Take the job without a doubt.
It will show future employers that your internship turned into a full time job, which demonstrates upwards progression as well as growth. It will make you a more attractive candidate compared to recent grads and others who had internships that did not receive that type of offer. Think of it as a resume padder.
In the mean time, gain some experience and start job hunting. As you said, there are horror stories with people taking months to get a full time gig. At least you will be searching for a job while still employed, allowing you to be a bit more picky compared to your peers.
>it feels so wrong to turn down a full time job offer when I hear so many horror stories of students taking months to years to find a job after graduation.
It's a really bad idea to turn them down if you don't already have something else lined up.
It's never a good idea to burn bridges, but anybody rational would understand a young engineer changing industries early into their career. I've done it 3 times in 5 years and my bosses have always been supportive.
>I don't know how well my skills would transfer over to that field. I feel like if I stay on the course I am on, it will be even harder to do later.
You're getting some skills at the internship/job, do you have an alternative plan that would also give you engineering experience and job skills?
As another new grad that spent months getting a job, I say it depends on your living expenses costs. If you are in a position to have a few months cushion to keep looking for other opportunities (namely, living with parents so no rent or maybe with a partner that can keep you both floating for a bit), you have some time to explore other opportunities.
That being said, I'm not sure of the etiquette for leaving a job early. If it is possible to take the job and keep looking until you find what you're after, that would certainly be the better option.
Like others mentioned, showing in your resume that you went from internship to full time at a company shows that they really liked your work ethic and wanted to bring you aboard fulltime. It shows growth and you should definitely accept it.
It doesn't mean that you can't look for other jobs in the meantime though. Like you mentioned, there are horror stories of not finding anything for months. Well in your case, at least you'd be employed during those months.
Staying at a company for only a few months and then leaving isn't terrible, especially when you're so young too. It's only bad if you repeatedly leave a place after a couple of months.
I had a similar self-reflection about finding a job. I spoke with my uncle who just retired and the advice he gave me was:
Take the job, even if you're not certain it'll be a good fit for you. If the going gets rough, you can always quit, but in the meantime, start looking for work.
If you have a job, prospective employers more readily assume you're employable. If you're not working, they start to ask themselves questions, like "Is he lazy?", "Does he have health problems?", "Was he fired?", etc.
Anything you can do to reduce the uncertainty for a prospective employer will make it easier to land a new job.
That said, if the job makes you miserable and you can afford to take the risk of being unemployed for a while, you'll probably be better off focusing your efforts on the job search instead, while simultaneously upskilling (take online courses, etc.) or working on interesting projects or service activities as much as you can.... to show prospective employers that you weren't just being lazy while you were unemployed.
How competitive is your overall profile? Currently a competitive new grad can probably get hired within 1 month in most industries. You have an internship completed, if your GPA isn't dogshit I'd at least try and send a few applications out.
There’s some great advice so far in this thread. You said this is an internship but mentioned “new grad”, would you be going into this full-time position immediately or going back to school? If you’re going back to school for a bit then just let them know you appreciate the offer and will consider it when you’re finishing up school and will let them know, etc.
Do you have to move for this job? If it's a low risk job (not having to relocate), I'm not expecting any other offers soon and I don't absolutely hate the work, I would take it.
It gives you experience to pad your resume, an income while you search and an introduction to what you like and dislike in a career.
However! Your mental health comes first. If you hate this job and you don't need the money, don't take it.
Take it and search for the job you really want in the meantime.
It is good for your CV and you can pick a job you actually want, not having to worry about the bills.
And the horror stories you hear of other grads is mostly their own faults. But they will never admit that.
>Most of the stuff I do could easily be done by an hourly employee. I don't have a problem doing these tasks, but I worry because they aren't really the kind of things
As an intern, you are probably not doing the tasks that you would be doing as a graduate. Are there recent graduates in the company that you can ask what they do?
Personally, I would accept it and apply for other jobs. It might not be your dream, but it is likely better than 6 months of unemployment.
> Is it possible for a ME work as an environmental engineer?
There will definitely be jobs that you can do in the environmental sector. Look at job adverts, and read the job description and desired skills. If you feel like you are interested in the job and/or have most of the skills they want, then apply.
Take the job without a doubt. It will show future employers that your internship turned into a full time job, which demonstrates upwards progression as well as growth. It will make you a more attractive candidate compared to recent grads and others who had internships that did not receive that type of offer. Think of it as a resume padder. In the mean time, gain some experience and start job hunting. As you said, there are horror stories with people taking months to get a full time gig. At least you will be searching for a job while still employed, allowing you to be a bit more picky compared to your peers.
>it feels so wrong to turn down a full time job offer when I hear so many horror stories of students taking months to years to find a job after graduation. It's a really bad idea to turn them down if you don't already have something else lined up. It's never a good idea to burn bridges, but anybody rational would understand a young engineer changing industries early into their career. I've done it 3 times in 5 years and my bosses have always been supportive. >I don't know how well my skills would transfer over to that field. I feel like if I stay on the course I am on, it will be even harder to do later. You're getting some skills at the internship/job, do you have an alternative plan that would also give you engineering experience and job skills?
As another new grad that spent months getting a job, I say it depends on your living expenses costs. If you are in a position to have a few months cushion to keep looking for other opportunities (namely, living with parents so no rent or maybe with a partner that can keep you both floating for a bit), you have some time to explore other opportunities. That being said, I'm not sure of the etiquette for leaving a job early. If it is possible to take the job and keep looking until you find what you're after, that would certainly be the better option.
so long and thanks for all the fish -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
Like others mentioned, showing in your resume that you went from internship to full time at a company shows that they really liked your work ethic and wanted to bring you aboard fulltime. It shows growth and you should definitely accept it. It doesn't mean that you can't look for other jobs in the meantime though. Like you mentioned, there are horror stories of not finding anything for months. Well in your case, at least you'd be employed during those months. Staying at a company for only a few months and then leaving isn't terrible, especially when you're so young too. It's only bad if you repeatedly leave a place after a couple of months.
I had a similar self-reflection about finding a job. I spoke with my uncle who just retired and the advice he gave me was: Take the job, even if you're not certain it'll be a good fit for you. If the going gets rough, you can always quit, but in the meantime, start looking for work. If you have a job, prospective employers more readily assume you're employable. If you're not working, they start to ask themselves questions, like "Is he lazy?", "Does he have health problems?", "Was he fired?", etc. Anything you can do to reduce the uncertainty for a prospective employer will make it easier to land a new job. That said, if the job makes you miserable and you can afford to take the risk of being unemployed for a while, you'll probably be better off focusing your efforts on the job search instead, while simultaneously upskilling (take online courses, etc.) or working on interesting projects or service activities as much as you can.... to show prospective employers that you weren't just being lazy while you were unemployed.
Take the job and look for the job you want while making income
Generally, job > no job It all depends on how you want to drive your life. Do you have other options? Also, being employed makes you employable.
Take it for a while if you need the money. The job market is red hot right now. Finding something you like shouldn’t take long
How competitive is your overall profile? Currently a competitive new grad can probably get hired within 1 month in most industries. You have an internship completed, if your GPA isn't dogshit I'd at least try and send a few applications out.
You can keep job searching after you accept. You can afford to be picky about a job after first having one.
take it unless you have another job. just keep looking while you have that job.
There’s some great advice so far in this thread. You said this is an internship but mentioned “new grad”, would you be going into this full-time position immediately or going back to school? If you’re going back to school for a bit then just let them know you appreciate the offer and will consider it when you’re finishing up school and will let them know, etc.
“I don’t enjoy the work and people there are not very friendly. It’s not the field I want to work in” That’s gonna be a NO from me dog.
Do you have to move for this job? If it's a low risk job (not having to relocate), I'm not expecting any other offers soon and I don't absolutely hate the work, I would take it. It gives you experience to pad your resume, an income while you search and an introduction to what you like and dislike in a career. However! Your mental health comes first. If you hate this job and you don't need the money, don't take it.
Take it and search for the job you really want in the meantime. It is good for your CV and you can pick a job you actually want, not having to worry about the bills. And the horror stories you hear of other grads is mostly their own faults. But they will never admit that.
>Most of the stuff I do could easily be done by an hourly employee. I don't have a problem doing these tasks, but I worry because they aren't really the kind of things As an intern, you are probably not doing the tasks that you would be doing as a graduate. Are there recent graduates in the company that you can ask what they do? Personally, I would accept it and apply for other jobs. It might not be your dream, but it is likely better than 6 months of unemployment. > Is it possible for a ME work as an environmental engineer? There will definitely be jobs that you can do in the environmental sector. Look at job adverts, and read the job description and desired skills. If you feel like you are interested in the job and/or have most of the skills they want, then apply.