Question about job hunt (in US)with a foriegn degree

[bhabte]

I got a question, with an engineering degree from South Africa, I have found it hard to get a good job here in the US. Is there any one out there that would advise me as to how I should go about getting a good electrical job? I am now currently studying to take the EIT exam, while working an entry level job in the state of Illinois information agency. The South African degree is IEEE accredited.
i am thinking the PE and some experince might be helpfull!
Thanks

 

[prost]

KENAT:
I know it's frustrating when you come from a foreign university just as good if not better than most universities here. Or if you come from a work history that is as long as your arm; you know you could do the job as well as anybody else, because you have done the job already, yet it's difficult to even get the door open.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

proust- the same applies to Americans with degrees from not-well-known schools (which may be just as good as the well known one). But that's one of the reasons why people go to well known schools. I can't really see how it's unfair to prefer someone with an education from a school you know, especially considering how many bad/fake schools there are out there (that goes for the US and the rest of the world).

Now, if you've got real verifable job experience (not to hard to figure out if someone is BSing engineering experience)- that is pretty unfair to be overlooked.

 

[KENAT]

I'm aware of the clearance thing, now.

I always thought it would be an issue but a surprisingly large people this side of the pond who I thought might know better than me said that being a Brit it shouldn't be too bad. They were wrong.

I'd love to think of myself as a hot shot but that's just in the false reality in my head.

Annoying thing is I actually worked a USAF program while in the UK as well as working on American kit used by our forces. I've even had the pleasure of supporting testing at Eglin and China Lake, But hey, I picked to come here so I've no right to feel sorry for myself.

 

[prost]

KENAT:
Didn't mean to imply you weren't a hot shot--I should have said 'famous', for instance, Nobel Prize winner or the acocmplisher of a significant engineering feat such as the V-2 (that is, famous like Werner von Braun). For such people any law can be waived.

 

[prost]

Though it would be difficult to objectively measure this, I'll bet that there are as many 'well-known' schools resting on past laurels but which have nevertheless declined academically as there are just plain bad schools. Reputations, for better or worse, die hard. Everyone knows that there are a few shoddy medical schools in the Caribbean that will take just about anybody--when was the last time you looked at the diploma your doctor posts on his/her wall?

 

[KENAT]

Prost, Not to worry it didn't even ocur to me that you might be insulting me.

I did have a very slight hope that as I'd worked in a fairly specialized field I might stand a chance but was over optimistic.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Point taken about the doctor's degree. I have know idea where my doctor went to school.

But the clients of the company I work for (our patients) don't know where I went to school, just the people who hired me. I'll bet the hospital knows what school the doctor went to and I'll bet it played a role in bringing him onboard.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

And, while it's true that there are some prestigious places that don't merit the reputation (and good schools that aren't well known) I don't think that's the norm. I've had the opportunity to work with several univeristy research groups (all from different schools) in the same field. Believe me, there was a huge difference between the school ranked 2nd in the nation (in this subject) and the one ranked in the top twenty.

 

[IRstuff]

Not all of us pay attention to where a doctor comes from, but some of us do. When we start looking for a new doctor, we look at the doctors listed in the insurance listings and then look to see what schools they went to and where they did their residency. Someone who got their degree in the a foreign medical school and their residency in an unknown hospital will usually get a pass.

While doctors are all technically competent based on their passing the medical licensing exams, they are not all equally competent.

TTFN

 

[Grouser]

I'd suggest getting an in-depth letter of recommendation from each of your relevent past employers to attach to your resume/application. Although I'm terrible at it, one should keep in touch with people who can give good references in order to keep ones's network up and to be able to provide current contact information.

Good Luck.

 

[prost]

IRStuff
Certainly not all doctors have same skill. You know what they call the person finishing last in his/her medical school class?
"Doctor"

((same as the one finishing first in his/her class))

A couple of years into your career and no one cares what college you attended.

 

[Quantum50]

Just like my sister told me as she was preparing for her residency. C=MD.

That got me to thinking......
It goes to show that the doctor/patient relationship is team and the patient gives the final approval for any course of action. Even though I was being helped by one of the best general surgeons in the Pacific Northwest (USA), I ask him to justify all his conclusions before I agreed to allow him to procede. What made him a great doctor is he didn't have any problem with me asking him to do so.

 

[IRstuff]

Prost,

Only if you're already in the US.

I recently met a professor of medicine from Serbia, who was in his sixties? He was competing with the 20-somethings for a 1st yr medical residency, as if his decades of experience were nonexistent.


As I said before, I certainly pay attention to my doctor's C.V.

TTFN