Applications engineer

Trying to get a feel on this as a job option. Talking with a major machine tool manufacturer tomorrow about a position with the company. I've been machining for 30 years and programming for 20. Just wondering if any of you have done this and what you liked and didn't like.

I've worked as an application engineer, in electronics, though.
To be successful, you need to be a salesman too.

I'd describe the job as "sales engineer at a high technical level". It's fun if you like customer contact. If you are technically and commercially competent, you'll earn the trust of you customers.

Benta.

I was an applications engineer for 4 years. You ARE the technical side of sales, but in my role, I was more likely to protect our customers from buying equipment that ill-suited to their application (our salespeople often just took interest in partial application requirements, and often times had to be reminded about the totality of the systems we were dealing with). I also did a lot of on-site installs and trouble shooting, as well as doing case studies out of our home office.

It was rewarding, and I became well liked by our customers, but the bottom line was that I was doing very little actual engineering - which is why I left. I've been in product development engineering ever since.

I have been an AE at a machine tool builder for over 20 years and currently manage the team as well. Very rewarding and challenging to say the least. I interface with customers, sales and all internal teams. If you like challenges it can be an interesting to career. As was mentioned above you have to be part salesmen, interface a lot with customers both pre and post sales. We also do all the sample parts, machine tool shows, open houses, demos, time estimates and customer training on operation and programming of the machines, not to mention technical sales training. We do travel quite a bit so if you don't like to travel it may not be a good fit. Overall I would do it again in a heartbeat as I have worked with and meet a lot of great people over the years.

Tom

+1 to Tom, his description is more precise than mine. If you're introvert, it's not a job for you. If you like working with suppliers and customers and your company's own teams, it's great.

I worked as an AE for a machine tool distributor for some time. It was great job in most ways as long as you have the right attitude. I would do ride alongs with the sales team, machine recommendations, time studies on parts, create process concepts for manufacturing, train new users, show existing users new tricks, setup turn-keys, work with automation houses, assist the service department with troubleshooting, and so on. It was a rewarding job but for me I needed to go back to a more consistent schedule for family reasons so I now work as a Manufacturing Engineer at a mid size shop.