Author Topic: Getting a job closer to a desired area (Engineer's dilemma?)  (Read 1653 times)

NathanDrake

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Getting a job closer to a desired area (Engineer's dilemma?)
« on: February 23, 2015, 06:03:50 PM »
My current commute is 45 mins+ each way. I'd like to relocate to a different city in a more desirable part of town, but my experience is within a particular industry that isn't very widespread in this state. My degree is in electrical engineering, which is quite broad, but my experience is very tailored towards this industry, and looking at job postings (indeed, linkedin, monster, etc) the requirements listed don't align themselves necessarily all that well to what's posted. In fact, reading these job postings is a bit intimidating/depressing because I don't know how well I'd enjoy the type of work some of these positions offer.

I don't mind my job, but I don't necessarily love it either. I've been here long enough to gain some seniority, but the compensation gains have been pretty lousy. I'm teetering on financial independence but want to work a bit longer just to have a safety net. Ideally I'd like to cut my commute in half or more, which would free up a substantial amount of time and let me regain some of my sanity. The commute is slowly killing me. The thought of being able to pre-FIRE part time would be nice as well, but I haven't found any positions that offer half the pay for half the hours.

I feel that certain other positions may lend themselves better to job switching because they're far more widespread and/or general, but I feel sort of stuck in this engineering role. Maybe companies are more than willing to pick the right candidate rather than someone who fills their needs down to the dotted line of the candidate they're looking for.

MrMoogle

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Re: Getting a job closer to a desired area (Engineer's dilemma?)
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2015, 08:28:19 PM »
I'm a system engineer.  Some job openings are looking for a specific skill set, but most don't actually require all of the specific skills listed.  If you have similar experience, even from college, the degree is what matters and your willingness to learn. 

I recently accepted an offer from a company.  In the job description, it mentions software XYZ, and I've never used XYZ before.  But after a little research, I found out the company that makes XYZ also makes ABC, and I used ABC in college (9 years ago).  So in the interview, I was able to explain my experience with ABC, and how I can leverage that knowledge for XYZ. 

In most of my interviews, I've said "I've never done XXX before."  But then from my resume, I say, before this project, I had never done this before either, and here's how I was successful.  If their job description talks a lot about one topic, be sure to let them know you are able to handle it, even though you might not have direct experience.

I would look at system engineering spots too, no two companies have the same definition of that, and there are few degrees actually in it, most system engineers got their degrees in something else.  They do a wide variety of things, not all are fun IMO, so be sure to understand the day-to-day.

I've known a few part-time engineers, and they had been at the company for years, then switched to part-time.  It might be something you can talk to your current employer about, but I doubt you'll find a new position that's part time. 

 

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