technician on the road to full engineer?

mawk

interested to hear some perspectives;

someone claimed to me lately that all engineers should spend time as a technician after college to get a hands on grounding. I think there is a lot to be said for seeing the spanner end of the industry and working up.
but what do ye think? is it a waste of time for a lot of young engineers as technician roles trend to be very much their own field in many cases?

2011

mawk wrote: »

interested to hear some perspectives;

someone claimed to me lately that all engineers should spend time as a technician after college to get a hands on grounding. I think there is a lot to be said for seeing the spanner end of the industry and working up.

Absolutely.

My own experience working as an electrician and then as a technician has certainly been an advantage to me.

godtabh

I think experience is the key

I worked in technician roles during breaks from college. I could use CAD better than most trained lads. Made life easier some times

chris85

I agree Engineers need to be more hands on for sure. I got much hands on experience doing my degree in and IT, not as much doing as masters at a Uni.

I was recently in an interview and got handed a Voltmeter and was asked what it was and how to use it (how would I measure voltage, resistance). I was laughing inside as got the feeling many people didnt know who previously interviewed. Was a senior Engineer asking me this as well. I obviously knew how to use it (as any Engineer should).

2011

On a recent project I was "As Building" drawings for the main LV distribution board. As part of this exercise I was also checking that all MCCB & ACB settings were set to the correct value.

In one cable cubicle I could see that the cable installed appeared to be too small for the protective device it was connected to. Following further investigation I discovered that the contractor had installed a cable exactly 1/2 the size that the cable schedule stated it should be.

Had I not spent the time terminating large SWAs in a former life I do not think I would have spotted that the core diameter was smaller than it should have been. The conductor size could not be verified by looking at the writing on the cable lugs as it was covered by the large concave spring washers installed.

grateface

100% agree with OP.
I'm working in Intel a couple of months and spend 80% of my time in the Fab doing preventative maintenance and getting a full knowledge of the tools. It is essential knowledge

Cedrus

Some of the best engineers i've worked with came off the tools, but it's probably a bit much to expect everyone to do an apprenticeship before going back to college.

chris85

I think this should be more something the colleges should be on. I done my undergrad at an IT and have decent knowledge of tooling and very much hands on. That being said I was always very hands on anyways even before college.

Especially in the Universitys a bit more practical knowledge could go a long way. I have seen some come out of a Uni and be seriously incompetent hands on.

mawk

Im spending a lot of time with spreadsheets lately. I miss spanners.

langdang

I have a feeling the starting wage for many branches of engineering would (have to) rise significantly if they were all decent technicians beforehand... I.E. it ain't gonna happen

nogoodnamesleft

chris85 wrote: »

I agree Engineers need to be more hands on for sure. I got much hands on experience doing my degree in and IT, not as much doing as masters at a Uni.

I was recently in an interview and got handed a Voltmeter and was asked what it was and how to use it (how would I measure voltage, resistance). I was laughing inside as got the feeling many people didnt know who previously interviewed. Was a senior Engineer asking me this as well. I obviously knew how to use it (as any Engineer should).

I have worked along side an "Engineering Manager" who was unable to utilise a multimeter to fault find a piece of equipment. Same engineering manager failed to crimp a wire a 0.5 meter "crossed network cable" properly requiring yours truly to be mobilised to a remote location (in Italy) in order to "fix the issue".

Unfortunately its common for someone to be very intellectual in an engineering sense but unable to apply the knowledge to a real world scenario. I attended an interview recently (where I was successful in attaining the role) with other candidates and we were given a practical problem to solve.

It was obvious those that had a logical practical approach to problem solving. My initial reaction was surprise as the majority of those present focused too much on the problem and did not give any consideration to the resources available.

CatFromHue

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

I attended an interview recently (where I was successful in attaining the role) with other candidates and we were given a practical problem to solve.

It was obvious those that had a logical practical approach to problem solving. My initial reaction was surprise as the majority of those present focused too much on the problem and did not give any consideration to the resources available.

What was the problem?

chris85

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

I have worked along side an "Engineering Manager" who was unable to utilise a multimeter to fault find a piece of equipment. Same engineering manager failed to crimp a wire a 0.5 meter "crossed network cable" properly requiring yours truly to be mobilised to a remote location (in Italy) in order to "fix the issue".

Unfortunately its common for someone to be very intellectual in an engineering sense but unable to apply the knowledge to a real world scenario. I attended an interview recently (where I was successful in attaining the role) with other candidates and we were given a practical problem to solve.

It was obvious those that had a logical practical approach to problem solving. My initial reaction was surprise as the majority of those present focused too much on the problem and did not give any consideration to the resources available.

Yeah I guess some engineers are more intellectually able than technically able but I am from the side where all Engineers should be able to use the basic tools (multimeter, spanners, etc).

Well done on getting the job btw. I got offered my first engineering position a few weeks ago, graduating masters next month.

nogoodnamesleft

CatFromHue wrote: »

What was the problem?

The design of a structure to a certain specification and lots of plastic!

chris85 wrote: »

Yeah I guess some engineers are more intellectually able than technically able but I am from the side where all Engineers should be able to use the basic tools (multimeter, spanners, etc).

Well done on getting the job btw. I got offered my first engineering position a few weeks ago, graduating masters next month.

Cheers! Im technically changing discipline from what my BSc as my MSc is in a different area. Worked for 5 years and decided I fancied a change and had the means to do so.

I was never taught in college to use a multimeter. Self taught myself messing with electronics and automotive electrics.

mawk

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

The design of a structure to a certain specification and lots of plastic!
.

was it lego? best interview ever

colmdel

Have to agree!! Currently working as a technician in a Power Station and the experience is invaluable!!! Its really gonna help further down the line.