What to do after graduation?

[Arnotice]

Hey what's going? I just graduated from the University of Buffalo in May with a BSEE and 2.3 gpa. I am not sure what to do. I do not have any true experience, expect for two jobs that were in the field but I did not have to use my EE skills at all. I heard technician jobs can be a good start. I also heard that I should get my masters or FE. However my gpa is low for grad school. What should I do??

 

[GregLocock]

What do you actually /want/ to do? Apparently getting a reasonable GPA in your engineering degree wasn't very high on your priority list, have you now changed your mind?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/jobs/31gpa.html?Pagewanted=al&_r=0

The good news is that a few years into your career your low GPA will be of academic interest only, but if you actually want to work as an engineer it will hamper your chances of getting that rather tricky first job.

Working in a company as a technician and transitioning across to engineering may work, but I doubt it is a quick path.


Cheers

Greg Locock


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[KENAT]

Will you be able to get onto Masters with that GPA? I know in some fields they pretty much require 3.0 to even consider you. There have been several posts recently discussing or questioning value of masters in engineering field - I suggest you take a look.

My GPA was not spectacular, I got a trade directory and wrote to all the companies that looked vaguely interesting with my resume& a cover letter showing I'd researched their company a little. Now this was a few years ago when the internet was less prevalent in job hunting but might be worth considering doing similar.

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[Panther140]

Write a kick-ass cover letter. Immediately point out that you meet the qualifications for the job and convince them you are excited that the job opportunity exists. Its a lot easier when you are actually passionate about getting the job that you want.

The technician route could work really well in the right company. In my company, it would work very well, because they love promoting from within. Work as a technician for somebody and then apply to any EE openings they have.

Word your cover letter something like "Hello, my name is Arnotice. I have a BSEE, (insert previous employment time) of relevent experience working in electrical engineering. I was very excited to see the job you posted. I love electricity blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss how I could help your department do awesome stuff all the time."

I'm sure you get the idea there. Include anything relevant that you have built in your own time on your resume. Electrical engineering makes you tick, and you are dedicated to it. If you find 3 jobs that you really want, reconstruct your cover letter and resume for each one, and you are even close to what they are looking for then you will have much better chances then sending out 30 generic resumes to jobs you wont even remember applying for

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[TehMightyEngineer]

Party of course; you graduated!



...Once the beer wears off I'd highly consider getting my FE and working towards a PE. Even if you don't go that route getting the FE isn't that hard and well worth it. After that I'd start polishing my resume and get to the job offers. Put out some lures and see what you reel in.

Maine Professional and Structural Engineer.

 

[Arnotice]

Thank you for the help all!

I would also like to note, that my transcript show positive progression in terms of improvement. If that would help. Also, many of the courses I took in school were analog/digital design courses. So that is the concentration I feel most comfortable with.

I think what I would do is gain experience by working in the technician field. The FE and PE are plausible but I heard PE are actually rare and only needed for (to put it vaguely) specific things.

Once again thank you for the input.

 

[Panther140]

My starting pay as an engineering technician works out to 20% less than a mechanical engineer starting salary. I also know that the technician I work with got hired around the same time for 10% more money than I did. Neither of us have degrees or debt and neither of us have had our 6 month performance review, which will go very well since we can show objective data tracking the improvements we have brought to the department compared to previous trends.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[GregLocock]

But, but, but, technicians don't do (much) analog/digital design. I agree FE and PE are probably irrelevant in that field, not least because you probably won't find a PE to sign your work off. That's a shame, as it would have been one way of establishing technical credibility.

Have you identified which companies you'd like to work for? Are you prepared to move to their location?

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[Mechanical321]

I was in your place three years ago and found my first job in electrical/lighting company. It wasn't related to my major but I got an idea of how to deal with customers, vendors, learned how to conduct meetings, and soft skills. Remember, you can keep looking for jobs even if you have one.

 

[sam74]

I know of an Electric Cooperative that is currently hiring if you don't mind cold winters. It probably wouldn't involve your academic specialty but if your interested in a getting a job related to your field Google Mckenzie Electric. There is a lack of people for available jobs in Western ND so you might have a pretty good chance there.

I'm not trying to recruit you but I do work as a contractor for them and am aware of this opportunity and the lack of locals to fill the role. If there was a PM option here I would have let you know that way.

 

[oldestguy]

Have you looked locally? Years ago there were at least two consulting engineering firms in Buffalo that did a variety of electrical engineering.

 

[spciesla]

The technician route can be a mixed bag. At some companies, if you start as a technician then the powers that be always see you as a technician. I have seen this with employees that worked as technicians and returned to school to acquire an engineering degree. Other companies may appreciate your technician background and understand that it can make you a more well rounded engineer. Definitely worth discussing during an interview. You will want to know if or how many technicians have made the change to engineering. It would be even better if you could talk to someone at that company that followed that path.

 

[1gibson]

First, take and pass the FE exam while things are fresh, even if you don't think you want to be a PE. It's a counterpoint to the low GPA, and will remove a lot of doubt about competency. What's your GPA for core engineering courses? Is it any better? A really high GPA scares me more than a low one. I knew too many people who were great at studying but didn't know which way to turn a screwdriver.

Then get a job in a shop, or an office that has a shop attached to it, show some interest in the actual physical product. Seems like you'd be a good fit for small-medium shop that builds some sort of machines with electronics (vehicles, CNC, maybe heavy equipment.) Whenever you see a bunch of people standing around something and scratching their heads, go figure it out. After you get some experience there, you can figure out what you want to be when you grow up.

 

[tstructural]

The FE exam is all about what you learned in school so there is absolutely no reason to put it off. I know a lot of Electrical and Mechanical engineers that have no intention (even decades into their career) of ever getting the PE but they took and passed their FE fresh out of school.

Having your FE and having a higher than 2.3 GPA in Core Engineering classes would help me overlook your low over all GPA. Unfortunately some companies will throw out your resume once they see the 2.3 GPA and you can't change that. You can keep your GPA off of your resume but if I was looking to hire a recent grad I would prefer to see your Core Engineering Class GPA. Who cares if you scored a D in a poly/sci? That's just my take.

Did you participate in any engineering associations while in college? Play sports? Anything you can add to your resume that shows team building and maybe leadership skills would help.

 

[concretemasonry]

I am CE. When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be a CE. My counselor knew civil Engineering covered many different specialties (structural, soils, hydraulics, sewerage, surveying, planning, etc.) and he suggested that since I was in a 5 year program I should take courses in many areas and based on that, I should come up with a 6 year plan for after college consisting of experience (2 years of each design, construction and general) before deciding where I wanted to go after getting 6 years under my belt before arriving at a final goal or employer. I did not have a real high GPA, but could have gotten a BSCE in 4 years and take graduate courses for a MSCE.

Since I had a plan that made things easier to sort out.

I found that the 2 year stints were actually a benefit and not a hindrance on my resume because I had a plan, followed it, learned and could adapt to the profession as long as I was active in other items (professional societies, codes, standards, etc.) that allowed me to grow. When I was questioned about my short terms (2 years each), they all thought that was not a barrier.

It was a nice, profitable experience and I still see and work with many people before and after my retirement. Last week, I had to turn down a free week-end pit/paddock ticket (government box) to the Hungarian Grand Prix because the decent flights to Budapest were already booked.

Dick

Engineer and international traveler interested in construction techniques, problems and proper design.

 

[sam74]

I would still suggest looking at my former posts information. There is currently a 20 something year old electrical technology 2 year degree graduate as engineering manager and a 20 something year old ag engineer as system reliability and planning manager. They are busy and being trained on the fly in and out of house. There simply are no people in the area to fill the jobs and all imports are normally welcomed. It would likely be a good opportunity with a low gpa and little experience. The CEO is a former lineman who went and got his EE after several years of field experience.

 

[metengr]

I am not sure what to do.

What to do? Start applying for an entry level EE job, and be flexible regarding relocation.

 

[Terratek]

I agree with metengr. It's a simple as that. As a hiring manager, I wouldn't dismiss a 2.3 GPA out of hand. In fact, I'm always intrigued why anyone would choose such a tough major and then not apply themselves. Or, are they just not that smart (academically) but work really really hard so they don't do well but do pass? You would need to show something to offset the low GPA. Progressive improvement would be a big plus. I'd include my major GPA along with my cumulative GPA, if it was much better. Get a year or two experience, do well and the nobody will care about your GPA. In fact, it would look kind of silly to include your GPA on a resume after 3 years in the field.

Getting employers' attention can be hard. Don't just submit your resume online and call it a day. If you can find out who the hiring manager is and manage to make personal contact by phone (or even in person), try to do that and you will have a much higher chance of getting an interview. It will at least get the manager to read your resume and see your name. So many resumes just get glossed and trashed, it's kind of sad, but it's also true life.

Grad school might be okay - not sure how far a master's degree sets you apart from your counterparts in electrical engineering. The problem with grad school is the expense. I did mine while working part time and the company paid for all of it. I owned a lot on my bachelor degree student loans and would not have considered spending another penny on school (well I did buy my own books). It's certainly a very expensive and torturous pathway to simply erase a bad GPA - especially if you don't like school!

Too bad you don't have any internships (none that you mention, at least). Those go a long way to erase bad GPA's in my opinion. A worker vs a thinker. Lastly, try not to get discouraged looking for a job. I take "no" personally, but truth is, you don't know why you aren't getting the interview or the job or whatever. Companies post positions all the time which they are not really hiring for. Yeah, they might hire a real gem, but no plans otherwise. Just persevere. When I was looking for work, I committed myself to looking and applying for jobs for at least 6 hours a day, which is less than what I'd be working at a job, but it is also more emotionally taxing. You won't be the only one feeling the pain.

 

[amata42]

I agree with some of these replies. Get a Technician Job first! I did technician jobs. They can be fun! And you'll get a-lot of experience. And they don't care about you're GPA.

Also: consider working as an Engineering Intern. You may be graduated from college, but you can still work as an Intern for a company (Electrical Engineering Intern)... You'll get cheap pay... Depending on where you live... $13 to $17 / hour... but its a great start, and who cares! You don't have a family or house... you're young. Its a great place to start.

Trust me: not every engineering graduate starts off as an Engineer right after college... some of them have to take a "little longer" road, but its okay. Before you know it, you'll be there!

 

[dvd]

My take on gpa is that those with low gpa's are not hung up on the solution but understand the process and can work with a lot more uncertainty. High gpa's want more of a black/white outcome. There is a definite place for both.

As for what to do, I recommend that you serve an apprenticeship as an electrician (hopefully through the IBEW). With your degree and training as an electrician you could become invaluable in maintenance/facilities engineering.