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I'm about ready to give up on an engineering career

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Originally posted by: OS
Originally posted by: Ameesh

you have no relavent experience from the looks of it, no internship experience and coming from a 3rd tier school the resume isnt that impressive. Try going for a very junior position or maybe even contracting as an EE
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Thanks, I'd rather be told the brutal truth up front than being told f*cking fluffy lies anymore.
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i think you can make a start, but its gonna be tough, i'd say start off by going to a temp agency and applying at at least 5 of them.
 
Hey, I'm a recent EE graduate, too. A lot of other EEs that I know are going to graduate school (including me). You might want to think about continuing your education.

You might want to check out defense companies and government places (army bases, etc.). A couple of the EEs in my class are working real EE jobs there.

Just don't lose hope...
 
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
Hey, I'm a recent EE graduate, too. A lot of other EEs that I know are going to graduate school (including me). You might want to think about continuing your education.

You might want to check out defense companies and government places (army bases, etc.). A couple of the EEs in my class are working real EE jobs there.

Just don't lose hope...
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Believe me he's been trying defense companies. I tried to get him in where I work to no avail. Hopefully a friend of mine will have some better luck with his resume over at Northrop.
 
I'm a year away from my BS in CS, and I seem to have no problems finding jobs in CA -- in a week I'm probably going to have to juggle 2 jobs.

There are most certainly jobs out here! I'm even getting to do exactly what I want to do!
 
My brother in law just graduated with an EE degree from Purdue University. Right away he offers got from AC Delco, which had interned with for 3 years, and from Boeing. He took the Boeing position because it paid better and he and my sister now live in St. Louis. Two lessons from my post: good internships or job experience really are key, and #2, you MUST be willing to relocate. From the sound of it, looking for an EE job in California with your credentials is like some kid who was in a high school play going straight to Hollywood expecting to get a lead role in a feature film; it just won't happen. I would recommend changing your attitudes towards relocation, or maybe trying out grad school as someone mentioned earlier.
 
Don't give up man. Although I've notice that Northcal is a extremely hard area to look for a job especially for new grads. 🙁 But if you want to give L.A. a chance, I'm sure you'll be able to get somethign down there. Good louck.


--Scsi
 
I feel your frustration. CS graduate living in NorCal without a full time job for almost 10 months now. I finally gave up on the idea of staying here a few weeks ago. If all goes as planned I'll be living in Vancouver in a month and a half...............

I basically had 2 options, a CS job here locally that was not what I wanted to do or a job in Canada that was something I wanted to do.

I don't think you should give up if EE is really what you want to do. Think of it like this, once you get some experience somehwere, you have more options available and you might have an easier chance of finding a job there. It's better to move elsewhere for a few years and do something you want to do then be stuck in a job you are not motivated in doing.
 
Originally posted by: pillage2001
Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
The company I work for is looking for Electrical Engineers or Process Engineers. DesMoines Iowa.

🙂

CkG
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Wanna hook a bro up? 🙂
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Sure - give me a shout. We're looking for 1-2 Engineers right now, maybe more depending on...well lets just say it looks like I (CAD guy) am going to be swamped for the rest of this year if not longer if things don't stop. Busy Busy Busy.

CkG
 
*ot rant* blah i hate when i hit the back button on my mouse by accident and have to re-write posts ARGGG!!!

this thread is kind of depressing
im a 2nd semster sophmore in cs by credits and can't get any internships....i applied for 40+ and some were computer related and some were just crap data entry internships...

its annoying alot of my friends have jobs they got through their parents and most of them do useless work except for 1 that actually has real responsibilites and real things to do

it almost seems like a catch 22 unless you know someone who can get you your first internship/job

blah but from what everyone is saying i guess relocating or going to grad school and getting an internship is the best thing to do
 
I was having the same problem as you, except I was willing to move anywhere. I had a preliminary offer to work in a saudi oil field or join the air force. I chose the latter.
 
Alot of you have mentioned grad school, but a masters alone isn't going to help that much without work experience. In a relative sense, it's supposed to be even worse if you have a masters, but no work experience. Alot of undergrads don't have experience and that's not unusual, but if you have a masters but no experience, people are going to be like, WTF?

I knew someone in our department who was going to grad school, but then dropped out because he thought it would be pointless unless he worked first. I did apply for grad school at cal poly again but if things don't look up, I'm not so sure I want to go anymore. I mean, why bother going to grad school for a career path I'm probably not going to be able to get into anyways?

 
Originally posted by: OS
Alot of you have mentioned grad school, but a masters alone isn't going to help that much without work experience. In a relative sense, it's supposed to be even worse if you have a masters, but no work experience. Alot of undergrads don't have experience and that's not unusual, but if you have a masters but no experience, people are going to be like, WTF?

I knew someone in our department who was going to grad school, but then dropped out because he thought it would be pointless unless he worked first. I did apply for grad school at cal poly again but if things don't look up, I'm not so sure I want to go anymore. I mean, why bother going to grad school for a career path I'm probably not going to be able to get into anyways?
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Well, you can do some research while getting your Master's... I'm sure that counts as something 🙂 Maybe it's easier to get an internship, too, if you're doing a Master's.
 
I guess I had unrealistic expectations, I had the idea that eng would allow me a little more control over where I work and that I wouldn't have to start at the very bottom.

Had I known that my situation would end up like this, I probably wouldn't have bothered being an engineer since it doesn't provide me with a headstart over other majors. It took an extra year over other majors, which I could have spent climbing another career path.

Anyways I decided to make a version of my resume for office jobs and it feels weird cutting out large parts of it that otherwise seemed important. Funny how all those elective and nontechnical classes I've taken might end up saving me.

Anyways, thanks for the feedback, it was useful in helping me to gain a sense of direction.
 
OS, you need to realize that the market is down right now. You are (BY FAR) not the only person in this industry looking for a job right now. If you had gotten your degree 3 or 4 years ago, you could've pretty much written your own ticket.

I understand the want to work close to home, but you may have to move out of state for a bit. Grab a job in another state for a year or so, and then get transferred or start looking again.

 
Originally posted by: Wingznut
OS, you need to realize that the market is down right now. You are (BY FAR) not the only person in this industry looking for a job right now. If you had gotten your degree 3 or 4 years ago, you could've pretty much written your own ticket.

I understand the want to work close to home, but you may have to move out of state for a bit. Grab a job in another state for a year or so, and then get transferred or start looking again.
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I understand the downturn fine, I specifically remember at the end of HS that I didn't want to be an engineer because the last recession (~1990) hit technical people pretty bad. Much of my extended family has an engineering background and I remember the fallout causing a bit of shakeup. I guess getting into computers made me forget about that, but twice in the same field for my mere two decade lifetime is a bit much.

Previously I had the mindset that I should be an engineer, but I think now it's probably dangerous to get too narrow mindedly focused on one field. That's all I'm doing now, shifting focus somewhere else. I won't hold my breath for engineering to be hot again, besides aerospace/defense, the situation is just bad right now. I'd like to think I'm a well rounded person, that technical skills aren't my only abilities and that I should build on that.

 
You're not going to have a heck of a lot of luck in this economy with no experience from a 3rd tier school unless you really aggressively go after a position or know someone who can get you in. If you want to stick with engineering I'd suggest you try to find an opening somewhere, find the hiring manager or whoever you can get ahold of in the company, and pester them for an interview. SOrry to be blunt but with your credentials, a job is not going to come knocking especially if you're limiting yourself geographically.
 
You shouldn't regret getting an engineering degree... tons of people with engineering degrees go into other fields. It gives you an important advantage.
 
Interesting options.

1. Move, best choice. (you can always move back later on when you have more experience).
2. Join the military, they'll take care of you.
3. Grad school, probably not the best choice. Perhaps go for an MBA or something, then jump into management.
4. Change careers, bad decision.
5. Vote at next election!

I think if I was single, just out of school and can't find a job, I'd join the military. That's like a guarantee job right there. They train you, pay you, help you build a healthier body (more chicks), make you travel (see the world) and even pay for your education. Can't beat that. Oh yeah, they provide work experience that you can put on your resume too.
 
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
Interesting options.

1. Move, best choice. (you can always move back later on when you have more experience).
2. Join the military, they'll take care of you.
3. Grad school, probably not the best choice. Perhaps go for an MBA or something, then jump into management.
4. Change careers, bad decision.
5. Vote at next election!

I think if I was single, just out of school and can't find a job, I'd join the military. That's like a guarantee job right there. They train you, pay you, help you build a healthier body (more chicks), make you travel (see the world) and even pay for your education. Can't beat that. Oh yeah, they provide work experience that you can put on your resume too.
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Engineering is on the backburner now, I'm not going to actively pursue engineering openings anymore. Why do you think a career change is a bad idea?

Last night I sent out a resume for an account manager position and I got a call for an interview today. 🙂 It's for a financial, investment and insurance company. Also the company which I interviewed with on Tuesday called me and said if I get hired, I will start monday.

I think I'd still prefer not to move, there's someone here I'm not ready to leave behind. 😉

 
I am a recent graduate from electrical engineering. No one is hiring and I have leads in other fields.

I have a friend who said she can probably get me into insurance. I also had an interview yesterday for an office job that went well.

If I get really involved in anything else, it becomes harder to go back to engineering when it picks up because once you invest time and effort into one path, it's hard to just abandon the work experience you already have to start new in another field.
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You do what you need to do to survive.
Typically you won't stay in the same trade for your entire life.
 
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