Martin's experience is not unique, as the engineering profession makes ever-greater use of temporary staffing services to locate contract or temporary jobs and the expert personnel to perform those jobs. Due to unpredictable changes in the business cycle and the economy, more and more firms are using temporary engineering employees to meet their immediate short-term needs.
Another key factor in the increasing use of engineering temps is that engineering talent is also expensive talent. In today's environment, many firms are downsizing, "rightsizing," or reengineering to stay competitive. This means that they are aggressively looking for ways to cut costs and run lean. Because of the cyclic nature of most engineering projects, it becomes very expensive for firms to "warehouse" engineers between projects. It can be much more cost-effective to hire engineers for specific projects on a short-term basis. This is especially critical for small firms. Since the bulk of new job generation in the United States comes from small and growing companies, there is an enormous potential for temporary engineering services.
For these reasons, numerous staffing services now represent professional engineers, with Bernard Haldane Associates being one of the leaders with 71 offices nationwide. Other leading staffing services are SOS Technical Services and Science Temps, which has 20,000 engineers, scientists, and technicians listed with the service. The National Business Employment Weekly issue for June 22-28, 1997, featured "A Guide to Executive Temping," which included a directory of 100 agencies that place executive temps. Of the firms listed, the ones featuring engineers were: Career Marketing Associates Inc., CT Engineering Corporation, G/P Contract Staffing, International Staffing, Joule Technical Staffing Inc., Sources Services Corporation, and The Whitaker Companies, Inc. For a more comprehensive listing, please refer to the Appendix of this book.
Engineering is a complex field encompassing the engineering disciplines historically taught in colleges and universities as well as the new types of engineering disciplines that teach people how to integrate their skills with those of people who work in information technology and with computers. The engineering disciplines typically-but not exclusively-include architectural, chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering. Each of these disciplines contains a subset of disciplines; for example, civil engineering can be further specialized into the areas of structural, environmental, geotechnical, sanitary, or transportation engineering. The broad category of electrical engineering also includes computer science with specialization in both hardware development and software. There are also technical skills that support the engineering disciplines-such as drafting or computer-aided design (CAD), surveying, and materials testing-that are represented by the firms placing engineers.
Industrial engineers work in quality control, design production systems, and study automation and operations. Materials engineers or metallurgical engineers work with plastics, metals, or artificial matter. One of the most popular fields is mechanical engineering, which involves working with machines. And, if you have drafting skills, many of the jobs you want are listed by those who place engineers. All of these skills in engineering can be applied to temporary professional technical jobs.
Types of Temporary Jobs Available
Staffing service web sites on the internet suggest a wide range of jobs available for engineers. Manpower Technical Services has an Engineering and Support category in its Technical Specialists area. Manpower's Web site includes in the Engineering and Support category "Checkers, Design Engineers, Designers (CAD), Drafters (CAD), and Project Engineers."
The types of engineering positions that can be filled by the professional technical temp range from the technical (drafting or materials testing) to engineering management. Engineers can work independently on individual projects or as supervisors of projects and departments. Some staffing services work with one national client and send the professional technical engineer all over the country just to work for that client. Others recruit from a geographic region and cover a wide range of types of engineers. The demand for temporary engineering talent encompasses a wide range of disciplines and levels of experience.
A brief search of various Web sites on the Internet revealed the following types of jobs available for engineers: software/hardware engineers, Windows NT software engineers, UNIX software engineers, CAD designer, basic programmer, telecommunications, field application, mechanical, Oracle designer, software release, firmware, technical marketing, quality assurance, process, mechanical designer, manufacturing, principal, program management, and video software.
The pay for engineering services depends on supply and demand just as it does in other fields of business and professions. As a rule of thumb, the shorter the duration of the assignment or the higher the experience level, the higher the pay. It is also generally true that the more computer-literate you are and the wider the range of your experience, the more in demand you will be and the more pay you can command.
Computers
If you can use a computer, you will have more opportunities to find the best-paying professional technical jobs, whether you want to be a full-time temporary or use temporary work to find a permanent job. Engineers now use computers to test how a system-a machine or a structure-will operate. Engineers also work with computerized drafters or those with CAD to forecast how designs will work. Working with computers is a trend in engineering that will continue to grow.
If you do not have computer skills, find a staffing service that will train you on the computer or take a computer class at a junior or community college or technical school so that you can earn more money. You will be competing with workers who have these computer skills and they will get the jobs you want unless you make the effort to acquire the skills. The various disciplines of engineering can be part of a team for project work, whether designing buildings or roads, and this project work is now integrated with computers. Engineering involves working with many changes in technology. Work with a staffing service that recognizes this. Some high-technology areas can become out-of-date or obsolete, or there may be an increase in the demand for very specialized skills. Like everything else, the engineering temp market is a matter of supply and demand.
