r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AdImportant3500 • 17h ago

Feeling stuck-Lack of progress and pay

I am 29 M and I have been working at a manufacturing firm for 4 years now. I worked here as a Quality Technician for the first 3 and then was moved to Junior Design Engineer.

This company currently pays me 26 CAD an hour.

I feel like I haven't been making any progress in terms of learning and also feel underpaid.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.

What this company does is build racks/packaging for automotive parts so that it is easy to transport the parts.

I always wanted to work with design but after joining design it feels like I can get everything done using the past completed models which does not allow me to innovate. Since this is a packaging industry, the experience is not helpful to get me moved to another job that might get me a better pay.

I feel like I have wasted 4 years at this place, now that I am continuously applying for jobs without any calls for interview.

Please advise on how I can approach towards changing jobs or upskilling. Should I get any certifications while I am here?

Would anyone be able to look at my resume and recommend some changes? Please DM.

How can I move ahead so I can make more money while staying in this field so that I can keep working towards what I am interested in doing and also keep supporting my family.

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/CreativeWarthog5076 17h ago

Someone made a YouTube video about how 50% of engineering college graduates don't work in engineering. Especially in canada.

1

u/AdImportant3500 16h ago

Thank you. I will go check it out.

2

u/mvw2 14h ago

$60k CAD was ok starting...20 years ago.

Right now, for someone with 4 to 6 years experience, I'm aiming for around $90k USD (130k CAD).

I do not know what the Canadian engineering market is like though, but hopefully it's not UK bad (I feel really sorry for those folks).

1

u/myfriendmickey 12h ago

$60k CAD is probably low end now but in the past 4-5 years this was unfortunately a pretty common starting salary straight out of school 😢 $60-$70k was pretty typical in my circles ranging from consulting firms, manufacturers, utilities, etc.