I am trying to get a job as a Mechanical Engineer, but I have a suspicion that, because I'm 300lbs, getting a job in engineering is either going to be very difficult, or outright impossible.
I do like the idea of designing products and reworking mechanical systems, but my interviewer at my Mech. Eng. Apprenticeship interview said something interesting: "Do you really see yourself wearing a jumpsuit?" I burst into laughter because I couldn't, but I closed with the "I'm enthusiastic" line (The lesson I learnt from a YouTube video on engineering apprenticeship interviews was that if you're inexperienced, you just have to replace "experience" with "enthusiasm").
So yeah, it's possible that my physique is hindering me from succeeding in this career path. I feel tempted to give up the job hunt and just do part-time work, whilst I also work on weight loss. What do you think /job/?
I'm well aware of the existence of overweight and obese engineers, but those guys were probably slim(mer) when they started their careers, because the jobs were initially physically demanding. So yeah, while I always wanted to address my weight, it now seems mandatory for my career's initialisation.
P.S. Where might I find a place on the website where British Engineers discuss engineering? There doesn't seem to be a place like that at all.
I couldn't see myself hiring an obese person. No matter how qualified, experienced or 'enthusiastic', I'd just smile and nod til they're out the door then bin the application.
"Mechanical engineering" is an extremely broad term and the requirements of the job will vary massively depending on the area you get into.
In my area (precision machining), your weight is very unlikely to be an issue. As long as you can stand for most of an eight hour shift and reach through the doors of a machining centre, it's not a problem. Even if you have mobility issues, we could probably figure something out if you were keen. We do most of our lifting and shifting with cranes and our work is rarely more physically strenuous than household chores. A modern machine shop is a safe environment and our equipment is designed with ergonomics in mind. The shop tours on MTDCNC give a good idea of what modern machining workshops look like:
Other areas of engineering are more physically demanding and might require you to crawl about in confined spaces or work up ladders. Your weight wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker in these roles, but you would need a reasonable level of physical fitness. At the extreme end of things, going offshore for oil and gas would require a full physical and helicopter egress training. Conversely, a lot of engineering roles are now entirely desk-based and would be accessible to anyone.
I wouldn't let your weight stop your from getting into engineering. We've had serious skills shortages for a long time, but they're particularly acute now and it's a very good time to get your foot in the door. In-Comm in the Midlands just put out the word last week that they're looking for 200 manufacturing apprentices to start immediately and they're far from unique. If you get a knock-back, don't let that put you off - you might just be unlucky or the wrong match for a particular role. If you're a grafter and you're willing to learn, there are plenty of firms who are desperate for someone like you. If you're looking for apprenticeship vacancies, I'd suggest searching for terms like "design engineer", "CNC" or "CAD/CAM" as a starting point.
>>14552 If OP doesn't come here very often, it might be worth pointing out that you are much more anti-fat-people than the rest of us.
I work in a datacentre and we do occasionally get a couple of monstrously spherical humans coming in to run cables. It's not quite the same thing, but I can confirm that we do wonder how they manage it (I, at 5'8" and 95kg, consider myself too fat for such work), but there's no denying that they do have jobs in the industry and they are presumably perfectly competent at it.
>>14551 I think you might have an old fashioned view of what engineering is.
The reason your interviewer asked you that question is that you're going to start the apprenticeship doing grunt work, and it sounds like they got the impression that you want to be sat on a computer doing design work on day one. I very much doubt that they aimed that comment at your weight, they're just checking you have no misconceptions about the work you will be doing.
OP I'm merely offering psychological support as I have absolutely no experience of the engineering realm or of being fat, but I remember seeing a documentary about Bombardier and one of the lads building the trains was a huge fat bastard of about 20 years (and maybe even stone), but doing pretty demanding and precise work and very confidently. Although the interview has passed at least know it shouldn't be impossible.
Thanks for the input everyone. Except that first guy.
What I really meant in the post-script was:
"Where might I find a place on the internet where British Engineers discuss engineering?"
There doesn't seem to be any kind of general place on the internet for British Engineers specifically to just discuss the field in general. Engineering places aren't British, and British places aren't about Engineering.
I'm not aware of any over-arching online community for British engineering. For better or worse, forums are a dying breed and most of the discussion has moved to social media. There are loads of Facebook groups and plenty of Instagram activity related to specific sectors of engineering.
If you want to get a general overview of engineering, you can get a free subscription to The Engineer and Eureka! magazine or browse the archives on their websites. If any of the adverts for trade shows take your fancy, do look into attending - they normally welcome students and apprentices (or you can just put down a fictional company on your registration form) and they're free to attend.
Engineering's vast - so vast that it doesn't make a lot of sense to look for a hub for all engineers. Apart from a general grumbling about customers, companies, managers, suppliers, necessary and unnecessary compromises and things getting in the way of getting some good engineering done, there's not much in common between, say, chemical engineering and electronic engineering. Likewise for all the other branches. And don't get me started on software engineering, where the vast majority of practitioners are typists and copy-paste artists.
That said, there's charm in straddling disciplines. It's fun here playing with electronic, mechanical, chemical and software. I'm fat and get work fine, but I know people, goodness knows if I'd score in a blind interview. Probably - there's a desperate shortage of competent candidates.
I'm also losing weight after years of being a fatty, not sure why, it just feels like time.
