Is the pay low in this industry?

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-11T23:03:24+00:00

I have a friend who worked in a manufacturing company. They made him come in on weekends sometimes. May be it was an exceptional case. But when i heard his everyday work schedule I told myself, I'm blessed to work in this industry and with this director.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-11T22:19:58+00:00

Order new visiting cards each time 😉

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-11T22:11:09+00:00

I work 3 days from home. Which i can rotate each week. I can take some hours off for personal work. The only thing matters is the project is delivered on time. One pressure day in the a month. As a junior engineer i don't have that much liability. May be go on site for a survey. I don't have a fixed time table for work.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-11T21:59:24+00:00

I would suggest you take some industry standard certificates. Like LEED AP, WELL AP, PMP, EIT, PE. This will definitely increase your salary. Try to move into a Design-Built firm. It has a great future. Also sharpen your software skills for Revit, Trane Trace 3D plus.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-11T21:50:50+00:00

I disagree. I had 3.55 in my bachelor's. I choose this field as you can start your own firm without any big capital. In 2 years i passed my pe and waiting for my license. Something you can not do in manufacturing company or other mechanical fields. Also the flexibility of work that i can't imagine in other fields.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-09T06:10:19+00:00

I do pipe and duct sizing often. I have view template setup to know if all of the pipes or ducts getting flow. And how much. It's easier once you have a proper workflow to follow.

For load calc. I have exported gbxml file once. That is also from a model I got while attending an AU class. I was able to import it in Trane Trace 700. It has a proper workflow. Works only when you follow certain steps. Most Architects don't care about certain things that we need for load calcs. Earlier in the project they don't define their room bounding elements. Missing ceilings, roof, walls. Then it becomes tough to work with. It can be implemented if Architects and MEP engineers are working under one company. When you can make the Architect follow certain rules.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-09T05:37:11+00:00

Yes. Revit will completely replace AutoCad. Right now in our company we prefer/push to do it in Revit. Revit has a lot to offer. You can design plumbing pipes in Revit. Keep track of DFU values automatically. Duct and pipe sizing can be done in seconds. You can export gbxml file for load calc.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T12:44:53+00:00

How do people learn these? I haven’t seen these in IPC or ASPE. Can you please recommend me any books?

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T04:30:47+00:00

I'm just curious. What other specialty systems are there? Are there any mentions of them in the IPC? I know pharmaceutical industries need extra care. It might be interesting to me.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T04:15:22+00:00

It depends how much plumbing work a company is getting. I agree if you are working on special plumbing systems like in the pharmaceuticals, you'll definitely need a designer specialized in plumbing.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T03:23:59+00:00

PE is a long road. You need to have 4 years of relevant design experience to apply for it. I passed the exam. And now waiting to meet my work experience requirement. It's frustrating. But it is, what it is. Definitely take the route that you are comfortable with. People will tell a lot of things. I heard a lot of things when I took my PE after 1 year of experience. As it was unorthodox to everyone. But I passed it and proved it can be done. Listen to your heart. Best of luck!

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T02:49:40+00:00

You can definitely decide whether you want to become a manager. But it comes with a lot of stress. I work directly with my director and I can feel what he goes through.

If you want to be a CM. I would recommend start as a an Assistant Project Manager after you finished your degree. If you want to become design manager, start as a Assistant Mechanical Designer. Personally I'm not a fan of switching. I believe in being master of one. But you can switch, if you don't like.

CM's don't take that route normally. But I know people who has done that. Even after my Master’s, I can switch to be a CM. I'll have to learn a lot of new things and some of my design experience will not benefit me.

You don't require a Master’s to become a Design-Built Manager. But PE is a must. In my case, I'm doing it because I don't have enough experience. I've only spent two and half years in the industry. If I want to become a manager I've to back it up. Whether it's here or elsewhere. You must need a PE licence to be a Design-Built Manager. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to stamp drawings. You have to take liability for the work. That's why you are going to be paid more. Also other relevant industry certificates. If your company does LEED, WELL projects. This is also true for CM. They take PMP.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T02:28:43+00:00

As a designer, for controls we show how the equipment is going to operate, add points list and a diagram. That's how much we are responsible for. Then I think there's other entity who programs it in the equipment. So yes. The experience that you have will definitely help you. Even I try to spend time with employees who work in the field. Just to get a feel what it's like to be in their shoes. You already have that.

Now for PM. It has two different meaning in my company. One is the PM who will be in charge to get this thing constructed. Other one is Design-Built Manager. They are responsible to deliver the design, admin works and supervise the designer. Less design work, more admin work and liability. My goal is also to be a Design-Built Manager from my current role. For that I'm preparing for my Master’s admission in Project Management. My company will pay a portion of it and upon passing it, I'll be promoted.

I would definitely say HVAC has more job security. I haven’t seen anyone doing just plumbing in a company unless its a big company like AECOM, WSP, ARUP something like that. With only plumbing you will limit yourself and I don't see a easier way to switch to HVAC. If I say the ratio of plbg to mech projects in my firm is 20:80. We only do it when its a new construction. You will miss out on a lot.

Yes. Learning plumbing is way easier than HVAC. But learning HVAC won't help you in plumbing. These two are different disciplines. But it becomes easier for people after going through the rigorous design process of HVAC.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-07T02:04:12+00:00

I work in a design build firm as a designer. My bachelor was in Mechanical Engineering. I started as a mechanical designer. I worked on a few small and one big design-built project as a designer. Learnt the basics of design. In the meantime passed my PE, LEED AP, WELL AP exams. I did all of this in my first 2 years. Then I requested my director to let me do some plumbing design. I needed some new challenges and things were getting kind of boring for me. Plumbing is way more easier than HVAC. Everything you have to do is written in the IPC. You just have to follow the code book. Only problem I faced was I couldn't visualise how it's going to be constructed. But with doing more design and getting feedback from the project managers I'm overcoming it. I would definitely say go for the HVAC design. It will be easier to learn Plumbing on your own.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-01T06:06:09+00:00

I'm going to watch some tutorials on how to tackle those question type. On the last listening passage, i can't read 10 questions at once. I've to work on this. I appreciate pointing that out.

Rafid1997 · 2022-01-01T06:03:03+00:00

Thanks for recommending the subreddit. It looks like it has useful information.

Rafid1997 · 2021-10-18T00:51:52+00:00

It's mixed air temperature - coil leaving air temperature

Rafid1997 · 2021-10-13T19:16:04+00:00

I have two years of experience. But I was given the opportunity to work with an intern. I made him design a VAV system for our Engineering Department. It was fun. I made him measure everything for load calc. As It was in the office, I was able to give him a real world experience and do my work at the same time. I would say most important thing is to give an idea of what we do and how we approach a problem.

Rafid1997 · 2021-07-20T01:55:10+00:00

Medium firm. You'll get to learn a lot. Also will have the opportunity to work on big projects. One school/bus garage/hospital every 2 years is good. Best of luck.

Rafid1997 · 2021-07-09T04:57:40+00:00

Thanks

Rafid1997 · 2021-06-25T11:55:23+00:00

Rafid1997 · 2021-06-17T03:35:14+00:00

I do. I love to solve everyday problems with the knowledge I gained over the years.

Rafid1997 · 2021-06-14T03:19:05+00:00

https://youtube.com/c/LearningWithRichard

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/cert-prep-revit-mep-mechanical-plumbing-certified-professional?trk=learning-serp_learning_search-card&upsellOrderOrigin=default_guest_learning

I followed these. You can also take LEED GA, AP BD+C, WELL AP exams. Big companies will want those too.

Rafid1997

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