Maker Pro
Maker Pro

In need of some Career Guidance!

Spark89

Aug 11, 2018
1
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Messages
1
So I am in need of some guidance, I have recently finished university and have been offered 2 jobs. I would have been happy with either one of them, but now I have the difficulty of choosing which one and am really having a hard time doing so. The main concern I have is what the industries are like to work in (defence vs network cable) and whether one will better my future more than the other. Heres a run down:

JOB A - Defence
I will work within a big team of design engineers, designing cutting edge electro optical systems for the defence industry, I will be a small part of something much larger. The day to day is a huge variety of systems engineering, electronics, some software, and manufacturing engineering (making sure what you designed is producible). The CEO can be a little moody, and progression is slow: you will have to put in all the effort yourself if you want to get chartered.



JOB B - Cable
Work within the established R&D team to develop active and passive broadband access products for home and international markets, essentially enhancing the performance of the network cable. The job, to assemble, test and evaluate prototype components/equipment and sub-assemblies for CATV/SATV and broadband networks such as taps, transformers, splitters. Including the PCB layout, soldering and some mechanical (Autocad to design the metal body). This will be working autonomously, with about 3 other electronic design engineers who will be working on their own projects.

Besides the job roles, Job A is much closer in the country side (meaning no morning traffic and shaving about 40 minutes a day travel) and also the pay is higher, although I am trying to not let the salary sway my choice. Both mentors are really friendly!

Now I have never worked in an electronics engineering environment before so I cant imagine which role I will enjoy the most. If they had equal prospects and were equally as enjoyable, I would obviously choose job B. However I have somehow convinced myself that I might find job B a bit repetitive and potentially boring long term?? But I am not sure why I feel this way and my brain feels like it will explode soon. If anyone has any experience in either one of these environments then please share your advice! I understand that most engineers tend to move on after 2 years but I want to choose a job that will offer the best future prospects in my new career. I guess just the idea of working on cutting edge surveillance systems sounds enjoyable, but does that necessarily correlate?
 

WHONOES

May 20, 2017
1,217
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
1,217
So I am in need of some guidance, I have recently finished university and have been offered 2 jobs. I would have been happy with either one of them, but now I have the difficulty of choosing which one and am really having a hard time doing so. The main concern I have is what the industries are like to work in (defence vs network cable) and whether one will better my future more than the other. Heres a run down:

JOB A - Defence
I will work within a big team of design engineers, designing cutting edge electro optical systems for the defence industry, I will be a small part of something much larger. The day to day is a huge variety of systems engineering, electronics, some software, and manufacturing engineering (making sure what you designed is producible). The CEO can be a little moody, and progression is slow: you will have to put in all the effort yourself if you want to get chartered.



JOB B - Cable
Work within the established R&D team to develop active and passive broadband access products for home and international markets, essentially enhancing the performance of the network cable. The job, to assemble, test and evaluate prototype components/equipment and sub-assemblies for CATV/SATV and broadband networks such as taps, transformers, splitters. Including the PCB layout, soldering and some mechanical (Autocad to design the metal body). This will be working autonomously, with about 3 other electronic design engineers who will be working on their own projects.

Besides the job roles, Job A is much closer in the country side (meaning no morning traffic and shaving about 40 minutes a day travel) and also the pay is higher, although I am trying to not let the salary sway my choice. Both mentors are really friendly!

Now I have never worked in an electronics engineering environment before so I cant imagine which role I will enjoy the most. If they had equal prospects and were equally as enjoyable, I would obviously choose job B. However I have somehow convinced myself that I might find job B a bit repetitive and potentially boring long term?? But I am not sure why I feel this way and my brain feels like it will explode soon. If anyone has any experience in either one of these environments then please share your advice! I understand that most engineers tend to move on after 2 years but I want to choose a job that will offer the best future prospects in my new career. I guess just the idea of working on cutting edge surveillance systems sounds enjoyable, but does that necessarily correlate?
I worked in the UK defence industry years ago and got to play with some big toys.
 

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
6,514
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
6,514
Lots of opportunities to progress (even if it is sideways) in the defence industry. Job security counts for a lot too these days. It's not as if war will ever go 'out of fashion'......

Genuine industry is very competitive, often brutal (in terms of results-or-out) and frequently back-stabbing.....
 

hevans1944

Hop - AC8NS
Jun 21, 2012
4,880
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
4,880
I spent my entire career, after my Air Force enlistment ended in May 1967, until my forced retirement in December 2014, working for United States of America defense contractors. Pay and other compensation (vacation leave, sick leave, stock options, etc.) was usually competitive with industry, but the range and variety of projects I worked on was huge. I doubt there is any one company, or even a succession of companies, that could have offered the broad range of experiences that I enjoyed. So, I am a bit prejudiced: go for the defense job.
 
Top