Electrical & Instrumentation Designer

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I'm here for some advice on getting into design. As of now I'm 20, and looking to work as an E&I designer in the oil and gas industry. From what I understand an individual will start out as a basic drafter and if they're talented they have the potential to move up into design positions. I'm looking for some advice on getting that inital drafting positon. I'm considering a Penn Foster CAD drafting cert, or a cert from my local University. I'm also working as an Electrical Apprentice. I'm curious if a cert and hands on electrical experience will be valuable enough to an Engineering firm to bring me on as an entry level drafter? I realize that 99% of becoming a designer is on the job training. Thanks all

[dgorsman]

Very few EPCs hire "just" drafters these days.  They'll teach you how to use the software as they've got it set up and what their clients require; chances are most of the drafting you'd be taught would be thrown out.  What they want from you is somebody who knows the discipline and industry, what standards to refer to and when and where they should be applied.

Being qualified with H2S, WHMIS, first aid, "bear aware" (depending on location) and other safety procedures is essential if you plan on being in the field.

[Icemanau]

It depends on how you look at things as well.

I'm technically an electrician and have spent close to 40 years in the field working at various jobs.

However, I've always been very good at reading circuits and designing control systems.

My third job after finishing my apprenticeship involved desiging and wiring control systems for generators up to 500kW for use in remote power stations.

This included programming PLC's when we started using them for engine control.

Several other jobs have also included control system design which has culminated in my current position where I design control circuits for HV CB's.

In all of that, I've never gotten any sort of qualification other than my basic Electrical Certification which I always keep current and a certificate from our local Autodesk reseller for a training course on Electrical 2008.

We did have one guy here who was going through the whole Electrical Design Engineer qualification but he decided to leave for another company shortly after he got qualified. We do have an Electrical Engineer but he is more for checking dwgs and dealing with clients rather than doing all the design work.

I'm actually the one who has designated our curent standards based on what I learnt working in the field and seeing quite a few different dwg layouts and standards. In my opinion, the more field knowledge you have, the better. Theoretical Engineers can design stuff all they want, but they generally have no experience on what works in the field compared to what works on paper. I can't recall the number of times that I had to design a field fix for a circuit that didn't work in the field but did work on paper.

I guess it's more a matter of what your company wants in regards to paperwork and any local laws which would determine what qualifications you need or want to acquire.

Regards Brad

[ccad2509]

You need to know your local market

In the UK the routes to instrumentation designer/engineer are basically two routes

Through an apprenticeship scheme and college doing installation/maintenance in the oil and gas sector and building up real world practical experience before you migrate into the design side but even then you need to progress you education as designers now require more often a degree in engineering

The second route is straight to university get a degree in a relevant engineering discipline and through a graduate programme into the oil and gas industry

there are a few exceptions but if I was to do it all over again I would not go for oil and gas I would go for pharmaceutical plants as the work is more technically challenging and the labour market is more stable than oil and gas

Here in the UK if the spot price in oil drops below $50 USD a barrel than a lot of offshore oil extraction stops and is mothballed

one major contractor here in the UK has laid off 5000 engineers last year so be aware unless your very very very good at what you do then job stability is a question here

One base skill you do require is basic cad skills as loop generation and most design as an electrical/instrumentation designer is done on AutoCAD LT

here in the UK there are nationally recognised qualification in AutoCAD (city and guilds) which are recognised  by employers here and when I did my 3d modelling city and guilds course  the UK government was subsidising these courses because at the time the UK government recognised there is a national skills shortage in 3d modelling)

so checking out what employers where you are accept as a AutoCAD qualification would be a start and investigating whether there is government grants/and subsidies may make it a lot cheaper for you to gain industry recognised qualifications

[Anonymous]

Well, my local market is a little unique. I live in Alaska and plan to work in the Anchorage engineering community. Here in Alaska formal education isn't as important as skills and competency. However, I am now going to get a degree in Engineering Technology rather than any sort of certificate.

[TRLitsey]

What a long strange trip it has been … I had my first AWS welding certificate before I had my high school diploma. Twelve years later I went to a junior college.  I worked for an electrical contractor to put myself through to a computer science A.S. and an A.A. in mathematics.  Went to work for a multi-national company where each facility had to maintain facility drawing of all disciplines (electrical, structural, P&ID, etc).  My boss who was an electrical engineer offered to set me up with an AutoCAD work station if I would maintain the drawings because he did not want to be bothered with it.  Six years later I went to work for a company that designs custom automation equipment.  I have been playing that game for close to 20 years now.  For machine design and build I can do just about everything except turn a ball on a lathe.  However, I am usually one of the better ACE operators and defiantly the fastest so drawing ends up being the lion share of my work day.  Which is a good thing, I love AutoCAD Electrical.  Currently I work for an electrical PE.  He draws up what he wants on bar napkins and I lay the pretty components into a schematic and figure out how to wire it all up.  I offer to do the panel builds and wiring but he always says ‘No, we have assembly people for that, I have another project for you, here look at this napkin …’ lol.

So I am with the other folks here. The ‘drafting’ is only a tool to convey ideas and specification.  Pick one or some type of professional work you want to do and study it.  This is not to say that you HAVE to earn a 4 year degree but, know this, a degree will make a significant impact on your income.  A tech like me makes pretty good money but I will never earn what my electrical engineer PE boss makes.  Learn the safety and build codes that will apply to your craft.  Be prepared to shift your type of work a little one way or another.  You may be designing robots at one job and the next week you are laying out a motor control center with a million conduit runs in a food processing plant.

And above all, remember to have fun. If it ever gets where you don’t want to go to your job, the work is absolute boredom, or you lose respect for the people you have to work with, it is time for a change my friend.  Good luck

[jseefdrumr]

For what it's worth...

In my experience, a company starts you out in a position that suits the company. It may not always be an entry-level drafting position. It could be field work.

My first degree was in Civil Engineering Technology. We learned a broad array of things, from materials testing to surveying to basic highway design. We had two semesters of cad, one for ACAD and the other for Microstation (used by our state hwy dept). Not too deeply in any one area of course, but enough to give us a basic understanding of things. My fist job started newbies out in the field testing concrete and mortar. In that company a desk job was like a perk. It wasn't until later that I started doing cad work full-time. When that happened, I realized how valuable the field experience had been.

Now, working with ACAD Electrical as an Electrical Engineering Technician, I have found the same to be true: After getting my Electrical Technology degree, I worked in electronics repair. Now, as a drafter/designer, I constantly find little ways in which my technician experience makes be a better designer.

This seems to be a constant, in the design vs construction world: a certain amount of polarization between those in the field and those in the office. That being said, to me there's no doubt that having experience on one side helps you become better on the other side.

IMO, you're doing the right thing by getting a degree rather than a certificate. But, don't neglect any opportunities to get out in the field and see 'how it's done'. The knowledge you can pick up from spending an afternoon with a bunch of people who have been doing their work for decades is probably more valuable than twice that much time spent in a classroom.

Good Luck,

Jim