Summer jobs

Going Pro
1

Hi all - My son just finished the brewing class at CSU (Colorado State University). He’s a biochemical engineering major finishing his junior year and looking for summer work in the industry. It seems like a great combination of skills but so far no luck. Any advice or information about opportunities in the front range would be appreciated.

thanks

Bill

2

I don’t live there but probably the best thing he can do is try to volunteer at local brewery’s. He may have to shovel grain, but, hey, it’s a start.

3

Clean kegs, clean fermenters, BT…

4

JZ and palmer just covered this on brew strong. Cliffs notes: be prepared to lift a lot, clean a lot, work a lot, and be broke a lot.

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/1067
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/1069

5

Oh hey - I’m a Biochemical Engineer!

As much as I would LOVE my day-to-day working in craft beer, my overall quality of life is definitely better as an engineer. I can afford to buy beer, go to events/festivals, homebrew, travel, etc.

Now that I have a few years of plant support and design experience, I am desirable to larger craft breweries as an Engineer. If your son has the aptitude for engineering, this is the way to go. He’ll go crazy as a ‘brewer’ (aka laborer).

My Advice: Find an internship in a food/bev plant. Learn how stuff works and how you can apply your education. Its easier to get on with a consulting firm, but most (all) young consulting engineers are worthless because they don’t get their hands dirty and fix problems. Also - no pharma - all you’ll learn is paperwork and politics.

If he likes the lab side, get a job in QC with a food/bev plant. Learn how product quality is monitored and maintained. Learn how to maintain expensive lab equipment. Keep in mind - there’s a much lower ceiling in a lab-based role than as an engineer.

6

Should be a plethora of entry level job openings out there. Surprised he is not having any luck. Problem with the brewing industry is, like any other industry, you have to start out entry level to get any experience. That unfortunately means manual labor. But you’d be amazed how much you learn about6 the brewing industry by cleaning kegs and hauling grain and rubbing elbows with folks.