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Career Change? RC Designer...

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Hi TC

I have been working in the construction idustry as a designer, and have recently become disillusioned with the whole show. Long, long hours [sometimes 18 hours per day!], low pay [you would be surprised of the reality of it all!], and frankly a pretty dull workload...*

I have always enjoyed being a designer, and would like to change career to automotive design or similar, but am put off by the cost of tuition fees, having already studied and paid for a degree and two post grad qualifications in architectural design...

I also have a massive passion for Tamiya and all things RC and have become largely self taught in chassis design from text books I have acquired over the years...

I would really love to work for someone like Tamiya, does anyone have any experience of this?? and how to go about making the transition?

cheers

*I might just be having a bad weekend / midlife crisis, but would like to find out more on working as an RC Designer...

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I didn't see any jobs listed at Associated, HPI, OFNA, or Tamiya, but here are some job listings for Traxxas and Hobbico (parent company of ARRMA, Axial, Durango, and Duratrax; and a tight relationship with Thunder Tiger, who owns Associated):

http://traxxas.com/careers

http://www.hobbico.com/jobs.html

Read the job descriptions and think about whether or not you're qualified... The best jobs require a degree in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering.

-Paul

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You didn'tmentioned how long you've beening working as a construction designer. The big bucks and interesting work (interest is really what you make of it) is a qualified Architech. If you are still in you twenties or early thirties, you can going back to U and get your Architech degree. Who knows you could be the next Norman Foster or Sir Norman Foster.

But hey everyone is entitle to a career change, if you really don't look forward to your work each morning than is time for a change. Maybe is not your line of work but the company you are working for or the people around you.

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I remember these links from when I asked about what sort of qualifications were needed to become an RC car designer.

From what I have read, industrial designers usually end up in aesthetic design roles from other areas like household or electronic product design, but I would imagine that mechanical engineering is keeping more in nature with the hobby as many of these cars are penned for performance. If you wanted to work on chassis design, engineering would be a better choice, whereas automotive design is preferable for bodywork, but not necessarily, as engineers did design the Flo-Tek line of short-course truck bodies (and possibly the Bigwig; he was a 'race car designer' but engineering expertise is probably a given at his field).

As I am currently studying engineering (though not mechanical - yet) and had a look at the options it gives, I do have an idea of what I am talking about, although I have no experience in the field.

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Something to keep in mind -- what you enjoy as a hobby can quickly become work; the magic or fun you're anticipating will quickly be replaced by lots of paperwork and dealing with, well, personalities. I loved electronics and computers as a kid; once homework was done or the summer months were around, I'd spend hours upon hours tinkering with circuits and writing code. I loved it so much that I went to college to become an engineer, and while the first few years were filled with great learning experiences, reality set in and it's a job now. I don't play with electronics or computers on my free time anymore; I get enough of that at work. In fact, the technology and tools at work are far more advanced than anything that can be done at home. Every new project I do has about 2 weeks of creative architectural work associated with it and about 2 years of development paperwork. The e-mails, after-hours meetings, convincing people to do their jobs, and project management schedule/cost harping are included with the development work for free.

Toy cars are a great way to unwind and move at my own pace. Nobody tells me what to do, and I don't have to achieve group consensus before moving forward. Try taking a hobby and turning it into a job, and I can easily imagine how designing radio systems, servos, ESCs, gyros, and telemetry sensors would become just another product development job after the second or third project. Be careful what you ask for!

"That's why they call it work."

-Paul

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Something to keep in mind -- what you enjoy as a hobby can quickly become work; the magic or fun you're anticipating will quickly be replaced by lots of paperwork and dealing with, well, personalities. I loved electronics and computers as a kid; once homework was done or the summer months were around, I'd spend hours upon hours tinkering with circuits and writing code. I loved it so much that I went to college to become an engineer, and while the first few years were filled with great learning experiences, reality set in and it's a job now. I don't play with electronics or computers on my free time anymore; I get enough of that at work. In fact, the technology and tools at work are far more advanced than anything that can be done at home. Every new project I do has about 2 weeks of creative architectural work associated with it and about 2 years of development paperwork. The e-mails, after-hours meetings, convincing people to do their jobs, and project management schedule/cost harping are included with the development work for free.

Toy cars are a great way to unwind and move at my own pace. Nobody tells me what to do, and I don't have to achieve group consensus before moving forward. Try taking a hobby and turning it into a job, and I can easily imagine how designing radio systems, servos, ESCs, gyros, and telemetry sensors would become just another product development job after the second or third project. Be careful what you ask for!

"That's why they call it work."

-Paul

This. Oh God, This.

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I was a Software Engineer for over 11 years and now I am the Chief Engineer for small RC company. I have no formal mechanical engineering qualifications. I got into RC design after playing with Tamiya RC cars and teaching myself and CAD/mechanical engineering. I spent a few years sending out CAD for free to various companys in exchange for free parts. I had a few products in the market place with different manufacturers and was just doing it for fun. 3 years ago I decided to give up my well paid software contract and try and get into RC design full time. Best decision I ever made.

I realise this is not the norm, most people need the relevent qualifications and pass interviews etc... I just want to show that sometimes having a bit of skill/talent and passion for what you are doing (and luck of course) can also open doors.

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Don't give up on the dream!

When I was little, I used to love to take things apart and put them back together again. Didn't matter what it was - toys, appliances, tape recorders, etc. I dreamed of becoming an engineer, but my maths grades at school weren't all that great, so I ended up going into the tourism industry where I hated every minute of it. Fast forward a couple of decades, and thanks to some lucky breaks, three degrees and quite a bit of hard work, I am now an electronics engineer, and I love my job!

Hope everything turns out well!

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Don't give up on the dream!

When I was little, I used to love to take things apart and put them back together again. Didn't matter what it was - toys, appliances, tape recorders, etc. I dreamed of becoming an engineer, but my maths grades at school weren't all that great, so I ended up going into the tourism industry where I hated every minute of it. Fast forward a couple of decades, and thanks to some lucky breaks, three degrees and quite a bit of hard work, I am now an electronics engineer, and I love my job!

Hope everything turns out well!

This is very nice to hear. I sorta followed the same path as you, but made my own way instead of going back to school. Now I do freelance custom design work, but if you would have told a me a decade ago I'd be doing this, I would have laughed in your face!

Someone told me a long time ago that the easiest way to achieve your dreams is to never stop wanting to reach them; This is no joke! The moment you second guess your goals is when you must re-evaluate what it is that you really want. After finding that my grades weren't good enough to get into a school I wanted, I spent years trying to decide what I wanted to do. Eventually when I started to focus on one particular goal, I found that things rapidly began to fall into place. Exponentially. They call it 'networking' or something nowadays, but it's nothing more than jumping in with both feet. I was amazed how much easier things came when it was a sink-or-swim proposition!

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I guess the answer is unfolding now... I decided to stick with construction, and grit my teeth and just get on with it, after all it IS work [i.e. you are not supposed to ENJOY it!?! Right??]

I figured the aspiration to design something more interesting to me than to design buildings would just go away, but it hasn't, if anything it has remained a constant, even throughout my years of studying architecture. In fact it has been around a lot longer than architecture. Okay so I havent put that many hours in if you compare the two but its still FUN!

My job, the people, the culture, who knows what the problem is. I know it doesn't make me happy, and hasn't done for a while - I would say for 5 years at least... [incidentally that is how long the credit crunch has been hitting the construction industry HARD in the UK].

So i guess i decided to take a break from construction, refocus on a job just being a job, reduce my stress levels to somewhere sub cardiac failure and dare to ask 'what if i did something else?'

No firm plans as yet, but thanks for reading and for your contributions. It helped.

cheers

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My advice for you would be to design a complete working chassis in solid works then have the individual parts machined from billet and/or delrin. Assemble your kit and mount a body then bring it to your job interview. If you don't get hired, give them your middle finger and start your own small manufacturing business. Or sell or license your design. That's what I would do and plan on doing in the near future. Yes it will require some investment money but thinking big is the way to go. Of course I have experience in modeling and CNC machine setup and operation so I could make the parts myself with a relatively cheap CNC mill but if you do a one off you could have emachineshop do it instead of investing in a CNC mill and learning how to program/use it. Also if you want to make your own polycarbonate bodies you could make or buy a vacuum forming machine too. However you will need to machine the mold using a 5 axis CNC machine. Just some background but I've been working at a small machine shop that make parts for SpaceX some simple some very complex with very tight tolerances.

Definitely doable, you just need the passion and commitment. Also do this on the side until you're comfortable to quit your day job.

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I guess the answer is unfolding now... I decided to stick with construction, and grit my teeth and just get on with it, after all it IS work [i.e. you are not supposed to ENJOY it!?! Right??]

I figured the aspiration to design something more interesting to me than to design buildings would just go away, but it hasn't, if anything it has remained a constant, even throughout my years of studying architecture. In fact it has been around a lot longer than architecture. Okay so I havent put that many hours in if you compare the two but its still FUN!

My job, the people, the culture, who knows what the problem is. I know it doesn't make me happy, and hasn't done for a while - I would say for 5 years at least... [incidentally that is how long the credit crunch has been hitting the construction industry HARD in the UK].

So i guess i decided to take a break from construction, refocus on a job just being a job, reduce my stress levels to somewhere sub cardiac failure and dare to ask 'what if i did something else?'

No firm plans as yet, but thanks for reading and for your contributions. It helped.

cheers

Liking something or not liking something is all within your mind and the saying the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence is true.

See your work as a test. You passed the test you move on to something else. If you don't pass you will stay where you are just like in school.

I work in the construction for the last 14 years, still in it. The first 5 years were tough, long hours, dead lines...just no fun other than is a "job".

Afterwards I start changing my atitude, still do the best I can and if I can't deliver is not the end of the world or if someone would die in the ER if I failed to deliver. Just pace yourself and next thing you know you could be calling the shots and let someone else do the donkey work.

Until you won the lottery or have a super rich uncle about to kick the bucket, accept or inprove the situation by changing atitude.

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Tamiya 1/10, thanks for your answer, but to be honest i find it a little patronising!

I work hard, damned hard. I want to at least enjoy my day, and if i am to spend the whole of the evening until 2am working on the same stuff, I want to make sure I enjoy that as well.

I asm currently looking at options to

a] Do something that is fun,

b] do something that is not giving me so much stress I can sleep even when the mountains of ever growing work is done for now. and

c] pays me for overtime if overtime is actually needed, or bonuses for extra efforts - REWARDS! it is important to me to get paid, otherwise i just do something fun after 8 hours...

d] gives me back some free time, nothing major, just evenings and weekends again.

I have been in the construction industry since 1999, so yeah 14 years of the same stuff, day in, day out... its not a change in attitude that is needed, with respect its a change in circumstance! Yes i do enjoy architecture, when i have the time and resources to do a good job, and when the demand are curtailed to say an 8 hour day with a little break for lunch. No changing of attitudes will make an 18hr day, seven days a week, with no paid overtime past an 8hr day, acceptable, unless you are a bit, well, stupid.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I want to enjoy my life, so looking at options on how I CHOOSE to spend it.

No offence, just saying

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You know yourself best and if you have think things over than you should do what you see fit.

My point is make sure you know all the goodwill you have built up for the last 14 years with you company don't go to waste. The economy is still in the gutter so if and when it does turn around you could be the high flyer in your company. Boss knows who the good staffs are, who is a doer, a thinker, who has leadership or a follower or just a talker.

But if for the last 14 years you are in the same postion working lots of 18hr / day with no O/T paid than there is something wrong. I would think you should be a manger, an associate or partner or have several promotions. The regular long hrs, if once in a while is OK, could be you are burnt out or your company is just surving so you have to do the work of two person.

Everyone is entitle to change profession and be happy. Even if you do make the jump and find out is not what is expected, it is find at least you tried and you will move on or move back to your old line of work. Company always have postion for good staff and you just have to ask yourself, are you a good staff. You know you've found what you are looking for, (sounds like the tile of a song) if you wake up each day and look forward to it.

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Good comments Tamiya 1/10...

The economy is still in the gutter, and will likely be there for some time yet. i know i am lucky to have work, but am angry much of the effort is never seen, or rewarded. i guess that is a whole separate issue i have to find a way of dealing with, for now i had no option to stop doing the unpaid overtime... you were right... i am burned out!

I have decided to keep the full time day job, and to invest some of the time i would have been spending doing unpaid overtime on designing a buggy. it seems to be a happy compromise ;) ...

this way, i get to keep on as an architect, i get to design a buggy, and with 3D printing getting cheaper i might even get to make a few parts or even a prototype... who knows.

thanks for the debate, you helped a fellow Tamiya fan make some sense of it all.

Cheers guys

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Glad is all sorted as I think the answers were within you already. Love the old wise saying...tough time never last, but tough guy always last and life is all about balance...work/money; friends/families/relationships and yourself/mental&physical heath most important.

All the best :)

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