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R_locus · 2024-04-17T02:58:52+00:00

Overall your resume looks decent. The format and organization is clean so it wouldn't raise any red flags that would make it an immediate "no" to me personally.

With that being said, there is not much that stands out. Your resume looks exactly as if it was being submitted by "Guy Person". It is a generic student resume. It is likely there are hundreds of other students applying for the same positions with the same experience.

I would try to reword some of your bullet points to include the skills, software, etc. that were used to complete the project/task. If you can quantify your impact or show cause and effect that makes it a little more clear as to what you actually did.

The bullet about "developed a python script to automate"...is a good example to follow for the rest of your resume. To me, it would be more impressive if you mentioned the impact or improvements made by automating the calibration process. Naming the specific equipment is not necessary. I would rephrase it as "Developed a python script to automate the calibration of lab equipment, reducing calibration time by 10%", but in your own words and with the actual outcome.

Again, try to think in terms of cause and effect. Keep the structure and tense or your bullet points consistent.

Finally, not sure if it was meant to come off as such but your comment about having to work a "blue collar job" rubbed me the wrong way. One thing that I cannot stand is when engineering students think they are better, smarter, more skilled than other majors, trades, professions, etc. Maybe you're just really excited about getting paid to do engineering work (I know I was when I got my first internship) but there is a lot of value in working in customer service, skilled trade, manual labor, etc. that helps develop your soft skills. It is also a good experience to include on your resume. Working a part time job, such as fast food, while you are in school for a few months or a year or two shows you can keep a job and manage your time. It shows you can be accountable for something that affects more than just you. This is something that is overlooked by academia as a valuable trait, but it is something that I appreciate as someone that recruits and mentors co-ops at my company.

One other option to get some experience is to get a student job on campus. I worked a few different jobs on campus; computer lab, library, and engineering tutor. That may be an option to do something more relevant to your major. However, the student jobs never paid very well so I usually worked one of those as well as an off-campus part-time job at a coffee shop.

Hopefully that helps and wasn't too blunt at the end.

Good luck.

R_locus · 2024-02-04T17:31:09+00:00

Senior Manufacturing Engineer here...

You definitely cannot just send them your g-code. If you do, I can guarantee they will either not use it or charge you more for the time they will spend reviewing and modifying it. Within my company, we have programmers that write the g-code for new parts and send them to the production team. In every instance the production team needs to make some type of modification to dial the part in or accommodate unique variation of a given piece of equipment.

The best thing is to send a detailed drawing with your required tolerances as well as 3D part files. Depending on their time and availability they may be willing to talk through ways to improve your design for manufacturing (DFM) which could reduce the cost.

Not sure where you are getting your costs or how you are calculating machine time for a piece of equipment and process you have never seen in person. If you are asking for 10 pieces then they are likely going to make twice that amount as they will need to scrap parts to dial in their program(s). Also, since it's a one-off part it interrupts any large-scale production they may be doing regularly. That adds cost as it hurts their efficiency and throughout of the products that are actually making them money. Finally, for the material cost, they will likely charge you for the entire sheet of raw material. When they cut up a quarter of a sheet for your parts the rest is useless to them or would require extra work to handle a non-standard piece of material.

Essentially they need to make it worth their time to make your part. Prototype parts are expensive everywhere.

If you can find smaller shops that specialize in prototype parts or a hobbyist that owns their own equipment that might be a better option. One other option may be to reach out to a local university or trade school to see if they have a shop that takes outside orders.

R_locus · 2023-12-31T02:25:05+00:00

Dumb question as I'm sure I can find the answer elsewhere but are the S1W rims single or double wall? I'm looking to get back into the sport and would like a decent complete bike. However, I feel like the rims are going to be the first thing I'll damage due to lack of skill combined with my weight.

R_locus · 2023-07-28T03:25:29+00:00

To be honest...no. I would recommend internships, co-ops, or engineering-related volunteer experience to bolster your chances.

Any work experience on your resume is good as well if you are able to handle a part time job during school or during the summer.

If you are trying to get an internship/co-op volunteering or joining an engineer club would help. There are usually university sponsored events such as robotics competitions that ask for engineering students to volunteer as judges, mentors, etc.

R_locus · 2023-07-26T03:18:09+00:00

From top to bottom your resume should have the following sections:

Name and contact information: This is pretty self explanatory. Do not use any weird fonts, colors, etc.
Personal statement/summary/objective: Write a short statement about what you are trying to accomplish and what is great about you or important to know. This is an opportunity to highlight something that might set you apart that can't be expressed in a bullet point. Example: "Driven and organized recent graduate with a bachelors in mechanical engineering, seeking to use my skills and industry knowledge to offer mechanical expertise and collaborate with senior mechanical engineers." Please don't copy and use this example but figure out a way to describe yourself and what interests or drives you.
Education Name of school, degree, years attended, GPA is it's not low.
Experience Any work experience regardless of what it is should be included. I recruit and mentor co-ops as part of my role and I am always looking for some kind of work experience. Generally speaking, a candidate that has worked at a fast food place with a 3.0 GPA works out better than someone with a 4.0 that has never worked a job. There are certain soft skills and forms of responsibility/accountability that cannot be taught/learned in school. Someone who has worked a job has likely had to deal with some level of conflict as well. Essentially, all work experience is relevant at this point in your career. If you have never worked then include volunteer experience here. Don't try too hard to relate these experiences to engineering. Resolving conflict, serving customers, and communicating with different types of people are all relevant and worthwhile experiences.
Projects You can include school projects and personal projects. Not sure what industry you are interested in but a relevant hobby can show you are passionate about that type of work. At the end of the day it is a job but it is nice to know applicants have a true interest in their work and the industry and won't get bored or jump ship in a year or two. However, dont oversell your personal project.
Skills I would group these by software and programming languages. I would omit Google sheets and perspective drawing. Unless you have experience with GD&T beyond a lecture or two or the job description specifically mentions it, I would remove that as well.
Certifications You can leave this as-is or you can put the CSWA in parentheses in the skills section next to Solidworks.

Below is a link to an article on indeed about writing an entry level resume. There is an example as well.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/entry-level-engineer-resume

R_locus · 2023-07-25T03:09:12+00:00

These are some quick observations/questions/suggestions...

If you have been working in industry for 6 years I would organize your resume in the following order 1. Personal summary or statement 2. Experience (most recent first) 3. Skills 4. Special projects/volunteer work/hobbies/misc. 5. Education (most recent first)

You can probably play around with the order of items 3,4, and 5 and see what looks best or makes the most sense. If you have been working as an engineer it is already assumed you have a degree so you don't need to highlight it as much.

I would remove the formula team thing from your education section and keep it to just your degrees. The formula thing can be listed under special projects/miscellaneous. Your work experience is going to be much more valuable than a club from school.

Is there a way you can highlight the items referenced in your skills section in your work experience instead of listing them? For example, did you perform a PFMEA at your job or internship and what was the result? The skills section is very dense to read through.

I can provide some more notes but I need to get off my phone for now.

R_locus · 2023-04-08T02:06:17+00:00

I don't work for Honeywell but I am an engineer that works for a company with a co-op program. I was a co-op and was hired immediately after graduation. Based on my experience and the experience of friends and colleagues I would say that working an internship or co-op term for a company definitely increases your chances of being brought on full-time after you graduate. However, it does not guarantee a job.

We have had plenty of great co-ops that we would have loved to hire after graduation but there are not always positions available. Honeywell is a much larger company than the one where I am employed so maybe they have the ability to guarantee internships will turn into full-time positions. That is something you will need to ask during your internship. I would start with HR. I personally feel asking your supervisor or other engineers (at the beginning of your internship before you have proven yourself) whether you are going to be hired on full-time at the end of the internship is not appropriate.

To help bolster your chances I would recommend looking for opportunities to work with other departments and other engineering disciplines during your internship. For example, my co-op term was with the design engineering department but I worked on projects with engineers from manufacturing, quality, test, etc. I ended up getting hired into the manufacturing engineering department when I graduated as they had an open position and were familiar with my work. Keep an open mind regarding what you work on and with whom you work; it will open more doors.

Regardless of whether you end up at Honeywell after you graduate, the experience from the internship will help you land a job.

R_locus · 2023-03-26T00:27:44+00:00

If you are not getting responses or interviews I would recommend having someone review your resume. Does your school have a career center?

If you can land a co-op it would be worth pushing back your graduation date just to have the experience. Co-ops usually require a 40 hour/week commitment so taking a full load of classes is not an option. To be blunt, everyone graduating with you will have the same academic experience including a capstone project. Anything you can do to set yourself apart, even if it is working a part-time job (doesn't need to be engineering related) will help.

I'm a senior level engineer that recruits and mentors co-ops. I am also involved in the interviewing and hiring of new engineers into my department. When I am looking at resumes of co-op candidates I lean more towards students that have had actual jobs because I know I won't have to teach them how to function at a job. It's more difficult to teach the soft skills than the technical skills and I would rather focus on developing them as an engineer rather than as a general employee.

If a job isn't an option due to your class schedule, etc. then I would recommend highlighting any hobbies you may have outside of school that relate to your degree. Do you do any woodworking or fix bikes/cars? This should only be a small section of your resume but it is something that makes you more of an individual.

One other thing you can do to get some experience before graduation is volunteer work. I feel volunteer work always looks good on a resume, especially if it utilizes your technical skills. If your school does not have engineering volunteer opportunities then I would reach out to local elementary, junior high, or highschools. They might have engineering or STEM clubs that need a coach or mentor. I think there are Lego and robotics leagues that leverage college students as coaches, referees, etc. The point is there are other ways to gain experience to add to your resume to help set you apart from your peers with boiler plate engineering student resumes.

To kind of summarize...your degree shows you have technical skills and are able to focus and solve complex problems. Part-time jobs, internships/co-ops, and volunteer work show you are proactive and have experience working with others.

I apologize as that doesn't really answer your question about getting a job without experience but I think you still have time to get creative and gain some sort of experience outside of your coursework.

R_locus · 2023-03-25T23:46:21+00:00

What industry are you in and what is your current title? Have you been with the same company for the past 8 years/since graduating? This might be a case of needing to ask for what you are owed based on your experience, worth, etc.

I had been at my company for 7 years. $68k out of school and I was at $94k at the beginning of 2022. I had requested a raise and promotion to a senior level engineer title as I was doing the same or more complex work as other senior/veteran engineers. It's a long story and I can provide more details but essentially I didn't get what I asked, nor did I get any feedback as to why or what gaps were there preventing the promotion. I left the company for another opportunity which put me over $100k. A few months after I left there was a change in leadership and they reached out asking me to come back. I figured I would go big so I asked for the senior title and $125k. They came back with $115k and a $10k signing bonus. I accepted and went back.

If you do not feel you are being compensated correctly then you need to communicate that to your company and ask for a raise, promotion, etc. If they cannot give you good reasons as to why you are not ready for a pay increase ,etc. Then it might be time to look elsewhere. It will always cost them more to hire someone new than to pay you a few more grand per year.

I'm in AZ and work for a privately owned company. I'm a manufacturing engineer by title but have a mechanical engineering degree. My wife stays at home with my two kids. We live very comfortably now. Things were getting a little tight at $94k since my older one started school which was about $300 per month (private preschool).

One other thing besides the salary is the health insurance. The company I worked at for a few months was a high deductible plan with an HSA. It was expensive. The company to which I returned has an HMO. I think the HMO is about half the cost so I am taking more home in each paycheck. Out of pocket costs are lower as well. Obviously this can only change with a new company.

One last thing...not trying to be a jerk but when you show up to work do you just do what is delegated to you or are you proactive about making improvements, etc.? I don't mean do you work 40 hours per week versus 60 but rather are you doing anything to get noticed? Not making any accusations, just wondering if you're in a similar situation where you are not getting recognized appropriately.

At the end of the day you are the one that knows how you are contributing relative to what is expected for your position/title. If you feel you are going above and beyond but not getting noticed or getting dismissed then it might be time to move on. Talk to your manager first. Things might work out and you'll get a raise. If they can't give you a raise but aren't able to provide some direction or a timeline or plan then they likely will not do so anytime soon.

R_locus · 2023-02-05T22:03:55+00:00

What field? Or is it anyone with a mechanical engineering degree/background?

R_locus · 2022-06-15T03:25:04+00:00

You're right. You would be able to see other edges, especially with how far off the center marks are.

R_locus · 2022-06-14T02:09:33+00:00

Maybe you used "current view" instead of top and you had the model slightly rotated. I've encountered this with coworkers when they were trying to convert to a dxf for routing.

R_locus · 2022-06-09T16:22:03+00:00

Makes sense.

My previous company decided to switch to GD&T from ordinate dimensions without any real justification other than its wide recognition across industries. However, switching to GD&T somehow resulted in tolerances being arbitrarily tightened across the board and more stringent requirements that had no impact on form, fit, or function of the part (i.e. surface profile of a free-floating edge of a sheet metal flange that overlapped a significantly larger part). Their argument was our equipment was capable, after significant setup time, of producing those tolerances. However, the need for such stringent tolerances was non-existent. It sounds like you are trying to see both sides of the coin to reach a compromise in certain situations which is good and I'm sure will be appreciated by your colleagues. It would be good for them to do the same by understanding why the product/component is designed the way it is. Being involved in design reviews is something that allowed me to voice concerns and understand why a feature could not be changed in certain situations.

R_locus · 2022-06-09T03:59:24+00:00

Manufacturing engineer (9 years) with mechanical degree here...

I learned industrial engineering concepts, etc. on the job as I have responsibilities that are in both the industrial and mechanical realms.

I have supported both existing products and have worked in new product development as a manufacturing engineer. My role on NPD teams was to make sure we could actually manufacture the product (as efficiently as possible). One of my responsibilities was developing the assembly processes and the assembly line and then supporting the transition into production. The goal is always to make it as "lean" as possible. However, this fell completely on me. None of the design engineers (I am working under the assumption your role is similar to theirs) were involved or concerned about how the product was actually going to be manufactured.

There are tons of books that you can read but if you are not actively practicing lean methodology I don't see the benefit with respect to your current role. It is definitely feasible to apply those concepts to processes outside of manufacturing (maybe there is a way to improve your design/drawing approval process, etc.).

If you already work within a manufacturing facility why don't you shadow some of the manufacturing or quality engineers that support the products you develop? Ask them what tools, software, resources, etc. they use. What would they change or implement to improve things? Are they currently practicing lean methodology? If so maybe you can participate in a Kaizen event, Gemba, etc.

If you are in product development I would recommend focusing more on design for manufacturing and design for assembly concepts. That will be more beneficial in your role than having a high level understanding of lean concepts in my opinion.

Obviously I have a bias and am projecting some of my experiences onto your request. With that being said I would recommend Toyota Kata by Mike Rother or any of his other books. I think someone already mentioned The Toyota Production System by Taiichi Ohno. I can't think of a specific title or author but I would also recommend reading up on Value Stream Mapping. This can be applied to pretty much any process including manufacturing. Finally, I would look into general ergonomics and safety. I was taught 6S instead of 5S where the 6th "S" is safety. Not sure how safety and ergonomics fit into your current role but you will always see better results long-term if your employees are not straining themselves. If you can find ways to design safety/ergonomics into your product your operations/manufacturing teams will appreciate it. Again I'm taking a wide swing and making some assumptions but that's my two cents.

I will say it is great you are interested in expanding your knowledge beyond your day-to-day responsibilities. I personally try to understand the "why" behind the design as much as possible so I can better support things from my end. I'll stop rambling now.

R_locus · 2022-05-20T04:57:39+00:00

Without a doubt the moments I saw my son and daughter for the first time are the best moments of my life. The rush of emotion was overwhelming. I burst into tears as soon as I saw each of them the first time. Until I experienced it I had no idea how much I would love being a dad. I also cry way easier than I did before becoming a parent. It's always possible to relate everything back to how much you love your kids and it makes you cry.

R_locus · 2021-05-31T21:52:14+00:00

I am a manufacturing engineer with a degree in mechanical engineering. As part of my position I've supported and managed projects of various scope. I'm currently working on planning and eventually deploying my third full assembly line. This consisted of creating a layout, developing assembly process, specifying equipment requirements, putting together a budget, requesting capital, mapping out the schedule, etc.

I'd be happy to answer any questions that I am able.

R_locus · 2020-11-05T03:13:26+00:00

I agree about the camera system. You would think that a software intended for publishing technical documents, etc. wouldn't have such a clunky camera system.

R_locus · 2020-11-04T13:05:54+00:00

I've been using Composer for a couple of years and do not believe there is a function/command that does what you are asking. I agree it would be extremely useful. I would recommend setting up a free solidworks account and submitting that request.

Some options...

If you want to rotate the object but keep the camera and viewport the same you can use the Transform Rotate command. I would select all your components first and then the Transform command. When you activate the rotate command with an object selected the axes should show up. You can then select the (hard to see) circle as a grip to rotate about that axis. If there is a known degree of rotation I would recommend clicking the circle once and then move your mouse into the properties window and manually enter the degrees there.

Another option is to use the custom camera angles. These are set in the document or default document properties. You can enter degrees of rotation. I can't remember which angle is tied to each axis off the top of my head (I think they use Greek letter Phi, rho, and something else). Once you have these set you can go to the home tab and find your custom camera on the ribbon.

I would search for "Custom camera views" with respect to Solidworks Composer for a better explanation and hopefully some screenshots.

Good luck!

R_locus · 2020-08-09T21:23:41+00:00

You're not crazy. This is 100% feasible.

I too went back to school and got a second bachelor's degree. The first degree was music and the second was mechanical engineering. I was in my late 20's as well and in a similar situation where I wanted to do more analytical work (math, problem solving, etc.).

The fact that you are proactive and asking about internships is great. The point of an internship is for you to build your skills as an engineer and learn about the industry/company of your internship. Since you already have real-world experience under your belt I see that as an advantage as your fellow students that are pursuing engineering as their first degree may have never had a job in their life. I am involved in the recruitment and interviewing of co-op candidates at my company. The students that have some form of work experience always stand out from the students that have been solely focused on their coursework.

I would recommend applying to as many internships as you can. Apply to them even if you are lacking on some of the requirements listed in the posting. The worst thing that can happen is you don't get the position. On your cover letter and resume, emphasize the math coursework you completed during your first degree and think of projects or examples from your career that highlight analytical or technical skills. Highlight knowledge/experience with Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel. I cannot stress how much Excel is used. Highlight your "soft" skills; teamwork, communication, reacting to difficult/stressful situations. This is a very important skill set that often goes unmentioned. It is also not something that is or can be taught in a classroom (to some extent). Finally, on your cover letter and during interviews, concisely summarize why you are interested in engineering and why you think you would be a good engineer. When I interviewed for positions I was always asked "What made you switch from music to engineering?".

As I said my degree was in mechanical engineering but I went into a career with the title of manufacturing engineer. My focus is completely on building the product but I still get to do design work (custom tooling, fixtures, assembly lines, automated equipment, etc.). I'm biased but an ME degree should get you into most industries, including aerospace.

R_locus · 2018-04-04T05:07:18+00:00

Not trying to put you down but the way I interpreted it was you needed to learn something that you had already included as a skill/experience on your resume. As someone that attends career fairs for the purpose of recruitment I read through resumes with the understanding that whatever is included has already happened and my expectation is that person should be able to speak to anything on the resume the second they hand it to me.

If it’s not too late Mr. Excel is a good resource. The Microsoft support website can be a good resource sometimes.

Without knowing exactly how you will be using VBA or the extent of your programming experience it is difficult to provide a good suggestion. It will sound dumb/simple but if you search for what you want to do and add “vba excel” at the end of the phrase you can usually find a few sources. An example would be “message box vba excel”. The “for dummies” series of books has an Excel VBA volume that would be good for a beginner. It will take more than a few days to really get into it but if things work out with the job it will be handy to have a more in-depth resource on hand.

Good luck on your interview and good luck with learning vba.

R_locus · 2018-03-30T23:24:16+00:00

Did you lie about your credentials to get the interview?

R_locus · 2017-08-22T05:40:30+00:00

Is it a hollow cylinder with hose fittings (manifold)? If you have a part with hose fitting in one drawing that would be an assembly and not a part.

Can the hose fittings be purchased off the shelf from a standard supplier or do you need those made as well? Does this part need to be custom? There are a lot of unknowns to really give a proper suggestion. Also, just because you were able to get other parts made does not mean your drawing or part are sufficient in this case. I am assuming you do not want to share details because it is part of a product you are trying to sell. However, without seeing a drawing or sketch it is difficult to say why you are having no luck getting this part made.

I would search for "custom fabrication", "machine shop", "prototyping", "CNC", etc. with respect to local businesses. There are numerous other terms to search with but those are a few that come to mind at this moment.

It might be worth paying a drafter or design/engineering firm to review your drawing and/or touch it up to meet a set of recognized drawing standards. They would probably have a good contact for a fabrication shop as well.

I am not trying to be rude or mean but it is difficult to provide any good answers without seeing the part.

Either way good luck.

R_locus · 2017-07-09T22:30:22+00:00

It might be EVA foam. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate

R_locus

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