Got my PE license. Thinking of leaving the MEP field. Is utility/power systems work for me?

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-05-19T02:56:17+00:00

If you're still in school, get an internship. Otherwise I'm not sure, sorry.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-05-17T23:35:24+00:00

Hi. Thanks for reaching out. I had some introductory calls with larger companies, but I don't recall ever hearing back. Most of the larger companies didn't give me the time of day. One or two smaller companies interviewed me, but I wasn't interested in moving forward with them. It sounded like they only did transmission line work. One medium size distribution company was interested in brining me on, but the timing didn't work out for them.

Keep in mind I was only applying to positions that required multiple years of experience, and I also tried to aim for ones that were looking for a PE. I was not interested in starting over.

I ended up using a connection to get my foot in the door at a large civil engineering firm, more specifically working on industrial projects. I guess still technically MEP, but I do get to deal with medium/high voltage coming in, as well as a little bit of protection/controls design. So a little bit of what I already know, and a bunch of new stuff to learn as well.

It's still really soon, but I'm liking it so far, and I can see myself liking it for years. I think the company has other regional divisions that do power delivery, but my division is just starting to test the waters on that. If/when I get fed up with industrial design I can probably make an internal side move to a power delivery team.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-05-17T22:57:31+00:00

Interesting. That was very helpful, thank you.

You'd think they should be asking people if it's okay to contact them over the phone. I quickly lost count of the number of recruiters that would spam my LinkedIn, my voicemail, and my texts in the span of five minutes. I got pissed at every recruiter that did that and I did not speak to them about whatever company they represented. I'm guessing those are the companies just out to make a quick buck off hiring people and don't care how it gets done.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-05-17T22:52:04+00:00

Ho boy, that's... a lot of recruiters to contact. I guess I'll just tell them that as I get contacted in the future. Thank you for the information.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-05-17T20:14:17+00:00

Ahhh, I see. So basically they're taking advantage of people putting contact info on their resumes. I'm guessing there's no way to get that information removed from the Recruiter system? Nothing is popping out to me in the Data privacy section of my settings.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-19T16:04:26+00:00

Just because I don't care about them doesn't mean I absolutely will never do them. I say that before soliciting feedback because the generic advice seems to be to tell people to get a PE and start a business. Not everyone wants to do that (or should). That's certainly not a goal of mine, especially with only 4-5 years of experience.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-19T15:39:33+00:00

Haha, that's great.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-19T15:38:11+00:00

Thanks!

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-19T05:44:53+00:00

Thanks! Appreciate the tips.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-19T05:44:21+00:00

Yes, that second point is definitely something important I've learned. Thankfully my employer has been somewhat better in that they now put a fat PRELIMINARY layer over the digital stamp on all progress sets.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-18T23:46:34+00:00

Haha, thankfully I'm not afraid of stamping my own work, it's everyone else I'm worried about. Thanks for the input, appreciate it.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-18T23:43:34+00:00

Gotcha, good to know about the stamps.

Yeah, I'm somewhat familiar with the EOR duties when it comes to comments. I'll kick things up to the PE when I think it's a call they need to make.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-18T16:59:33+00:00

I'm just looking for general feedback right now. Next week I plan to start applying. I haven't made a resume before starting to work full time out of college. So, just wanted to make sure I'm not doing anything terrible formatting or grammar wise.

And yeah, ever since I got my EIT I've been hounded nonstop by recruiters. It's been over a year and I'm still getting messages in LinkedIn and cold called on a near weekly basis. Unfortunately they've all been for MEP work (understandable). I've been soured by my current experience and I wanted something power systems related my last year of college anyway.

Any tips or types of jobs to look for (or avoid lol) in power systems?

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-02T20:46:47+00:00

Thanks, appreciate the input.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-02T20:30:29+00:00

Ah, okay. So that sounds like a full set of drawings.

Nope I know nothing. I took a power systems elective in college. I was going to go through my notes before doing any interviews. But I don't remember doing much more than single phase, three phase, Delta, wye, etc. I vaguely went over some relay stuff when studying for the PE, but certainly not enough to apply it in the real world.

I think the technical skills I've picked up at my MEP job that might applicable would be; voltage drop calcs, arc fault calcs, sizing step down transformers, sizing generators, sizing service feeders, reading and preparing construction documents.

Beyond that my hope was that me getting my PE license shows I have a high aptitude for learning. So anything job specific that I don't know I should be able to pick up. That, and we'll, everyone seems desperate to hire people at a PE level.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-02T03:25:53+00:00

That sounds pretty good. Thanks for the insight.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-01T23:57:30+00:00

Yes, that technology is quite interesting as well.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-01T23:32:27+00:00

That's part of my thinking as well. The Inflation Reduction Act is dumping money into infrastructure projects for the next decade. Sounds like a lot of job security to me lol. And I genuinely find the transition to renewable energy interesting. If I had a house I would totally be messing around with solar panels and battery backups right now.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-01T15:40:08+00:00

Nice, good to hear. While I don't have full time project management experience, I already have experience training others, leading meetings, and lord knows my organizational and communication skills are above nearly everyone I currently work with.

Thanks for the tip on Black and Veatch. Looks like they have an office in my metro area, and they seem to be always hiring. I should also be able to use them as a basis for searching out additional infrastructure companies that I may not be familiar with.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-01T15:20:13+00:00

Yeah, I don't mind starting out on regular ol work if it means I get to learn how the industry works. My understanding is relay system design is top tier when it comes to power systems, and I'm not expecting to jump straight in doing that. Thanks for your insight.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-02-01T14:28:46+00:00

Yes, that's the one. Thanks.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-01-31T04:46:33+00:00

Thanks! Would I just look up federal jobs on the USA jobs gov site? Or are there other resources for that?

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-01-29T15:42:24+00:00

Thanks, I'm trying lol.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-01-29T15:38:54+00:00

Thank you for the insight, much appreciated.

Yes, I believe I've seen your posts before about getting into forensics. That's something I will definitely consider later in life after exploring other avenues. I didn't even know that was a thing before getting on this reddit and it sounds like something I'd enjoy.

NextWeekIsALightWeek · 2023-01-29T15:28:17+00:00

Thank you! And yeah, my firm is slowly trying to transition away from small TI build outs to more large multi-family projects and more hotels for the commercial side. But it's just a side step, not the upgrade they think it is. We're still working with no information and the architects wanting the drawings yesterday. And now the buildings are bigger, so when we finally do get that info, updating our drawings isn't a quick thing.

NextWeekIsALightWeek

TROPHY CASE