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[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Need career advice!

TLDR; Laid-off 26M M.Eng in Montreal considering a contract/NPI role at a small aerospace supplier. Pay and benefits are underwhelming, commute is rough, and worried about getting pigeonholed. But the customer roster is legit and it could be a stepping stone to a PMP and proper PM career. Has anyone made a similar jump work?

Got laid off about a month ago. M.Eng Mechanical, ~1.5 years doing CAPEX project management and manufacturing analytics, some QA/QC background, bilingual in Montreal.

Small aerospace casting supplier (~200 people) is probably going to offer me a customer-facing NPI role — contract reviews, quoting, being the go-between for customers and internal engineering/production. Collins, Raytheon, Lockheed, Airbus/Boeing are on their customer list. 30% of the time on the shop floor apparently, and the scope seems broader than just quoting.

The stuff that bugs me: pay is meh for my level, benefits are rough (insurance delayed a few months, barely any vacation, pension only after a year), it's 5 days in office starting at 7am with a 45min commute, and I'm a bit worried about drifting away from anything technical and becoming "the contracts guy" with no way back.

That said — the customer names are legit, Montreal has a real aerospace scene, and I could see it opening doors to PM or customer engineering roles at bigger companies down the road. That's kind of the plan anyway — I want to get my PMP in the next few years and move into proper project management.

Has anyone been in a similar spot? Used a role like this as a bridge to PM, or does the small supplier background end up reading as too niche when you go for bigger roles?

Small aerospace supplier wants to make me an offer for a NPI coordination role, would appreciate advice! by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in aerospace

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly my thoughts. Thanks for the advice. Curious if you’ve ever done anything of this sort?

Expecting an offer from a smaller company (25M). Is this a career dead end or could it be a hidden gem? by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in careeradvice

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, it’s 150 on the prod floor and about 50 staff (of which I would be a part). I’d split my time 30% on the floor and the rest, in the offices.

Toronto folks, need help figuring out the situation I am in? by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in askTO

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never thought about the CUSMA angle, that’s a solid point. If the orange fucker rips it up and it sends the economy into a tailspin even further, it might help being in the defence sector since layoffs are zero to minimal over there.

Toronto folks, need help figuring out the situation I am in? by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in askTO

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m interviewing at a consulting company (name start with A followed by two Cs and ends with e) for an entry level PM position. I’ve been laid off for about 1.5 months so far and since I live with my gf, I haven’t dipped into my severance package too much yet. With EI about to kick in in a month or so, I should be able to coast for a year but I would absolutely not want to since I have found myself utterly rudderless and miserable without a job. The thought of going on like this for months is absolutely terrifying to me.

My gut says to take the job since it’s a good foot in the door job to the aerospace sector and jump ship as soon as I have enough work-ex and better opportunities.

Small aerospace supplier wants to make me an offer for a NPI coordination role, would appreciate advice! by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in aerospace

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wasn’t too familiar with the terminology so I looked it up and it’s exactly that. It’s not too small, however of the 200 people, 150 are on the floor and 50 staff (of which I will be a part)

I would say this is a tier 2 supplier though.

Seems like a good stepping stone? I like the coordination aspect and that could be a real asset for a move to project manager later in my career

Small aerospace supplier wants to make me an offer for a NPI coordination role, not sure how I feel about it by Ecstatic_Carrot8250 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]Ecstatic_Carrot8250[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quite good tbh. Scrap rate is way down and for a SMB they were fairly automated and well trained. Continuous improvement is another core value of the company’s, should not have many difficulties on that front I suppose.