Going Back to School...

[polarmystery]

your story is very disheartening OP,

I graduated with an EE degree with a much lower GPA than you and I only got a job because my dad worked at an engineering firm on the shop floor and he was buddies with the HR hiring guy. Hopefully things pick up for you. I'm planning on going back to school as well to get a degree I really want, and luckily this company I work for pays for it 100%.

Here's a :beer: for you.

 

[LordMorpheus]

It's funny how big a difference a year makes. I graduated in 2008 and walked right into a really nice position at Schlumberger. I worked for a year before coming to grad school (currently in the Ph.D. program at Cornell). At no point in time was my job up in the air, and I had a number of other offers coming out of undergraduate.

I guess it's also true that everyone I know from Rice that graduated in 2009 also had work right out of school, so it might be regional. Houston's job market is very strong when compared to places like Cali and NY at the moment.

 

[overst33r]

I'll be in your position in a year. I've decided I'm going to the military to gain experience and serve the country while engineering picks back up. I am not graduate school material and refuse to waste my time with it.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

That's the irony. Employers are only hiring people with experience, which means he can't get a job in his field to earn experience. Which leaves taking some McJob making $9/hr or going back to school until the economy picks up.

it has always been a catch-22

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

That's the irony. Employers are only hiring people with experience, which means he can't get a job in his field to earn experience. Which leaves taking some McJob making $9/hr or going back to school until the economy picks up.

it has always been a catch-22

I don't think so. You should have been working jobs since you could (16 in CA) so that you have experience. Even if you knew you were going to some top notch school for undergrad, you should still have worked during school.

10-15 hours a week is NOTHING. People bitch that they have to focus on school, but if you're spending ALL your time studying, then you're not doing it right.

I was working consistently from age 17, where I started at Taco Bell, and all throughout college. Odd jobs, office jobs, warehouse jobs, etc.

I'm 2 quarters away from graduating with a degree in engineering, and while my GPA sucks because I stopped caring about school for the first 3 years (and only brought it up the last 2 because of outside influences), I have experience from lots of jobs. However, I only put 3 of them on my resume, even though at one point I had 5 or 6 positions listed.

If engineering doesn't work out, I'll have plenty of other avenues of work to pursue. If you did nothing but have fun and study during college, you fucked up.

4 different 1 year positions with shitty pay is better than 1 government internship.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

That's the irony. Employers are only hiring people with experience, which means he can't get a job in his field to earn experience. Which leaves taking some McJob making $9/hr or going back to school until the economy picks up.

it has always been a catch-22

Ain't that the dammed truth...

No job without experience, but no experience without a job.

Here in NorCal, I'm seeing most bookkeeping jobs requiring either 5+ years of experience and an Associates degree in a related field, or a Bachelor's degree in accounting/Business Administration and 2+ years of experience...for a fucking "recordkeeping job."

I have the associate's degrees, (3 of them) but no actual experience...with almost 20% unemployment in my county...I can barely get an interview, let alone a job.

 

[GTSRguy]

I cant imagine going for a Phd...im about to finish up BS in computer aided product design...i hope i can find a job.

Also, everything was totally dead when you were looking for a job. Things should be better this summer. I dont know if a phd is something to do for money, its more of a personal thing. Alot of guys with phd's i know make alot less than guys with BS's.

 

[Regs]

I graduated with an EE degree with a much lower GPA than you and I only got a job because my dad worked at an engineering firm on the shop floor and he was buddies with the HR hiring guy.

That's pretty much any and every job. You have to know some one to push the buttons or you have to act like the most desperate date in the world. Must of these head hunters, recruiters, HR Reps, and alike, get recommendations from premeditated social networks.

Qualifications is one thing, but trying to find some one to fit the culture of the work place takes a interviewer a lot of time and patience. Most of this is circumvented when a hiring manager has a recommendation from some one he can trust.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: GTSRguy
I cant imagine going for a Phd...im about to finish up BS in computer aided product design...i hope i can find a job.

Also, everything was totally dead when you were looking for a job. Things should be better this summer. I dont know if a phd is something to do for money, its more of a personal thing. Alot of guys with phd's i know make alot less than guys with BS's.

One of my friends who graduated in CAD just got laid off and hasn't found work for 3 months yet... good luck.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: scorpious

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

That's the irony. Employers are only hiring people with experience, which means he can't get a job in his field to earn experience. Which leaves taking some McJob making $9/hr or going back to school until the economy picks up.

it has always been a catch-22

I don't think so. You should have been working jobs since you could (16 in CA) so that you have experience. Even if you knew you were going to some top notch school for undergrad, you should still have worked during school.

10-15 hours a week is NOTHING. People bitch that they have to focus on school, but if you're spending ALL your time studying, then you're not doing it right.

I was working consistently from age 17, where I started at Taco Bell, and all throughout college. Odd jobs, office jobs, warehouse jobs, etc.

I'm 2 quarters away from graduating with a degree in engineering, and while my GPA sucks because I stopped caring about school for the first 3 years (and only brought it up the last 2 because of outside influences), I have experience from lots of jobs. However, I only put 3 of them on my resume, even though at one point I had 5 or 6 positions listed.

If engineering doesn't work out, I'll have plenty of other avenues of work to pursue. If you did nothing but have fun and study during college, you fucked up.

4 different 1 year positions with shitty pay is better than 1 government internship.

I've worked 20-40 hours per week since i was 16. Those "McJobs" as they were called actually give you experience you need later in life. I learned how to manage people by the time I was 19, I learned how point of sale systems and company structure worked by 20, and I learned how to manipulate people of sales by 22. These had nothing to do with the field I wanted to get into, but turned out to be useful skills for advancing my career. Also, having experience in certain areas beat out people that had a better degree and no experience.

 

[mrrman]

to move back in with my parents
I am trying to get my wife's deat beat son to move out...hopefully soon as I have expressed that I want him out...hes a loser

 

[Tiamat]

I know how you feel. I was unemployed for 10 months before I got a job. My qpa was 3.7-3.8 in both my BSChE and MSChE. I had 4 years working experience and couldn't get a job. I found that unless I had 0 years experience or 8 years experience, I was SOL. Being entry-mid level career, there were absolutely no job offerings. It has only gotten worse from what I have heard from friends over the past year. I'm very thankful for my job even though I am very overworked (13-15hr days, 7 days a week - who says government jobs are easy?)

 

[dbk]

go work in china

 

[CRXican]

I got my BA in 2006. Should have stayed at my dead end job instead of leaving to explore new options during the Summer of 2008. Been out of work since April 2009 but haven't sent out many applications.

I did send one out last Tuesday for a job I should be a shoe in for, it will be super lame if I don't hear from them. I might actually call to follow up on that one.

 

[speg]

Graduated in April, did a brief seasonal job during the summer then travelled until end of August. Now am doing nothing at the parents. Pretty lame, but what else is there to do? I'll probably spend the rest of the year lining up overseas plans (volunteer/travel) for 2010. Is this what we've been working towards our whole lives?

 

[Zensal]

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
It's funny how big a difference a year makes. I graduated in 2008 and walked right into a really nice position at Schlumberger. I worked for a year before coming to grad school (currently in the Ph.D. program at Cornell). At no point in time was my job up in the air, and I had a number of other offers coming out of undergraduate.

I guess it's also true that everyone I know from Rice that graduated in 2009 also had work right out of school, so it might be regional. Houston's job market is very strong when compared to places like Cali and NY at the moment.

Heh. I just got laid of by Schlumberger after working there for 12 months. I got hired on to the tune of "career" and "no end in sight", yet 12 months later they chopped the workforce by almost 30%, including yours truly.

And what do ya know? I got a call from them wanting me back a few days ago. I'd love to tell them to go screw themselves, but I still don't have a job and my savings is almost dry.

I was working in the field and I don't know if I want to work those brutal hours again. 6 on 3 off schedule, typical work week in the high 90's to low 100's of hours.

 

[pray4mojo]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

Yes, but where are these jobs? No one seems to be willing to hire fresh grads right now and train them. I actually do see quite a lot of engineering jobs out there but rarely do I see one that doesn't require specific experience.

 

[pray4mojo]

Oh and I'm in the exact same boat as you OP, except you have a better GPA and more exp. This mech. eng. degree can't get anymore worthless right now.

 

[Saint Nick]

I graduate in December and am pretty unsure of my future. I've applied for about 12 jobs, only got one interview out of them and that is next week.

If I go back to school, I'm doing something outside of my current field. IT really isn't enjoyable for me.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

Yes, but where are these jobs? No one seems to be willing to hire fresh grads right now and train them. I actually do see quite a lot of engineering jobs out there but rarely do I see one that doesn't require specific experience.

This is what I'm talking about---you're jumping the gun. How about getting a job in that company's mail room? Be a secretary? Maybe some IT work?

 

[Gibson486]

I know how it was....

2 years ago, it took me 10 months to find a job. I had really good experience too... I even posted my resume here and people did not believe I could not find one. If I graduated now with my BSEE...MAN...I would just go back to school. the job market BLOWS. There are, however, a few niche market that are hiring. Civil firms are doing bad now, but they really needs EEs. For some reason, no one ever applies to those jobs.

My advice....start exploring outside your expertise. The problem with schools today is that they teach you to do one thing and one thing only. It's amazing how some EE's can;t go outside their comfort zone and do mechanical work.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: pray4mojo

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

Yes, but where are these jobs? No one seems to be willing to hire fresh grads right now and train them. I actually do see quite a lot of engineering jobs out there but rarely do I see one that doesn't require specific experience.

This is what I'm talking about---you're jumping the gun. How about getting a job in that company's mail room? Be a secretary? Maybe some IT work?

what? if you have a BSEE, they will not even think about hiring you for a mail room job. But yeah, you do have to start at the bottom, even if you have internships under my belt. My whoel first year at my current was cad support. When people need cad to be done, they came to me and I learned nothing. I hated it. They are finally weening me off of it.

 

[pray4mojo]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: pray4mojo

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Maybe you are applying for jobs that the employer is expecting a few years+ experience to get? I work with hiring at my current job, and I can tell you that we don't care what kind of degree you have- if you're young and fresh out of school you need to start at the bottom and promote your way up to get some experience under your belt.

Otherwise, the ecomony just plain sux. Most places can hardly afford their current employees much less new ones.

I don't think you need more school, I think you need some experience.

Yes, but where are these jobs? No one seems to be willing to hire fresh grads right now and train them. I actually do see quite a lot of engineering jobs out there but rarely do I see one that doesn't require specific experience.

This is what I'm talking about---you're jumping the gun. How about getting a job in that company's mail room? Be a secretary? Maybe some IT work?

I'd love to except those jobs are already taken by those with experience. I'm very willing to do engineering bitch work at this point though such as the CAD work Gibson486 mentioned.

 

[imported_Imp]

Took me a year with a civil engineering degree to find a civil engineering technologist job. It sucks, You've been drilled your whole life into thinking education = success, especially with a professional degree, and here you are.

I was unemployed for 6 months out of school, then I found a data entry job for 3 months. After that, an admin assistant's for 2 months. It took 3 more months of unemployment before I got my current job.

I got my job through "merrit" and my casual (engineering) job through who I knew. It's all luck though. They say over 500 people competed for 6 positions, one of which I got. The technology degree people know more than me. And by the sounds of it, they're having an easier time finding a job. Not to mention cheaper tuition.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Just a tip for anyone looking for a job. Even if you don't meet the minimum exp. or edu. requirements, if you feel you can do the job, apply. Just explain in your cover letter why you feel you can do the job (yes, recruiters actually read cover letters).

Anecdote: We recently hired a Purchasing Manager with 4 years of exp. even though our advert. was for 7+ because the girl knew what the hell she was doing, explained it in her cover letter, and kicked ass in the interview.