Need help with career path

deshNL · May 29, 2020

I'm 36 years old living in Newfoundland, and haven't found a stable career. I feel that eventually I'm going to be too old and will fall in the group of being unhireable. I don't have a degree but have the following education:

2 year IT diploma which I was working in call center/technical support and help desk roles 2006-2015 when I decided to change careers

2019 Journeyman Construction Electrician. Between working in IT and various apprentice jobs I was able to obtain this after 10 years. 2009-2019

2020 2nd year Instrumentation and Control Apprentice. I decided to go back to school and become dual-ticketed.

I want to get into industrial automation. Despite what I think is a good all around education in both trades and technology I'm still unable to find a company that doesn't require an engineering or other degree.

I haven't made any contacts through my several positions so I don't have anyone that could help me. I'm looking for options when it comes to doing internships outside of school, and also apprenticeship opportunities.

I really don't want to go back doing construction because at my age I'm tired of the boom and bust cycle and don't want to be laid off for extended periods of time. I'm so sick of having to apply for EI that I feel I've been a complete burden on the system.

nyanpasu · May 29, 2020

In my province, the most common degree for doing this kind of work is a three years college diploma.

One thing to keep in mind is that when companies put out offers, the requirements they list are their "perfect" candidate. So it's always a good idea to apply anyway and see what happens if you have a good bit of the skillset but lack the formal schooling. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get a call.

I don't know how it's like in NL right now. Before the coronavirus, companies in QC were pretty desperate for people and there were real opportunities for people trying to break in. Right now, it's quite a bit harder.

A recession/depression is a tough period to break in a new career. Conversely, it is usually a good time to earn a degree. Something to think about.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck in these tough times, and sorry I don't have more pointers.

deshNL · May 30, 2020

I've also done some PLC training in my own time and completed 10 Rockwell E-Learning courses over the last couple of months, an Ignition SCADA cert, and a water treatment operator course from Sacramento State University.

deshNL · May 30, 2020

harryting · May 31, 2020

With a electrician background, try to get hired on in a plant as staff electrician then look for opportunity to get into the instrumentation side. Another route is get a job in an integrator shop wiring panels then again, look for opportunity to get into the programming side.

When you don't have a lot of experience, you have to be more flexible and might have to move. Montreal is big center for a lot of automation professionals. One of the companies I used to work for had an engineering office there.

harryting · May 31, 2020

I'm curious though, why not stay on the IT side? Get your Cisco certificate then you open a ton of doors.

damica1 · May 31, 2020

Am I missing something??

You are "Ignition Certified, Journeyman Electrician, 2 yr experience in instrument/controls" and you can't find a job?

You need to MOVE! You could probably write your own paycheck hear in the United States.

deshNL · May 31, 2020

Thanks for the replies.

deshNL · May 31, 2020

harryting said:
I'm curious though, why not stay on the IT side? Get your Cisco certificate then you open a ton of doors.

IT doesn't pay nearly as good as having an industrial trade. My background is just in help desk/technical support and no software programming so I'm likely only a candidate for low end jobs. Being in an office all day kind of sucks as well so I'd eventually like a blend of office and field work.

Also the better IT jobs are only available in the two biggest cities in Canada, Vancouver and Toronto where the cost of living is insane. A $20/hour help desk job wouldn't cut it when I'm putting most of my paycheck towards rent.

deshNL · May 31, 2020

damica1 said:
Am I missing something??

You are "Ignition Certified, Journeyman Electrician, 2 yr experience in instrument/controls" and you can't find a job?

You need to MOVE! You could probably write your own paycheck hear in the United States.

I've done the basic Ignition cert through their online training but I'm not core certified. I can't cross the border without at least a degree so I'm basically restricted to one country right now with just a trade certificate.

Steve Bailey · May 31, 2020

About all I know of Newfoundland is where to look for it on a map. Google tells me that St. John's is a city of just over 100,000 people, small enough so I expect you know most if not all of the local places likely to hire an industrial automation specialist.
I agree with harryting that your best bet may be to try to land a job in the maintenance department of a facility that has some automation. You will probably have to do a fair amount of conduit bending and wire pulling, but there should also be opportunities to work on automation projects.
Another possibility could be the field service department of a company builds or services automated equipment. That would mean a lot of time on the road and that's hard on a family. If you are married, make sure your wife is on board with a choice like that.

PLC Pie Guy · Jun 1, 2020

deshNL said:
I'm 36 years old living in Newfoundland, and haven't found a stable career. I feel that eventually I'm going to be too old and will fall in the group of being unhireable. I don't have a degree but have the following education:

2 year IT diploma which I was working in call center/technical support and help desk roles 2006-2015 when I decided to change careers

2019 Journeyman Construction Electrician. Between working in IT and various apprentice jobs I was able to obtain this after 10 years. 2009-2019

2020 2nd year Instrumentation and Control Apprentice. I decided to go back to school and become dual-ticketed.

I want to get into industrial automation. Despite what I think is a good all around education in both trades and technology I'm still unable to find a company that doesn't require an engineering or other degree.

I haven't made any contacts through my several positions so I don't have anyone that could help me. I'm looking for options when it comes to doing internships outside of school, and also apprenticeship opportunities.

I really don't want to go back doing construction because at my age I'm tired of the boom and bust cycle and don't want to be laid off for extended periods of time. I'm so sick of having to apply for EI that I feel I've been a complete burden on the system.

You have to apply to these companies anyway. They list their ideal candidate, they get dozens of applicants. Half are not eligible to work in Canada. From the other half, you may get some that simply applied cause they apply for everything and never take it any farther, you could have some that can't start when required and some that simply don't have the right personnel skills to get through an interview. In our company, that is the first interview, before the technical one. So there may only be a few applicants that actually fit the bill at the end of the day. By then, your electrical ticket, instrumentation ticket and the fact that you have self learned all show that your probably going to be an asset to any technical group. I certainly have no more than 2 red seals in electrical, but Iv been steadily employed in 100% Automation and control activities since trade school. Iv been at large fiber board mills, seafood, forestry equipment (my fav), and now the longest running for me, frozen food production.
Really, your resume sounds impressive compared to the constant barrage of applications we get from folks who want technical jobs but have no experience at all.
My suggestion, is that you go to all local industries and apply to their maintenance department. Anywhere there is machines, Saw Mills, fish plants, heavy equipment garages, (they use a ton of controls and automation) Even if no job ad exists. This got me into the frozen food plants in one of the local towns in our area. Soon I became very valuable to the one that hired me and I went from Maintenance shift work to programming and project work full time. Then it was on to the next company for full time Automation support, and it continues. You simply need to show your worth to the right person. Your particular skill set may be well suited to a pulp and paper mill for example. Your not to old either. I'm 37 and still have always been the young guy on site. I haven't seen any interest from the younger crowd in anything technical really, besides Fotnite!
I wish you the best of luck, If you ever do decide to relocate in N.S. let me know, I can give you a few good leads to chase for jobs. Some industries here are struggling with getting and keeping technical skills.

parky · Jun 1, 2020

I agree with Pie Guy, Just go for it, yes you may get a lot of knockbacks but nothing ventured nothing gained. I have been involved in interviews for technicians on many occasions, there were plenty of these guys with degrees etc. but most of them haven't got a clue. I have had to fight hard with HR guys saying a bit of paper does not always guarantee they can do the job or even have a flair or interest. In my book experience & an interest in the job is worth as much as qualifications, experience is the hardest thing to obtain. Employers want both, however, how do you get experience if an employer is not willing to give people a chance. Nearly all employers put degrees etc. as a must, but in reality they will settle for less if you are convincing enough, it is possible you may have to get a job with less pay than an average degree qualified engineer or what ever, but that will then at least open up possibilities. I have seen many PLC commissioning engineers climb the ladder in the company they work for and indeed opportunities (maybe called poaching) when a customer sees what work they can do. I have been approached a number of times by customers even going for interviews, and not even on one occasion was I asked to show any qualifications it seemed to me that my work alone was enough. however, I was well settled in my job so never took any opportunities up. maybe that was better the devil you know syndrome.

Handcraftedsince87 · Jun 1, 2020

damica1 said:
am i missing something??

You are "ignition certified, journeyman electrician, 2 yr experience in instrument/controls" and you can't find a job?

You need to move! You could probably write your own paycheck hear in the united states.

+1

deshNL · Jun 1, 2020

PLC Pie Guy said:
You have to apply to these companies anyway. They list their ideal candidate, they get dozens of applicants. Half are not eligible to work in Canada. From the other half, you may get some that simply applied cause they apply for everything and never take it any farther, you could have some that can't start when required and some that simply don't have the right personnel skills to get through an interview. In our company, that is the first interview, before the technical one. So there may only be a few applicants that actually fit the bill at the end of the day. By then, your electrical ticket, instrumentation ticket and the fact that you have self learned all show that your probably going to be an asset to any technical group. I certainly have no more than 2 red seals in electrical, but Iv been steadily employed in 100% Automation and control activities since trade school. Iv been at large fiber board mills, seafood, forestry equipment (my fav), and now the longest running for me, frozen food production.
Really, your resume sounds impressive compared to the constant barrage of applications we get from folks who want technical jobs but have no experience at all.
My suggestion, is that you go to all local industries and apply to their maintenance department. Anywhere there is machines, Saw Mills, fish plants, heavy equipment garages, (they use a ton of controls and automation) Even if no job ad exists. This got me into the frozen food plants in one of the local towns in our area. Soon I became very valuable to the one that hired me and I went from Maintenance shift work to programming and project work full time. Then it was on to the next company for full time Automation support, and it continues. You simply need to show your worth to the right person. Your particular skill set may be well suited to a pulp and paper mill for example. Your not to old either. I'm 37 and still have always been the young guy on site. I haven't seen any interest from the younger crowd in anything technical really, besides Fotnite!
I wish you the best of luck, If you ever do decide to relocate in N.S. let me know, I can give you a few good leads to chase for jobs. Some industries here are struggling with getting and keeping technical skills.

I have a lot of friends in NS and used to work in Halifax for BlackBerry. I never really considered moving back as it seemed NS had the same lack of work for tradespeople as Newfoundland, but I would love to work closer to family without having to move too far west. Connections are important but sadly I don't have any to start in a job I'd like. Which industries are in need of technicians?

Need help with career path

deshNL

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nyanpasu

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deshNL

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deshNL

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harryting

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damica1

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deshNL

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deshNL

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deshNL

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Steve Bailey

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PLC Pie Guy

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parky

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Handcraftedsince87

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deshNL

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