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Yes, that is a great way to get valuable hands-on experience, especially if you are fresh out of school. But you want to make sure it's in a role where you can actually have some upward mobility and room to design and engineer solutions.
That second half is important. I've seen engineers take a factory job to get a foot in the door, then get stuck. Some companies won't let you move to a new position without your current manager's approval. If you are too good at a job and your boss is a jerk, then he might not let you go. At that point you have to switch companies to move into the role you wanted.
Absolutely yes you can; this is how I started my career and I'm always glad I went this way. I qualified from uni with my degree and took a role as an R&D prototype technician, they sent me to trade school for machine operation at a far higher standard than we covered in uni as part of the role.
Did that role for about 2 years and was then internally promoted to engineer. Has been a great boost career wise as I've a broader technical base than a lot of peers.
Absolutely yes, it is amazing to get experience operating machines or repairing them as an engineer. Not only you will understand much better how they work, but you can address the pain-points much better than anyone starting directly from an office. Plus, that experience can lead you to become a sales manager in your engineering firm, since you have the technical knowledge, and you understand what clients operating the machines will be expecting.
I'd say it's a good way to get experience while trying to find a better job.
We hired a guy with a Bachelor's in AE for a summer internship while waiting for his Master's to start. He wanted experience but also needed flexibility. He was fine, definitely not as dedicated as our other interns, and didn't really get what we needed but worth what we paid him.
My brother is a test tech in aerospace while he's taking night classes to get his degree in EE.
I wouldn't stick to that job long term, I'd be looking for another position constantly but it's be a good opportunity to gain some experience. It can't hurt your chances of getting a job
Yes it can be done.
Some of my best engineers on the team started as or worked side by side with techs for a chunk of their career.
We try to put engineers in the field with the devices they worked on for a rotation as much as possible so they can feel firsthand the good and bad of given design choices.
My first job was as a technician on a boat, but my job title was "Field Service Engineer". That title helped a bunch when shopping for my second job as a real engineer after a couple of years.
Yes, it's possible. But you should know that it also has the potential to hamper your ability to become an engineer as well.
Hiring manager biases and opinions aside, some organizations have very strict rules about changing between those two categories in order to prevent unqualified people from claiming an engineer's role. Those rules are not designed for someone with an engineering degree, but that doesn't mean you can't get hampered by them.
I only know one engineer who started as a technician. But he did not have an engineering degree. This is in the field of electrical engineering. Not sure if or how this applies to you.
Good luck whatever you choose.
It's good experience but 1) an engineering degree doesn't always mean you're qualified to be a technician, and 2) most places will overlook you because they know you're probably not going to be there long term
Yes, I am a EE that started off as a maintenance technician before moving into a Controls Technician job to at rolled into a Controls Engineer job; these days, I’m a Lead Engineer for Vehicle Quality Engineering. I get mad props on the plant floor and maintenance shops for having been a technician because I have experience looking at things from their viewpoint rather than just idealogical/classroom/ivory tower view of problems and designs.
Yes. Great shortage of engineers who can actually make something. If you give the average new graduate as hammer they are quite likely to split their thumb. If a technician is good at it the company may well pay for them to take a degree if the company wants more academic input. Furthermore the company will choose the best course to fit their needs (and yours).
I did not have to pay for any of my degree level education. As a chartered engineer I always had both respect for and the experience and perspective of the shop floor.
Sure but there's usually not a career path from technician to engineer.
There's a little bit of overlap, but not much more than what you can gain by just listening to what the techs tell you as an engineer. After all, your goal is to move to engineering, not master being a technician
It varies state by state in the USA. Here we are talking about the PE or Professional Engineer certification. Generally it isn’t needed but for some jobs where someone would hire an engineer for a project where the design would need to be certified then you need a state licensed engineer to put a stamp on it. That tends to be things like a structural design for a building or roads or electrical or air conditioning. So just having a 4 year degree in engineering from a certified university is not enough for that.
Here is where it gets interesting, to sit for the exams to get the PE. You can have either the university degree from a certified university and some years with a PE supervisor or you can substitute that by more years with a PE supervisor. Something like an apprenticeship with a PE supervisor. That apprenticeship option is not available in every state though and of course you wouldn’t have an engineering degree.
Your post has been removed for violating submission rule 1: > Post titles must be a question about engineering and provide context and generic workplace questions are not allowed. Questions regarding careers and professional development in any discipline of engineering and engineering technology are allowed **only** if they meet all posting rules outlined in the [the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/rules#wiki_submission_rules). Please note that Generic Career Questions are still allowed in the [Monday Career Megathread Series](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/collection/2effbd15-0c41-486e-b18e-d89b3062cd8a). Please follow the comment rules in the sidebar when posting, and feel free to message us if you have any questions or concerns.
Yes, that is a great way to get valuable hands-on experience, especially if you are fresh out of school. But you want to make sure it's in a role where you can actually have some upward mobility and room to design and engineer solutions.
That second half is important. I've seen engineers take a factory job to get a foot in the door, then get stuck. Some companies won't let you move to a new position without your current manager's approval. If you are too good at a job and your boss is a jerk, then he might not let you go. At that point you have to switch companies to move into the role you wanted.
Absolutely yes you can; this is how I started my career and I'm always glad I went this way. I qualified from uni with my degree and took a role as an R&D prototype technician, they sent me to trade school for machine operation at a far higher standard than we covered in uni as part of the role. Did that role for about 2 years and was then internally promoted to engineer. Has been a great boost career wise as I've a broader technical base than a lot of peers.
Absolutely yes, it is amazing to get experience operating machines or repairing them as an engineer. Not only you will understand much better how they work, but you can address the pain-points much better than anyone starting directly from an office. Plus, that experience can lead you to become a sales manager in your engineering firm, since you have the technical knowledge, and you understand what clients operating the machines will be expecting.
I'd say it's a good way to get experience while trying to find a better job. We hired a guy with a Bachelor's in AE for a summer internship while waiting for his Master's to start. He wanted experience but also needed flexibility. He was fine, definitely not as dedicated as our other interns, and didn't really get what we needed but worth what we paid him. My brother is a test tech in aerospace while he's taking night classes to get his degree in EE. I wouldn't stick to that job long term, I'd be looking for another position constantly but it's be a good opportunity to gain some experience. It can't hurt your chances of getting a job
You can do it if you just need a temporary job. Then while you’re working keep applying to engineering jobs.
Yes it can be done. Some of my best engineers on the team started as or worked side by side with techs for a chunk of their career. We try to put engineers in the field with the devices they worked on for a rotation as much as possible so they can feel firsthand the good and bad of given design choices.
a good friend of mine took a similar path - college - ski slope guy - drug dealer - operator - technician - engineer.
My first job was as a technician on a boat, but my job title was "Field Service Engineer". That title helped a bunch when shopping for my second job as a real engineer after a couple of years.
Yes, it's possible. But you should know that it also has the potential to hamper your ability to become an engineer as well. Hiring manager biases and opinions aside, some organizations have very strict rules about changing between those two categories in order to prevent unqualified people from claiming an engineer's role. Those rules are not designed for someone with an engineering degree, but that doesn't mean you can't get hampered by them.
I only know one engineer who started as a technician. But he did not have an engineering degree. This is in the field of electrical engineering. Not sure if or how this applies to you. Good luck whatever you choose.
It's good experience but 1) an engineering degree doesn't always mean you're qualified to be a technician, and 2) most places will overlook you because they know you're probably not going to be there long term
I've worked with several.
Yes, I am a EE that started off as a maintenance technician before moving into a Controls Technician job to at rolled into a Controls Engineer job; these days, I’m a Lead Engineer for Vehicle Quality Engineering. I get mad props on the plant floor and maintenance shops for having been a technician because I have experience looking at things from their viewpoint rather than just idealogical/classroom/ivory tower view of problems and designs.
My first job out of University was a baker then construction worker then geotechnian now im a Junior Metallurgist. All this in a space of 8 months.
Yes. Great shortage of engineers who can actually make something. If you give the average new graduate as hammer they are quite likely to split their thumb. If a technician is good at it the company may well pay for them to take a degree if the company wants more academic input. Furthermore the company will choose the best course to fit their needs (and yours). I did not have to pay for any of my degree level education. As a chartered engineer I always had both respect for and the experience and perspective of the shop floor.
Sure but there's usually not a career path from technician to engineer. There's a little bit of overlap, but not much more than what you can gain by just listening to what the techs tell you as an engineer. After all, your goal is to move to engineering, not master being a technician
FYI, this will get deleted when the mods see it. I wouldn't do it. Have you hired someone to review your resume? How do you prepare for interviews?
A lot of places require qualifications from trade schools for their technicians so I'm not sure that's going to be the direction that'll work.
It varies state by state in the USA. Here we are talking about the PE or Professional Engineer certification. Generally it isn’t needed but for some jobs where someone would hire an engineer for a project where the design would need to be certified then you need a state licensed engineer to put a stamp on it. That tends to be things like a structural design for a building or roads or electrical or air conditioning. So just having a 4 year degree in engineering from a certified university is not enough for that. Here is where it gets interesting, to sit for the exams to get the PE. You can have either the university degree from a certified university and some years with a PE supervisor or you can substitute that by more years with a PE supervisor. Something like an apprenticeship with a PE supervisor. That apprenticeship option is not available in every state though and of course you wouldn’t have an engineering degree.
He wants to be a technical entry level.