Anyone here a self employed controls engineer?

I don't know anyone who is self employed in the controls engineering field so I'm wondering if there are any in this forum.

I would love to work for myself but I'm not sure how to get started.

david90 said:

I don't know anyone who is self employed in the controls engineering field so I'm wondering if there are any in this forum.

I would love to work for myself but I'm not sure how to get started.

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Not by myself, but with another starting back in 1989. Word of advice, make sure you have at least 3 months worth expenses and spending money in the bank. You will be operating a cash business for at least a year, as banks will not be willing to extend you any credit.

Be prepared to slug it out and work very hard for the first year or two until you get established.

Lows are very low, but the highs are very high.

Good Luck

Semi retired now, but I was for many years, then expanded to more of a small business, then sold it.

Rule 1: Keep good records, and keep on top of accounting.
Rule 2: You will have at best 50% billable hours, so set your billing rate accordingly.
Rule 3: Don't take things personally - it's a business, not an ego trip
Rule 4: Make sure your family (wife especially if you have one) are prepared for the ups and downs and are willing to go on the ride with you.

Start by letting current and former employers know what you are doing. Then, network to beat heck. Tell everyone you meet what you can do, what you are looking for, and ask for references.

That's what I have been doing since 1985. The BIG problem is to keep a string of regular customers so that you can stay busy. Projects tend to come all at once then disappear for a while.

All the guys above have very good advice. I would say the 3 months salary and expenses is the most important. For the dry times. Also get an accountant, you want to be doing engineering not accounting.

On my third year being on my own. Wild roller coaster. I just finished a job in Scotland. My advice figure out what you are good at. Small projects, large projects, fast turnaround, ling and drawn out. What works for you, your family and then the business. I am trying to balance that family and work now.

I messed up by taking on some big jobs. I now know that my business is better serving my family by doing small jobs with quick turnarounds and me seeing my kids grown up. A month of working either on the road or 16~20 hours a day doesn't help.

Find another small business guy out there. Try to team up with them. I do business with several guys on this site. These guys have many more years of doing systems in many more markets than I could ever think if having. You can't be everything to everybody.

JeffKiper said:

On my third year being on my own. Wild roller coaster. I just finished a job in Scotland. My advice figure out what you are good at. Small projects, large projects, fast turnaround, ling and drawn out. What works for you, your family and then the business. I am trying to balance that family and work now.

I messed up by taking on some big jobs. I now know that my business is better serving my family by doing small jobs with quick turnarounds and me seeing my kids grown up. A month of working either on the road or 16~20 hours a day doesn't help.

Find another small business guy out there. Try to team up with them. I do business with several guys on this site. These guys have many more years of doing systems in many more markets than I could ever think if having. You can't be everything to everybody.

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What kind of work do you do (ie. programming, system design, system troubleshooting/repair)?

All of the above. I mainly focus on troubleshooting and repair. I do new small systems as well. Being a small company (One man) I now realize that I can't take on the large 25 to 50 conveyors with material handling at each station. Can I physically do it yes. Does it cause problems at home because I bite of more than I can chew in the allotted time? Yes it does. Will I intentionally do it again NO.

JeffKiper said:

On my third year being on my own. Wild roller coaster. I just finished a job in Scotland. My advice figure out what you are good at. Small projects, large projects, fast turnaround, ling and drawn out. What works for you, your family and then the business. I am trying to balance that family and work now.

I messed up by taking on some big jobs. I now know that my business is better serving my family by doing small jobs with quick turnarounds and me seeing my kids grown up. A month of working either on the road or 16~20 hours a day doesn't help.

Find another small business guy out there. Try to team up with them. I do business with several guys on this site. These guys have many more years of doing systems in many more markets than I could ever think if having. You can't be everything to everybody.

Click to expand...

JeffKiper said:

All of the above. I mainly focus on troubleshooting and repair. I do new small systems as well. Being a small company (One man) I now realize that I can't take on the large 25 to 50 conveyors with material handling at each station. Can I physically do it yes. Does it cause problems at home because I bite of more than I can chew in the allotted time? Yes it does. Will I intentionally do it again NO.

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I agree. For a one man show, it's not feasible nor efficient to take on big projects so I understand why you focus on troubleshooting and repairs.

I used to work for a company that does field service and I hate the fact that I have to work on so many different systems. It takes time to figure out each systems so I didn't work efficiently. Also I was new to industrial automation/electrical system so it didn't help.

Also, a lot of the systems that I worked on were neglected. Wires were hanging all over the place and it was like a bowl of noodle. Some system didn't have any documentation nor schematics.

I would like to also be self-employed as a Controls Engineer some day. I love this thread and what I am reading above. My thoughts are to specialize within an industry, so that I can become extremely knowledgeable with the typical equipment.

Moreover I could offer new installs, updates, improvements, troubleshooting and repairs. This sounds like a winning solution, however, any thoughts guys?

david90 said:

Also, a lot of the systems that I worked on were neglected. Wires were hanging all over the place and it was like a bowl of noodle. Some system didn't have any documentation nor schematics.

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Welcome to 70% of U.S. Manufacturing plants. Most suits these days want to make big profits but don't want to reinvest like they should in their facilities, equipment, and processes IMHO.

david90 said:

I hate the fact that I have to work on so many different systems. It takes time to figure out each system.

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If this bothers you then you don't want to be on the service/ repair end of being a integrator.

I have thought about it here and there, but I don't see myself going solo, unless it's in a more consultant role. Some projects are hard enough technically to accomplish and be successful that I have no desire to worry about the accounting end of it. I don't want to be a banker, I want to be an engineer. I am also concerned on the personal/work life balance. When you're on your own, and bills have to be paid I can imagine that takes a lot out of you. I work for an employer, and they work for me. They take care of my accounting, they take care of my insurance, they take care of litigation if it comes down to that. I get to be an "Controls Engineer" as I like, but I put my hours in as well.

Granted, I'll never hit the highest of highs in terms of financial success, but there are many roads to travel beyond controls engineering, nice to be with a company that promotes those roads.

Maybe someday, but I don't personally think that "Controls Engineer" will be a life-long title.

from Paully's5.0:

I work for an employer, and they work for me.

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pearls of wisdom ...

I have worked for myself for about 10 years now. I was working for a company that went out of business and I picked up a couple old their old clients and had a head start.
The first 3 months were very frustrating as I had virtually nothing to do - since then have not had time to even take a holiday. I also have a good reputation for doing things right that has helped enormously. People eventually came looking for me.
I design, build, program and commission control systems but do not do physical wiring onsite. I build my own control panels as well - get them right then and do not have to sort out someone else's mess. I generally work for electrical contractors who pick up projects for commercial swimming pools and diesel/gas generator systems and anything else that comes along. They do the wiring.
Also write specification outlines for electrical consultants and some of them also recommend me to other clients for 'difficult' jobs - read jobs that others cannot figure out a solution. I ask a pretty high hourly rate for those.

JeffKiper said:

On my third year being on my own. Wild roller coaster. I just finished a job in Scotland. My advice figure out what you are good at. Small projects, large projects, fast turnaround, ling and drawn out. What works for you, your family and then the business. I am trying to balance that family and work now.

I messed up by taking on some big jobs. I now know that my business is better serving my family by doing small jobs with quick turnarounds and me seeing my kids grown up. A month of working either on the road or 16~20 hours a day doesn't help.

Find another small business guy out there. Try to team up with them. I do business with several guys on this site. These guys have many more years of doing systems in many more markets than I could ever think if having. You can't be everything to everybody.

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Scotland - where they wear kilts ?

Or ?