# Having a back-up plan



## Exengineer (Jul 28, 2018)

What would you do if your engineering career flamed out whether at age 25, 40 or 55?  Do you have a back-up plan on how you would make a living if you could not continue as an engineer?


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## matt267 PE (Jul 28, 2018)

Pimp


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## ruggercsc (Jul 28, 2018)

We had a Interior Designer in our group that later moved into a marketing Position.  She left to become a Physical Therapist and last I heard she became a nurse.  Another person in our sustainability group is leaving to become an equine veterinarian.  They made/are making the move in their twenties, so, IMHO, it easier early in your career than later, but it is never too late.  It may be difficult later in life if you want to a be professional athlete, but some people have played golf on the "Seniors" Tour that were not professional golfers in their 20's, 30's, or 40's.

It is never too late if you have the ambition and drive, but you need to be reasonable.


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## RBHeadge PE (Jul 30, 2018)

open a tiki bar


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## Supe (Jul 30, 2018)

Probably start a small metal fab/mobile shop.  There's enough work in this area for fab and repairs on signs, entry gates, stair rails, boats, etc. to at least keep busy.


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## NJmike PE (Jul 30, 2018)

hang out on engineering message boards and spread my conspiracy theories


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## Supe (Jul 30, 2018)

NJmike PE said:


> hang out on engineering message boards and spread my conspiracy theories


That's your everyday plan.  He wants backup plans.


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## NJmike PE (Jul 30, 2018)

Supe said:


> That's your everyday plan.  He wants backup plans.


well, then maybe I've already aborted the engineering plan


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## envirotex (Jul 30, 2018)

Supe said:


> Probably start a small metal fab/mobile shop.  There's enough work in this area for fab and repairs on signs, entry gates, stair rails, boats, etc. to at least keep busy.


You and Mr. Tex REALLY should be BFFs...add a paint booth and he's there.


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## Supe (Jul 30, 2018)

envirotex said:


> You and Mr. Tex REALLY should be BFFs...add a paint booth and he's there.


Totally there, with a powdercoat oven for good measure!


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## Violator (Jul 31, 2018)

Exengineer said:


> What would you do if your engineering career flamed out whether at age 25, 40 or 55?  Do you have a back-up plan on how you would make a living if you could not continue as an engineer?


Wouldn't you have to FU__ something up royally for your career to completely flame out? Plenty of jobs out there for most Engineering fields. I know many people who have been fired and moved on to the next place down the road.


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## txjennah PE (Jul 31, 2018)

I would start an Etsy store, attempt to sell my shitty crafts, and make no money in the process.


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## txjennah PE (Jul 31, 2018)

Violator said:


> Wouldn't you have to FU__ something up royally for your career to completely flame out? Plenty of jobs out there for most Engineering fields. I know many people who have been fired and moved on to the next place down the road.


Yeah I've (unfortunately) seen some good, competent people let go, and they've always been able to find another job with a competitor. I can only think of two people who were laid off and trouble finding jobs.  One person ended up pursuing their dream career, so that worked out for them.  Have no idea what happened to the other person.


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## wilheldp_PE (Jul 31, 2018)

I already own a small side business doing laser engraving (currently making nameplates for the new office my company is building).  It doesn't make a profit, but it pays for laserable materials for my other projects.

I've made a little money on the side selling BBQ.  I have an absurdly large pellet smoker (I've smoked 120 lbs of pork shoulder at once, and the smoker wasn't completely full).    That's a hard way to make an easy living because pulling pork is annoying...plus, I'd need a health department license to do it legally.

I could do what I currently do (forensic engineering) part-time either independently or with a competitor to my current company.  I know a few guys that have left my current company and now come back for joint inspections with other companies.  They say that they make almost as much doing it part time with other firms as they did with my current firm. 

I'd like to work at a golf course in some capacity.  I don't like people enough to be a club pro (they have to teach...or at least learn how to teach as part of the curriculum).  But I could be a ranger, cart guy, shop help, etc.

My back up plan (and probable future career path) is some combination of these options.


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## Dleg (Jul 31, 2018)

wilheldp_PE said:


> I already own a small side business doing laser engraving (currently making nameplates for the new office my company is building).  It doesn't make a profit, but it pays for laserable materials for my other projects.
> 
> I've made a little money on the side selling BBQ.  I have an absurdly large pellet smoker (I've smoked 120 lbs of pork shoulder at once, and the smoker wasn't completely full).    That's a hard way to make an easy living because pulling pork is annoying...plus, I'd need a health department license to do it legally.
> 
> ...


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## matt267 PE (Jul 31, 2018)

txjennah said:


> One person ended up pursuing their dream career, so that worked out for them.


Engineering forum?


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## Dexman PE PMP (Jul 31, 2018)

In a way I'll be starting my backup plan the end of the month.  I'll be leaving my current job with an engineering consulting firm to go work with a project management company. I'll still need a little technical engineering, but most of it will be management of design consultants and contractors while they figure out the details.


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## RBHeadge PE (Aug 1, 2018)

Violator said:


> Wouldn't you have to FU__ something up royally for your career to completely flame out? Plenty of jobs out there for most Engineering fields. I know many people who have been fired and moved on to the next place down the road.


Generally yes, but not always. If people spend too much time in one specialty it can be difficult to find a job elsewhere. Or finding a new engineering job could mean physically moving to a new region - something that people aren't always willing to do. Careers in some engineering fields that require a security clearance can get derailed quite easily for relatively mundane reasons.


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## Exengineer (Aug 12, 2018)

I believe if a person sticks to the mainstream engineering majors of Civil, Electrical, Mechanical then they should always have prospects.  All other engineering majors are risky and some even rubbish.  Some engineering majors are at risk of being discontinued at many universities.


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## txjennah PE (Aug 13, 2018)

Exengineer said:


> I believe if a person sticks to the mainstream engineering majors of Civil, Electrical, Mechanical then they should always have prospects.  All other engineering majors are risky and some even rubbish.  Some engineering majors are at risk of being discontinued at many universities.


Hmm can't say I agree with that.  What majors are at risk of being discontinued?  Source?


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## DoctorWho-PE (Aug 13, 2018)

Supe said:


> Probably start a small metal fab/mobile shop.  There's enough work in this area for fab and repairs on signs, entry gates, stair rails, boats, etc. to at least keep busy.


One of my classmates actually did that.  He had the fab shop before he went to school, but in recent years it has gotten busy enough he quit his engineering job to work in his fab shop full time.


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## Road Guy (Aug 13, 2018)

I would think textile engineering would be one that might be on the way out?


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## txjennah PE (Aug 13, 2018)

Road Guy said:


> I would think textile engineering would be one that might be on the way out?


Interesting. I didn't even know that was a thing.


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## Supe (Aug 13, 2018)

Even that would be debatable if there's a bunch of overlap into composite fabrics/materials.


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## Jbone27 PE (Aug 13, 2018)

txjennah said:


> Hmm can't say I agree with that.  What majors are at risk of being discontinued?  Source?


Mining is really on a downslide right now. It wont fizzle out completely but the demand for mining engineers is a fraction of what it once was.


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## Supe (Aug 13, 2018)

Jbone27 PE said:


> Mining is really on a downslide right now. It wont fizzle out completely but the demand for mining engineers is a fraction of what it once was.


I wonder if that will shift any as battery demand increases exponentially in the coming years.


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## Master slacker (Aug 13, 2018)

You should read *Rocket Boys*


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## RBHeadge PE (Aug 13, 2018)

txjennah said:


> Hmm can't say I agree with that.  What majors are at risk of being discontinued?  Source?


Nuclear Engineering as a major was getting phased out during the 90s and early 00s. Eventually getting down to less than 20 schools. It's since stabilized and even had a brief uptick at the graduate level. But with the "nuclear renaissance" effectively dead, I would expect more programs to close up shop again. I doubt there will be many operating nuclear plants by the time I retire. I wouldn't recommend the major to anyone in high school now. The undergrad programs that survive will probably shift into something closer to Medical Physics or Radiological Engineering; traditional Nuclear Engineering might just become a graduate level major, similar to the few remaining Health Physics programs.



Road Guy said:


> I would think textile engineering would be one that might be on the way out?


Yep, see below



txjennah said:


> Interesting. I didn't even know that was a thing.


Yes, there are a few niche programs out there, along with the super in-demand polymer and fiber engineering and paper engineering!



Supe said:


> Even that would be debatable if there's a bunch of overlap into composite fabrics/materials.


Yes, most of these program have just been consolidated into material science programs.



Jbone27 PE said:


> Mining is really on a downslide right now. It wont fizzle out completely but the demand for mining engineers is a fraction of what it once was.


I doubt it'll ever go away entirely. Mining in general moves in cycles. We'll always need raw materials from the ground.



Supe said:


> I wonder if that will shift any as battery demand increases exponentially in the coming years.


Maybe, maybe not? IIRC most lithium reserves are outside the US, and are often found in salt flats. _Edit: _I forgot about rare earth metals which is a totally different story, so yeah it could pick up again.


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## Jbone27 PE (Aug 13, 2018)

RBHeadge PE said:


> Nuclear Engineering as a major was getting phased out during the 90s and early 00s. Eventually getting down to less than 20 schools. It's since stabilized and even had a brief uptick at the graduate level. But with the "nuclear renaissance" effectively dead, I would expect more programs to close up shop again. I doubt there will be many operating nuclear plants by the time I retire. I wouldn't recommend the major to anyone in high school now. The undergrad programs that survive will probably shift into something closer to Medical Physics or Radiological Engineering; traditional Nuclear Engineering might just become a graduate level major, similar to the few remaining Health Physics programs.
> 
> Yep, see below
> 
> ...


It would be nice to see an uptick.  My opinion may be shortsided but I think the heyday may be going out with the coal industry. It will just be a smaller piece of the pie but it will always be around.


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## Exengineer (Aug 14, 2018)

One major that actually has been discontinued at all but a small handful of universities is Metallurgical Engineering.  Some schools replaced it with Materials Science &amp; Engineering which is really a completely different major but many have simply dropped it due to lack of enrollment.  Job prospects for metallurgical engineers in the U.S. have been flat or negative for the past 35 years.  Others that may be discontinued at many universities include Nuclear and Petroleum.   No one wants to major in Petroleum Engineering because it's a boom-or-bust occupation. That was made clear when the largest oil refinery in the western hemisphere was closed in 2012 and there are no plans to re-open it.  That was the Hovensa refinery in St. Croix, USVI.  Also how many new nuclear energy facilities are being built in the U.S.?  I don't know of a single one.   Those are majors to avoid.


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## Supe (Aug 15, 2018)

Exengineer said:


> Also how many new nuclear energy facilities are being built in the U.S.?﻿  I don't know of a single one.


Two in Georgia, not counting the DOE nuclear work.  Much bigger prospects for those wanting to work internationally.


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## Dean Agnostic (Aug 26, 2018)

Exengineer said:


> What would you do if your engineering career flamed out whether at age 25, 40 or 55?  Do you have a back-up plan on how you would make a living if you could not continue as an engineer?


Tough question because the future is never clear. When I started my first company, I had business plans with entrance and exit strategies, back up plans from A up to plan G, but I made many mistakes when it came to execution. Took me a couple of years to recover and I learned to keep raw irrational emotion under control. Probably the best back up plan, in my opinion, is to have a land/property and/or house of your own-free and clear of encumbrances, so if all your plans fail, you're not homeless. Just my 2 cents.


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