Is power engineer a good choice for a career change?
 

The nursing career didn't work out for me and now I'm in search of a new path to take. I am thinking of taking the power engineering technology at SAIT but still debating if I as a woman will fit in this industry. I just wanted to know the pro's and con's of this career, responsibilities, challenges and what's happening on a day to day basis. I just really wanted to be enlightened.thank you:)

Excellent choice
 

Couldn't choose a better career, excellent wages and so versatile as far as the many industries requiring power engineers. Oilfield is by far the highest paying but the more risky option as far as longevity. I've been a power engineer for approx 8 years now and never have had one regret. I've spoken to many who have been doing this thru economy ups and downs and all agree that they have never worried about work even with projects closing down and what not. The job can be mundane at times and others overwhelming so it is very dynamic. There are always opportunities to move into many different positions and pay brackets. I would say there is pros and cons for women, slight advantage to get a job initially, and some other operators are resistant to women but I have seen that change quickly when women show they are capable of performing same standard of work. It's just the way it is, but times are changing and ignorant attitudes. Companies are all very fair regardless of sex. It is a great job to choose and I would highly recommend you take the chance. Also much easier to get your foot in the door with a minimum of a 3rd class ticket.

power engineering
 

Depends why you are considering taking the course and choosing that career? There are far too many who get into it knowing nothing about it other than good pay, lots of days off due to shift work, a parent or relative works in operations and says it is easy, etc. Then when they do get a job they really struggle because they took it for all the wrong reasons. In this province, getting a job won't be hard if you finish the course, but if you can't handle various aspects of the job and are getting into it just for the money, you may be in for a surprise. Just my opinion. I just think there are far too many that come on here asking about it and get the "great gig, good money, lots of time off" replies, but are unaware of the other sides of things. Will you like swinging valves for a few hours at -30? Can you work nights shifts? Are you ok with women making up only about 5-10% of the work force? Can you handle pressure, if you end up working on a panel and can't take it, that won't be a good situation for you. Do you have mechanical aptitude? The majority of what you take in school you won't use once you are on the job, mostly the math and physics aspect. Just curious, why did the nursing route not work out for you? Not trying to disuade you one way or the other, but I am noticing a lot of people getting into this field are not turning out to be the best candidates once they are hired. This may or may not help, good luck.

One answer, great career opportunities, great pay and lots of demand.

Yes if you can get your third class it would be better, a fourth won't get you a job anywhere. I speak from experience

power engineering technology is probably the best route to get into a job... either that or a two year program where you write your 3rd and 4th.

It is basically operating stationary equipment, you will do pretty much everything to keep that equipment running unless its more major repairs and you need electricians, millrights, mechanics etc. Part of your job in many places will be 10% janitor cleaning up mess in work areas.

Then theres the chemicals...Pretty much every plant has gnarly chemicals and tonnes of them. Alot of places ship and recieve by rail or truck so you will be loading and unloading chemicals, moving rail cars around in your yard. Would you be comfortable unloading or loading rail cars full of h2s or sulpher dioxide? Thats enough chemical to wipe a town/city out.... and youll get the pleasure of working with these things.

Then theres the labour aspect.... cracking huge valves where youre reefing on them for 3-5 minutes, cleaning out heat exchangers and vessels etc.


alot of people get discouraged when they find out the reality of it..... the machines more or less run themselves, you have to clean up after them and maintain them. When processes or equipment stops running your there to shut it down and figure out how to get it running ASAP.... like done yesterday lol, managment gets excited real quick when hundreds of millions of dollars worth of plant stops spitting out product or off grade products.

I would say go to a plant and see if you can get a tour or interview an employeee... anyone thats been at it for awhile will say its a cats azz because they have a cushy co trol room job etc. my grandpa told me the only rough part was working nights, haha

Its a different job thats for sure... probably about 20% labour 10% janitor 40% walking/driving around checking on stuff and recording production taking and anylizing samples of stuff, 10% maintenance or more and maybe up to a quarte of your day appearing to be usefull or like your on payroll not jsut hanging out in a plant lol

power engineering technology is probably the best route to get into a job... either that or a two year program where you write your 3rd and 4th.

It is basically operating stationary equipment, you will do pretty much everything to keep that equipment running unless its more major repairs and you need electricians, millrights, mechanics etc. Part of your job in many places will be 10% janitor cleaning up mess in work areas.

Then theres the chemicals...Pretty much every plant has gnarly chemicals and tonnes of them. Alot of places ship and recieve by rail or truck so you will be loading and unloading chemicals, moving rail cars around in your yard. Would you be comfortable unloading or loading rail cars full of h2s or sulpher dioxide? Thats enough chemical to wipe a town/city out.... and youll get the pleasure of working with these things.

Then theres the labour aspect.... cracking huge valves where youre reefing on them for 3-5 minutes, cleaning out heat exchangers and vessels etc.


alot of people get discouraged when they find out the reality of it..... the machines more or less run themselves, you have to clean up after them and maintain them. When processes or equipment stops running your there to shut it down and figure out how to get it running ASAP.... like done yesterday lol, managment gets excited real quick when hundreds of millions of dollars worth of plant stops spitting out product or off grade products.

I would say go to a plant and see if you can get a tour or interview an employeee... anyone thats been at it for awhile will say its a cats azz because they have a cushy co trol room job etc. my grandpa told me the only rough part was working nights, haha

Its a different job thats for sure... probably about 20% labour 10% janitor 40% walking/driving around checking on stuff and recording production taking and anylizing samples of stuff, 10% maintenance or more and maybe up to a quarte of your day appearing to be usefull or like your on payroll not jsut hanging out in a plant lol

The 2-year tech program is definitely the way to go. Coming out of it with 1/2 a second is huge. That's where the demand is. These days, a 4th isn't worth the paper its printed on, and even a 3rd doesn't carry as much weight as it once did.

As a woman getting into it, know that there are more and more in the field every day. Understand that as the newbie, you will start in positions 1/2 a step above laborer. Work hard and you will progress quickly. Just for the love of all things holy don't use the "I'm a girl and this is hard - can you do it for me?" line. That'll ruin your chances rea quick. That being said, two of the most talented operators I know are women (tiny ones at that!)

Now to inhibit a few alarms before bedtime. ;-)

79ford hit the nail on the head. There can be a lot of physical work, but when things are running smoothly, your doing checks, taking samples etc.

It's imperative that you try and get a student job during the summer. That experience is priceless and there are plenty of opportunities for students to work in the summer as operaters. Networking is just as important as the schooling.

I have been a power engineer for 11 years. I have noticed that women seem to get injured a lot more than men. It seems like the majority can't pull their weight and it just adds to everyone elses workload. I have seen a few work just a couple of night shifts and quit.

I would really look into it and get some plant tours etc to see if it is really something that you are going to like and be able to excel at.

I hope this isn't offensive, it is my honest experience.

Good luck!

I have been doing the gig for near 28 yrs now, for just 2 different Co's.
As already stated, rookies to get in, usually start as students, need to work their butts off. Vet operators are the ones that are asked their opinion of you when the full time opportunities come up, lab tests, gas tests, routine stuff. Some of our students who chose to spend more time on the computer over routine work, are still looking for full time work.
To OP as a woman getting into this, no different than a guy, work work.
The control room / panel opportunity usually follows in 5 - 7 yrs.

TBark

We have a woman power engineer at work. She is an excellent worker. She is a few papers away from her 3rd class and is only 23. The disturbing part is.. She has been looking for another job over the last year as she feels she would like to broaden her experience. She has applied to quite a few places with no luck, one place she has applied to over the past year hired one of our other power engineers and just hired another one just this week. Don't know if it makes a difference but they were both males.

look up job postings to see whats out there that would interest you too.... power engineers are everywhere, large buildings, hospitals, laundry and linen service companys, malls, brewerys, rail termi als, cement plants maybe?

There is also the marine engi eer avenue.... one of my family memmbers wrote her 4th then used that to get on with writing her marine engineers ticket. She worked on the ferries in bc.

NOISE...... everything is noisy, if you like peace and quiet there isnt much of that lol

It's great if you are in the right program. Here in PG I am currently taking my 4th year in college. The course itself counts as my firing time so I can write my part A and B and have my full ticket by the end of the course.
Then our college has a deal with canfor that they will hire 16 students from my class to work over the summer to get firing time for our 3rd. If you do it through correspondence you have to find somewhere that will give you firing time.
You can basically work anywhere. Wherever steam, pressure vessels or boilers are being used you can work in. You can work in small plants like the one in my college for heating water, big plants for creating power, pulp mills use steam boilers for many reasons, the oil sands use steam to soften up the deposits, breweries (everyone's dream job lol) use pressure vessels for their fermentation etc. The list goes on and on.
Just make sure to get your 3rd class as 4th is harder to find jobs with. Sometimes though the companies might be looking for 3rds but will hire 4ths if they can't find any 3rds.
Chances are you wont reach the panel for a few years. You will probably be the person going out taking samples and doing the dirty work for the higher up engineers.
From what I've heard there is heavy lifting and lots of confined spaces. I've been lifting weights and losing weight so I can move some heavy valves and fit in a few confined spaces.
The course itself here isnt that hard at all. The lowest mark in my class is 80% and we are nowhere from geniuses. If you have any more questions just private message me.
I'll be taking my part A exam in Dec. 13th.

sorry for bumping an old thread but can someone tell me a little bit about camp life for the major companies? Is it mostly other operators that you live with or are you stuck with riggers?

how about showers and toilets, are they usually private or communal?

Don't worry about it. I don't think the rig guys would mind sharing accomodations with Operators. It's not like they're generally stuck up or feel a sense of entitlement that they would feel above sharing camp accomodations with other trades.

Many camps have a "Jack and Jill" setup which means you have your own bedroom but share a toilet and shower with one other person. The camps can vary though so best to check ahead with each particular camp.

In the oil sands they are mostly pretty nice from what I've seen, they all vary and with more places going to fly in fly out they are playing one up-man ship to see who has the nicest place to recruit folks.

most camps are pretty good I am guessing, the worst camp I was ever in was when I worked the rigs about 9 years ago.... It was some camp they dragged out of the yard because everyone was soo busy.... Even that was not bad, we had to go up on the roof a few times to get satelite tv going at the one location, and we were up by the territorys.

At worst you might get 1st world problems like bland food or small tv's around ftmac.

I know this post is old but I was just wondering if you had decided to get into power engineering? I too am a woman looking to get into it. Im not fully decided on it yet.