Anyone want to contribute an opinion on the ability of a test engineer to transition into a design or new product engineering role? This would be at a car company. I may have an interview coming for a role as a test engineer but I don't know if I want to get myself into a situation where I am no longer a design engineer again. I see this role as a transitional role that I would not want to stay in forever but to get some skills and experience in an industry I have not worked in before.
Following with interest. I have experience in both testing and design and information will help when I am back on the job market in about a year.
Yes, follow where your interest lies. I currently do both, as there is not enough testing to keep me busy all the time. For me, this is a curse, as I feel like I can't do either as well as I'd like. But I'm older and want to stay where I am until I retire, so I just do the best I can.
I understand what you are thinking as far as more experience, and what is right for one person isn't always for another, but I would recommend going one way or the other, again based on your interest. Be the best you can be at what motivates you and you will succeed.
I have done both, although not at the same company. There was very little in the way of caution that the experience at one wouldn't be relevant to the other.
Go for it.
In reply to bravenrace:
If this worked out, it'd be a chance for me to get out of an industry I was never that interested in (aircraft) and into one I have always been interested in (automotive). It also doesn't have me going to Detroit, but instead somewhere else that I'm not that excited about... two steps forward, two steps back, with a bunch of weird motion in the middle? I just don't know what the market for test engineers is like if I wanted to make another transition after a few years OR if this would help open up other engineering roles in automotive & similar industries.
Paging alfadriver?
In reply to pres589:
Those are good points. Your desire to work in a particular industry needs to be weighed against the unknown of changing your job functions. In my case, I don't like sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen all day, and the busy work that accompanies design projects. I like being in a lab, and I like being the one that is able to validate whether a design is workable or not. So for me its easy, although I'm not in the industry I'd like to be. So it can be a complicated decision. Are you also discontent with the company you work for and the area you live in? That also plays into it because the new job is an unknown.
In reply to bravenrace:
It's a long story as far as my current situation vs. what I'd like to see change. I really appreciate your input. So far I've just have a phone screening interview a couple days ago so there's a lot of distance between where I'm at an a job offer. I wanted to get a handle on this now in case it actually goes that far.
I will say that I didn't have the tolerance for the up/down swings and perpetual tight-deadline, overworked nature of automotive, despite loving cars. I got out of that industry and never looked back.
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