<p>I am currently a Journeyman Electrician in the state of Idaho. I enjoy being an electrician, allthough at times I am a somewhat dissapointed with the career. For the most part any real challenging thought processes that are required are usually already done by an engineering consultant. Occasionally I get to work on a design build job, or a complicated motor control system in an industrial plant, or maybe a complicated enviromental control DDC system, but not as often as I would like to. I have met several EE’s & ME’s who have worked for DDC control companies, such as ATS inland, Johnson Controls, Siemens, ect… They seem to have great jobs. They get to design the system, and work in the field to make sure it is implimented by us correctly. This is something I think I would enjoy greatly. My fear however, with the thought of getting my BSEE, is that I would eng up in a cubicle somewhere. That would drive me crazy. I think I would have to have some prospect of field work to really enjoy my career. It’s been 10 years sense I have been in HS, but I was very good at math & science while I was there. I was in Physics & Pre-Calc the year I decited to quit HS & start a job in construction.<br>
Anyway, my real question here is has anyone else here perhaps made the transition from electrician to EE?
If so, what are your thoughts? Do you miss working with your hands everyday? Is the challenge of engineering worth giving up some of the freedom you may have had in construction?
Anyone else’s thoughs on this? I would really apperciate any feedback I can get.</p>
<p>My dad was a builder. Every summer in HS I spent my time working for him. I was young, skilled, worked fast, and had experience. It was very easy to find work during the construction boom of the last 10 years. I made more money than any of my friends and it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I cannot say that I regret it, I have enjoyed being an electrician. As an electrician, I often work with EE’s. I never really considered what my math skills could have gotten me had I stayed in school and gone on to college. However, working with engineering consultants has at times made me consider getting a BSEE. I am starting back to school next month for the spring semester for my AAS. I am strongly considering going for my BSEE after that. My dream is to become a PE, as well as a license electrical contractor. Then I could could work as both a consultant, and a licensed contractor. Allthough, who know’s, my thoughs on this may change after I get a degree depending on what kind of doors it opens. I do feel I have a leg up on many EE’s though, at least if I want to get into the world of consulting, because of my years of field experience as an electrician. I would be interested to know if any one out there is a consultant and if they would perfer to hire help with real world experience, rather than someone fresh out of school with no hands on experience.</p>
<p>I work with electricians and EE’s. If you are an EE engineering consultant your job will be a mix of field time & cube time. Generally, the EE’s I work with design MCCs, power distribution systems, PLC control setups, etc. They work on large capital projects given to them by major firms in the oil & gas industry, food processing industry, construction industry, etc. With an electrician background you will have a definite leg up in this specific sort of design role (as compared to a low experience EE in the same position).</p>
<p>I would love to be in the position of designing the power distrubition system of a commercial project, and also get the electrical contract and do the work as well. It would seem to be a much more effeicent way to get the job done, skipping the construction managment company as the middle man who does nothing be relay RFI’s between the two of us. However, if I was ever an EE consultant, it would probably be considered a conflict of interest to also be the electrical contractor on the same project. It would make the project much more rewarding however. Allthough I may make more money as a consultant, and it may not be worth my time to want to act as an electrical contractor. I really do not know exactly how much to expect a consultant to charge…?</p>
<p>I recently co-oped in the oil and gas industry, my mentor was an electrician -> electrical engineer. I think his experience as an electrician definitely helped him on the job…he had an understanding of things that an engineer fresh out of school might not. A definite plus when trying to design equipment/systems that will need to be maintained over the years. In addition, you should be able to easily win the respect of the electricians you are working with, since you will have a good bit of experience in the field.</p>
<p>I never really thought about winning the respect of the electricians I would be working with, but your are absolutly correct on that one. I know as an electrician how frustrating it can sometimes be working with engineers who have never had a taste of actually implementing the ideas they come up with. Most of the engineers I have worked with have been great, but a few of the newer engineers really don’t like you giving them a 2 page list of RFI’s because of something they may have overlooked. Those are the situations that got me motivated to go back to school though. If I can re-engineer a bad design as an electrician, I think I should certainly be able to design something that works as an EE. I think I will really enjoy the challenge of it as well. Just following a set of instructions given to me by the engineer does not really leave one with a complete sense of accomplishment.</p>
<p>In terms of career I think the transition will be very smooth.</p>
<p>But you have to consider:
Going from a relatively stable lifestyle with a full time job to a students life with perhaps an unstable income is not going to be easy.
4 years is a long time…are you sure you are going to follow through?
Do not underestimate that the EE undergraduate curriculum can at times be very theoretical, and that might frustrate you given you seem to enjoy the “hands-on” aspects more. You are aware that you will have to take maybe 6 math classes with seemingly no application or purpose? It would take a lot of patience to go through all that given your position since you know exactly what you want out of a career.</p>
<p>Thoes are all great points to consider, and most of which have crossed my mind. The construction boom here in Idaho has completely collapsed, as it has in many areas of the country. This is making the decision to go back to school much easier. I do have 2 years worth of math to catch up on before I can even start taking EE classes, however, I am only 2 years away from a bachelor of applied science. If I ever got overly frustrated with time it takes to get the BSEE, I could always fall back on the BAS. Not worth as much as the BSEE, but a degree none the less. Very good points to consider though, if our building industry here was not faltering the way it has been, I think this would have been a much harder pill to swallow than it will be in our current recession.</p>
<p>And the funny thing is, even when you complete TWO YEARS of math (and a million other philosophy, psychology, sociology, required humanities, writing) you’ll FINALLY get to the EE stuff. And even then at first it will be a bunch of theoretical nonsense. You’ll probably have to take a course on LTI system theory, for instance. </p>
<p>But your current plan to get an associates degree looks good because its a smaller time commitment. You have a lot of options, good luck!</p>
<p>Well, if the OP get his AAS degree in pre-engineering, than he doesn’t have to take anything but engineering classes (and their science-y preqs) if he goes to a school with a transfer agreement with his junior college.</p>
<p>Experience as an electrician does not just go well with an EE degree. I am an ME and my best friend in school had been an electrician in the Navy before pursuing an ME degree. In his first job out of school (manufacturing electromechanical devices) he was able to resolve a lot of longstanding quality problems his company was experiencing with circuit board manufacturing processes, etc., due to knowledge gained as an electrician. I am in the Power Generation industry. Along the same lines as my friend, a lot of the practical electrical design aspects of many projects are left to the MEs on the job to resolve.</p>
<p>Well, you’ll get a kick out of this. I’m an EE (B.S., M.S.) working in the computer field, and I’m interested in the electrical trade as a side job, after having helped a few friends out and seen the work that $120/hr. pros do (good, but not beyond my skill level). They sure don’t make it simple though, only a few states give you any credit for an engineering degree, the rest want you to slog it out as an apprentice for 4 years. The frustrating thing for me is I’m capable of doing all this work, I can read and interpret the NEC, and I could study the current NEC for a day and go in and pass the test, guaranteed.</p>
<p>I would advise you against getting an engineering degree, unless you just want it to boost your ego. As far as employment prospects, there’s a near-infinite supply of cheaper imported engineers on work visas.</p>
<p>vmpolesov
That is very interesting. I am assuming you live in a state with a strong electrical union? There are many areas where electricians make great money, especially maintence electricians and other specialty electricians. The IBEW and other electrical unions seem to do a good job of keeping electricians wages up. The one good thing for you however, is that just because they make you do an apprenticeship, thats not really a bad deal. Find a contractor that does a lot of design build projects, and tell them your an EE. You should be able to start at a decent wage with your knowledge. Then just slug out your four years of doing what you already know. I’m sure you could pass the journeyman’s test no prob with a little NEC overview as you said, but there are a lot of trade skills to be picked up on the job.</p>
<p>That is funny that we are both on the other side of the fence here looking for the greener grass. I am envious of the EE’s because they have no real world electrical experience, and they come out and design something, and tell me how to do my job. And your telling me the world is flooded with these same guys coming from overseas, and you wish you had my job. This is quite interesting. I just wish as an electrician, I could design commercial jobs, thats really all I want out of my EE. They make that even harder on me than your becoming a journeyman, Not only do I have to do 4+ years of school for my degree, but then I have what, 4-5 years before I can get my PE to actually start my own business?</p>
<p>You just need to start a consulting firm / electrical contractor company. Which is exactly what I want to do. You have the upper hand, in Idaho you don’t have to be a journeyman or even an electrician to start an electrical contracting business, you just need a signing master electrician to keep your contractors license. I however, would have to be a licensed PE if I wanted to design my own plans for a non-residential project. So you start up this company, and hire me as a journeyman electrician. Then I sign off on your hours working for your own company, and there you have your apprenticeship. I wish it was that easy to get my PE.</p>
<p>dwilliams: I don’t want to do it as a full-time job, I just want to legally be able to set up a side business to spend an occasional saturday working for wealthy local homeowners with more money than common sense and spare time, who are too afraid to bash in a little drywall, spade-bit a few studs, run some cable, or heaven forbid crack open the service panel and swap out a breaker. </p>
<p>That’s about the extent of my hands-on skills, from helping relatives on their own places, which is perfectly legal in my state. Still, in spite of my engineering background, there are a lot of things you can do that I would not even attempt. I would never do anything dealing with the service connection beyond turning off the main breaker for example.</p>
<p>I checked and a few other states give credit for engineering degrees: Utah, Virginia, Colorado, and Montana will let an EE jump straight to master after 1 year. </p>
<p>As far as a real engineering job (which I have never held) as opposed to ‘software engineering’ (not actually an engineering discipline) I can’t really give much advice, because I went right into code-slinging out of college. I do know that anyone with an engineering B.S. degree can take the EIT or FE (fundamentals of engineering) test. Then you must work for a certain number of years (4 I guess) under a licensed PE, then you get the right to take another test and become a PE. I’d say the majority of engineers outside civil engineering do not bother with registration (I never did), because there is no reason to have it unless you are in a job where you have to stamp plans.</p>
<p>dwilliams: I start to see your frustration here. You’ve probably done tons of commercial wiring and after having done so many, could design a non-residential layout blindfolded, and probably know better than the engineers what materials can be used where, etc. But because you don’t have the sheepskin and the punched ticket, sorry, out of luck! I feel the same way about bashing holes in people’s walls on saturdays for a little extra beer money.</p>
<p>Thanks for the idea on the consulting business. That seems like kind of an odd arrangement, is it unheard of? The owner is the apprentice to one of his employees?</p>