. Its available on amazon.com for under $10.00.

The fact that you have skills as opposed to just a piece of paper may allow you to become self employed. If you are interested in something like this, you might check out the newsgroups misc.business.moderated and misc.business.consulting.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Turco

Your university should have an engineering placement center, that coordinates interviewing between students and companies. Usually, those placement centers are open to alumni.

You are not alone. This is the worst engineering job market this country has seen in probably forty or fifty years.

If you are still in Boston, you have some other options. MIT used to be VERY friendly to people just walking in and hanging out, and you can find interesting things going on there. It may be as simple as a T ride from where you are to Kendall Square (I think that's the MIT station).

Reply to
John R. Strohm

would

harmful

That's a pretty meaningless argument - you are taking things to absurd extremes. To be "truly ethical" in that sense limits everything entirely - there is absolutely nothing that you can do that you can be sure cannot have a harmful effect. It is perfectly reasonable to avoid doing things that you know *will* have a harmful effect, and to distance yourself where possible. It is sociopathic to build a machine designed for producing cigarettes - it is not sociopathic to build a packing machine that someone might one day sell to a cigarette company.

Reply to
David Brown

My point exactly.

So you agree there are other industries other than defense that should be avoided. The why does noone mention them?

Ian

Reply to
Ian Bell

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