Engineering Majors?

[nomnom]

Attempting to raise my grades this quarter to swtich from CE to ME. Wish me luck guys, I've been stressin hard

 

[lucho]

bros....I just finished last fall with a BSCE. I have no idea what to do now, can't seem to land any interviews and I regret not finding an internship in school. Still need to pass the FE exam which I plan on taking soon (they did switch up the FE exam which is now computer based and is offered throughout the year instead of only twice).
My question is, with no "job experience", how can one still look appealing on a resume? :x:x:x:x:x:x:x:x

I'm not sure what your resume looks like, but one of the things I look for from people fresh out of college with limited experience is how much their educational experience can relate to the job description. I would suggest tailoring your resume to the job description of the posting you're applying for. Class projects and courses that fall within the description would be good to throw in there. Major projects such as a senior project is also great. I think I had about 4 different resumes that I would work off of and tweak based on the type of position I applied for. Also, at the end of the resume, feel free to throw some activities you do, have done, or have been a part of.

 

[mrswagtastic]

I'm not sure what your resume looks like, but one of the things I look for from people fresh out of college with limited experience is how much their educational experience can relate to the job description. I would suggest tailoring your resume to the job description of the posting you're applying for. Class projects and courses that fall within the description would be good to throw in there. Major projects such as a senior project is also great. I think I had about 4 different resumes that I would work off of and tweak based on the type of position I applied for. Also, at the end of the resume, feel free to throw some activities you do, have done, or have been a part of.

thanks for the response man. I mostly have the notable courses I took, a few extra curricular things, and my part time job experience which was in retail :x. I think I'm going to add in my senior design project. May I also ask what it is that you do and what field of engineering? Thanks bro

 

[kesp]

Great advice from Lucho imo. Please don't use a generic objective on your resume. Resumes are not "one size fits all"

It is possible to get a job without any relevant experience, but you really, really have to be persistent. I didn't intern either (2nd biggest regret of college).

Now I try to drill that into the minds of my friends still in school

 

[tlrdx91]

What's a good GRE score for a top 10 program?

 

[lyonbc1]

^^ Yep, especially true for those listings on company sites that go through several filters...you could have everything they want but if you just mass send out the same exact resume and don't include some of the terminology they use in the posting; you will decrease your odds. My senior design prof my last year really helped me with getting my position where I am now I had several different versions of my resume depending on the type of job I applied for...some I put a heavy emphasis on my research experience and work in labs at school, others I focused heavily on my real world job experience and didn't include a ton of detail about my research bc it wasn't pertinent to the position. My situation may be a little different since I did biomedical engineering and research was essentially a requirement at my school but I feel like it still can broadly apply to other disciplines.

And its probably been preached a lot in here but I cannot stress this enough: NETWORK your *** off in school, get to know your professors through office hours, and once you get out or in internships/co-ops get to know people you are working with! Demonstrate a solid work ethic, show commitment to improving if you don't understand something (in school and at work) and you'll be surprised with how many doors it will open. My senior design teacher got me in touch with a branch chief who was a former student of his 8 years ago, and that ultimately led to me getting my first job (been here ~6 months now), but I had built a good rapport with him outside of class and decided to send him my resume for a review one day...he brought up some places I hadn't even thought of applying to and it helped out a lot. Networking is just as, and probably ultimately imo more important than your grades in school to be completely honest.

 

[lucho]

thanks for the response man. I mostly have the notable courses I took, a few extra curricular things, and my part time job experience which was in retail

. I think I'm going to add in my senior design project. May I also ask what it is that you do and what field of engineering? Thanks bro

I'm a Civil Engineer for the State of CA. My main focus is primarily wastewater. I'm an NPDES regulatory case manager for treatment plants and collection systems over 6 counties in central CA. Job description includes review of self-monitoring reports, technical groundwater reports, and permit compliance. I'm out doing inspection/audits 2-3 times a month so it breaks up my office hours a bit.

One of the things people should realize is that companies and agencies don't expect you to know the job right away. They just want to know that you have some knowledge relating to the job, and they will train/mold you into what they want you to do. There is always a learning curve, and the length of that is based on how much you know. Now, there may be other candidates that might have more knowledge or qualifications, but it doesn't necessarily mean they have an advantage over you. 

Your resume isn't the main thing that gets you the job. You are. I think the interview itself is more important than the resume itself. They want to know how well you communicate, how you would fit in, how you respond to general or technical questions, etc. It's tough, but that 30 min to an hour you'll have with them is what will set you apart from the others. Not your resume. 

 

[ozarkshark]

this semester I'm taking statics,thermo,physics 3, and a shop class basically, i can't wait to get out of my CC (ncc) and get that BA, i know I'm going to do good on the interviews, i try to talk to these od antisocial nerds but they kinda have a disorder when it comes to talking to other ppl idk how they gonna do it they think a 4.0 is going to get them a job. i have positive thoughts about after graduating esp bc I'm going to study vigorously for the FE then PE this has truly become a life goal for me to pass that PE. idc if I'm broke if i get that PE license i will feel so good lol. Good luck to all those taking classes this spring 

 

[lucho]

 
this semester I'm taking statics,thermo,physics 3, and a shop class basically, i can't wait to get out of my CC (ncc) and get that BA, i know I'm going to do good on the interviews, i try to talk to these od antisocial nerds but they kinda have a disorder when it comes to talking to other ppl idk how they gonna do it they think a 4.0 is going to get them a job. i have positive thoughts about after graduating esp bc I'm going to study vigorously for the FE then PE this has truly become a life goal for me to pass that PE. idc if I'm broke if i get that PE license i will feel so good lol. Good luck to all those taking classes this spring 

Try to get an internship somewhere now to get your foot in the door. Also, take the FE while in school. It makes it a bit easier, especially around that third year or so. I passed mine a few months after i graduated and i wish i would have taken it sooner. Taking the PE this year so trying to get back on that school grind.

 

[hrtjccc]

Sophomore year science student minoring in physics, will be transferring to another college for engineering. Thinking of doing ee, do I need to be good with linear algebra? The professor in my college right now literally knows nothing about the subject. He doesn't even know what is the difference between dot product and cross product. He finished the semester on Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors...

How relevant is physics? I am pretty good in physics, top of class in my year. Pretty crappy college though. Thinking of doing some physics research while i'm in this college or this summer. Do they matter at all?

Is it possible to take FE on your own? I have not taken any major specific classes yet but kinda wanna start planning studying for FE already. Need some tips on that.

 

[elcatfisho]

need to get this GPA up... so many of those big corporations want that 3.0

had an interview for an internship yesterday so I'm hoping that comes through.

 

[kesp]

Everyone reccomends the Lindenburg FE review manual. And taking the general exam, I think you could pass the FE using that and becoming familiar with the formula book

3.0 is definitely the minimum you should have. Be it overall or within your major... I don't think recruiters care. Just seeing 3.0 or above will make them look at you more closely.. Which is good

 

[wearinthefourfive]

I graduated in December with a BS in Civil Engineering. I got a job at a transportation design firm, and have been working there for a few weeks now. Here are some general tips for engineers in college/ fresh out of college:


-Get your FE as soon as possible. My school did a 2 week review course leading up to the exam for $60, and it was worth every penny. That was basically all the studying I did for the exam, and I passed no problem. If you can find any courses like that, I highly recommend them; if not, pound those review books and take the general afternoon exam.

-Get internships. Everyone says it, and I know it's easier said than done. I got one internship throughout college, but those 3 months of experience were enough to show companies I wasn't a complete waste of space. Go to career fairs as early as possible. Even if your resume isn't great, you can start forming relationships with recruiters, who always like to see the same face every year at career fairs. Check job listing sites like monster, indeed, linkedin etc EARLY to try to get a leg up on internships for the summer. If you're looking for a job during school, look in the public sector. There's a good chance your local city or county is looking for engineering interns, even if the job is unpaid.

-Learn as many programs as you can in school. My knowledge of AutoCAD,Civil3D, StormCAD, HydroCAD, etc really helped land my position, and that's a lot of what I'm doing at work now. I've also had to learn other programs like Microstation and InROADS on the job, which has been hard as hell. If you don't have a lot of work experience, skills like this look great on a resume.

-Keep your GPA up. Since I didn't have much experience in the field, my 3.3 GPA also helped show I wasn't a complete waste of space. Most jobs will toss people out automatically with anything under a 3.0, and that's real.


The world on the other side of school can be quite lucrative, so keep going strong.

 

[imapizzaguy]

 

Congrats! Glad to see you're doing well. 

Currently a third year CE and everything you mentioned is spot on. 

Having gone to the career fair for CE/ENVE at my school last week I can honestly say all of the companies I spoke with looked at my GPA but they seemed a lot more interested in my previous internship experiences. They were very impressed with my work experiences and skills and I felt that was a great talking point and ultimately led to further interest and one interview so far. 

I really value the course work and technical skills taught in the classroom but I can't stress enough about how valuable internships are. I feel like I've learned so much more by actually being able to work and develop my professional skills on the job. Granted, the work wasn't very technical, just having the interaction with professionals and being exposed to projects and applications makes coming back to schoolwork a lot easier. I mean, the course work is still challenging and very stressful but the concepts have become much clearer to understand having been exposed to the working side of things.   

Also planning to take the FE in a few months. I'm taking a pretty heavy course load again this quarter so I don't think I'll have much time to set aside to study for it.

I've heard a lot of good things about the review course offered though and I'm definitely enrolling when it's up.  

 

[elcatfisho]

Just got a job offer. stay up my dudes

 

[sco cuddie1]

Any of you Engineering Majors interested in coming into the Construction Management field? I've casually been looking to see what's out there and I've found a ton of Project Engineering position available in the Bay Area.

If you're interested, let me know and I can help you out on what General Contractors are looking for.

 

[omgitswes]

Started out as an EE, switched to MIS, just landed a systems engineering position

 

[GreenNGold89]

Any new PE's?

Took the test in April and passed. Now fighting for a hefty raise.

 

[Junok]

Damn, congrats!

 

[lucho]

Congrats!! I passed two out of three. Just gotta get this last one in October and I'll be set.

 

[GreenNGold89]

Thanks guys. Luckily for electrical there is only 1 test.

Good luck Lucho. The feeling once you are all done

 

[ijumpman]

Pros:
Pretty good starting salary
You're much better at math than everyone
Tons of fields you can work in, regardless of engineering discipline
If you actually learned in school, you'll be able to apply engineering logic to fixing everyday problems. In other words, you're MacGyver.
Highly-respected among your non-engineering friends, especially if you get a job in your field.
You get to work your brain like never before, especially in school. It's amazing how much you're capable of understanding when you really work at it.

Cons:
If you don't like math, there's a good chance that this may not be the field for you. I spent the majority of my college life understanding and solving math problems.
Most of the stuff you studied, you won't get to apply, it's been done for you, which means you'll forget a lot.
You typically work with a bunch of socially inept engineers.
You don't get to become Tony Stark.
Most hot girls aren't impressed.
You're often sitting at a computer for hours, so it's important to eat healthy and go to the gym often if you don't want to get fat.

I'm a Mechanical Engineer, and wouldn't have it any other way. Having said that, I'd like to get a second engineering degree, preferably Electrical Engineering. Mainly to have a better understanding of things, and qualify myself for other fields.

Starting salary was good, I'll just say that.

I had to seek work, the market was rough when I graduated in '09, and it took me about 5 months to land a job. Things are much better now from what I can tell.

 

[mrswagtastic]

whats up fam? anybody take the new FE exam for the EIT? (CBT format). need to take and pass that asap. was wondering how it is now that it is computer based. also, any Pennsylvania heads in the thread? Might move up there and was wondering what the job market is like up there compared to the west coast.

 

[af1 1982]

whats up fam? anybody take the new FE exam for the EIT? (CBT format). need to take and pass that asap. was wondering how it is now that it is computer based. also, any Pennsylvania heads in the thread? Might move up there and was wondering what the job market is like up there compared to the west coast.

I'm taking the new FE in the fall. I heard it's a little easier now since it's computer based. It's easier to navigate the equations book that they give you.

Pennsylvania is alright when it comes to the job market. I've had 3 internships. 2 in Maryland, and 1 in PA and I go to school and am a resident of PA.

I'd say the entire Northeast is a great region for engineering (PA, DMV, etc). But I can't imagine it being better than California.

 

[af1 1982]

Started this new internship in Nuclear this past month. So much paperwork man. Meeting specs, requirements, certs etc. It gets boring at times but it's so damn important. Codes are the backbone of the industry. I gotta get better at this stuff. It's a basic skill that all managers possess.