Five Reasons To Pursue An Engineering Career In Electrical Distribution
“Nobody gets an engineering degree to work at Van Meter.” At least that’s according to Elliot Paulsen, Van Meter’s Field Services Manager (and engineer). After all, engineers want to design bridges, buildings, electric cars and space shuttles. So why do Paulsen, and several other engineers, continue to work at an electrical distributor like Van Meter? Should more engineers consider a career in distribution? Check out these five reasons to pursue an engineering career at an electrical distributor like Van Meter, and see if it could be a good fit for you.
1. YOU’RE A SOLUTIONS PROVIDER.
When Paulsen was in kindergarten, he wanted to be a mountain climber or an engineer, and only one turned out to be realistic. As you may have guessed from his quote above, he never pictured himself working for an electrical distributor. In fact, when he left an engineering field job to join Van Meter in 2015, he planned on coasting through an easy job for a while. What he found instead was constant challenge and validation.
Paulsen can be more creative and enjoy his job more at Van Meter.
“At my old job, it would take a year or two to finish a project. Here, I was helping people every day by finding a solution they could implement and replicate over and over,” he said.
Paulsen has a saying about engineering that goes, “You will only be successful when you get used to banging your head on the wall.” Sounds fun, right? But the challenge is what makes his job so rewarding.
He came to realize he’s not just working at an electrical distributor. He is a solutions provider, and no two days are the same. An engineer at a distributor could work on anything from programming automation equipment for quarry mining applications, to helping customers size their robotics, to circuit breaker sizing and panel design.
“There’s a supportive culture here with a lot of knowledgeable people in different industries,” said Paulsen. “It’s a great place for someone out of college to discover what they like to do.”
2. YOU CAN FLEX YOUR SOCIAL SKILLS.
Thinking up solutions is only part of the job though. Michele Silva, Safety Specialist at Van Meter, enjoys coming up with machine safety solutions for her customers, but she loves the social interaction with them the most.
I get to utilize my social skills that the ‘stereotypical engineer’ doesn’t have,” she said. “Some people aren’t cut out to sit at a desk all day, and this is the perfect job for someone who wants to be out interacting, collaborating and making a difference.”
She’s also using those skills to collaborate with her team of “other smart people” and come up with more effective solutions. She could sense that the culture at Van Meter was different from her previous experiences when she joined the company in 2020. She says the social, collaborative culture helps the whole team make a bigger impact for its customers.
“I’m never alone. We all go to each other to soundboard ideas and help each other work out a problem. Helping each other come up with the best possible solution is a big part of why I love my job.”
3. YOU CAN DEVELOP AND ADVANCE YOUR CAREER.
For Aaron House, MCC Design Engineering Team Lead, working at Van Meter is all he has known. While he joined Van Meter full-time in 2017, he started at Van Meter as an intern 10 years ago. Throughout his time at Van Meter, he’s had several opportunities to grow as an engineer and leader.
House has grown from a Van Meter intern 10 years ago to the leader of Van Meter’s MCC team.
House started as an Automation Service Specialist performing Installed Base Evaluations for customers. In his free time, he learned more about motor control centers (MCC) from the MCC team and eventually became an MCC Product Specialist.
“I’ve always appreciated Van Meter’s willingness to let people move around if they’re not in the right role,” said House. “It’s about creating an environment where you’re comfortable having that conversation with your leader, and I’ve always felt like I can do that here.”
House is in a leadership position of his own now. He expressed how he could see himself in a leadership role early on in his career, and Van Meter provided him with several opportunities to develop the skills he needed. He was an intern coach, helped with recruiting at Iowa State University and recently completed the Leadership for Five Seasons Program in Cedar Rapids.
“They’ve never hesitated to let me develop my skills, and when a leadership opportunity presented itself, I felt prepared,” said House. “I really appreciate their focus on career development.”
Now, he’s finding satisfaction in seeing the newer members of his MCC team thrive and perform independently like he was given the opportunity to do.
4. YOUR TIME IS VALUABLE.
“Van Meter complements my lifestyle. It doesn’t dictate it.”
- – Elliott Paulsen, Field Services Manager, Cottage Grove
While Paulsen never envisioned working for a distributor, he certainly doesn’t miss the grind and pressure that comes with being an engineer in the field. In his past field job, he traveled all over the world. He had to work holidays and weekends. He even got calls in the middle of the night several times a week.
“I had to change my ringtone after every project because I had PTSD from waking up to it three or four times a night,” he joked.
Now, Paulsen has weekends and holidays off and no calls in the middle of the night. He said he gets to be more creative and really enjoy what he’s doing because there is less pressure.
“They value our boundaries. Van Meter complements my lifestyle. It doesn’t dictate it,” said Paulsen.
5. YOUR DIFFERENCES ARE VALUED.
Only ~14% of all engineers are women, and Silva is used to being one of the only women in her field. Working for her dad, a private contractor, and designing elaborate, professional sets for theater stage crew sparked her interest in engineering growing up, but almost everyone, including those close to her, told her she would never make it as a female engineer.
Silva loves the opportunity to connect with customers and utilize her social skills.
“And I was like, ‘I’ll prove you wrong!’ That’s a lot of my motivation,” she said.
While she wishes there were more female engineers at Van Meter, Silva is encouraged that she has access to other powerful women at the company like President and CEO, Lura McBride and other women on the executive leadership team.
“When [McBride] was here a few months ago, she set aside 45 minutes just for me. I thought, ‘Who am I?” said Silva. “That’s what I like about being a female engineer here. There’s inspiration you don’t have at other companies.”
FIND AN ENGINEERING OPPORTUNITY AT VAN METER
Could you see yourself becoming an engineer at Van Meter? Like Silva said, “What’s not to like?” Visit Van Meter’s careers page to learn more about the company and see open positions or internships. If you would like to discuss a job opportunity, please contact Van Meter’s recruiting team or provide your contact information in the form below.