Experienced Senior Electronic Technician

raspberrypi67

Hi Folks,

I live in the Celbridge area in Kildare. I'm qualified in Electronics to level 7 from Dundalk, many years ago and have always been in a job, until recently.
About a year ago my place of work/company left Ireland, I was with them for 14 years. Anyway, I since got a job in another company, within 8 weeks, and within 6 months had to go because it also got taken over and was going to let everyone go. The last place I ended up I probably rushed into it too quickly to be honest, not that it mattered as they seem to run short of all these contracts and promise of work and so actually let me go during my probation period.
Its early days yet and I know August would have been a bad month for jobs but I'm now nearly 6 weeks without work.
Like I said, I've very good experience in the whole manufacturing area of electronics , love the whole repair side of things and solving problems from schematics , I'd consider myself to be quite a good technician/test engineer.
However I'm starting to go a bit nutty at home and need to get a job soon. I cant seem to consecrate on any hobbies that I have as I'm too anxious and conscious of looking for work every morning. There seem to be junior positions but no one wants to take on someone in their late 40's. I don't want manager type positions either as my expertise and passion is in problem solving faults.
If anyone knows of such positions or has a clue how to cope with this then let me know. I find I get quite depressed in the mornings and then in the afternoon and evenings I recover a little, is this normal.

Thanks folks

doolox

I have had nothing but trouble and heartache in Electronics since 1995 hqaving worked for a good company for 14 yrs and then for a predatory company for a further 12 yrs. I have given up on Electronics and Technology as a wqay of life as the job security, job satisfaction etc are non existant for non degree qualified staff and even difficult and challenging for junior degree educated people.

My hobby, which my late father classified as a "waste of time" and getting you nowhere" now earns me MORE in half the time than any tech job could ever do.

Being self employed with several clients no one client can make me redundant and mess up my life as an employer can do.

Todays job market is subject to so much uncertainty that a "permanent" job in any private company is nothing but. They can close down or get rid of staff as they see fit.

You might be better off going it alone as a self employed person in some line of work rather than trying to compete with younger hungrier better qualified people in a very contracted and shrinking sector.

I am 56 yrs old and not qualified to degree level, at the best of times I struggeld in a tech role because of personal health and development issues which I only got sorted out in the last 7 yrs.

Do not make the same mistake I made of trying to stick with a shrinking and dying and unrewarding sector unless you really love your work.

raspberrypi67

doolox wrote: »

I have had nothing but trouble and heartache in Electronics since 1995 hqaving worked for a good company for 14 yrs and then for a predatory company for a further 12 yrs. I have given up on Electronics and Technology as a wqay of life as the job security, job satisfaction etc are non existant for non degree qualified staff and even difficult and challenging for junior degree educated people.

My hobby, which my late father classified as a "waste of time" and getting you nowhere" now earns me MORE in half the time than any tech job could ever do.

Being self employed with several clients no one client can make me redundant and mess up my life as an employer can do.

Todays job market is subject to so much uncertainty that a "permanent" job in any private company is nothing but. They can close down or get rid of staff as they see fit.

You might be better off going it alone as a self employed person in some line of work rather than trying to compete with younger hungrier better qualified people in a very contracted and shrinking sector.

I am 56 yrs old and not qualified to degree level, at the best of times I struggeld in a tech role because of personal health and development issues which I only got sorted out in the last 7 yrs.

Do not make the same mistake I made of trying to stick with a shrinking and dying and unrewarding sector unless you really love your work.

Hi There, your probably right but I don't really have the luxury of falling back on my hobby. Granted I'd be good at woodwork but if I were to go down that road I don't think I'd earn too much. People dont buy what they dont really need when there's a recession .
I would love to get into a form of woodwork and even join forces with someone but I dont think I could compete with prices and mass produced stuff, and IKEA!!!
I could go down the road of repairing PC's and laptops I'd be fairly good at that but again, there's lots of people doing that. I guess its building up a reputation...slow business and I have no money to fall back on.
What line of work did you take up then after electronics. ?
Cheers

mickey mac

raspberrypi67 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I live in the Celbridge area in Kildare. I'm qualified in Electronics to level 7 from Dundalk, many years ago and have always been in a job, until recently.
About a year ago my place of work/company left Ireland, I was with them for 14 years. Anyway, I since got a job in another company, within 8 weeks, and within 6 months had to go because it also got taken over and was going to let everyone go. The last place I ended up I probably rushed into it too quickly to be honest, not that it mattered as they seem to run short of all these contracts and promise of work and so actually let me go during my probation period.
Its early days yet and I know August would have been a bad month for jobs but I'm now nearly 6 weeks without work.
Like I said, I've very good experience in the whole manufacturing area of electronics , love the whole repair side of things and solving problems from schematics , I'd consider myself to be quite a good technician/test engineer.
However I'm starting to go a bit nutty at home and need to get a job soon. I cant seem to consecrate on any hobbies that I have as I'm too anxious and conscious of looking for work every morning. There seem to be junior positions but no one wants to take on someone in their late 40's. I don't want manager type positions either as my expertise and passion is in problem solving faults.
If anyone knows of such positions or has a clue how to cope with this then let me know. I find I get quite depressed in the mornings and then in the afternoon and evenings I recover a little, is this normal.

Thanks folks

I did the same course in the same place, probably a few years later (I'm 46), I still work in electronic production, but for how long we can survive I don't know!! When I started out, I was exclusively test, debug and repair, then I was mainly involved with test equipment, building, maintaining and programming. In the last 8 years I've being working as technical support, over a wider range of processes, not just electronic test related, but also wave soldering process, mechanical processes and I'm also responsible for the HVAC system!
The reason for this wide range of roles is because over the years the people who use to these jobs either left or took voluntary redundancy and were never replaced and their roles were given out to the remaining staff, I wasn't especially happy with the situation (should mention we've had a pay freeze for the past 8 years) but I consoled myself with the thought that I'm gaining experience in new areas, which hopefully will add a few strings my bow when I need to find a new job.

This is my story, probably not much help to you, but a reply none the less.

raspberrypi67

mickey mac wrote: »

I did the same course in the same place, probably a few years later (I'm 46), I still work in electronic production, but for how long we can survive I don't know!! When I started out, I was exclusively test, debug and repair, then I was mainly involved with test equipment, building, maintaining and programming. In the last 8 years I've being working as technical support, over a wider range of processes, not just electronic test related, but also wave soldering process, mechanical processes and I'm also responsible for the HVAC system!
The reason for this wide range of roles is because over the years the people who use to these jobs either left or took voluntary redundancy and were never replaced and their roles were given out to the remaining staff, I wasn't especially happy with the situation (should mention we've had a pay freeze for the past 8 years) but I consoled myself with the thought that I'm gaining experience in new areas, which hopefully will add a few strings my bow when I need to find a new job.

This is my story, probably not much help to you, but a reply none the less.

Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate it. Well, be thankful you have a job, I'm sure you are though. I'm going nuts at the minute. I love working and love electronics but very little there. Some of the job specs that are there appear to be quite boring.
Anyway, finding that I'm having to look towards Galway and Limerick and do a stay over for 5 days. Not handy with 3 kids under 15 years. I hate the thoughts of having to move so I may wait, as I can afford to, well for a few months anyway.
Rich

doolox

That is why I had to get out of the sector, I knew a guy based in North Dublin who had to work six months here six months there all over Clare and Limerick and managed to get a job in Dublin City Centre with a small electronics concern which has very little room for advancement or development. I do not have the necessary degree for re-entry into the electronics sector nor would I be able to afford to travel or run two homes.

A cousin of mine works in a niche sector of electronics in England and says he can hire graduate Electronic Engineers for around £14kstg.....hardly going to get rich on that.

So I had no choice but to use my other talents, my wife idea, to make some money. As I said I am not relying on Foreign Direct Investment or being employed by one employer any more as they have become far too uncertain and unreliable in the last 10 yrs.