Lost in the woods, hoping for advice

guitarman001

Unfortunately I'm an electronics engineer and I don't think there's much demand for my discpline in those areas. I'd have to spend a few years re-training in the electrical side..... (more than glum here as most of my uni classmates are now ahead of me in terms of pay, and I think I do a good job).

lost_in_the_woods

if you're not getting paid the going rate it could be worth mentioning this to your superiors (of cause only if you are putting the effort in, doing a job that they need and working for a company that could afford to raise your pay). From my experience electronic and electrical engineers straight from graduation (working for decent sized companies) get around £24-26k, with 5 years experience I would have thought you could expect £32-34k. Obviously in the oil and gas industry pay is generally higher (ie the deck crew, A.K.A roustabouts, who carry out general maintenance, move things around with the crane operator and scrub the floors get £34k for working 26 weeks a year).

The only part of oil and gas that I can think of that needs electronic engineers are service providers such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Gyrodata etc. but don’t just look at the pay and benefits as Aberdeen is expensive and not a great place to live, also some jobs will be offshore or at least require some time spent offshore (I’m currently on an oil rig) which isn’t for everyone (especially for people with kids).

guitarman001

Cheers, mate - appreciated. I thought about the oil industry for a while but for some reason stuck to electronics. I like it, though am fearful for its future - let's see how it pans out. I've got a mate who went into civil and thought he'd earn a fortune and buy a big house but the reality is now hitting him... He'd love to get work in oil but I don't think he realises how tough it can be, plus I'm sure not all the salaries are £1m+ like he seems to think..!

darkpool

i spoke to a recruitment agent in australia a couple of months back, he said a brand new graduate civil engineer should get 30k. i know civil engineers out there with 10 years experience getting 50k or so. i've heard of one getting circa 90k a year, he works in mining. if you're under 30 you should get a work visa no bother.

i'm moving to oman this week as an engineer, my package is more than associate directors in my previous employer were getting. ok, i'm living in a girl free zone surrounded by sand. but i should be saving 2k a month and still having an ok lifestyle.

i'd imagine if you look hard enough you would get an electronics job somewhere.

guitarman001

Is that $AUD? I only say because the average salary in Oz is about $80k, no?

darkpool

no the figures i gave were for sterling, the guy on 90k is earning 140K$aud, he's only about 30.

the mining sector out there is booming, if you were willing to work in the middle of nowwhere you would be earning big bucks.

if you're tempted you could look at the hays or randstad websites. or even the australian "gumtree" site has adverts for professionals.

the site below gives some salary comparisons.

http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/

heloid

If you're on £30k+ and 22 enjoy life, travel as much as you possibly can and consider living in Aussie, NZ or Canada where you can get an easy 2 year youth mobility visa after saving a bit. In a few years it might not be possible anymore.
This is coming from a NZ'er who has been here for 4 years, moving to Sydney I've picked up a job paying almost half more what I do here. The UK used to be the land of opportunity but now the British peso doesn't buy you much and the job market is rubbish and will be for another 5 years.

lost_in_the_woods

I’ve always said Oz is a country that I WILL visit (might have to wait until the rugby world cup, 2 birds with 1 stone) and I believe I could happily live there but I’m currently on a 5 year training scheme (on a full time contract not a 5 year contract so will still be working for my employer after the 5 years are up) so there is no chance of me quitting my job to go to Oz for a year or two.

I do intend on travelling as much as I can (to both common and unorthodox destinations). I have only had 1 holiday in the last 6 years so I am long overdue a few trips away. My work schedule should allow me to travel a decent amount as I work approx 30 weeks a year so hope to have around 5 weeks away a year.
Also my job includes international work, with Turkey and sub-Saharan African countries very likely within the next 18 months.


Do you have any places you think I need to visit?

geoffky

you could visit..

boogie street..grant road and its cages.the reeperbahn, sembawang, and then happy valley....come back for more if needed..