Looking for Advice and Guidance on Career Pivot to Power Systems Engineering
Hi everyone!
This is my first time posting to reddit ever, so I hope I don't goof it up...
I'm looking for some insight and advice on a career switch to power systems engineering. This turned into a way longer post than I anticipated, so I'm sorry about the text wall. It's a lot context I guess.
I'm in a weird position right now due to a lack of introspection so I'll explain my background.
I graduated with a BS in Physics and Mathematics in 2021 and immediately went into a PhD program in Physics at UW-Madison. Long story short, the physics program wasn't working out and instead of sitting with discomfort and trying to understand what I really wanted in life I decided to transfer to the Biophysics program in the same school to study neuroscience because I "thought it was interesting." Fast forward 4 years and I'm coming to terms with the fact that I put myself into a Ph.D. I had no real interest in. I kept pushing thinking that I could always pivot through a postdoc or some crap, but I really do not enjoy any of my career prospects and the work is soul crushing. Looking at a grad date of late next year.
I'm 27 now, been through the academic wringer (and learned to really despise academic research) and am trying to rediscover what I truly want to do. I have a stable long-term relationship (3.5 years) and we hope to be married and start having kids by 31-32yrs old, so I'm putting a serious effort into reevaluating the career I want to have, the work I like to do, and the sectors I could be proud to work in. I want to make an intelligent move because I'm not getting any younger.
My PhD is on some vision science related work using an outdated technique that no industry cares about with little impact. That said, during my time here my favorite tasks have been to design and build experimental apparatuses. I've done some electronics work, dealt with amplifiers and bessel filters, taught myself SolidWorks for CAD, and overall just love devising solutions to technical problems. I've been told many times by engineering grads that I have an engineers mind. I just don't find building microscope and electronic recording rigs specifically fun or engaging, but the process of conceptualizing a project, its parameters/constraints, and design sure is.
All that being said, I have always had a deep interest in renewable energy and power generation. I originally went into undergrad as a civil engineering major because I liked wind turbines and solar panels and power plants, unfortunately before I could consider changing to EE I caught the physics bug due to some intro courses and a dream to be a physicist - been failing upward since then lol. It's obvious to me now that I have a personality that likes to learn many things, so I'm being very cautious about what my next move is.
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Here are my considerations for choosing a career in power systems:
- Alignment of interests:
- I genuinely have found power generation of all forms fascinating since I was small kid. I drive by a substation and feel enamored by it.
- I have a mind that likes to break down systems and optimize which I think lends itself well to power distribution and transmission.
- I come from a rural farming background and because of that want to contribute to sustainable infrastructure
- I want a career where I can help solve complex problems that I care about (even if there are mundane portions to it)
- I always liked my electricity and magnetism classes (knowing that physics classes are different to engineering classes)
- I work in systems neuroscience, but I've always conceptualized neural circuits as literal electrical circuits and think of ways to break them down to understand them physically.
- I think I would be most interested in transmission/distribution or design work on solar/wind installations.
- I think I could really feel good about engineering in power and energy. Providing a useful, skillful service to a critical sector that all people benefit from. Being able to help make our power infrastructure more efficient and sustainable is a potential plus if I could leverage into such a position.
- Lifestyle considerations
- I want to work in a sector with a good degree of job security.
- I would like more location flexibility (preferably Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan) to be closer to my and my partners families.
- I am okay with a lower salary compared to other EE disciplines. Mid-career I would be satisfied making $90-110k at in LCOL -MCOL area.
- Work-style considerations
- Want a career that is reasonably stimulating and scratches my itch for physical sciences but applied to real world problems.
- I don't think I would mind looking over technical requirements or project specs, being in meetings, or other mundane aspects of engineering work. (I mean that's most work but I've seen people from engineering forums say this portion of engineering really sucks).
- I enjoy collaborating in teams of people.
- Want to feel like I'm working on something "concrete" or "real". I want to eventually see the physical manifestation of my work, but I also like using my education to solve problems.
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Certification:
I would definitely need to get my PE license to work in power systems long term. I'm trying to figure out if I need a second bachelors in engineering or if a masters would be more apt.
I contacted admissions at UW-Milwaukee and I would be able to enroll for a BSEE with all gen eds waived that would require only the junior and senior upper division electives. A total of 60 credit hours or two years full-time at a tuition cost of ~$22-24k for 4 semesters.
Ideally I would not go back to school but I'm by no means qualified for power systems engineering roles and a formal training in engineering principles is necessary to do the jobs.
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Master plan:
Master out of my PhD after finding a job that is tangential to power systems engineering that leverages my physics and math background.
Work for 1-2 years to get a better idea of the field (and to get some work experience since I've only been in academia).
Go back for BSEE after getting experience and try to land internships/coops along the way.
Get work in distribution, transmission planning, solar / wind design planning and focus on getting a PE license.
Live the rest of my life with reasonable job security and work that is just interesting enough that I don't want to drop dead.
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Some questions:
Do you think power systems engineering might be a good fit given my background and interests?
Does power systems engineering have good job security and growth outlook.
What are things looking like for recent EE grads looking to break into power / what does demand look like?
What skills are missing or highly sought after in the field?
Would you recommend a second BS in EE or an MS in EE to break into engineering/design roles (This is with the consideration for PE in the long term - likely in multiple states)?
What kind of job titles / descriptions would be a good starting point to break into power/energy given my background (I have applied to some PV engineering positions at Mortenson, a Field Service Engineer position at a power coop, and some energy analyst positions at non-profits in my area)?
Would hiring managers be willing to take a chance on someone with a second degree in engineering or would I be seen as a "failure to start" kind of candidate?
I think it's difficult to do any personal projects in power systems considering the nature of the field, but does anyone have any ideas for side work before or during future study to show I'm serious about learning the field?
Any other thoughts? I wanna make sure my heads on straight.
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I really appreciate any insight y'all can give. I'm trying to make a sound career choice for the first time in my life. The obvious downsides here would be that I need to reskill into engineering. But I really do think it would be a good profession for me and it would be a 2 year degree instead of 4.
Also feel free to roast me if I'm being delusional and unrealistic, or for writing too damn much :D
Thanks!
G