Engineering Career Choices

[Anonymous No.823388]

Any EE graduates here? I'm starting my last year for my bachelor's degree soon and want to know firsthand what jobs you guys hold. More importantly, if there are any key decisions you've made in getting the job you wanted. Any regrets you guys have, which subsequently affected your career. This type of information can't be found from advisors at uni, so put in your two cents.

[Anonymous No.823394]

>>823388
I got my BA in May of last year. I working as a care provider of the elderly at minimum wage with zero benefits because every job in the area is only hiring people with experience. I've only had 3 interviews in the past month, 2 for internships. Most of my resumes go into a black hole and I get a form letter rejection a few weeks later. When I talked to the hiring managers on my interviews each one told me their 'final round' of interviews still had 20 or more qualified applicants in the running. In the lobby of one company I talked with a guy that had been working in the industry for almost 15 years, had a BA and 3 AAs and had gotten laid off in 2012 and hasn't been able to get a job since in his field since. He was going for a position and taking a 40% pay cut from his job of three years ago. He was a veteran on top of all that. Even HE didn't get accepted for the job.

Its still a hirers market. They can post listings with shit pay and ridiculous requirements and still get 100+ resumes that fit the bill. Hell, one company I applied at had 4 'senior' positions on a 6 man team. The other 2 were managers. There are no entry level jobs out there right now and they probably wont be any for several years.

Start looking for work now. Get an unpaid internship, make friends, something, but start now. People that are graduating now might have jobs soon and my be able to hold the door open for you when your graduation comes around. More people get jobs by networking then by replying to postings. Something like 40% of jobs filled don't even have public listings.

[Anonymous No.823400]

>>823388
I got a B.S. EE with a shit gpa. Worked as a production scheduler making $14.50hr for 2.5 years. I now work for a large hospital system as a database/software dev making 40k. I am so hindered by the shit gpa it isn't even funny. Retards that were worse off but actually did well in school made $70k to start in 2012.

> I sad.

Goodluck.

[Anonymous No.823423]

>>823394
>Start looking for work now
Yep. You need experience or a high GPA (plus not being an idiot).

[Anonymous No.823440]

>>823400
>>823423
how high is high?

I'm in australia and so far have a 6/7 GPA.

decent enough?

>I wish I didn't go to uni and just stuck to the trades.

our tradies here get like 60k minimum. I already have the qualifications for it to.

fuck uni ;_;

[Anonymous No.823445]

>>823400
>Are you me?
I graduated EE in 2013 and I have been working as a production planner since.

[Anonymous No.823449]

>>823440
>I'm in australia
Sorry to hear that. Hope you find a cure soon.

>have a 6/7 GPA.
We use a different system. A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, etc. So perfect As is a 4.0. Half As, half Bs is a 3.5. All Bs is 3.0, etc.

>our tradies here get like 60k minimum
So, thats like $45k USD.

[Anonymous No.823471]

I had a shit GPA, but I've never had a problem getting a job. I excelled at hands on projects and design classes in school. I also was very active in projects/competitions/freelance design work during school/right after graduation.

Don't be to picky about your first job as an EE. It may be shitty but as long as its engineering related it will open doors. Get in there show them you know your shit and you will find a better job.

If you have a chance,try to get an internship, they are great for making contacts they get to see what you're capable of. They also help you adjust to being in a cooperate setting. I wish I had interned. I was overwhelmed my first day at my first "Real Engineering Job" when all of a sudden "team meeting after lunch anon".

Also not career choice related but a couple of suggestions of things to do to set yourself apart from everybody else. I made a personal website documenting all of my projects,designs,bio. I bought the heavy duty "Resume" paper, it has a different texture and weight to it than standard printer paper so it feels higher quality when you pick it up. I also had cards printed up from vista print with my website and contact info and attached them to my resume. That resume really stands out from all the other college students at Career Fairs that are just a single piece of cheap printer paper.

TL;DR Try to get an internship. Show off your skills with projects. Make as many friends in your field as possible. Make a resume that stands out