Career change ????

[LAFB]

Guys new to the site, i am currently employed at a base, been there 8 years, as a dod civilian working civil service as an a/c mech, I am however doing a ton of building renovations mostly installing fec and fx controllers. Heres the catch im not being paid as a controls tech and dont see any signs of being promoted any time soon. I have been working out of my pay grade for about three years. Long story short after taking jci courses on there controllers and the ax end user class at tridium i put my resume out there to see what kind of offers i would get, well jci has offered me a controls tech position offering me about 7 dollars more and hour. I am really struggling on whether or not to leave. Not sure what to expect on the outside and if the three years of controls experience is enough to survive in that world. Any opinions are welcome:gah::gah::gah:

[zeppelin913]

I think the fact you have exposure to controls and even have taken courses will definitely help you. I often see control companies hire people with no actual controls experience at all and some of them do fine, others not so much. It all depends on if you #1 you enjoy the work and #2 you have a controls orientated mind. Companies aren't giving raises like in the past so I would advise that you negotiate for as much pay to start as possible. Just be prepared for the "outside world" and it's profit driven ways. Money is 1st, people come 2nd.

[joey791]

Where you located?

[noskilltech]

Anyone can "survive" working at JCI with pretty much any level of knowledge. I worked with some excellent people there and also people that I wouldn't trust to make my fries.

If you're considering the move though, be prepared to work harder than you would have ever worked as a civilian contractor on a base. Most branches have a tendency to be pretty demanding.

[Trehak01]

I couldnt find a thread here on this, so I'm just going to ask here. I have about 3 years of experiance in installs and service. I went to a trade school and completed. Now that I have been doing service for some time, several people have suggested to me to get into controls. I am very interested in taking on that challenge, but Im not sure if I have enough experience as a service tech(knowledge wise) I have been in service for over a year now, I mostly do residential. I am very ambitious to learn.

What I am looking for is information on what it is like to work with controls and the environment. I am looking for information about going to school or taking classes for controls. If it is necessary to go to school or is this a OTJ only.

What has been your experience in controls, and getting where you are?

Did you go to school , or take classes?

Thank you in advance.