My experience through a top 10 engineering college, and resume/job search help

[Gibson486]

Yea, got a bunch of student loan debt as well, highly doubt I will be pursuing any more formal education.

I'm going to try really hard to get a job before this May. I've been reading a ton about substation engineering and transformer engineering as well as protective relaying and transmission/distribution planning as this is what's listed on my resume under skills. Once I'm done with that I plan to move into C programming and try and pass the FE this April.. if it doesn't work out I think I'll probably have to settle for the IT industry.

It's not a bad thing I mean I'd probably get paid more and move up quicker due to the massive amount of people who are asking me if I'm moving into IT.. but I'd much rather do something I enjoy. Just hope it works out.


Honestly though, is there any glaring inconsistency or problem with my resume? That's what I'll be using for the hundreds of applications I plan to start sending out.. would hate for it to be in vain if my resume sucks.

Why would you learn C? First, you should already know it, did they not teach it to you? 2nd, C is really not used in that industry. Most stuff is done with a PLC, PAC or DCS. It's ladder logic or Basic. The stuff done in C is very low level stuff that a substation engineer or a power distribution engineer probably will not touch.

As PowerEngineer pointed out, you kind of need to know which industry you want to get in. From the sounds of it, you do not want to be in the manufacturing end. It's the "hardcore engineering" and they will quiz you to death.

The other industry is the consulting and utilities side. They are the CDM's and the National Grids of the world. You will be paid to layout designs for public and private projects. It could range from designing the power entrance for a new substation to figuring out the grounding for a whole plant. This is the industry that has the jobs now because no one wants to do it. Having left the industry, yeah, it's boring. However, it is the one industry that cannot be outsourced.

The thing about this job is that it is more application engineering. You do what you need to do engineering wise depending on what is on the market. Essentially, you just take off the shelf stuff and spec it out so a contractor buys it and you just make sure that you specify what you need so your plants or stations will not blow up or catch on fire due to faulty electrical designs.

Here are some companies to look at:

http://enr.construction.com/toplists/designfirms/001-100.asp

Keep in mind that the majority of these companies have offices in multiples states...Do not be afraid to go beyond the 100. The company I worked is beyond 100. If you live in MA, I know lots of them have offices here and they are hiring.

 

[EagleKeeper]

1400 openings are showing on Dice for Power Systems Engineer without a filtered search

Some will be agencies, others may be companies.

Get researching

 

[SeductivePig]

Why would you learn C? First, you should already know it, did they not teach it to you? 2nd, C is really not used in that industry. Most stuff is done with a PLC, PAC or DCS. It's ladder logic or Basic. The stuff done in C is very low level stuff that a substation engineer or a power distribution engineer probably will not touch.

As PowerEngineer pointed out, you kind of need to know which industry you want to get in. From the sounds of it, you do not want to be in the manufacturing end. It's the "hardcore engineering" and they will quiz you to death.

The other industry is the consulting and utilities side. They are the CDM's and the National Grids of the world. You will be paid to layout designs for public and private projects. It could range from designing the power entrance for a new substation to figuring out the grounding for a whole plant. This is the industry that has the jobs now because no one wants to do it. Having left the industry, yeah, it's boring. However, it is the one industry that cannot be outsourced.

The thing about this job is that it is more application engineering. You do what you need to do engineering wise depending on what is on the market. Essentially, you just take off the shelf stuff and spec it out so a contractor buys it and you just make sure that you specify what you need so your plants or stations will not blow up or catch on fire due to faulty electrical designs.

Here are some companies to look at:

http://enr.construction.com/toplists/designfirms/001-100.asp

Keep in mind that the majority of these companies have offices in multiples states...Do not be afraid to go beyond the 100. The company I worked is beyond 100. If you live in MA, I know lots of them have offices here and they are hiring.

We were only required to take one semester on C freshman year.. the EE program at Purdue doesn't have a programming requirement. It's largely an electronics based degree and I regret that now because I look at other schools and they have all these fascinating courses on power systems that I would've loved to take.

I think I actually talked to you this summer, that link is definitely something someone on here sent me. I'll be taking a closer look at that now that I have a usable resume and a degree..

1400 openings are showing on Dice for Power Systems Engineer without a filtered search

Some will be agencies, others may be companies.

Get researching

Does it matter if most of those companies say they want experience? I know the typical answer to that question is no, and apply anyways, but I don't know if that applies to engineering.


Furthermore, I'm assuming that I'm mainly looking for consulting companies and utility companies, correct?

 

[EagleKeeper]

<snip>

Does it matter if most of those companies say they want experience? I know the typical answer to that question is no, and apply anyways, but I don't know if that applies to engineering.


Furthermore, I'm assuming that I'm mainly looking for consulting companies and utility companies, correct?

Many want experience

Best would be to indicate on a cover letter that you are fresh out of school (highlight Purdue) and would like to work in such-n-such department.


Some recruiters will have inside connections to departments - those they may push your paperwork to.

The same goes with direct company listings. You are not trying to apply to the job, but to get your foot in the door with the relevant department.

Research a direct company listing and tailor the cover letter to them.

For Head Hunters, good luck. simple cover letter within the email will work.

Also, get your resume up on DICE, Monster and CareerBuilder for three.

Decide if you are going to be restrained geographically in your search.

As others have stated, expect a lot of rejections, but something will pop.


Track down every power distribution (if that is the area you desire) company in the USA and fire off a letter to their HR. If you have a geographic preference; send those out first and wait two-three weeks for any feedback. After that expand the mailing.
I would do not email those; spending the stamp and time will make a small impression for trying to get your foot in their door because you are coming in blind.

Keep track of who you send and when so you do not duplicate efforts using the job boards. if you go directly to a company via a job listing, do not send a paper copy.
If a recruiter contacts you, make sure you can tell them if you already contacted the company.

Look at Union Electric locally.

 

[Jassi]

If my skill set as an I&C Engineer is valuable, somebody please clue in my company. They are now having a hard time finding even entry level engineers in I&C but they are not showing any love to the ones already there.

The industry is top heavy and the pie gets divided up there.

FE (Fundamentals of engineering) is the name of the exam for the EIT....

EEs do not take it that much anymore because the whole industry is pushing for colleges to get people to do circuit design and stuff. Power Distribution and Controls at the architecture level took a back seat. Now, trying to find an EE in those fields is like pairing a nerd with a hot model.

 

[SeductivePig]

If my skill set as an I&C Engineer is valuable, somebody please clue in my company. They are now having a hard time finding even entry level engineers in I&C but they are not showing any love to the ones already there.

The industry is top heavy and the pie gets divided up there.

When you say hard time finding entry level engineers in I&C, do you mean qualified candidates, or lack of candidates applying at all? Seems interesting.

 

[Gibson486]

If my skill set as an I&C Engineer is valuable, somebody please clue in my company. They are now having a hard time finding even entry level engineers in I&C but they are not showing any love to the ones already there.

The industry is top heavy and the pie gets divided up there.

It's the reason why I left the industry. My previous job was an Electrical and I&C engineer. I hated it. They do not show love to I&C people because lots of companies do not appreciate what they do. Essentially, they glue the whole project together by integrating the electric and the mechanical. However, people do not see it that way. According to them, I&C people just put wires together.

Also, it sucks for entry level people because in lots of firms, it's all about throwing people under the bus and who better to throw under than the new people who do not know better. There is a clear lack of mentorship going on. People and other groups are always acting like they have to one up everyone else, so they take any small detail or problem and make it bigger than it has to be. I am gonna stop now because just because the industry wasn't for me does not mean it's not for the OP, but yeah, I could go on for hours.

 

[Gibson486]

When you say hard time finding entry level engineers in I&C, do you mean qualified candidates, or lack of candidates applying at all? Seems interesting.

like i said, they cannot find people to work in the industry. No one graduates and goes, "i want to be an I&C engineer". It's very difficult to be qualified out of school as an I&C engineer because no school teaches that stuff.

Schools do not teach you process engineering, they do not teach EE's about the different flow meters and the relations between viscosity, temperature, and fluids, they do not teach you about P&IDs, and they sure as hell do not teach ladder logic programming at 4 year schools.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Many recruiters actually prefer to avoid highly institutionalized schools like MIT, because they are so theory based and their grads cannot respond well in a real engineering setting unless they are merely crunching numbers.

This is actually a little true. Some folks used to say "If you want ideas, go to MIT. If you want them implemented, go to Iowa State" waaay back in the day, but sadly, ISU has fallen a little behind.

 

[Jassi]

They are being really picky but not many people are applying either. Only a high GPA from a top 20 school will get you an interview. Pair that with the unsexy image of the field and it's hard to recruit.

When you say hard time finding entry level engineers in I&C, do you mean qualified candidates, or lack of candidates applying at all? Seems interesting.

 

[Jassi]

What are you doing now? I'm applying for grad school in business, probably part time unless I get in to a top 10 program.

like i said, they cannot find people to work in the industry. No one graduates and goes, "i want to be an I&C engineer". It's very difficult to be qualified out of school as an I&C engineer because no school teaches that stuff.

Schools do not teach you process engineering, they do not teach EE's about the different flow meters and the relations between viscosity, temperature, and fluids, they do not teach you about P&IDs, and they sure as hell do not teach ladder logic programming at 4 year schools.

 

[DaWhim]

how about grad school? do well and you can use grad school GPA.

the problem is getting into grad school with ur current GPA...

 

[Gibson486]

What are you doing now? I'm applying for grad school in business, probably part time unless I get in to a top 10 program.

I am doing independent work. It pays, what, a little over a quarter of what I made previously because it part time. Once I finish paying my bills and rent each month, my account becomes empty. That said, I'd pick this situation any day rather than working in my previous industry again and my fiancee feels the same way.