Hey guys, been on Future4200 for a little while now and love the community’s sharing attitude and wealth of knowledge! I got into the industry a little over a year and a half ago and have been working mainly with CO2 extraction. While I have little industry job experience (I did manage a very small test lab for an oil/gas company for a few years after college), I feel my education is mostly holding me back. I have a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and was never able to get into that field. I’m switching careers like a lot of people have but I come across many job rejections along the lines of, “well you’re just going to leave for something better or leave the industry”. I’ve gotten this countless times and I’m not understanding this line of thinking, mainly because successful companies have explosive growth potential. I’m considering taking my master’s off my resume and just leaving my undergrad education to land another tech position (manager positions mostly hire from experience so I need to wait). Looking to see what you guys think and any suggestions for us young industry professionals who want land positions higher than grunt. Thanks!
Start your own on the CBD side. You’ll never get paid what you’re worth. I’ve been at this game for nearly 10 years thinking there are intelligent, understanding and long term thinking CEOs and owners. There’s not. Or if there are, they’re not hiring. Honestly, every ‘organization’ I’ve been a part of has been completely unorganized, unfulfilling and unmanageable. They dont know what they want and are afraid to admit they’re simply exploiting our experience and the industry in general so theres always a gap between what they truly want out of your experience and what’s good for you, the employees and the industry. My advice, forget about working for other people. It’s just a huge pain and not worth the money, which is no where near what you’re earn for the company, ever.
have you considered the equipment manufacturing side of the game?
I understand not reengineering someone else’s CO2 machine, and if it didn’t cross your mind that it needed done, I may be wrong, but it seems to me that there is a lot of fun to be had getting some of the silly things folks are extracting with up to snuff.
why not be part of the (hardware) solution 
Thank you for the feedback and this has been exactly my line of thinking for years! I ultimately want to own something in the industry (or ancillary) where my effort is directly rewarded.
Is there any legal requirement to report your highest level of education, or could you just report your initial bachelors degree?
Yes, that would be great aside from a few hurdles. Mainly that I have no practical engineering experience (just a lot of theory) and that a lot of these companies still drug test for cannabis. Here in Colorado, IES had a posting for quality inspection of their CO2 extraction equipment and required cannabis drug testing. Waiting on regulators will leave me disappointed i imagine…
They would have legal grounds to terminate me if they desired. But it seems unlikely as this extra experience would be a bonus, I would imagine.
then battling it out in the trenches for a bit will serve you well…
indeed.
Fired for bullshit
re: existence of More Shit.
try hiring it Piled higher and Deeper…
If you’re in Colorado you’re in the worst state for cannabis employment. Pay is lowest in the country and the market is completely saturated with talent so the price for labor keeps sinking and sinking and sinking. High competition created low prices for products and it will always be a very small market to sell to, only Colorado so like 3 million people. The industry is log jammed in CO. Sorry to burst your bubble.
IES is a legit company though. They do have quality issues that took 6 months to receive our CO2 machine when I consulted for an IL company. So they do have a need for that position. Maybe find a part time engineering tech position there? Don’t over commit. But if you want experience you might have to negotiate your own position at some of these companies.
I suspected as much, you didn’t burst my bubble, that happened long ago. I’m trying to move out of CO back to the east coast where I’m from (originally from NY but looking at Mass and Maine). Newer markets are looking like way better growth potential but like I originally stated I’m having trouble with companies back east and their reluctance to hire a tech with as master’s degree.
I don’t have any negative feeling towards IES, they are just doing what they need to do to make it in an industry that is federally illegal. I hope a lot of this will change once it is legalized but I’m not holding my breath. Good suggestions and I may start adapting my search, thanks!
Speculation here, but Virginia ran hemp this year so they already have the start of the industry. The state also recently swung full blue and legalization is likely right around the corner. It might be a good place to look. I lived in Hampton Roads for 16 years and I’d happily move back.
I agree I worked there…
Maine doesn’t pay well. It’s considered to be a low cost of labor state. Good if you need to hire people, not good if you need to be hired.
its a reasonably valid worry of a director/ceo that their managers may have a short residence, in my opinion.
i think how you respond to that statement is your best opportunity to convince them that you will not be doing that, even if you have to preemptively address it in the interview. leave them with no doubt that youre looking for a rewarding career at a single location (if that is indeed the truth).
the other thing worth saying is that sometimes, you gotta be the grunt for a bit. but a young dude with a masters in STEM and a good work ethic will definitely be noticed sooner rather than later. best of luck 
Massachusetts has a decently developed scene. Florida isn’t a bad market but you’d live in the middle of nowhere unless you did dispensary work. CBD or hemp might be better in Florida. New Jersey just allowed hemp/cbd applications.
this is sound advice!
With a masters in ME I would absolutely be looking on the manufacturing side. We’ve hired 4 ME’s in the last 9 months — not due to turnover but new positions — and two were fresh off the boat. They spent a lot of time doing the “grunt” work as they got up to speed before being tasked with their own projects. If you’re looking to get out of CO there’s a ton of manufacturers out East. Us (sorry not hiring atm), Precision, Greenmill, and THAR just to name a few.
If you want to play in the space should look into getting further certifications through ASME to build more value in yourself. That puts you in a position of “regardless if he leaves in a year we need his institutional knowledge/accreditation now”. Once you get it you can have your employer pay for the renewals.
I would recommend finding a job that will allow you to get as much experience as you can. Go to every event in your area, make connections. This industry is not a high paying industry in terms of labor. Most companies expenses are going towards expanding not paying highly qualified techs yet. That’s if of course, you’re dedicated to being in this industry.
A master ME will make more money in almost any other industry. The only engineers making a killing in cannabis are Industrial, and most of us found investors and helped start a company from the ground up. Best of luck out there.
Well, frankly you are a little over qualified to be a lab rat turning levers. It took you years to obtain your knowledge. I’ve met people that can run large scale co2 systems in a matter of days. You should shoot for work designing extraction equipment. Not many have the skill set to design while most can be trained to run a machine. Just my thoughts, hope you find a job you’re happy with either way