Best advice to further my career.

Hi guys,

I am a refrigeration engineer and have been for the past 6 years now. I have worked mainly on air conditioning products from commercial to industrial. I am currently working at a very famous art gallery in London which is great for experience.

I am at a crossroads as i am very eager to study and further my career within the field. Things like enjoyment of work, wages and sustainability all come into play.

I know of a few ways to branch out Ie sales, BMS (controls), management or start my own company but would love to hear from some people who are in these rolls what it entails and why they enjoy it. I am currently leaning toward sales but am in some desperate need of advice. Thanks guys!

buy a canvass and get painting!haha

thanks, very helpfull

It say's in your profile "age-22"
Yet you say you've been refrigeration engineer for six years...
What age did you start??
Assuming an apprenticeship in the UK is 4 years ,that would make you 2 years out of your time .
I appreciate your eagerness and desire to go further but at two years out of your time I personally think you may be jumping the gun a little.
To be a "good" sale's person a good knowledge of the product's you are selling is often confused with an excellent understanding of the fundamental's of that product and it's limitations.:confused:
A prime example is "sale's" people pushing splits for comm's and server room's ,presuming if it provides cooling it will do the job.
Maybe you should consider diversifying and try your hand at the refrigeration side of the trade and don't assume it's all the same.
Either way best of look ,hope it all works out for you. :cool:BUT....
As for the title of "Engineer" that depends on what you studied ,you may find your title is actually "crafts person or technician or if you go to Oz mechanic.:o
People with degrees are "Engineers" .We can only dream;)

Cheers
Stu

Hey stu, cheers for the reply. I did my apprenticeship in Australia and have now been out of my time for 3 years but since my second year of my apprenticeship i have worked on my own. Im not in any way saying i am ready to currently take the step i am just seeking advice to work out which direction id like to head in the future and can start doing courses and getting more involved in that side of things within the industry. I am classified as an engineer in the UK but in Australia classified as a Technician. I personally dont like the label as an engineer as i am and we are clearly not. As for refrigeration i have done a bit of coolroom,freezers,blast freezers etc etc but personally i didnt enjoy it as much as i enjoy working on a big chiller system.

Hi,

I felt the same as you mate but I knew before my apprenticeship was complete that I needed to do WAY more than "on-the-tools" air conditioning/refrigeration. I decided to do a bachelors engineering degree at night and it has opened up my opportunities completley. Instead of looking at job postings like mobile a/c fridge tech. @ €30-40k per year in some cowboy contractors company, you'd be able to look at good accredited companies for positions that will have a definite career path and a wage that matches your ability.

If you want to progress to a high level in a technical area I would definitely recommend studying a degree, electrical, mechanical, building services, whatever your interested in. Having a fridge background you would be well able for any of them. Its not the only route though so don't sweat it.

BMS is a nice one to get into, Honeywell, Cylon, Trend, all good companies. Its certaibnly cleaner than AC work but you'll still hit a ceiling as to how far you can go. If its sales your interested in, I've always thought it takes a certain type of person to succeed at sales. Good chat and shrewd, I don't know you but you need to be dynamic to be good in sales so you can decide you fit that or not :D

In my opinion, as someone who has been where you are, if you want to go far and have ambitions about a real career, get yourself into part time college. Its not the only route, but it doesn't hurt to have it.

Best of luck with it mate.

Collie

Thanks Collie,

Its good to hear from someone in a similar position that i was in, what role are you in now? Im have looked at doing part time school and hopefully taking the next step. I am confident that i can earn myself a great quality of life through working hard and studying and gaining a great role and continually having the incentive of progression, Thanks again.

Trent.

There is such a thing as a "sales engineer" in the HVAC business (& some others). Some are more "sales" than "engineer" & others are more "engineer" than "sales". Each type of person has their place. EG if you are targeting consultants to get your kit specified you had better be more Engineer than Sales otherwise they will find you out. However, if you have to deal with hairy arsed builders or contractors then a good line in bull**** is more of an advantage since they are only installing what someone else has specified & don't need to know the technicalities. Better still if you can do both skills.

I know "sales engineers" that sell VRV/VRF, splits, chillers, AHU's, FCU's & all manor of other HVAC equipment that don't have any recognised industry qualifications except the experience they have gained over many years. These guys are valued by potential employers for their contacts - "little black book".
I also know others that are diploma'd & degree'd up to the limit but they don't have any experience (yet) and couldn't tell a dirty joke to save their life.
It's horses for courses.

My personal preference is to be sold to by someone who knows what they are talking about & not just paraphrasing a load of old sales patter. I then use my judgement to decide if what they are trying to sell me is what I need or not. So that means someone with experience which only comes after a certain amount of time served in the industry gaining practical, theoritical, technical & life skills.

Just my opinion you understand.

Having said all that I'm currently looking for a new role myself as a sales engneer / Business Development manager, account manager or whatever else I can find after falling victim to the **** economy we are experiencing. Perhaps I should study banking? I couldn't make a worse job of it as the last lot of bonus greedy bottom feeders that got us into this mess (rant over).

It seems to me that there are more opportunities and jobs out their for an "on the tools" engineer like you than guys like me that drive a car or a desk all day & have to meet sales quotas and profit margin targets. Hey, with all that knowledge maybe I should become a banker after all.

Good luck with your career whichever side you choose. HVAC / refrigeration is a good industry to be in & there are opportunities for all types of people with different skill levels and age groups.