2nd Shift Engineering Positions

What is your location....??

Contact recruitment agencies with this desire in mind. The forum knows nothing of location and available industries in that area, whereas recruitment agencies are in touch with this network and are in an ideal position to assist.

Go into this for the long haul.

Good luck.

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take what you can get! you can get picky after you get a little seasoning

First, you should always read the FAQ's and rules for posting.

Always.

If you had read the FAQ"s you would have seen this statement: Include your country/region if needed. Some questions can only be answered "correctly" if people know where you are in the world. For example, wall plug and voltage standards are different in the U.S. than in Europe.

In short, no one knows where you are. See #1 above.

Where are you seeking this position? A particular city, region, country?

This can very likely be a great career start. It would most likely put you out on the facility floor where the real action happens, rather than in an office.

Continuing my reply, look for a technician position rather than an engineer position.

The only engineers that I know of that often work '2nd shift' are test engineers that work at major electronics firms and aerospace companies. They are sometimes needed to set up and monitor long-term tests of components, subassemblies, and complete units. The tests may be mechanical or environmental ('shake and bake') using large vibration machines or environmental chambers.

Many Sanitary Engineers also work the night shift.

No sh!t?

<groan>

and I feel like I'm being nice

Make sure what you accomplish, in way of a demonstration of your abilities on the second shift, is noticed on the first shift by people in charge. Otherwise, you may be swallowed by obscurity.

Thanks for all the replies. I live in the US and looking for these types of positions in Midwest (IL,MO, KY) and Southwest (Texas)

I'd check with these firms.

There's not too much incentive for us to look for a job for you.

Engineering Staffing Services | Adecco USA

Engineering Staffing | Engineering Staffing Agencies

Engineering Employment and Staffing Services | Aerotek Inc.

Don't limit yourself to just looking at "Engineering" companies. Most large industrial plants (e.g. Oil, Gas, Mining...) run 24/7, and almost always have a need for trained people.

Yes but.....................................

There's a huge difference between "trained people" and kids just out of college with no skills, or training, but a degree.

Many years ago I had to work with graduate "engineers" just out of school. These whiz kids were hired by human resource people without a clue of what they had to do.

Like, "here's a job with the title 'engineer', here's a kid with an engineering degree. Perfect fit"! Hired.

There were many times when you'd have to stifle an almost irresistible urge to choke the life out of the little twits.

<...little twits...> - what in Human Resources? Surely not?!

Or the whiz kids?!

BOTH!

Agreed. But if the OP is willing to come in at the bottom and work up, heavy industry is a good starting point. Just need to make sure there is a more experienced (read curmudgeon) person around to provide guidance, and curb over-enthusiastic changes to the system.

True.

If you don't let the fact that you have that piece of paper go to your head.

I came fresh off the farm to my first job. I realized that I didn't know anything. I just kept my mouth shut, listened and did what I was told.

Boeing. They normally work 2-3 shifts. I worked there on the PHM program as an ME on second shift and took other classes during the day.

Any major production company that runs 24/7. There are a lot of them. Military contractors, electronic contract manufacturers, Campbell's soup, or whatever, all need engineering support around the clock, for not just producing their product but sustaining engineering on their production lines, processes and quality assurance, all of which employ some type of engineer position.

Go to Career Builder and type engineer and see what's available. You being fresh out of school, this will probably be a good introduction for you to see what is available for engineers in the real world.

Staffing agencies are also good resources if you need a job quickly but be warned, a lot of companies have policies to maintain a certain percentage of their staff as temporary, meaning you could be working as a "temp" for a couple years or more, especially if your position is expendable come lay off time.

My suggestion would be to work for a manufacturing firm as an entry-level second shift electrical maintenance technician. With shift differential and a little boost because you do have a piece of paper, you should be able to get a survivable beginning wage... but the hands-on experience you gain will be invaluable.

Thanks TexasRon, and VincentJ.... That info is very informative. I did see a lot of "Test Engineers" being 2nd shift, and also manufacturing engineers. Thanks everyone for your suggestions