Power Engineers in the US of A?

[Spoolin335]

Im a PE and i know in Canada my schooling is good anywhere, but what about the states? If i ever wanted to move somewhere warmer i would want to make sure i still can get a good job.

Is anyone down here a PE?
I talked to a guy that lives in Hawaii and he said he was a PE, so there must be others.

If anyone doesnt know what i do, i work in the refineries and big plants.

I dont call myself a PE, more like a movie critic. I watch more movies, ufc, and hockey at work then i do at home. i wash my car/ change my oil, mod my car all at work. And best part is, i get paid over 100K to do all that. Best job i could ever ask for.

[Dillusion]

So why move. I would shovel snow and freeze my ass off all god damn day to make 100K and stare at my car all day.

I dont know what the hell a power engineer is (They dont offer it at my univ., and its the biggest eng. school in FL), but I'm assuming you watch a power plant all day long and make sure all the needles stay in the middle of the gauge

Lucky SOB

[808MGuy]

It really depends on what area of the country you're looking at. Everyone is feeling the crunch right now so finding good paying jobs in the states might be hard to come by for the next couple of years. I'm an electrical engineer in Hawaii and right now we're doing okay but the industry is definitely slowing down.

BTW, I'm not sure if by PE you meant "professionally registered engineer" that passed the PE exam or you meant power engineer at a power plant. I'm a registered PE and do electrical design for a variety of construction projects. There aren't too many power plants or refineries in Hawaii so something specific in that field might be even harder to find right now.

[Inzane]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

Im a PE and i know in Canada my schooling is good anywhere, but what about the states? If i ever wanted to move somewhere warmer i would want to make sure i still can get a good job.

Is anyone down here a PE?
I talked to a guy that lives in Hawaii and he said he was a PE, so there must be others.

If anyone doesnt know what i do, i work in the refineries and big plants.

I dont call myself a PE, more like a movie critic. I watch more movies, ufc, and hockey at work then i do at home. i wash my car/ change my oil, mod my car all at work. And best part is, i get paid over 100K to do all that. Best job i could ever ask for.

Be careful what designation you are using.

If you are a "Power Engineer" in Canada via the College Diploma program, that means you are a Plant Operator basically and is completely different than a Professional Engineer (P.Eng., 4 year University Degree).

In the US, the Professional Engineer uses the "PE" designation instead of "P.Eng." in their title. PE does not mean Power Engineer down there.

[cyraschris]

depends what type of power production you are interested in as well, and where politics drive future plants. if we can continue to make the public realize that nuclear isn't as scary as the media would like us to believe, you might be able to get in on the ground floor of a new plant being constructed, where they will be needing a lot of engineers.

[Spoolin335]

sorry for all the confusion.

no i am not a PE as in i took a 4 year university course and wrote the engineering exam.

i took a 2 year course and i am a plant operator aka Power Engineer up here.

I dont have to design anything, as a Power Engineer in the states does.

I just walk around the plant every few hours and make sure everything is running, if its not, i get someone to fix it. Done!

Then back to ufc.

Also, i dont work in a power plant personally, but i could. Basically any kind of industrial plant with boilers.

Do you guys know if you need any schooling to do that in the states?

[cyraschris]

we just call them operators in the states, what you are describing is a non-licensed operator. you do not need any special schooling with most companies for that, usually there is a long training period before you start actually operating the plant. if you don't work in a plant right now, where are you working?

[Spoolin335]

i do work in a plant, just not a power plant.

as i said, i can work in any industrial plant that has boilers.

IE. power plants, refineries, upgraders, production plants, etc

[Inzane]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

i do work in a plant, just not a power plant.

as i said, i can work in any industrial plant that has boilers.

IE. power plants, refineries, upgraders, production plants, etc

Why aren't you looking in Alberta? If you can't find a job HERE... then good luck elsewhere.

[Orientexpress]

100K Sounds like Fort Mac area

Not sure if the pay is quite the same in the USA for a PE.
I remember when I worked in Oklahoma a Journeyman Ticketed Electrician were making about 20-25 USD an hour when up in Alberta they were up at 38 for contractors.

In Canada PE or Power Engineer is same as Operator in the US
Not to be confused with a P.Eng which get a stamp and a pinky ring.

[Spoolin335]

i live in edmonton, and i work locally to edmonton. fort mac jobs are paying well over 100K, more like 150K+ atleast( i know a few guys up there). i have a great job and dont plan on leaving anytime soon. i was just curious if i ever decided to move to the states if i could find a good paying job in the same field.

maybe in a few years when the gf is done her business schooling.
im just sick of the weather and wish i can drive with summer rims all year round.

Originally Posted by Orientexpress

100K Sounds like Fort Mac area

Not sure if the pay is quite the same in the USA for a PE.
I remember when I worked in Oklahoma a Journeyman Ticketed Electrician were making about 20-25 USD an hour when up in Alberta they were up at 38 for contractors.

In Canada PE or Power Engineer is same as Operator in the US
Not to be confused with a P.Eng which get a stamp and a pinky ring.

if this is the case, i would be making around 20-25$ then. im assuming the pay is way less since there is no schooling required to become an operator.

in canada, its not very easy to become an operator. its not as hard as engineering, but can easily take 10 years to get a 1st class (you would be more of a plant superintendent at this point).

[Orientexpress]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

i live in edmonton, and i work locally to edmonton. fort mac jobs are paying well over 100K, more like 150K+ atleast( i know a few guys up there). i have a great job and dont plan on leaving anytime soon. i was just curious if i ever decided to move to the states if i could find a good paying job in the same field.



maybe in a few years when the gf is done her business schooling.
im just sick of the weather and wish i can drive with summer rims all year round.




if this is the case, i would be making around 20-25$ then. im assuming the pay is way less since there is no schooling required to become an operator.

in canada, its not very easy to become an operator. its not as hard as engineering, but can easily take 10 years to get a 1st class (you would be more of a plant superintendent at this point).

150k I guess with overtime and shift diff for sure. I know a couple who are contract operators who are making much more than that too.

I had that thought to move to the US and see what my Electrical Engineering Technologist, Power Systems Electrician ticket and Electrician ticket would get me in the US however my Power Systems Electrician ticket is only good in Alberta. My Electrical Engineering Technology is equivalant to a Applied Science Degree and my Electrician ticket would be good down south.

I had the opportunity to work quite a bit in the USA mostly south states for General Electric. Agree with you that the weather was much better than the -30 C we have had in Edmonton and the -40 C up in Fort McMurray lately.
However, it just wasnt for me.

About a PE its quite different between Canada and the US and I am sure if you have your steam ticket that would be very different as well. I am not sure how it works in the US hopefully someone will shed some light on it.

BTW what field are you in? Oil and Gas?