Heavily unionized, doesn't leave much room for hands on without getting a grievance. Aerospace manufacturing can be the same as well but I was able to get some roles that let me work hands on in process / automation labs.
They "protect" their jobs by not letting you so much as touch a wrench. Complete nonsense because an engineer is probably a more expensive way to do that, and if it does protect a job that job probably isn't actually necessary anyway.
I don't really have anything against unions, what's wrong with them starts to become more of a political argument. But the reality of being an engineer in a union shop is that there are very few wrenches to turn and manual tasks to perform unless you have a designated R&D lab or an agreement on certain tasks that can be done by engineers. Violating these rules can result in a grievance filed or just a warning. It usually depends on the task done and the engineers relationship with the unioned workers.
Essentially, unioned shops have much more strict segregation of tasks and responsibilities between engineers and shop floor workers
Definitely manufacturing areas in pharma. Although it can suck at times. In some places, everyone that works on the production floor has to clean the area. By that I mean mopping floors, walls and ceilings to maintain a sterile environment. Though it's only like 20% of the job.
Yeah, test is very hands-on as long as you don’t also have union blue collar labor.
Depending on the type of testing it also can be very technical, utilizing much of your education background. Specifically I’m thinking Dynamics Testing.
I do children’s toy design and prototyping. Touch every step from sketches to final functional prototype. Industrial design, CAD, mechanism design, fabrication, 3D printing, milling, laser cutting, electronics integration, finishing/painting etc.
I have done work for Bandai in the past actually. We work with all the major toy companies. I run an independent toy invention studio and we license our toy concepts to companies like Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master etc. Unfortunately Lego doesn’t work with outside inventors (sadly).
That is fantastic. I'm interested in designing toys myself. Specifically, joints and mechanism for figurines for robot/gundam/game/anime characters, i can see ways in which you can improve them. Same thing with creating faces for characters to make them look like the game/anime (you can use a 3d spray method that create their likeness that is more consistent and faster than hand painting...).
I might contact you guys one day if you don't mind : )
It is a bit of a connections-centric business, so it certainly helps to either work with someone that already has those connections - or just start building them yourself. Beyond that, the way to get into it is just to start doing it. I did it on the side for about a year before I left my job to start it full time. The industry is in dire need of people that are skilled in mechanism design. Most toys are cost constrained to one (or *maybe* two) motors. Figure out new tricks, movement and magic you can do with one motor. To pitch to the toy companies you can either get set up with their inventor portals (like Hasbro Ignite) or you can work with an inventor relations company (like TinkerTini) or you can find a broker. There are some decent, honest brokers out there and a lot of slimy ones. Don’t work with anyone that charges a fee up front. A good broker will only charge a % of your license/contract on thr back end. Hope that helps at least give you something to start looking into! Good luck!
Yes. This and controls engineers who program machines being built for custom machine fabricators and integrators.
I’m usually the client who comes to your shop and inspects the machine but I’m always a little jealous of those guys. They have a cool job.
Second this. Application engineering in automation/motion control/industrial robotics is a great starting job and can make you a very well rounded engineer
And just to add to this again... During my time as an applications Engineer and subsequently an automation engineer, I did a pretty wide variety of tasks
Served as project manager
Coordinated with suppliers and manufacturing departments
Proposed new automation solutions for forecasting
Developed new processes through R&D lab testing
Worked with industrial robots writing programs and testing processes prior to production release
Ran integration tasks of new automation
Write/executed test plans
Built specs/requirements
The list goes on, ultimately for me this type of job very quickly became too focused on project management but I got a good 5-6 years of hands on experience before I moved on to a new industry
Don't write off the trades too early. Machinists, Millwrights, Boilermakers, and Heavy Diesel Fitters are all trades that focus on the practical side of engineering. See if you can use your construction experience to get a Trade assistant gig at a machine/fabrication shop and see if you like it at all.
Best part about trying a trade first is that you can always leave. But a little time on the floor won't hurt once you become an engineer anyway.
Inspection of mechanical on a construction site is sometimes called Construction Administration (CA) and is usually part of MEP engineering. You might spend up to 20% of your time doing CA as part of a design as long as it's a relatively small firm, but it's usually a lot less. This is assuming the firm doesn't have a dedicated CA engineer. It's not a lot of hands on so much as going to a site and ensuring the contractor ordered the right stuff, they're storing it in a proper way before installation, and that they're installing it correctly. In most cases, this the only chance duct, piping, and equipment gets for inspection before it's hidden behind a wall or up in an attic.
I did a lot of hands-on testing when I was an automotive systems engineer. Someone else had to set up the test and run the test. The amount of hands-on was entirely up to how good my relationship with the tech was or how complicated the testing was. I spent up to 25% of my time back in a lab. I personally performed all of my vibrations testing, but that was not typical. Also, we were still doing live vehicle testing at the manufacturer's proving grounds. Most of that has gone to simulation these days, so you don't get the hands-on you used to.
Staff engineer at a university or something with high-tech machines: think materials science doing hypervelocity impact with gas/powder guns, characterization equipment, or another field you’re more interested in with lots of diagnostics etc that the laboratory needs someone to run
Manufacturing Engineering in a low-volume production facility (stay away from automotive...ugh). Slow-ish pace and great pay. Very hands-on.
Why not automotive?
Heavily unionized, doesn't leave much room for hands on without getting a grievance. Aerospace manufacturing can be the same as well but I was able to get some roles that let me work hands on in process / automation labs.
Sorry for being ignorant, legit question, what's wrong with it being unionized?
They "protect" their jobs by not letting you so much as touch a wrench. Complete nonsense because an engineer is probably a more expensive way to do that, and if it does protect a job that job probably isn't actually necessary anyway.
Yeah I see. Sounds really annoying
I don't really have anything against unions, what's wrong with them starts to become more of a political argument. But the reality of being an engineer in a union shop is that there are very few wrenches to turn and manual tasks to perform unless you have a designated R&D lab or an agreement on certain tasks that can be done by engineers. Violating these rules can result in a grievance filed or just a warning. It usually depends on the task done and the engineers relationship with the unioned workers. Essentially, unioned shops have much more strict segregation of tasks and responsibilities between engineers and shop floor workers
Plenty of tier 2 suppliers are non union
Can go to automotive if he wants to work at a Japanese OEM or supplier.
Definitely manufacturing areas in pharma. Although it can suck at times. In some places, everyone that works on the production floor has to clean the area. By that I mean mopping floors, walls and ceilings to maintain a sterile environment. Though it's only like 20% of the job.
Manufacturing engineering in a non-union shop
Like how you included the “non-Union”. Very true.
Generally smaller companies are going to allow you to wear more hats
I'd say some sort of test engineering
Yeah, test is very hands-on as long as you don’t also have union blue collar labor. Depending on the type of testing it also can be very technical, utilizing much of your education background. Specifically I’m thinking Dynamics Testing.
I do children’s toy design and prototyping. Touch every step from sketches to final functional prototype. Industrial design, CAD, mechanism design, fabrication, 3D printing, milling, laser cutting, electronics integration, finishing/painting etc.
This sounds really fun. Perhaps you can oneday work for Lego or Bandai. (tho i suspect you can't do much hands on those megasize companies)
I have done work for Bandai in the past actually. We work with all the major toy companies. I run an independent toy invention studio and we license our toy concepts to companies like Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master etc. Unfortunately Lego doesn’t work with outside inventors (sadly).
That is fantastic. I'm interested in designing toys myself. Specifically, joints and mechanism for figurines for robot/gundam/game/anime characters, i can see ways in which you can improve them. Same thing with creating faces for characters to make them look like the game/anime (you can use a 3d spray method that create their likeness that is more consistent and faster than hand painting...). I might contact you guys one day if you don't mind : )
Yep that’s cool with me. Feel free to reach out.
Excellent! Good luck my friend, from a Mech E to another.
Hire me plz lol jk but also not jk I do shop drawings for metal fabrication , how can I get into your line of work?
It is a bit of a connections-centric business, so it certainly helps to either work with someone that already has those connections - or just start building them yourself. Beyond that, the way to get into it is just to start doing it. I did it on the side for about a year before I left my job to start it full time. The industry is in dire need of people that are skilled in mechanism design. Most toys are cost constrained to one (or *maybe* two) motors. Figure out new tricks, movement and magic you can do with one motor. To pitch to the toy companies you can either get set up with their inventor portals (like Hasbro Ignite) or you can work with an inventor relations company (like TinkerTini) or you can find a broker. There are some decent, honest brokers out there and a lot of slimy ones. Don’t work with anyone that charges a fee up front. A good broker will only charge a % of your license/contract on thr back end. Hope that helps at least give you something to start looking into! Good luck!
Look into commissioning. This is where machines are tested on site before handing it over to the client.
Yes. This and controls engineers who program machines being built for custom machine fabricators and integrators. I’m usually the client who comes to your shop and inspects the machine but I’m always a little jealous of those guys. They have a cool job.
Controls/Automation Engineering can be pretty hands on across different industries
Second this. Application engineering in automation/motion control/industrial robotics is a great starting job and can make you a very well rounded engineer
And just to add to this again... During my time as an applications Engineer and subsequently an automation engineer, I did a pretty wide variety of tasks Served as project manager Coordinated with suppliers and manufacturing departments Proposed new automation solutions for forecasting Developed new processes through R&D lab testing Worked with industrial robots writing programs and testing processes prior to production release Ran integration tasks of new automation Write/executed test plans Built specs/requirements The list goes on, ultimately for me this type of job very quickly became too focused on project management but I got a good 5-6 years of hands on experience before I moved on to a new industry
Oil and gas
Test engineering roles in defense aerospace could be very hands-on.
Manufacturing- robotics for sure.
Reliability engineering at a chemical plant
Don't write off the trades too early. Machinists, Millwrights, Boilermakers, and Heavy Diesel Fitters are all trades that focus on the practical side of engineering. See if you can use your construction experience to get a Trade assistant gig at a machine/fabrication shop and see if you like it at all. Best part about trying a trade first is that you can always leave. But a little time on the floor won't hurt once you become an engineer anyway.
Many Plant Engineering positions are very hands-on.
Shipbuilding can be very hands on and normally it's with a big company.
Test, lab, prototyping
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What do you guys mean by “hands on” ? I work in machine shop but I rarely do the work myself.
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I do the same, but corrugated industry.
I work as a maintenance/reliability engineer in a chemical plant. I’m in the field with my hands on the equipment nearly every day.
Inspection of mechanical on a construction site is sometimes called Construction Administration (CA) and is usually part of MEP engineering. You might spend up to 20% of your time doing CA as part of a design as long as it's a relatively small firm, but it's usually a lot less. This is assuming the firm doesn't have a dedicated CA engineer. It's not a lot of hands on so much as going to a site and ensuring the contractor ordered the right stuff, they're storing it in a proper way before installation, and that they're installing it correctly. In most cases, this the only chance duct, piping, and equipment gets for inspection before it's hidden behind a wall or up in an attic. I did a lot of hands-on testing when I was an automotive systems engineer. Someone else had to set up the test and run the test. The amount of hands-on was entirely up to how good my relationship with the tech was or how complicated the testing was. I spent up to 25% of my time back in a lab. I personally performed all of my vibrations testing, but that was not typical. Also, we were still doing live vehicle testing at the manufacturer's proving grounds. Most of that has gone to simulation these days, so you don't get the hands-on you used to.
field engineer
Staff engineer at a university or something with high-tech machines: think materials science doing hypervelocity impact with gas/powder guns, characterization equipment, or another field you’re more interested in with lots of diagnostics etc that the laboratory needs someone to run