Client, Consultant, Contractor or OEM? Know Where You Want to Work
Stop Applying to Engineering Companies You Don’t Understand
NOT EVERY MECHANICAL ENGINEER DOES THE SAME WORK
One of the biggest problems I see is graduates applying to companies without understanding what kind of company they are approaching.
Across most engineering sectors, you will find five broad groups:
CLIENT → CONSULTANT → CONTRACTOR → OEM/VENDOR → FABRICATOR
Each performs a different part of the project.
A CLIENT owns or operates the plant.
The engineers may focus on operations, reliability, maintenance, asset management and capital projects.
A CONSULTANT develops the scope, calculations, specifications, models, drawings and engineering documentation.
The engineers coordinate the design and ensure it meets the client’s requirements.
A CONTRACTOR plans and completes the physical work.
Its engineers may focus on procurement, construction, scheduling, quality, safety, commissioning and site coordination.
An OEM OR VENDOR supplies specialised equipment such as pumps, valves, crushers, conveyors or packaged systems.
Its engineers need detailed product and application knowledge.
A FABRICATOR manufactures items such as platforms, pipe spools, tanks, skids and structural steel.
Its engineers often work close to the workshop, drawings, materials, welding and production.
These companies are interconnected but the engineers inside them are doing different work.
That is why saying:
“I know AutoCAD and SolidWorks”
is not enough.
You need to understand:
• What the company delivers
• Who its clients are
• Where it sits in the project lifecycle
• What problems its engineers solve
• How your current skills could support that work
If you have been looking for engineering work for one or two years, the answer is not always sending more applications.
Sometimes the real problem is that you still cannot clearly explain the work you are asking to do.
Learn the sector.
Understand the project.
Understand the company.
Then learn how to communicate your value.
Mark Healy
GRADUATE COACH™
If you dont understand where you can work, then set up a time to discuss, use the link below
https://lnkd.in/gbVzm3mG
Preparation is something we can provide. Application is the graduate’s responsibility.
