Electronic Engineer Work Experience??

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nevadayz

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Greetings guys,


i'm in a bit of a dilemma and wanted some opinions on guys currently in the electronic engineering work environment, preferably design, robotics, renewables, cool stuff basically :o

I am currently working for a Petrochemical company here in SA, for the last 4 years, and have been in the field of Control, instrumentation and Automation. The work isn't bad but its not what i had planned for myself and not something i would want to specialize in the long run.

I am trying to find ways and opportunities to get into a field more related to what i'm interested in, but it is not the easiest thing, especially in South Africa.

Now this is where things get interesting, i got an offer from another Oil refinery company in Saudi, which is along the lines of what i am currently doing, so still not i wanna specialize in :(, BUT, the pay is insane, benefits are good, and i don't have any major commitments preventing me from leaving the country, also the contract is year based, so after they first year, they can either extend your contract or cancel it.
I have some major concerns though,

1. Getting a job after the contract is over
2. Doing work that is not in line with my desired field of work
3. Working in the middle east, away from friends and family.


I know its a once in a lifetime opportunity and that it most probably will set me up quite well further on in life, but do i sacrifice a year or so and go for it? and will it make it difficult to change my field of work afterwards? as much as experience is always the key when applying for jobs, won't the wrong experience be just as bad as NO experience??

Please help:cry:

Thanks guys
 
Go for the insane pay, enjoy your time abroad while still looking for what you would like to do later on...
 
SirFooK'nG said:
Go for the insane pay, enjoy your time abroad while still looking for what you would like to do later on...
Click to expand...

lol i wish i could just jump into it carefree, i tend to overthink these things and need to know how to plan whats gonna happen afterwards...
 
Would you ever go into business for yourself? If so getting some startup cap by working in Saudi for a year or three might be just the thing.
 
Go and collect some dough for a year or two. It puts you ahead for the rest of your life when you have a big chunk of money as you are starting out with your "grown-up" life. When you can come back you can buy a flat or put a big deposit on a house, if you stayed in SA that'd take you years to accomplish. Or you can invest it and use it later in life.

Also, Saudi isn't too big of a mission to get to, so it's relatively easy to come and visit SA. If you are on a single status contract they'd probably pay for you to fly home 2/3 times a year. It's also easy to visit the rest of the world for holiday since the Middle East is central. So it won't be fun when you are in Saudi, but you will get a lot out of it.

P.S. Start detaching yourself from bacon and beer.
 
Go abroad, the experience and networking early in your career will prove invaluable later on. Get a job once you get a wife/family.
 
When i got my electronics degree, there were no jobs in Africa for my skill set, so i ended up doing IT.
Have done IT for the last 18 years, am so bad at electronics stuff now, that my junior technicians take the piss when i have to solder anything or spend half an hour trying to remember kirchoffs law.

Take the money, and know that a relatively low percentage of people end up doing what they trained up for.
Saudi will kill your mojo though, so make sure you take a "sanity trip" to Istanbul, Dubai or Europe every couple of months, otherwise you will not last there for long
 
Nevadayz,

I've seen the job listing on PNet that you are looking at. I'm also in the petrochemical industry doing process control. There are a few questions you have to answer yourself:
1. Do you have a significant other that you leave behind?
2. Are you willing to work like a dog, for that kind of money, you might work 7days a week, 12 hours a day.

If the project is the one i think it is, it is a major experience opportunity because you'll probably never again have a chance to work on a project that size and it will look good on your CV. I wouldn't worry too much about getting a job when you come back, the demand for petrochemical experience is good in SA i rate. I've also been wanting to change careers but it's not the easiest thing to do.

LD
 
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