Electrician looking to get into something more interesting

aido79

I am an electrician currently working in Australia for the past 6 years( with no plans to move back to Ireland in the near future). I also have a level 7 diploma in electronics(which I believe is now classed as an ordinary degree since I finished the course in 2001) and a Cert IV in instrumentation(Australian qualification). I am about to start an online professional certificate course through EIT in Instrumentation, automation and process control. I'm also considering doing an advanced diploma in either Instrumentation or Automation later in the year. Sorry if this the wrong place to post this but there are no Australian versions of boards unfortunately and I've got some good advice here in the past. I'm just wondering if anyone here works in these fields and could point me in the right direction as to what would be the best ways to get into such areas as I am finding Electrical work very boring.

Tow

As your in Australia you will get a better local response by posting your question here: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/

aido79

Tow wrote: »

As your in Australia you will get a better local response by posting your question here: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/

Thanks for that...but it seems to be just an electronics forum. Doesn't seem to cover things such as Instrumentation or Automation.

Tow

aido79 wrote: »

Thanks for that...but it seems to be just an electronics forum. Doesn't seem to cover things such as Instrumentation or Automation.

Not much directly covering Instrumentation and Automation. But, there are a lot of people on it who work in various manufacturing, electronics and electrical related industries. Plus while the users are from all over the world, it is Australian based. A constant source of discussion is on jobs and how to hire good people!

2011

Aido79, a few questions:
What is your role at present?
What sort of work do you do at the moment?
What industry are you working in?
Electrical, instrumentation, automation or a mixtrure of same?
What sort of role would you like? I am guessing that some sort of design role intests you?

aido79

2011 wrote: »

Aido79, a few questions:
What is your role at present?
What sort of work do you do at the moment?
What industry are you working in?
Electrical, instrumentation, automation or a mixtrure of same?
What sort of role would you like? I am guessing that some sort of design role intests you?

I'm currently working on a mining project mainly on the construction side of things but have done some instrumentation work in the past. I would like to get into something more technical so maybe a design or programming role would be preferable.

aido79

Tow wrote: »

Not much directly covering Instrumentation and Automation. But, there are a lot of people on it who work in various manufacturing, electronics and electrical related industries. Plus while the users are from all over the world, it is Australian based. A constant source of discussion is on jobs and how to hire good people!

Thanks again. I will post there too and see what comes of it.

2011

I work in a technical design role myself.
To be honest with you my answer to many of the questions below when I finished college was "no".

I am just to get a handle of where you are at:

Are working on your tools?
Have you supervision experience?
Budgetary experience?

Instrumentation
Have ATEX experience or training ?
Would you be familiar with Hazardous Area Classification drawings?
Do you understand the principles of IS (Intrinsically Safe) instrumentation?
Would you have developed or worked off I/O lists or an Instrument Index?
Would you have carried out hot and cold loop testing?
Have you any experience with SIL (Safety Integral Level) circuits?
Would you be familiar with the process of instrument selection, generating data sheets, dealing with vendors etc. ?
Have you provided commissioning assistance to automation engineers?
Have you been involved with filling out or generation of instrumentation hand over packs?

Automation
Do you understand the different principles of control such as on/off and PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) ?
Would you be familiar with SDS (Software Design Specification) type documentation?
Have you been involved with the execution of test documentation such as IVFV (Installation Verification a& Functional Verification) docs?
Any HAZOP experience/understanding?

aido79

2011 wrote: »

I work in a technical design role myself.
To be honest with you my answer to many of the questions below when I finished college was "no".

I am just to get a handle of where you are at:

Are working on your tools?
Have you supervision experience?
Budgetary experience?

Instrumentation
Have ATEX experience or training ?
Would you be familiar with Hazardous Area Classification drawings?
Do you understand the principles of IS (Intrinsically Safe) instrumentation?
Would you have developed or worked off I/O lists or an Instrument Index?
Would you have carried out hot and cold loop testing?
Have you any experience with SIL (Safety Integral Level) circuits?
Would you be familiar with the process of instrument selection, generating data sheets, dealing with vendors etc. ?
Have you provided commissioning assistance to automation engineers?
Have you been involved with filling out or generation of instrumentation hand over packs?

Automation
Do you understand the different principles of control such as on/off and PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) ?
Would you be familiar with SDS (Software Design Specification) type documentation?
Have you been involved with the execution of test documentation such as IVFV (Installation Verification a& Functional Verification) docs?
Any HAZOP experience/understanding?

I am very much on the tools at the minute with no supervisory experience( and very little interest in taking on such a role). My only experience with instrumentation has been in calibrating instruments during commissioning and I have never worked in a hazardous area environment or with intrinsically safe equipment. I'm really just looking for advice on how I can advance my career even if it will take a couple of years to get to where I want to be.

2011

aido79 wrote: »

I am very much on the tools at the minute with no supervisory experience( and very little interest in taking on such a role).

Ok, so you have been gaining some valuable experience.
However this experience in the eyes of a potential employer has most probably plateaued. If you want to get off your tools and move into a design role you it would be good to get some supervisory experience.
Why? For a few reasons including:
1) You are assuming more responsibility. This is something that goes with the territory if you are working in a technical / design type role.
2) You will become part of the decision making process.
3) This should allow you to work more closely with automation and E & I engineers. Take this opportunity to learn as much as you can from them.
4) Use this as an opportunity to network, make contacts.
5) This can also be an opportunity to learn about pricing and budgetary responsibility.
6) You will get taken more seriously.
7) This experience will stand to you in the long term.
8) Working in a supervisory role is the first step to getting off your tools. Very important if you want a design role!

My only experience with instrumentation has been in calibrating instruments during commissioning

That is a good start.
What types of instruments have you worked with? (Pressure transmitters / temperature transmittters / flow meters / actuated valves / modulating valves / VSDs etc...)
Did you fill out & sign off the calibration paperwork?

Have you installed these instruments in the field?

I assume that you are familiar with loop drawings, system architecture drawings etc ??

I have never worked in a hazardous area environment or with intrinsically safe equipment.

This surprises me.
I would have thought that working in mines would mean a certain amount of working in potentially explosive atmospheres.
I have never even been in a mine.
So you have not installed any Exd (flameproof) enclosures or similar?
Perhaps this is simply not relevant to the type of work you are doing.

I'm really just looking for advice on how I can advance my career even if it will take a couple of years to get to where I want to be.

My advice (although I have no experience of Australia):
Take more responsibility on (as stated above), learn as much as you can, put yourself forward, apply for these positions, be willing to work for low pay in the short term and work very hard. Get your hands on drawings, scope of work documentation, automation documentation and study it.
Never be afraid to ask questions.
More qualifications can't hurt either.

I assume that you plan to stay in Australia?

aido79

Thanks again but a supervisory role would not be within my reach anytime in the near future in my current industry and to get into a supervisory role in an area where I have no experience would probably take even longer.
I have worked with a good variety of instruments both installing and calibrating and doing the associated paperwork and referring to drawings.
Most mines in Australia are above ground rather than underground and most of the process happens far away from where the ore is extracted. What we work on is normally a huge network of conveyers, crushers,scalpers and screeners anything up to 10km's in length. To work on any hazardous area equipment would require me to do a relatively expensive course plus take a couple of weeks off work.
To be honest to get to where I want to be I would need to leave the mining industry and get some experience more related to automation or plc's or something similar(but for now money talks..). I think the best way to do this would be to gain some qualifications related to these fields and go from there.
I do plan on staying in Australia for at least the next ten years.