part time work?

[KTP]

I am still working away at my EE degree, but due to a number of factors I am only able to take about one course per quarter.  I devote a *lot* of time to each course and milk it for everything it is worth (GPA 99.49% - damn math errors!).  I feel I could work a part time job and still maintain this high level of commitment to my coursework, but I do not know where to search for this type of work in the electronics field.  I am at a senior level in college, currently taking Applied Electromagnetics (transmission lines, antenna design, etc.).  I applied for a few openings as a technician, but have been rejected as overqualified    

There do not seem to be too many openings out there for part time work at my skill level, but maybe I am missing a section of the industry?  I have done the self employed thing somewhat, developing and producing a complete circuit board based product, but this is not steady income and requires a not insignificant amount of capital to produce cheaply enough in quantity.

Any suggestions?

edit:  Sorry, didn't mention location: Seattle, WA area

[JohnS_AZ]

First I'm compelled to grumble again about members who give absolutely no clue as to their location in their profile.

Aside from that, I had a number of jobs while in school. I was an arcade game repairman for a bit, then I did a stint as an electric gate/door opener installer and service guy.

I'd suggest you look into technical temporary help agencies. Here in Arizona "Volt" is a big one. It can get you exposure inside a bunch of different companies, doing an array of different tasks. What's more, a simple phone call and you can take yourself off the rotation if you need a week or two for school work.

I can also say that when I was at Motorola, we -never- hired technicians off the street. They always came in as temporary help first, and if we liked them we'd buy their contract and hire them on.

[JohnS_AZ]

A bit off topic but I thought I'd mention (FWIW) ...

Many years ago I was at my dentist and he was grumbling about his exam light being broken. He said he had to call an electrician, but didn't want to because they were very expensive, and didn't do well working on his delicate equipment. To make the story short, I fixed his light. A few days later his office manager called to see if I could fix their call light system, which I did. From there it snowballed and I was fixing all sorts of stuff from dentists, doctors, and vets around town, all through word of mouth. (I refused to work on stuff like x-ray equipment, or other machines that they actually used on patients)

I stopped doing it because I accepted a job offer from Motorola, but I believe I could have, and a person still could, make a good living as a electrical Mr. Fixit specifically for vets and med offices.

[saturation]

I found this:

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-electronic+technician/l-seattle,+wa

In PA, the last all computer store, Microcenter, hires a lot of students from Villanova's EE students.  Its a win win for all, employer gets very high quality help, students are able to get part time work in a field close to their majors, and consumer's get very high quality salespeople for help.

[KTP]

Thanks, good suggestions by all!  I applied to one of those openings (Fluke in Everett, WA) and I also am trying for an electronics/laser technician at Synrad.  This would actually be a perfect fit right now because I own several Synrad CO2 lasers and have peformed troubleshooting and repair on both the control boards and the class E RF amplifier (uses a MRF150 mosfet....very tough to desolder!).

[saturation]

Awesome!  If perchance you end up at Fluke let us know what its like on the inside, if you can of course 

Thanks, good suggestions by all!  I applied to one of those openings (Fluke in Everett, WA) and I also am trying for an electronics/laser technician at Synrad.  This would actually be a perfect fit right now because I own several Synrad CO2 lasers and have peformed troubleshooting and repair on both the control boards and the class E RF amplifier (uses a MRF150 mosfet....very tough to desolder!).

[KTP]

Just got a call for an interview at Synrad!  Trying not to get too worked up since I know there are a lot of people applying for all of these jobs, but how many of them have 25 CO2 lasers in their hobby room, including four made by Synrad? 

I realize this is just a technician position, but I might brew some coffee and brush the dust off Siegman's "Lasers" and review the theory a bit.  Was thinking also of taking the PID servo controller board I designed to show off some of my skills.

[allanw]

Try working for your school? The pay won't be that great but you're pretty much guaranteed to find something. Especially if you've done well in your classes.

[djsb]

Just got a call for an interview at Synrad!  Trying not to get too worked up since I know there are a lot of people applying for all of these jobs, but how many of them have 25 CO2 lasers in their hobby room, including four made by Synrad? 

I realize this is just a technician position, but I might brew some coffee and brush the dust off Siegman's "Lasers" and review the theory a bit.  Was thinking also of taking the PID servo controller board I designed to show off some of my skills.

Nothing wrong with working as a technician. Most people underestimate the skill involved in diagnosing and fixing technical problems.
Take pride in whatever work you do.

David (University Technician) UK

[Mechatrommer]

Nothing wrong with working as a technician. Most people underestimate the skill involved in diagnosing and fixing technical problems.
Take pride in whatever work you do.
David (University Technician) UK

agree. b4 i got my eng. level job, i worked as supervisor which is technician level i think, but sadly as supervisor not much technical thing to do other than observing the lower level geeks do their stuff. its interesting i got direct exposure on how "down to the bottom" stuffs is done, and learn how they think and do their technical stuff. when i got my real eng. job, i mostly sit in the office far from the reality.

[KTP]

Oh sorry I was not intending to disrespect the job of technician.  I think there are a lot of technicians who actually know more about electronics than some degree holding engineers...especially those type of engineers who just did enough work in class to make the grade and never really cared to fully understand the field.  I saw this last quarter in my amplifiers class.  About half the students obviously had no clue and yet were still passed (a C gets them to the next course just as fast as an A does).  I would wager a $10 bet that they couldn't even draw out a simple current mirror circuit one week after the class was over.

There actually is a supervisor position open as well as the technician position.  The description claimed to require a BSEE or BSME for that position, but who knows.  I guess I will find out more tommorow at the interview.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Repair/faultfinding work will teach you a lot of skills that will be useful if you go on to design products - much better to learn from someone else's mistakes than your own!