Any beer-related career ideas for a Mechanical Designer who homebrews?

[marshall_tucker]

Long story short, i've become a bit disenchanted with the company i currently work for, for various reasons i do not wish to get into talking about. I started shopping around for job openings in the mechanical engineering and design discipline (which is what I currently do). Although as a fellow homebrewer, I couldn't help but wonder if there might be a good job out there for me in beerland.

I graduated with a B.S. Industrial Arts (not an actual engineering degree) in '08, and have been employed at a couple places as a designer since that time. What seems to be hurting my case is that it appears i am very limited in the desired credentials needed for working at a brewery, for instance. i never went to brewing school, i'm obviously not educated in business or management, i don't have much education in chem or bio, i'm not trained to be a graphic designer, i may be mechanically-inclined but i'm in no way a handyman type person. i may or may not make a good sales rep, my taste palette and knowledge of beer are calibrated enough to be informative, but my persuasive skills could be better. i think working in QA could be interesting, if they didn't require relevant higher education.
(when i want/need to be), i'm a very good writer. there's got to be a void that can be filled with that skill.

the catch is that i want to avoid going entry level as a grunt worker, mostly because i probably couldn't afford it financially. I'm a single young guy, and just bought a house a year ago for example, and my life has kind of rooted in having a good salary flowing in. it would be quite a hit if i made such a change.
haha, it's looking pretty hopeless.

then there's always the possibility of teaming up with the right people and starting our own brewpub/nano. maybe someday...

and fwiw, i'm aware of the fact that being a full-time brewer is not peaches and cream. the reality is far from the fantasy it sometimes appears as. i know it's a lot of work, but it's just something to contemplate.

thanks for reading. got any suggestions?

 

[markvale5]

Designing brew equipment?

 

[Qhrumphf]

You might consider approaching it less a brewing job, and more working for something like Blichmann or JVNW or the like, working on design and manufacture of brewing gear, whether at the homebrew or nano (Blichmann) or full sized pro level (JVNW).

 

[sandyeggoxj]

As a fabricator of homebrew gear I find there is TONS of room in the market for well designed stuff. A lot of the homebrew gear out there is kind of lame. Blichmann makes cool stuff but the focus of their equipment is more on the production end vs the consumer end. It is easier for them to drill a hole and provide a weldless bulkhead than weld up a fitting.

Maybe it is time for your own venture? I keep busy with side work specific to brewing. Whether it is welding in ferrules or building stands and panels, I always have something going on. I get to play with the toys that I love and I put the profits back into tooling. I also get to build on my hobby while staying at a net zero expenditure.

 

[Natdavis777]

I agree with the approach of brew gear designing. Try attending the NHC if you can, as new gear is always coming out. This could help get the ball rolling on new ideas or designs that could be improved.

 

[marshall_tucker]

that's actually an interesting approach... :smack:

i'll definitely look in that direction, i could see getting into something like that. good suggestion, that might be pretty cool! thanks guys.

in the meantime, i'm all ears if anyone else has some wisdom.

 

[passedpawn]

marshall, use that drawing ability to get a good job. Hopefully it's Solid Works (or ProE). You can make some money in the world with just those skills. I'd also suggest getting rid of the house if it's a financial burden and living as cheaply as possible, saving money and possibly investing and IRAs. The day will come when you've got a spendy wife and 3 kids in college medical graduate programs and you will thank me.

Keep brewing a hobby. It's no dream if you do it for a living. The dream is to leave work and brew for fun. I spoke with the head brewer at Sierra Nevada, Steve Dressler, and asked him if he homebrews. "Hell no" was his reply.

 

[passedpawn]

BTW, if you're intent on designing brewing gear, I've got an interview I've been meaning to put on the front page. I spoke with John Blichmann for a long time. He was an ME for CAT (big equipment) and switched to brewing gear successfully. Keep an eye on HBT front page, I'll get it transcribed and edited one of these days.

 

[madscientist451]

You have a good job, stick with it or find another one to pay the bills.
Meanwhile, design and build a 1bbl Nano brewery in your garage. Then go find a low rent biz location, get a licence and brew part time and sell growlers and have a small tasting room if the local laws allow that.
After a couple of years, you'll either want to close the brewery or quit your job and get financing for a larger brewery. There's a small brewery near here in the middle of this exact process, they're opening the larger brewery in about a month. Does this seem like too much work and hassle?
if so, just be happy with your homebrew and spend your free time devising a product that will sell.

 

[marshall_tucker]

marshall, use that drawing ability to get a good job. Hopefully it's Solid Works (or ProE). You can make some money in the world with just those skills. I'd also suggest getting rid of the house if it's a financial burden and living as cheaply as possible, saving money and possibly investing and IRAs. The day will come when you've got a spendy wife and 3 kids in college medical graduate programs and you will thank me.

Keep brewing a hobby. It's no dream if you do it for a living. The dream is to leave work and brew for fun. I spoke with the head brewer at Sierra Nevada, Steve Dressler, and asked him if he homebrews. "Hell no" was his reply.

Pawn, yes I am currently using solidworks. i'm very strong with that package.
i've started looking through brewery equip and outfitter mfgr's, found a couple looking for engineers and applications specialists. that could be a cool avenue for me, unfortunately they're not close to home. such a move won't be easy, and will take much thought before pulling the trigger.

it's not that the house is weighing me down, if that's what you mean. i was referring to those folks in the brew industry who have to basically start from the bottom, learn, and work up the ladder. that i couldn't afford to do, without as you say, selling the house.

i'd like to read that interview, should be a good read. sounds like Blichmann and i come from the same world. i currently deal with CAT products at my workplace, so got just a couple degrees of separation.

thanks for all the insight and advice

 

[marshall_tucker]

You have a good job, stick with it or find another one to pay the bills.
Meanwhile, design and build a 1bbl Nano brewery in your garage. Then go find a low rent biz location, get a licence and brew part time and sell growlers and have a small tasting room if the local laws allow that.
After a couple of years, you'll either want to close the brewery or quit your job and get financing for a larger brewery. There's a small brewery near here in the middle of this exact process, they're opening the larger brewery in about a month. Does this seem like too much work and hassle?
if so, just be happy with your homebrew and spend your free time devising a product that will sell.

i thought about selling homebrew out of my home for a brief moment awhile back. haven't done any research on feasibility though. it's on the back burner for now.

one of the issues with my "good job" is that i largely rely on the U.S. oil and gas market...need i say more? it's got all of us feeling a bit on-edge over here. everyone cheers today at the $2.50 sign at the pump, while i cry in the corner...thanks to OPEC and the Russian Petroleum industry feeding the anti-fracking environmentalists...

 

[Qhrumphf]

i thought about selling homebrew out of my home for a brief moment awhile back. haven't done any research on feasibility though. it's on the back burner for now.

one of the issues with my "good job" is that i largely rely on the U.S. oil and gas market...need i say more? it's got all of us feeling a bit on-edge over here. everyone cheers today at the $2.50 sign at the pump, while i cry in the corner...thanks to OPEC and the Russian Petroleum industry feeding the anti-fracking environmentalists...

Not touching the fracking part, leave that for the debate forum.

But I know almost anywhere in the country getting the right permits to sell homebrew made at home is all but impossible (and without the appropriate permits it's most definitely illegal). I think there are some rural jurisdictions that might allow a commercial brewery run out of a home, but they're very few and far between. And even then, to brew enough to make a living I doubt you'd be able to make it work from home anyway.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Brewing is an awesome hobby. But I'd suggest keeping it a hobby, if you ask me.

I was going to say what a few others did, and suggest maybe getting into equipment design. Heck, maybe even designing brew rigs for big brewers. Considering the number of brewers out there, some of them getting bigger, there will be plenty of market out there looking for that sort of thing for years to come. From what I understand, there aren't many designers/manufacturers.