I've been a long time lurker. Thanks for the great deals. Hope to give something back to the community.
I'm recently married, we live with my parents till we can afford a small place of our own.
Study part time, Engineer full time and help out with my parents small business.
Go Ahead, AMA
I'm studying a masters in electronics and electrical engineering from RMIT. Why, because think it will be harder later once work gets more demanding and when I have a family etc. Also the course ties in closely with projects at work eg. High voltage engineering, programming plc's. It's good to have access to the university professors and teaching staff,they are quite willing to help with problems our company faces in the industry.
Did you also do undergrad study at RMIT?
What business do your parents have?
What is your background? Were you born in Australia?
Does your wife enjoy living with your parents?
What first home are you looking for? When you say "till we can afford", does that mean enough for a loan deposit or are you planning to pay in full? When will this be?
Sorry if too many questions. .. I am curious!
They have a jewelry and accessories store.
Did my high school in India then we moved here as a family. My wife is from Australia.
Yes we all get along quite well, sometimes it gets a bit much since there are five adults in the house but nothing major. My parents are pretty easy going and open so that helps.
Yeah this is an interesting question, realistically till we can afford a deposit on a small investment property 300-400K. That way we have bought into the market and can rent somewhere inner city for a few years and re-evaluate. We are aiming to save in a year and a half. At this point we are trying no to get too emotional on house types and areas since the housing market changes.
Nice :) Thanks for answering. It's interesting to see how others go about these things! :)
What is your point of doing this AMA?
A willingness to share stuff about his life I guess? I don't really see anything wrong with it.
Not understanding why people like nxr777 are saying he's nothing special. Who said AMAs were exclusive to "special" people? And who is to decide who is or isn't special?
I think I'd even find it interesting reading about a 25 year old woolies checkout chick or maccas cashier
Part experiment part introduction. I've never really been on a forum before, I'm am going to start an engineering blog soon so thought its best to put myself out there and see what happens
Since most of us here are into saving money, I wanted to see how many people could relate to my current situation being in my mid twenties.
Dunno some of us may be bored whilst lurking for ozbargains? 😉
I also am a mechs tropics engineer, worst degree ever (at least at RMIT) all the other engineer discipline all just look down and laugh
Do I need a beast computer for AutoCAD?
We have a beastish computer at work running solidworks and auto cad. Most of that performance is required when we are doing renders, 3 hours on a slow computer vs 45mins on a good machine. It has an ISV certified graphics card so realview can be enabled. I do a lot of the initial design work on standard dell laptop and its fine.
In short no, unless you're designing a huge assembly and running simulations and renders. I'm sure quite a lot of people will disagree here but I guess it depends on your budget and expectations.
Would you recommend Mechatronics engineering? I love both the electrical and mechanical side of engineering so I feel that it's the best mix for me, but the job market seems lacking? Thoughts?
Its a tricky question, employment amongst my mates from the same course has been mixed. Quite a few of them are struggling after two years to find something and some are doing really well once they got in. Companies that employed us seem to be employing a lot more mechatronics compared to the traditional mechanical and electronics engineers separately. Its easier to get into project management as well since its easy to understand high level systems for a multi disciplinary project. eg. Pneumatics, PLC's, 3 phase power calculations, Finite element analysis, its all familiar to mechatronics engineers. A friend of mine who did the same course as me is now handling a project which has all of the above thrown at him.
I see a temporary struggle for some time till more companies learn of our existence.
If you are outgoing and are willing to take an initiative, I would recommend Mechatronics.
What i mean by that is
being a part of university competitions(Formula SAE, TI robotics competition etc.) its not uncommon for universities to pay for you to fly internationally for the finals if you make it.
maintaining a relationship with professors and asking them if they have any industry sponsored "mini projects" that you can be a part of. A lot of times companies call up academics and offer projects for students things like building a test jig, programming a device or bigger projects eg. biomed stuff like automating tissue culturing using a robotic arm.
Students who dont ask, never get a chance. Students who do, have an awesome resume and industry contacts.
This is just my two cents based on what I have seen.
Hope it helps.
From the job prospects I've seen in Australia (8+ years in engineering consulting, and on both side of the fence as a supplier & contractor, you're better off specializing.
You don't expect much change in the next 4 years?
As a mechatronics engineer with a few years more experience than @notcreative , here is my professional opinion.
Mechatronics is a very broad degree which does set you up to be able to work in a wide range of areas, however it is not really specialised enough for most employers to recognise the benefits.
If an employment effort is being spearhead by an engineer or project manager, mechatronics engineers are somewhat sort after. If it's being handled by a HR person, then your CV would normally just go in the bin as your title doesn't say the right thing.
If I take a look at my graduating class and what they are doing now, here is an indication:
-Few in project management
-I&C Engineer (pure)
-Electrical Engineer (pure)
-Estimator
-Mechanical Engineer (pure)
-Applications Engineer (multi-discipline)
I am very fortunate because the work I do is truly multi-discipline, as such I am very sort after in my particular area - but this was only a result of getting a job in this particular segment some years ago.
Would I recommend it?
It depends on the program that the particular university is offering - the only way you are going to find this out is if you go talk to recent graduates - Young Engineers Australia networking events are great for this.
If you had asked me 8 years or so ago when I graduated I would have said it was a waste and I should have become more specialized.
Looking back now I can see the benefits of it, but in saying that I think a lot could have been learnt on the job with the right training.
Hello! What prompted you to start an AMA forum post?
I have responded to the same question above :)
What recent/modern PC game should I buy?
I wish I had time to play games :(
the last game I properly played was StarCraft.
Tf2
What's your ethnic background and where did you grow up ?
What are your goals thisyear?
What regrets do you have growing up?
What struggles have you overcome growing up?
What is the meaning of life?
Hope to give something back to the community.
Can you be a bit more specific? What do you mean by 'something'?
I grew up in India. Moved here after school.
Have more fun and try to properly switch off when I'm not working.
Could have done better at school but the education system in india wasn't for me.
Moving to Australia wasn't a struggle but it was a big change and it took us a while to adjust. Knowing that friends and family you have known since childhood are not around is a bit isolating. It didn't feel bad at the time but now that things are settled and we have a network here it feels much better.
I ask myself that a lot, couldn't tell ya.
What I meant by that is keeping a lookout for bargains and posting them here if I find any.
Hope to give something back to the community.
What I meant by that is keeping a lookout for bargains and posting them here if I find any.
Good on ya mate we love you
. Hope to give something back to the community.
What did you take? What are you planning on giving back?
Eneloops…
I took a lot of good deals!
Give back the same hopefully
Hey mate
Fellow engineer here (Aeronautical), 24 years old, 2 years experience
Are you happy with your pay package, and are you able to tell me your range ?
Back home (when I was in Aus) $60k-$65k
Currently Oseas $100-$110k
Same role, same job, same title
Are you getting 110k in pesos?
AUD
Where do you work overseas?
edit: nvm already asnwered.
New question: How did you get this job in use?
Which country?
UAE - AbuDhabi
Do you plan to settle there or come back ?
@notcreative: I plan to come back for sure. I love Aus. Australia is home and there is no better place in this world than home :)
I am currently in the late 60's. I am happy with this as work is not too stressful and the hours are good. Helps me work on my masters, small business etc.
I wouldn't be happy if the work wasn't good.
Whats the tax situation?
Australian tax applies or tax free?
Do you have any hobby projects that you work upon on the side?
These days I'm growing vegetables and cooking (fun cooking - with thermometers, convoluted steps etc. think Heston type stuff.).
I built a hifi amp a few years ago.
Theres too many projects, not enough time!
OP - how much do you get?
op pls
Average elec/mech engineer is probably around 85k with around 5 of years experience.
Senior engineer is probably around 100k
Associate level is probably around 120-130k. Based average Melbourne engineering consultancy rates.
Industrial site based or remote based is probably a fair bit higher.
As comparison, A Grade sparkies @ my company take home average 130 (with abit of overtime and weekend shifts)
Moral of the story, be an Electrician.
Aren't associates meant to be getting much less than seniors?
Goes like graduate -> associate -> non-associate (whatever profession) -> senior -> the stars ..?
@inose: I think he means associate level consultant. Consultants are paid a lot more (to my knowledge anyway, I'm no engineer)
Usually the progression is the following
graduate/junior engineer - engineer - senior engineer - principal / associate
Usually associates will be part of profit sharing in the business.
p.s consultants arent that well paid these days, there's a whole glut of them with the mining and O&G down turn. Also there are a lot of non-critical / laborious work now being farmed offshore to low cost countries.
I have already answered that above.
Hi, thanks for doing this AMA.
I'm a primary school teacher in Sydney and want to start teaching my students basic electronics, coding, mechanics, etc. Using Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Lego, robotic arms, etc.
I'd love to know your thoughts on what things might be useful for me to teach.
Cheers!
I'll get back to you on that one.it's a really good idea,I'll have a look and see if there are specific platforms out there for young kids
That's brilliant, thanks so much.
I had a quick look, a few things that stood out are
Scratch paired with an arduino. Its a very visual programming language.
Lego Mindstorms is a really good option too, its less likely to get damaged and will keep them engaged.
I think basic concepts
electronics
1. Batteries can energise a motor, if the polarity is reversed the motor changes direction
2. Making an electromagnet
3. turning a DC motor to generate electricity (visually by powering a light bulb)
Mechanical
gearboxes - how they can be used to step up speed, or "do more work" by gearing down to lift or move a heavy object.
Software
the concept of logic
flow of commands (loops, if then else statements)
will go a long way in setting up good concepts in students minds on how things work.
I was doing this sort of stuff at that age but I was obsessed!
I'm not sure if the above is too simple or too complicated for that age group.
Let me know
Is your part time studies fully online?
Its all on campus, the most I get to do remotely is watch lectures (or the audio) at home or while driving. There is a lot of hands-on lab work and tutes that cannot be missed.
How do you work full time then?
I pick classes in the evening or late afternoon. If I have to leave early one day, I work back late the next day.
Usually before semester starts I meet with my boss and work out the best way forward with the timetable.
@notcreative: Pretty good how your boss is. How many hours do you study each week?
I imagine your weekends are full on study?
Any caffeine/stimulants to help you get through the week?
Yeah work is really good with it. 6-8 hours on average. Mid semester break is when I catch up with a lot of stuff and then the last few weeks are pretty crazy.
We get single origin beans at work that are crucial to my existence!
[AMA] I'm a 25 Year Old Mechtronics Engineer from Melbourne, Married. Hello
and a narcissist
Mate, the forum category is called "Introduce Yourself".
Hi, I am fourth (final) year Mechatronics Engineering student, graduating Nov'16. I've got great academic record and very good at programming, CAD, circuit design, signal processing and problem solving in general. My areas of interest are: Control Systems, automation, MEMS and designing. OP I would love get some suggestions on which industries or companies to target for my first graduate job. Any advice for job hunt in general? Also, are graduate programs the good or bad? Lemme know if you need more info. Thanks :)
All your areas of interest sound versatile. I continued on from my IBL placement to a full time position. I didn't go through the graduate job hunting process so I wouldn't be able comment on graduate programs and specific companies to apply for.
Do you have any existing work experience ?
Interview tips, be to the point and confident with your answers. Go through interview practice questions so that you don't get stumped by a silly question. People like candidates who are relatable and not awkward.
Job hunting tips: A lot of companies (including ours) know that engineering faculty at university. They call staff directly and ask if they can recommend a good graduate to fill a role. Make sure the head of your course and important lecturers know you by name and that you are intelligent and dependable.
Find last years graduates from your course on linkedin and see where they got placed, those companies might be looking for more engineers this year. You have a good chance if they have hired mechatronics engineers before.
Automation companies, both the manufacturers of robotic equipment and solution providers are good places to look.
Don't discount smaller firms, you will get to work on a lot more than you would in a larger organisation with less politics (ideally).
There are a lot of small electronics companies that do specialised embedded work (fpga, dsp etc) and project work. Have a look and see if any of them are hiring.
I really appreciate your help. I have done a couple of vacation research projects at uni. I rang a few smaller manufacturing companies but they did not want to take-in a "uni student" due to bad experiences with previous students.
A lot of main lecturers know me by name so that's good I guess.
I did do the LinkedIn research but the problem is that I could not find many Mechatronics engineers ( and no one whom I could contact ). This makes me worry that maybe not many Mechatronics engineers are employed atm.
I think I can handle any technical interview question quite easily and I am not very awkward. I think I might do well. Thanks for your help again.
Have you looked at Production Engineer, Warehouse Engineer, Controls Engineer, System Engineer, Industrial Engineer in the Logistics/Distribution environment?
I am an Ind. Eng. and have been working with companies like Dematic, SwissLog etc on conveyors project, and they have a big piece of Controls/Software/PLC to be taken care of.
@akastyl13: This is exactly the information I was after. Earlier I did not know what to look for let alone where. But I now have good enough of an idea. Much appreciated :)
So you're and engineer and they get paid pretty well. And your married.. hmm
But are you happily married ?
call me Xxx. 0424 055 422
lol
Why are you notcreative?
Not creative at making usernames, they sorta put me in the spot. Apart from that I'm ok
we are engineers, we are not meant to be creative. We solve problems and only problems.
What are you studying part-time and why?