Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Please get a copy of The Potato Chip Difference. The subtitle is How to apply leading edge marketing strategies to landing the job you want. (www.potatochipdifference.com) *

There are many companies that need and want engineers and engineering skills in their sales representatives. The sales reps essentially serve as consulting engineers, bringing the company's solutions to engineering situations, and developing long-term relationships with customers who are themselves engineers.

What you need to do is identify those companies, talk to people who are familiar with them, research them thoroughly, and see if you can find a company that you think you can really help. What you're looking for is a company where the greatest need is for someone who does precisely what you want to do and where you can demonstrate your suitability. That's what the job search is all about: searching for the company that needs you as much as you need them.

Hope this helps. This strategic approach to a job search is the most effective way to get what you want. It's a lot of hard work, but at least when you've done it, you won't be asking this same question again in 2-3 years.


* You can get the book through Amazon.com or a major bookseller in the US, but if you order from the publisher at the link above, you also get a free booklet titled: 10 stupid things job seekers do that guarantee they'll be looking for work again soon.

I also had similar dilemma for a couple of year ago, so I would talk from my own experience.
In the first place, I would start with taking a decision, what do I really want to do? You seem not to be very happy with your current position, but you get money to live. You are also quite successful as a sell person and success always make feeling good and strengthen ones self-confidence. At the other site you've always wanted to be an engineer, you've graduated and spend some time on applying for this positions. To help yourself to decide, you can imagine yourself keeping the job you have (I mean it precisely: closing eyes and imaging you going to work, coming home, spending time with a family) and noticing how do you feel while doing it. And than imagine what your life would be if you though decide to work as a engineer.

If you decide to get your dream job as an engineer, you have to realise the path could be difficult. You may have to start from the lower position to get experience, you may get less money at the beginning. But I assume, you would be so much determinate to your task, that it would be worth it.
To have bigger chances in getting your dream position you should get know people in this industry (I think people get jobs not only because they have needed knowledge and experience – but mostly because somebody just liked them – it could be an answer for your doubts about your overseas studies). In order to get now the right people you could become a member of an engineers association, you could visit construction fairs, you could go to the nearest university and talk to some professor or join an Internet forum for engineers and take part in discussions, where you can prove your knowledge and be seen by someone. Taking up a course or pursuing a degree is also a possibility, but start with finding out if it would be enough if you take some exams, so your degree would be recognised in US? You can also look for a work agency, which is specialised in the industry, you are interested in, but I wouldn’t just send a CV – I would rather get an appointment with the consultant, so I could convince her/him, that despite a lack of experience I’m still a very good potential employee.

If you are quite positive that working as a engineer will make you a happier person, than go for it and don't let yourself to be discourage for example by you age. I thing it’s better to strain yourself for a while and than be a happy person for the rest of your life.
Good luck!

First... I love your question. You are in a fabulous position. Engineering skills AND sales/communications talent. This is in very short supply. There are just a handful of people in this world who walk in our shoes. Notice I said "our". I am an engineer too.

Have you considered becoming a sales engineer. I was a computer engineer by training, and I used that talent to become an expert in automation and motion control. But I discovered early on, the greatest opportunities lie in that very small pool of people who can speak to business people and engineers - a translator between the world of technical and the world of business.

If you would like to contact me via my profile, I would be thrilled to talk about the world of sales engineering.

Many people are faced with this same dilemma. You are very fortunate to have choices because of your multiple skills.

If you like engineering and are good at sells - sell to engineers. Most use expensive tools including custom workstation equipment and very expensive custom software applications. It is always a challenge for a custom software application developer/publisher to find someone who can understand the use of their software and also be able to close the deal.

Lastly, you're young, so continue to go to school while you work. It gets harder as you get older.

Best of Luck I am sure you will be successful, JohnnyB.
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First, stop fretting about being in your "strong" career phase. Find what really will make you professionally happy. It sounds like you stumbled into sales, and you were successful. Based on your description, it sounds like it's your second choice - your heart is in engineering. I'm sure in your area there's a professional organization of civil/structural engineers. Join it. Find out what people are doing. Find out what companies are hiring. What skills are they looking for. Find some mentors who can give you some clear advice - perhaps finding you an internship to get your skills current. You ability to sell may be a bonus to someone hiring you, and you may wish to parlay that into a position where you engineer 50% of the time and sell 50% of the time (if that's of interest to you).