Are There a Lot of Part Time Job Opportunities in the Field of Engineering?

There are a lot of good people with experience that are having trouble finding a job. So the best simple answer to your question is probably "no".

There are often opportunities to proved services during the peaks and not be a burden to a companies financial statement during the valleys. So there could be a "yes" out there.

Design tends to be an area where experience helps one get the job done near the deadline and near the projected cost. Lots of good judgement (not typically taught in school) is needed. Design jobs tend to be obtained by being lucky enough to be hired into one at an entry level or by having design experience and good references. Going out with a diploma and wanting to design but only when you want to design sounds like a difficult career path.

What are proved services?

Sorry. Typo. I didn't proof read my posting. I should have typed "provide services".

When busy a company might need help with specific tasks or services retired engineers can often mix fishing and golfing with with "I'm available when you need me" work. Someone who has to pay bills without having retirement income or work experience might have a problem trying to do this.

Whatever you do if you leave a good footprint and pick up your phone when it rings the folkus will look you up for themselves ... usually

leave a good footprint = what ever the situation becomes you have to solve it ... t.m. YOU have to solve it

since servicing big companies with specialist price and small ones for their affordable 1 is difficult to keep not a common knowledge ... you have to pick your market sector

there might be 10 orders a day and 10 weeks of none - so you have to specialize to your best abilities or constantly train to such

that's mostly it

There are certainly opportunities to work your own hours after you have worked for many years and become an expert in your field....starting out, might be a little more difficult....a prospective employer might interpret your desire to work part time as a lack of commitment and dedication....in which case would be reluctant to hire you....You might be able to hire out by the job, in a case like this you would work full time while the job was under way, but after completion there could be a lapse until you commit to the next job.....but this is more likely the more experience you have....I have always found that doing one thing at a time is more likely to bear fruit....I like to concentrate all my effort on what I'm doing, a less than total commitment is likely to produce less than acceptable results.....A man's reputation is built on his accomplishments or failures...I don't like the idea of setting myself up for failure...If I'm going to fail, it won't be because I didn't give it my best shot....and my best shot is total commitment to what I'm doing at the time, 24/7.....that is my self-commitment to excellence in performance....

What about starting out with a master's degree in mechanical engineering as opposed to a bachelors in mechanical engineering technology? Would it make much of a difference?

There two kinds or types of learning, school is like learning the outline or framework of your profession, experience is the building blocks that make your body of knowledge substantial and formidable...Now the more developed the framework, the more substantial the building can be on completion....So a better degree is only a promise of the possibility of a substantial building....Your motivation, energy, work ethic, professional attitude, consistency, along with other attributes, are just as important...some would say even more so....

You need to understand that a degree, BA or MA, devalues if you are not using it. The rate of devaluation depends on the subject so for instance, an electronics degree allied to a rapidly changing technology, will devalue faster than a mechanical engineering degree. A good rule of thumb (for mechanical engineering) is that your degree is worth 60% of what it was last year. So graduation year 100%, year2 60%, year3 36%, year4 21%, year5 13%. The devaluation is not quite linear as it tapers off to a value of between 10-15% (depending on your field) and remains at that residual value. That is why of two older candidates with equal experience, the degree holder usually gets the job. In normal circumstances experience gained in that year will compensate for the falling value of your degree so your overall employability remains roughly constant (after a dip in the first year) until you are gaining more experience in a year than your degree is devaluing. Then your worth to an employer increases and with it your prospects and salary. Ask yourself the question, would you employ a designer who has a degree in design but has not used it for three years, in preference to a recent graduate? If you wouldn't, why would any other employer do so?

Using this model, if you have an MA you have taken two years to get it, so a potential employer will only take partial account of your BA (about 35-40%). Your MA will be the deciding factor in your gaining employment and in this case it takes the place of experience. Note that while experience itself devalues as technology changes, it devalues at a much lower rate, nearer a linear 5% per year in mechanical engineering.

Disclaimer; The figures quoted are based in my personal experience as both an engineer and employer in the UK, and while the nub for my argument is valid there will be much dispute over 'the rate of devaluation of academic qualifications'

It is an unusual question. For someone who claims to be an "engineer".

It means that you are not equipped to find even the simple requirements for the job, never mind the , " American idea" but .....................Oh, never mind.

Lyn, that sounds like a condescending answer, however I am willing to listen to what you have to say. Yes I believe that a lot of Americans spend too much time on their jobs, however I am not saying you have to agree with that. I am simply asking for advice/help on how I can find the type of job I would like in order to live my dreams. I believe it was the Dalai Lama that said this:

Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. Then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn't enjoy the present: the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

Good luck. It helps to be born rich, if you don't want to work.

Talk is cheap when you have no family to support and other people are working to pay your way....

It's simply a dream I am pursuing, to work part time as an engineer and compete as a bodybuilder. I make no excuses for it. For those who offered me some helpful advice I thank you. For those that scoff at me for it, I don't really care.

Sorry, I was commenting on the quote....not this discussion....

There are various temporary help agencies or "job shops" that can supply personnel to A&E entities that are overloaded, such as with large jobs that will later wind down. You might be able to build a track record of proven performance that way.

However, that life is more likely to be 2 months on and 2 off, rather than 20/20 hours.

Thanks for the idea! I would not have thought of something like that

Bett4haze has a good example of "provide services". Small companies might not want to (or be able to) invest in SolidWorks and SolidWorks training. When they have a design idea these small companies (or individual persons) could go to someone like you for documenting the design in SolidWorks. You could produce prints, CAE files, and possibly do design work too.

As one of the other posts indicated, this tends to be overtime for a few weeks and then nothing to do for a few weeks. A 20 hour per week job that works around your hobby might be out there but it is going to be hard to find.

Simple. Work "contract" instead of "staff". If one is working more than 40 weeks a year, one is doing well.

Employing experienced part-time engineers whenever company get more jobs is profitable for organisations as they don't have to give terminal benefits,medicare insurance,paid leave etc as well as reduction of permanant staff is possible. But some long-time employees(managers)might oppose because they feel their importance is eclipsed by an experienced person.

I worked as a job shopper for several years, and highly recommend it for someone who is single, has a marketable skill, and doesn't mind traveling.

Like you, I didn't like working all the time at a single job. Instead of bodybuilding, I was a skier. To me, the white stuff was better than green stuff, but the green stuff let me go skiing all over the country for weeks at a time. When it ran out, I'd get another job.

Job shoppers (also known as contract workers, migrant workers or industrial prostitutes) are hired because the client doesn't have the expertise on staff to do the job, doesn't want to hire permanent employees, or the current employees screwed up the project and it's way behind schedule.

When you walk in the door, you are "the pro from Dover" (from the Movie M.A.S.H) and are expected to be productive immediately. If you can't cut it, you'll be out the door. For this expertise, you'll be paid 2-3X as much as their regular employees, who will hate your guts. Assignments last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

So you could job shop for a while to make a lot of money, then bodybuild for a while.

Thanks, I didn't know opportunities like that were out there, that's an interesting idea. Not ideal as I'd rather be working part time all the time but still better than nothing.

You may try websites like GURU.com

You could find contract work but Im afraid your hours will not be something you can readily control. Maybe in a few years, once you become known in the industry and have a few good projects under your belt you would know which contracts are more suited to your talents. So, yes there are part time jobs, but as already pointed out, these will be long hours, then no hours. If your looking for a part time job (20 hrs weekly) you really dont need a college education. Ask a few professionals in your area, I would be surprised if any of them work 20 hours a week unless they own the company and have been working long hours for years.

First thing to understand - schooling, even advanced degree schooling, does not prepare you for most real world jobs. At least the first year of most jobs is training to your employers needs. In fact, in this company, we have, in times of needs in one or another sector, attempted to transfer engineers that have been in one sector for years to another sector (heat exchangers to tanks for example) and we find real quickly it would be just as quick to train a new engineer for a year as to re-train the old one. In the mean time we come up short in the sector he transferred from. So, how long would you stretch out the training process working part time? Think a company wants to try that?

I agree to most of the earlier posts that the kind of work and work arrangements that you are looking for are available! Prior to retiring, I have had that similar working situation where I only work 2 - 3 days a week. As a consultant, my days were mostly consumed attending meetings. I worked in that environment continuously for about five (5) years, and with full benefits. Benefits that normally enjoyed by full time employees like medical, 401k pension plan, etc.

It is very doable especially if you already have excelled academically on the required field of education. The caveat is, that advanced degree you now have on hand will only serve as a door opener.

Typically what most of the prospective employer will be looking and willing to pay for is, your ability to demonstrate and show the effective applications of your knowledge in solving any of their real world application problems, issues and concerns. I believe it is what normally called as hands-on, real world application and demonstrable working Experience!

You have to get a job in the manufacturing area, in a service supply company as a vendor. You can work part time, traveled much, and so, you can use the hotel gyms to continue building your body. Work and dream together.

"Your partner for innovation"

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Someone mentioned providing services, very similar, but owning an established business would give you some added advantages (tax write offs for some of your equipment/software, travel expenses). If you have a Solidworks (or some other software background) you might want to look into Additive Manufacturing systems. While you were in school did you get any introduction into the world of Additive Manufacturing? More commonly called 3D printing. These systems coupled with your ME background might give your the revenue/flexibility you are looking for. I am not a salesman for these types of machines (I'm actually an EE), but the company I work for has used additive manufacturing for many projects I have been involved in. Once the models are set up on the machine there is a lot of "free time" to do other things. The "set it and forget it aspect of this (to use a cheesy infomercial saying) would give you the time to go to the gym and work out. I don't know your financial situation, or if you would have space to start this type of business; that being said the higher end systems are rather expensive. Some of the entry level "plug and play" systems are more "affordable" and might be somewhere to start, used systems are also commonly sold. Just another suggestion.

I had never thought about starting my own business, I had always just assumed the amount of work that would go into that kind of thing would be very time consuming.

You don't say whether you have established yourself in your chosen engineering field. I think that has to be your 1st step, and it will likely require working full time for a while. Then you can transition to job shopping or self employment to reduce the hours you spend working, and/or get flexibility in when you work.

Maybe it's a mental block due to my age, but I just cannot imagine hiring a newly minted engineer for part time work - as an engineer. In my experience, employers hiring entry level engineers expect full commitment and by saying you only want to work part time you also are saying you are only partially committed.

All that being said, good luck.