Q: What can I do after I’ve lost my Engineering Job?
Welcome to Episode #22 of Engineering Career TV. The topic for this episode is What to do after you’ve lost your Engineering Job.
I will spend most of the Engineering Career TV episodes answering questions that have been submitted from engineers around the world on how to rapidly advance their careers and live the lives they want to live.
You can submit questions for the show by clicking here.
Let’s jump into today’s topic: What to do after you’ve lost your Engineering Job, which is based on a question from Christopher, who asks the following:
Q: Recently my company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and abruptly fired everyone with little to no notice. I have one-year experience with this company as their jack-of-all-trades engineer.
I was involved in all business operations from giving input on design considerations, making sales, technical support, manufacturing, documentation and even shipping. We made resistance-welding equipment, and I’ve become familiar with electrical, mechanical and control systems, although I’ve expressed these skills and talents to many companies in the past month, I received little to no response from my applications.
I was hoping you could help me figure out the best way to proceed with my career, whether it be continued employment, starting an LLC on my own, pursuing a master’s in systems engineering or some combination of these and how to narrow the scope of my capabilities to seem more attractive to potential employers.
A: The full answer can be seen in the Engineering Career TV video above, but here are a few of the main points:
- The key thing for you right now is going to be leaning on your network.
- I do think that a master’s degree can help you. Pick a concentration of the master’s degree that makes sense.
- Start a consultancy based on your experience.
- Always remember what your leverage is.
- Try to get a job that will eventually pay for the master’s degree.
Resources mentioned in today’s Engineering Career TV:
Ask a Question
The Engineering Mastermind
I hope you found this episode of Engineering Career TV helpful.
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What questions do you have about what to do after you lost your engineering job?
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To your success,
Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success
