Career Spotlight:Manufacturing Engineering
Are you the sort of person who wonders why something works and then enjoys getting their hands dirty to find out how? If so, engineering might be the career for you, says Jonathon Mercer, Operations Director of DEM Design Engineering Management.
1. What is manufacturing engineering?
My branch of engineering is perhaps more theoretical and not as mathematical as say, mechanical engineering. We look at production management and oversee the factory shop floor. Our aim is to make assembly lines work to their full potential, to oversee the smooth-running of assembly lines, as well as sourcing materials and being involved in new product lines. For example, when a new product is being made, we"ll go to a manufacturer to talk about how to build in different quirks of design to make it easier to process on the assembly line.
2. How did you get into it?
I used to work for an oil company in sales and marketing and didn"t enjoy it. I preferred to get my hands dirty. There were several employees in my team who came from engineering backgrounds so I thought if they can come to the marketing side, surely I can go to their side. I enrolled as a mature student at college and haven"t looked back.
3. What do you do?
My chosen industry is brand management. So I could be manufacturing bespoke signage for blue chip clients, or surveying multiple base sites for a signage company. I might also do what we call rapid audits, where I survey sites for design consultancies. For example, if you had the job of rebranding British Airways, there are 400 sites worldwide and someone needs to survey all those sites. Another area of work is carrying out technical surveys for manufacturers, which involves working out what an existing sign is made from and what the exact dimensions are, so the manufacturer can work from my information. We also install signs for signage manufacturers as well as manufacture low-tech signage for our own clients.
4. What do you enjoy about your job?
For a start, I have a very easy-going boss! I"m self-employed, so I enjoy the flexibility of being able to pick and choose what jobs to take. For example, in winter I might decide not to do any outdoor installations but focus on project management instead, whereas in summer I"ll take on high level installation jobs that get me outside.
I also enjoy doing a job well. My company is recognised for doing good quality technical work and being able to advise manufacturers. For example, if we survey a supermarket that has three sides that can"t be seen from the road, we can advise them to reduce their signage on those sides and maximise impact on the side that is clearly seen.
There"s good money involved but, obviously, if you"re self-employed it comes at a cost.
5. What skills do you need to be a manufacturing engineer?
It"s essential to be a good communicator because you spend a lot of time working on the shop floor. You need to be able to get on with everyone and not come across as superior in any way - otherwise people wouldn"t want to cooperate. You should also be mathematically-driven and mechanically-minded - to have an interest in the way things work and why they work well or don"t work well. So, if you"re the sort of person who is interested in the steering wheel of a car and working out why it goes round a corner when you turn it this could be the career for you.
6. What are the career prospects?
It"s great because you can become self-employed and set up your own company like I have, or you can choose to join a large company. There"s a lot of consultancy work involved in engineering, so there are also lots of City-based engineering consultancies out there that advise companies on their manufacturing processes. These days, manufacturers only have limited plants because they"re so expensive, so if they want to branch out into a new product, the engineering consultancy will advise them what manufacturing equipment they"ll need.
7. What advice do you have for anyone wanting to become a manufacturing engineer?
A degree is essential and I"d recommend doing a three-year sandwich degree with a year in industry. From there, you can choose which area you want to go into - whether it"s electrical, material or even green-based (working with renewable energy resources).
