Engineering on St. Croix

Are you a degreed mechanical engineer or have only a background is in mechanical engineering??

I have 20 years experience as a chemical engineer in the environmental business, and I applied for positions there which they advertised via internet a little over a year ago as I arrived in St. Thomas. I applied for positions in their environmental division, but (though I think I was very well qualified) they never acknowledged receipt of my resume - their loss and "oh well", I say. I was not STX at the time.

I am working elsewhere now and never followed up with them, but just based on my experience, I consider it likely that you would have to appear in person and woo them to get in the door for most jobs - ignoring applicants seems to reflect a fairly archaic notion of professional courtesy on their part, which probably means they have relatively low turnover and/or a very high volume of applicants; and they can afford to be inconsiderate. Best of luck to you!

I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering and have worked in the paper-making and medical device manufacturing industries (a diversified background). I will consider any opportunities that can use my engineering /project management skills- I am open to all suggestions.

Thanks antillean. May I ask what you ended up doing and where? Is it related to engineering or did you use your transferable skills to do something new? And if so, how have you made out? I am not opposed to trying something new, it just has to be enough to make a living on the island. Your thoughts?

Jim,

Are you a PE? Have you any experience in building/construction engineering? I am actively trying to hire a mechanical engineer who can review CAD drawings produced in our drafting department for MEP (mechancial, electrical, plumbing) stamps. Also, looking for an Electrcial Engineer as well (to perform the electrical review). Tele-commuting is not a problem as long as you have the skill set and can let us license you across the United States. We do work for major franchise groups across America. Let me know and good luck with your move to STX. It is an awesome island with incredibly nice people. I hope to be building a new home there in the next year.

Jim

Unfortunately, I am not a PE as I did not pursue professional licensing (although I did pass the EIT). I have a lot of experience creating and reviewing machine drawings (e.g. for small fixtures up to large paper machines), but no experience with reading MEP. I do have an interest in construction though (we have built and renovated previous homes). Right now I am a Quality Engineer for a medical device manufacturer, with experience in lean, safety and even technical writing and documentation. Do you have any other opportunities that could use these skills? Please let me know.

Jim

I too have tried for about 6 or 7 yrs. with Hovensa. I am a Water/Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. Also tried the Marine Division, I'm also 100 Ton Boat Capt. and AB-Unlimited. Every time something was posted, I'd send an application. I suspect that there are just so many candidates that your chances would better at winning the lottery.

Hi Jim,
I am curious if you ever found any info about ME jobs on any of the USVI? It sounds like we have similar background from what I read. I have a BS/MS in Aerospace Engineering and work for Cal Tech and NASA-JPL but have always wanted to live in the Caribbean. I too had heard about Hovensa but I was really looking for a Mechanical Design job (SolidWorks, Unigraphics, etc) and it seemed they did use autoCAD but more for piping layouts and the like.

Any info you could pass on would be much appreciated.

As an aside, there are a lot of companies in Puerto Rico that use ME's. Lots of which are medical device and also a Pratt and Whitney offshoot called Infortech Aerospace Services.

Best of luck to you,
- Jack

Hi Jack, and welcome to the forum!!

In case you didn't notice, Jim hasn't posted here in several years, nor have most of the others on this particular thread. Hopefully someone else will pick it up and be able to help you out.

Good luck to you.

Hi Juanita,
Yeah I saw it was from 2008 but was more just wondering if it worked out for him as I have a simiar background. Thanks for the post though!
- Jack