Looking for a career change as a design engineer. Need advice :)

[crofty]

Calling all professional Design Engineers. I have an engineering background with Production, Sales and Estimating and basic CNC operation in the manufacturing industry. I have been self teaching myself the Fusion 360 software and so far, im enjoying it. I haven't been an active engineer for over a year but I would like to get a career as a design engineer. I would like some advice on what the recommended method would be to get a job as a designer, wether you'd recommend doing an online course to gain a certificate, some advice on what to put down on a cv and some reviews on life as a design engineer etc. I can add my cv on here if you would like to check it out and offer advice.

My main goal is to gain experience with a company and or process to working freelance on sites such as Fiver and Upwork. I would love to work independently so that I have the freedom to travel in my camper van and work from my MacBook.

I welcome all advice on this topic. Please and Thank you 🙂

Jonathan.

[Mistress0fTheDorkness]

The vast majority of jobs in our industry are found through personal referrals (most jobs are never posted publicly). 

So, if you want to try it, I'd look around any local networking groups and try to attend meetups. 

Make sure your LinkedIn is active (with a current photo). Share and comment on others' posts, ask questions, reshare cool projects, share information you have from past experiences, just let yourself become 'known' (and easily findable).

If you find someone who does what you want to do, offer to take them out for coffee or lunch and find out their skills and daily job tasks, and how they found their job, etc.

(my experience with trying to use gigworking sites is that potential clients want to pay fast food money for design work... I never found a single client worth the time there. ymmv.)

[jagatheeshkhalane]

social activity is always beneficial when looking for a job

[rakugallery_bob]

Hey Jonathan! It’s awesome that you're learning Fusion 360. For transitioning into design engineering, I'd recommend taking an online course to get certificate. For your CV, highlight your engineering background and Fusion 360 skills. Start building a small portfolio with projects you’ve done. As for freelancing, try starting with small jobs on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to gain experience and work your way up.

I switched careers myself and now I’m doing web design while working with big brands like BlueNileLivery for their online presence, which has been a great experience. Good luck with your new career path!