is it the economical crisis or is it me?

hello,

I have worked for eight years in UAE dubai as a Factory manager/ industrial automation engineer, my wife is australian and she want our lives to be based in Melbourne Australia..So I left my job and flew to Australia hoping that with more than 10 years worth of experience in my field I wouldn't have difficulty finding a job.

However, I have been looking for jobs since January and still I am not being able to find a job. I learnt by doing I have done CNC machinery from scratch , programmed uncountable PLCs and upgraded hundreds of machines from scratch by my self...but I haven't got a Degree!!! so what??? it doesnt prove me stupid.

alot of people out there have degrees but they dont know how to solve real world problems by them selves and are some times unreliable...why base every thing on a piece of paper and not give guys like me a chance to prove them selves in real.

is there anyone in Australia who knows a way for me to get a qualification based on my 10 years worth of experience? I have got pictures, short videos, and diagrams to prove my ability to build any system from scratch. I have a reference form the multi-national company where I worked for the last eight years I sent it to TRA a place where you assess your skills, however... I paid 300$AU and sent reference pics and diagrams signed by me. 2 weeks later I receive a letter by mail from a person called: Chang yuan somthing ( I dont recall the name but sounded like that) saying that I dont qualify and the employement letter was too short..he/she didn't even call me nor called the company I worked for to check my achievements etc. althought, my employement letter stated that I worked for eight years as an engineer and it specified that I have designed pneumatic, hydraulic, PLC and CNC systems etc.


can any one (in australia) PLEASE tell me where I can go and personally assess my skills ? and get a qualification ?



thanks and sorry to say too much I am just a bit frustrated.

best regards. K

Alan Case is a member here. He is in Wagga NSW - I would suggest you contact him and he may have some ideas.
I am not a qualified engineer - just an electrical fitter but have an excellent reputation and know many people throuhghout the electrical industry - I am lucky -has taken many years to get there. Even write spec outlines for consultants these days on an hourly rate - probably too low but they also give me work.
I really do not know what to say to you - it is very difficult because a lot of companies here have gone like the Yanks - no piece of paper - no offer. Absolutely stupid.
You could try Schneider/Citect (Schneider bought them) - perhaps there may be something there in their project division.
You coulkd also have a look on the Citect website - www.citect.com and check out the Citect partners - many of them do all kinds of system integartion work.
Good luck.

hi Bob,

Thanks for charing these informations with me, it is nice to know that there are people like me here(probably better than me)...other opinions are also welcomed.

best regards.k

Hi

You could try contacting this organisation. They may be able to help you

http://www.vic.engineersaustralia.org.au/groups/colleges03.html

Worth a try...


Ian

thanks Ian

BobB said:

I really do not know what to say to you - it is very difficult because a lot of companies here have gone like the Yanks - no piece of paper - no offer. Absolutely stupid.

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...yea, an absolute stupidness. I agree with that. As if the lifelong learning/self training wouldn't count for nothing...

BobB said:

I really do not know what to say to you - it is very difficult because a lot of companies here have gone like the Yanks - no piece of paper - no offer.

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OT but in sweden the case is the other way around, you cant get a job unless you have work experience. This is also bad since recent graduates cant get any work becours they got no experience.

ojz0r said:

OT but in sweden the case is the other way around, you cant get a job unless you have work experience. This is also bad since recent graduates cant get any work becours they got no experience.

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and to achieve an acceptable level of experience at work may take many years.Specially for those newbies who join companies in which their learning relies mostly upon the ability of the employee for self-teaching from scratch and/or from what they see around them (i.e senior programmers who from time to time may drop any clue to the newbies) rather than from documented criteria or guidelines

Check out the ISA

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the ISA, but they have certifications that may help you. Specifically, the Certified Automation Professional. It incorporates education and experience, which substitute for each other. You need to pass a competency exam to achieve certification. Take a look on the ISA website.

Russ

russrmartin said:

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the ISA, but they have certifications that may help you. Specifically, the Certified Automation Professional. It incorporates education and experience, which substitute for each other. You need to pass a competency exam to achieve certification. Take a look on the ISA website.

Russ

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Thanks Russ, interesting... I'm going to have a look at it

Hello every one

Hi there,

I just thought I'd give you an update, it's been a year since I started this thread and let me tell you this I still didn't find a job, I actually gave up on looking 7 month ago and started my own business. it's been great since and I am doing alright. I think Australia is a good place to live however, very expensive...and you can't simply go wait for a job and do nothing! so my advice to all, in three month if you can't find a job, look for alternatives!!

I really really missed getting my hands dirty in some of them nasty machines though, and when ever I get a chance to do an Industrial automation job I WONT SAY NO!!! it is my first and last passion, but until then, I am working for my own business.


thank you all for your replies.

best rgeards.

Thanks Khalil, for feeding back... many threads seem to die off here with no conclusion. Hope the business remains great, perhaps build up your reputation and mutate the business into the line of work you crave.

Stay lucky, dude.

Regards
s.f

I know we hired several degreed programmers and design engineers including one that was top of his class at MIT. Most them were worthless, could not seem to get it through their heads that just because it works on paper does not mean it works in real life. If it was not in black and white in a book someplace they could not figure it out. Just because you can read a book and take a test does NOT mean you can think.
I would much rather have a retired military guy who knows how to make things work. Experiance trumps a degree anyday.
Its kind of funny, the same people who would not hire me on full time because i don't have a degree will hire me as a consultant on a contract basis to do the same job, at twice the pay.
The song says it all: "God is great, beer is good and people are crazy."

Originally posted bu alanMICS:

I know we hired several degreed programmers and design engineers including one that was top of his class at MIT. Most them were worthless, could not seem to get it through their heads that just because it works on paper does not mean it works in real life.

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While I agree this can happen...

Originally posted by alanMICS:

Experiance trumps a degree anyday.

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I don't agree with this position either. This can lead to stagnation if you aren't very careful. Exactly what good to you is the most experienced horse-drawn carriage suspension guy if he can't apply that experience to modern systems? (The experience does apply, by the way, as long as the guy knows the underlying concepts and not just the tweeks he learned along the way)

Your concern is why I ask potential employees what they do away from work. I firmly believe you should get all the DIRECTED education you can afford. But if that guy with all the education crews for a race team on the weekend or has his own alternative energy system at home he will probably have a better feel for real systems than the guy who plays World of Warcraft with all his spare time.

Keith