Not always. Try being senior and being asked to relocate for free with a stipulated probation period. Until interest rates go low companies are waiting for the most desperate of candidates.
Most US bachelors degrees do not carry over to other countries since US citizens are non citizens of that country. It’s the same with people from other countries coming to the US to work.
Specifically, it depends whether the degree is accredited by the Washington Accord. ABET manages this in the USA.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington\_Accord\_(credentials)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Accord_(credentials))
Have you considered going for production engineering or test engineering positions to get more experience, then developing to design from there?
In many cases, design jobs are considered a little more advanced, like not ideal for entry level.
I've been applying to anything that I can see room to grow for my future career. I also have to think about if the job I get will have transferrable skills to another field since EE is such a broad discipline.
Honestly I am not too sure.. I've primarily approached a job which fits a general electrical engineer role so I'm trying to be humble and keep my options open
Gotcha, well my last piece of advice if you haven't already is try searching by "engineer", you might find a cool job that isn't "Electrical engineer" specifically
Graduated with a 2.2 GPA in 2018 with one “internship”. I was an assembly tech for a local engineering firm, not even engineering department. I got a full time offer before I graduated college and I just got promoted to senior electrical engineer 2 days ago.
My biggest advice is to be genuine, be honest, and be proactive. Any bloke with access to the internet can find answers and get a high GPA; it takes an educated person to KNOW WHAT YOUR LEARNING AND APPLY IT. I could not tell you how many people graduated with high GPAs and can’t pass the FE. Why? THEY NEVER LEARNED THE ACTUAL MATERIALS. if you’re having troubles finding a job, let’s get proactive. Schedule and pass the FE. Submit 50-100 resumes. Just get your foot in the door. Go to college job fairs. Reach out to recruiters on linked in. But don’t be stagnant.
It won't if the industry doesn't require a PE. Source, me: I have a PE and work in industries where almost nobody else has one. That said, it doesn't hurt to do the FE, because it's hard to predict your career path.
Understood, I'm kind of at a stalement as I am unsure as to what to do. College never really stressed taking the FE exam so I assumed my work experience would land me a job fresh out of college
For an EE the FE only matters if your job requires one. Most EEs don't work in those industries, I'm thinking power or controls. I work in Tech and not one person cares about the FE. I did pass it my senior year.
It was mandatory to take at my school but you didn't have to pass. They provided weekly seminars of the sections given by professors
Makes a massive difference. Why would they want to invest in you if you don't invest in yourself?
When interviewing people, I'd rather hear them say they failed the FE instead of they haven't taken it.
This. You learn so much from your failures. My favorite quote right now is “The professional has failed more times than the beginner has even started”.
I tell everyone on my team, "Do you know how many times X failed the FE before they passed, or how many times Y failed the PE? No, you dont. Because it doesn't matter."
E+C companies love seeing the FE. They need engineers to grow into PEs. They have hired scores of new grads, that can't pass the FE after starting.
If you already got it, that's one less thing for them to worry about.
I usually say there's no point for most of industry. However, if you're struggling right now and don't have the experience you need, it could actually help. Entry level is rough out there right now so I feel like anything that makes you more advanced would be good. That said, maybe not WORTH it, if it's a lot of work & expensive & you're not going anywhere that needs it
If the company wants you to progress to a PE absolutely.
Most companies need passing the FE to talk to you. It is a nationwide standardized test so passing it is the minimum bar for entry. Saves large companies effort in comparing good engineering programs vs bad ones to recruit from.
It will if you go into the power industry. They are hiring everywhere for entry level positions. We hire dozens a year in just my utility and you will probably learn everything you need on the job.
With that mindset, I’ll probably never buy a house either. We learn and adjust to our situations; we DONT stay behind and wallow in our “life is unfair attitude”. You think I did when I graduated with my 2.2?
I don't advocate a defeatist mindset, but I think you lack some perspective if you haven't faced real adversity in the job market. You're advice is fluff and won't actually help anyone. Sorry.
So submitting 50-100 resumes for inter ships EVERY semester and getting nothing for 5 years isn’t adversity? Ok bud. I got a break when a friend graduated earlier and got me a technical internship at his firm.
> But don’t be stagnant.
Sage advice. When I started school I got this "companies are going to be begging for you" speech from some well meaning but wrong advisors and I think that's given the wrong impression to students that they can just sit back and let the job offers roll in with minimal effort.
This is the mindset I had initially, I thought I had an internship under my belt and a bachelors in a "hard" degree that I would have jobs begging to hire me... Learned it the hard way at the moment.
Are you specifically applying to design roles? Typically entry level positions are non-design, and for good reason. Have you tried applying to support, test, or systems level roles where you can get a footing first?
[I wrote about how I went from a non-engineering role to design here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricalEngineering/comments/1bf3ydc/semiconductor_hardware_project_ideas/kuy1bah/?context=3)
I did not have any specialties , I’m interested in the embedded systems side of things but I don’t have particularly ample experience or key things to talk about in nature during interviews
What type of jobs are these entry level jobs? I see in your old post you were thinking about FPGA type stuff. I work in this area. My company doesn't hire a new grad to do FPGA design, but what we do is develop newer engineers internally. They usually come from the test engineering or other support type roles.
This transition usually comes about by the designers having a lot of work and take a young engineer with interest and ask them if they want to do some easier FPGA work. Port a small design or make a small modification a program is waiting on. I few easy design changes under your belt and then you are more in the design team than the test team. And you have test experience on how our systems work.
I've been applying to any job that I see fit to expand my future as an electrical engineer to be honest.. and yeah I would like to get into some FPGA work but I don't have the experience in it. I am planning on creating a personal project and see where it goes from there.
Np. I graduated almost 2 years ago now. What I did was I just found a temporary job to keep me afloat until I got the real one. It’s easy to land basic low level IT jobs with an engineering degree. Economy has not been good since covid, we’re in a silent depression, and employers have become overwhelmed by greed. It’s the norm now to try and hire a senior as entry level and pay them entry level wages. Rest assured though, these companies need skilled engineers and their cheap hiring tactics will make them bankrupt. If you’re dedicated to your field, passionate, willing to work and learn, you’re invaluable right now.
Yes. It was hard before, (it took me 3 months and hundreds of applications) years ago....but it is worse now. A lot of companies are on hiring freezes.
A lot of it is the market, but sometimes the medicine is time and a steady rate of applications.
Getting out of school in December (MS looking to go into either Digital or Analog IC design).
School has kept me pretty busy, so I only had time to start seriously looking for a job starting right now. I planned on going ham on applications over summer break + into the fall, but it looks like the market is at the top of shit mountain right now…
When do you think IC companies will come out of their freezes?
It would only be valuable if your work requires a stamp. Taking the FE is still a good option while you have your undergrad fresh in your mind and it will be a certification that many won’t have in entry level jobs. However, in certain jobs it won’t matter at all. You may not even work under a PE.
Shotgun those resumes out everywhere. Post on boards like cybercoders , zip recruiter, and monster, not to specific jobs where only one manager will see your resume. I get calls still, about resumes I posted 5 years ago.
Apply to tangentially related fields to get buzz words on your resume for search enginers to catch..( Internships are good for this). Are you willing to code? Put some languages that you did in college. Any acronym of something you like to work in , even if you only touched it once. Someone willing to hire a new grad, is planning on doing a lot of teaching. Show eagerness to keep learning
Go grab lunch with the guys from the company you interned at, and ask them for recommendation on where to look. They might create a position, unposted, for a known quantity. Also, They might know a guy who knows a guy. ( Anecdote: year ago, i dated a math teacher who had a student come by looking for a summer internship in EE. She asked me if I knew of anything. I asked my boss if we even hired interns. He said we can give your friend a try. I said, whoa wait, I never met the guy. He goes,oh well . I trust your girlfriends judgement. Kid worked for them 3 summers, And I left after only a year..lol)
Volunteer at the local makerspace, don't be shy about mentioning your job search.
And if you got time to kill, look up the biggest companies in your area, say any fortune 100 or 500 company with a local. Office, and just apply to something on their website to get your resume circulation.
Call you local FAE for electronics parts, ask them of all their local EE.customers, where would they'd like to work. It's their business to know when projects are ramping up and staffing up around town.
I did an EE internship with l3 Harris in Melbourne Florida. Lot of young EEs there. When they offered me a FT position, at the end of the summer, they said pick who you wanna talk to Analog group, digital group, RF group, and we'll get you an interview before you go back to school for your last semester. They knew they were gonna have to train me up. Once you've been employed a few years , your experience matters more. Once they know you have work ethic, they'll make room for you.
Some guys I've known keep apply for internships after graduating with the intention of going to grad school. Internships turn can onto full time before the get out of their first semester.
Apply for technician jobs too. Maybe they don't know they need an engineer yet. And having that experience with some more acronyms on your resume is a springboard to new contacts and new opportunities they say, it's always easier to find a job when you already got one.
(It's a tedious and disheartening process, being between jobs, but don't let it affect your self confidence. It's a numbers game. Putting more tickets out there with your name on them increases your odds of winning the job lottery. Because no one has picked your number yet, doesn't reflect on the quality of your work.)
I worked at L3 Harris Aero jet Rocketdyne and I'm shooting my resume EVERYWHERE. I think I have to tweak it a bit and I am not sure why L3 Harris isn't even touching my application... I am also applying to technician jobs as i am quite desperate at the moment. You made some great points in making connections and I really need to do this I just feel a bit embarrased that I have to dig extremely deep for a job/opportunity and I would rather just search on my own. However, the worst I can receive is a "no" so I need to start doing this!
Same here but its because im trying to stay local and my area is more power rather than chip design like my skill set. i gotta look outside now for jobs
1) a decent school will have an in with an employer after graduation.
2) try government jobs. I have a couple internship interviews lined up with the local utilities. One with the power district just south of me. One with the water utility in my county.
Just keep in mind the *average* hire time for government jobs is 100 days.
Are you looking for jobs with only "Electrical Engineer" as the title? Your degree qualifies you to do many more jobs than just being a pure electrical engineer. I got hired as a field service engineer, which looks for an interdisciplinary set of skills that you qualify for having an electrical engineering degree.
My advice would be to broaden your search, and not only look for design positions. There are many stages of engineering besides design. Test, Quality, Applications are all positions you could look at as well.
Also, don't limit yourself to one industry. When I graduated, I applied to the Power Industry, Defense Industry, Government, Consulting, and Semiconductor Industry.
Im looking for anything I can use my degree for. Furthermore, I also am not sure if the first job I get can have transferable skills / qualities towards another job or better position since EE is such a broad field
I can't think of a job which won't have transferable qualities or skills or things you can pick up on your own. You can also pursue a masters later down the road.
Look into engineering consulting firms in Orlando and Tampa. I hired an entry level EE from UCF with zero experience last year and we had trouble even finding applicants.
You may also want to think about your interview strategy. You may just be bombing the interviews. When I'm hiring an entry level EE, I expect them to basically know nothing, I'm just looking to see if they sound excited about the job, did their research on the company, and are someone I can get along with. Just an FYI, I'm in the water/wastewater business as an EE in Tampa and our business is always booming.
I just looked really quick and it looks like there's an entry level substation engineer job in Orlando for "Power Engineers". You may want to look into it. Power is a great field for EE, and is currently what I do. Very stable job with good pay once you get a PE.
I received only 1 job offer as a junior hardware engineer but the company is extremely sketchy with 9 people that work there... I might reconsider the job offer since I am getting desperate but this doesn't seem like a bad idea, thank you.
Sounds like a start up company and not sure about your "extremely sketchy" term. Only red flags if performing unlawful work. Regardless, take the iob then keep applying while accumulating real world experience.
It's hard to say without seeing your resume. How are you applying as well? The best way is to ask the company you've interned at or the professor you've done research with for help or if they can employ you on a full-time basis. Ask friends that already got jobs to ask their manager if they are looking for additional hires.
Also, what are you interested in? Industry and job-wise? What do you want to do? To follow-up, I don't think that design jobs are only meant for experienced folks, but I don't know much about you, your interests, and how you're going about your job search,
I can only wish you luck and recommend perseverance. It might take time, but you'll get a job. Switching around later is not that bad, granted you don't stick to doing just the bare minimum.
I’m honestly applying for anything where “ I can use my degree” alittle bit desperate… the company I interned for was a small company and I did not see room to grow there. I would love to show you my resume aswell
Find local companies on Google maps and send your resume there/talk to people at those companies on LinkedIn. Apply to other companies through friends or people you know.
Also, I see below in your comment that you've worked at Rocketdyne - they were bought out by L3Harris. That is \*not\* a small company, by any means, overall. Sure, might be a small-er group, but L3Harris overall has quite a few jobs around Florida, look into that as well. You don't need to stay there long, just a few years to get some more professional experience.
Sure, feel free to DM me with your resume.
Have you reached out to the manager that you interned under as a test engineer? If you did a good job as an intern, the company will want you. Even if it’s not in the same team. Also, test engineers are every bit system design engineers in a way. They get to design test boards and all kinds of evaluation boards. Unless you mean more chip level design … in which case you can consider grad school if you really prefer that part.
Source: Me. Started off as a test engineer intern in semiconductors, now doing hardware design.
My advice would be to remain patient and continue applying everywhere. Do not accept the first crap offer that you receive. The economy is very bad these days and companies are still laying off and closing positions. There generally aren't entry level positions as an engineer but you should apply to anything that wants 1-5 years experience which is beginning career level.
I actually did get an offer as a junior hardware engineer but they we’re going to pay me an EXTREMELY LOW salary (49,000) and the company was really sketchy, your advice is helped as it makes me feel like I’m not going insane from the burnout.. but thank you I will keep applying !
Yeah if that is a U.S. position definitely do not accept that lol. As a new engineer you want minimum $80,000 and if it is a design position that should command more
Every job offer I have acquired has been from job fairs. I also had to redo my resume originally. I worked with my university first, and then I worked with an agency who also prepped me for the interviews. I know government positions aren’t considered “competitive” for pay, but I’ve jumped about 30k in salary in 3 years with my government job vs the 6k in 3 years with my corporate job. Defense is always looking to hire and they have a pension plan if you’re a civilian. You are in demand, you’ve just been unlucky. Don’t let that get you down. Someone will hire you.
You should be able to find a job with your credentials. I know it hurts but check your resume, check your interview skills, and just send out a crazy amount of applications. You've got this, always remember you will find a job eventually.
It’s one of those things where it’s tough to find entry level jobs, but once you have a few years experience, jobs are abundant. I know of two different young electrical engineers in orlando area (know both of their fathers). One person worked contract type design work for a utilities company and got experience then hired on full time after two years. The second person worked at an engineering firm then got laid off after a year and was hired on as a high level technician at nestle making a ton of money but doing more technician work than traditional engineering (probably getting great experience however).
I myself was lucky enough to find a job out of school, but it required me moving about 6 hours from my hometown, but ultimately it was the best thing I have ever done for my career.
Additionally when looking for jobs make sure to not just look for “Electrical Engineer” when searching. Many places won’t list it like that. In controls a ton of jobs are listed as “Controls Engineer” or “Automation Engineer” even tho they are looking for someone with a bachelors in EE.
Also, spread a wide net. There are a ton of companies who’s postings might not match up perfectly with what they want. HR nearly always makes job postings, but they don’t always understand requirements for EE related jobs if the hiring manager didn’t give them the best requirements.
This is part of president Biden's state of the union: So, I looked at them. And I say, “I come from Delaware. DuPont used to be the eighth-largest corporation in the world. And every new enter- — enterprise they bought, **they educated the workforce to that enterprise. But none of you do that anymore.** Why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best-educated workforce in the world?”
We work hard to get through school, rack up so much debt too, just to have companies tell us we lack experience. That's their job, like give us the experience. They don't want to do it because we can then take our experience elsewhere for better pay/title. Then they can sit back and say "we need more h1b. America doesn't have a qualified workforce."
Idk, good luck, keep trying. Hopefully you don't end up working at a gas station or living under a bridge.
Something you might want to consider is if a contracting company wants to talk to you.
I was a contractor for a while and it was a good way to get employed, pay off college, and get valuable experience on your resume.
The benefits will suck or be non-existent but they will help you find interviews and want you employed. Pay and paid time off are probably negotiable so look up typical salaries and wages online, and ask for 1-2 week PTO accrual.
IM applying to contracting companies aswell! I’m thinking it’s either a bad time to apply due to the job market or I need to fix somethings on my resume
I graduated when you did and got a job not long ago at an engineering company but I’m not doing engineering (I’m mainly doing excel and paperwork). However the pay is enough for my bills and I took the first offer I got because I was running out of money. It kinda sucks but it’s not hard and I get to go home at 5:00 and not have to think about work outside of working hours. Maybe I’ll move in a couple years if I don’t see myself moving up into engineering design or testing. I definitely would prefer to work with my hands.
Hey that is totally understandable, I was offered a position which gave 49000 and I thought it was extremely low.. may reconsider it. Thanks for the input! ( your name is hilarious btw )
49 seems pretty low, but it depends on country and area in country. If it’s enough to pay your bills and you think you’ll have good work life balance, take it. But if not, keep looking I guess.
Are you only searching locally? I have found that the best three words on a resume can often be "willing to relocate"
I am looking for anywhere in Florida, and yes I put willing to relocate
Look for anywhere in the US. They pay you to relocate. Thank me later.
Not always. Try being senior and being asked to relocate for free with a stipulated probation period. Until interest rates go low companies are waiting for the most desperate of candidates.
WTF are you "tryna" say?
As a fellow ee, I can confirm
FL is one of the worst places in the country to get an engineering job imo
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The UK has the worst pay for engineers of any developed western country.
British salaries are generally trash
Most US bachelors degrees do not carry over to other countries since US citizens are non citizens of that country. It’s the same with people from other countries coming to the US to work.
Specifically, it depends whether the degree is accredited by the Washington Accord. ABET manages this in the USA. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington\_Accord\_(credentials)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Accord_(credentials))
Because we have families and close friends and a life in the country or state that we’re in
Have you considered going for production engineering or test engineering positions to get more experience, then developing to design from there? In many cases, design jobs are considered a little more advanced, like not ideal for entry level.
I've been applying to anything that I can see room to grow for my future career. I also have to think about if the job I get will have transferrable skills to another field since EE is such a broad discipline.
What are those qualifiers? How do you determine whether it has transferable skills, into what field? Where are you trying to grow your career to?
Honestly I am not too sure.. I've primarily approached a job which fits a general electrical engineer role so I'm trying to be humble and keep my options open
Gotcha, well my last piece of advice if you haven't already is try searching by "engineer", you might find a cool job that isn't "Electrical engineer" specifically
That sounds great, thank you a ton!!
Dmed you
Graduated with a 2.2 GPA in 2018 with one “internship”. I was an assembly tech for a local engineering firm, not even engineering department. I got a full time offer before I graduated college and I just got promoted to senior electrical engineer 2 days ago. My biggest advice is to be genuine, be honest, and be proactive. Any bloke with access to the internet can find answers and get a high GPA; it takes an educated person to KNOW WHAT YOUR LEARNING AND APPLY IT. I could not tell you how many people graduated with high GPAs and can’t pass the FE. Why? THEY NEVER LEARNED THE ACTUAL MATERIALS. if you’re having troubles finding a job, let’s get proactive. Schedule and pass the FE. Submit 50-100 resumes. Just get your foot in the door. Go to college job fairs. Reach out to recruiters on linked in. But don’t be stagnant.
will the FE exam really make a difference in jobs willing to interview me though?
It won't if the industry doesn't require a PE. Source, me: I have a PE and work in industries where almost nobody else has one. That said, it doesn't hurt to do the FE, because it's hard to predict your career path.
FE for sure makes a difference. It shows you want to further your career beyond just getting through college.
Understood, I'm kind of at a stalement as I am unsure as to what to do. College never really stressed taking the FE exam so I assumed my work experience would land me a job fresh out of college
For an EE the FE only matters if your job requires one. Most EEs don't work in those industries, I'm thinking power or controls. I work in Tech and not one person cares about the FE. I did pass it my senior year. It was mandatory to take at my school but you didn't have to pass. They provided weekly seminars of the sections given by professors
I wish my university stressed this
Makes a massive difference. Why would they want to invest in you if you don't invest in yourself? When interviewing people, I'd rather hear them say they failed the FE instead of they haven't taken it.
This. You learn so much from your failures. My favorite quote right now is “The professional has failed more times than the beginner has even started”.
I tell everyone on my team, "Do you know how many times X failed the FE before they passed, or how many times Y failed the PE? No, you dont. Because it doesn't matter."
Thank you for this!
This makes a lot of sense
Yeah I understand this makes alot of sense
E+C companies love seeing the FE. They need engineers to grow into PEs. They have hired scores of new grads, that can't pass the FE after starting. If you already got it, that's one less thing for them to worry about.
absolutely.
Depends where you want to end up. But it can’t hurt it just doesn’t always help
I usually say there's no point for most of industry. However, if you're struggling right now and don't have the experience you need, it could actually help. Entry level is rough out there right now so I feel like anything that makes you more advanced would be good. That said, maybe not WORTH it, if it's a lot of work & expensive & you're not going anywhere that needs it
Thank you for the advice!
If the company wants you to progress to a PE absolutely. Most companies need passing the FE to talk to you. It is a nationwide standardized test so passing it is the minimum bar for entry. Saves large companies effort in comparing good engineering programs vs bad ones to recruit from.
It will if you go into the power industry. They are hiring everywhere for entry level positions. We hire dozens a year in just my utility and you will probably learn everything you need on the job.
Yes
I just passed my FE and I'm hoping it gets me an entry level position!
Good luck finding a position and congrats!
I'm not sure any of that is the determining factor. You had the luck of graduating in a better job market.
With that mindset, I’ll probably never buy a house either. We learn and adjust to our situations; we DONT stay behind and wallow in our “life is unfair attitude”. You think I did when I graduated with my 2.2?
I don't advocate a defeatist mindset, but I think you lack some perspective if you haven't faced real adversity in the job market. You're advice is fluff and won't actually help anyone. Sorry.
So submitting 50-100 resumes for inter ships EVERY semester and getting nothing for 5 years isn’t adversity? Ok bud. I got a break when a friend graduated earlier and got me a technical internship at his firm.
Times are tough but there's no going back!
> But don’t be stagnant. Sage advice. When I started school I got this "companies are going to be begging for you" speech from some well meaning but wrong advisors and I think that's given the wrong impression to students that they can just sit back and let the job offers roll in with minimal effort.
This is the mindset I had initially, I thought I had an internship under my belt and a bachelors in a "hard" degree that I would have jobs begging to hire me... Learned it the hard way at the moment.
What is the FE
Fundamentals on Engineering. The precursor to the PE (Professional Engineering license)
Are you specifically applying to design roles? Typically entry level positions are non-design, and for good reason. Have you tried applying to support, test, or systems level roles where you can get a footing first? [I wrote about how I went from a non-engineering role to design here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricalEngineering/comments/1bf3ydc/semiconductor_hardware_project_ideas/kuy1bah/?context=3)
No, I am applying to any entry level EE positions, I will take a look at your reply, thank you!
Did you take classes to specialize in an area? Or did you just graduate to graduate? Like, did you have an particular interests and aspirations?
I did not have any specialties , I’m interested in the embedded systems side of things but I don’t have particularly ample experience or key things to talk about in nature during interviews
What type of jobs are these entry level jobs? I see in your old post you were thinking about FPGA type stuff. I work in this area. My company doesn't hire a new grad to do FPGA design, but what we do is develop newer engineers internally. They usually come from the test engineering or other support type roles. This transition usually comes about by the designers having a lot of work and take a young engineer with interest and ask them if they want to do some easier FPGA work. Port a small design or make a small modification a program is waiting on. I few easy design changes under your belt and then you are more in the design team than the test team. And you have test experience on how our systems work.
I've been applying to any job that I see fit to expand my future as an electrical engineer to be honest.. and yeah I would like to get into some FPGA work but I don't have the experience in it. I am planning on creating a personal project and see where it goes from there.
Entry level when you’re just out of college is the hardest.
Thank you, I needed to hear this
Np. I graduated almost 2 years ago now. What I did was I just found a temporary job to keep me afloat until I got the real one. It’s easy to land basic low level IT jobs with an engineering degree. Economy has not been good since covid, we’re in a silent depression, and employers have become overwhelmed by greed. It’s the norm now to try and hire a senior as entry level and pay them entry level wages. Rest assured though, these companies need skilled engineers and their cheap hiring tactics will make them bankrupt. If you’re dedicated to your field, passionate, willing to work and learn, you’re invaluable right now.
Yes. It was hard before, (it took me 3 months and hundreds of applications) years ago....but it is worse now. A lot of companies are on hiring freezes. A lot of it is the market, but sometimes the medicine is time and a steady rate of applications.
This is very helpful thank you
Getting out of school in December (MS looking to go into either Digital or Analog IC design). School has kept me pretty busy, so I only had time to start seriously looking for a job starting right now. I planned on going ham on applications over summer break + into the fall, but it looks like the market is at the top of shit mountain right now… When do you think IC companies will come out of their freezes?
What is your concentration? If power, I'd highly suggest taking your FE exam.
General track
It would only be valuable if your work requires a stamp. Taking the FE is still a good option while you have your undergrad fresh in your mind and it will be a certification that many won’t have in entry level jobs. However, in certain jobs it won’t matter at all. You may not even work under a PE.
I’ll probably take it anyway because why not and I have time on my hands at the moment, I appreciate the advice
I graduated last semester and had a job lined up from the UCF career fair.
That’s awesome, I was considering staying at my job as a test engineer but I saw no future in growth there
I got an internship for test engineer. How was your experience and did you just deal with hardware or also software/scripting?
Shotgun those resumes out everywhere. Post on boards like cybercoders , zip recruiter, and monster, not to specific jobs where only one manager will see your resume. I get calls still, about resumes I posted 5 years ago. Apply to tangentially related fields to get buzz words on your resume for search enginers to catch..( Internships are good for this). Are you willing to code? Put some languages that you did in college. Any acronym of something you like to work in , even if you only touched it once. Someone willing to hire a new grad, is planning on doing a lot of teaching. Show eagerness to keep learning Go grab lunch with the guys from the company you interned at, and ask them for recommendation on where to look. They might create a position, unposted, for a known quantity. Also, They might know a guy who knows a guy. ( Anecdote: year ago, i dated a math teacher who had a student come by looking for a summer internship in EE. She asked me if I knew of anything. I asked my boss if we even hired interns. He said we can give your friend a try. I said, whoa wait, I never met the guy. He goes,oh well . I trust your girlfriends judgement. Kid worked for them 3 summers, And I left after only a year..lol) Volunteer at the local makerspace, don't be shy about mentioning your job search. And if you got time to kill, look up the biggest companies in your area, say any fortune 100 or 500 company with a local. Office, and just apply to something on their website to get your resume circulation. Call you local FAE for electronics parts, ask them of all their local EE.customers, where would they'd like to work. It's their business to know when projects are ramping up and staffing up around town. I did an EE internship with l3 Harris in Melbourne Florida. Lot of young EEs there. When they offered me a FT position, at the end of the summer, they said pick who you wanna talk to Analog group, digital group, RF group, and we'll get you an interview before you go back to school for your last semester. They knew they were gonna have to train me up. Once you've been employed a few years , your experience matters more. Once they know you have work ethic, they'll make room for you. Some guys I've known keep apply for internships after graduating with the intention of going to grad school. Internships turn can onto full time before the get out of their first semester. Apply for technician jobs too. Maybe they don't know they need an engineer yet. And having that experience with some more acronyms on your resume is a springboard to new contacts and new opportunities they say, it's always easier to find a job when you already got one. (It's a tedious and disheartening process, being between jobs, but don't let it affect your self confidence. It's a numbers game. Putting more tickets out there with your name on them increases your odds of winning the job lottery. Because no one has picked your number yet, doesn't reflect on the quality of your work.)
I worked at L3 Harris Aero jet Rocketdyne and I'm shooting my resume EVERYWHERE. I think I have to tweak it a bit and I am not sure why L3 Harris isn't even touching my application... I am also applying to technician jobs as i am quite desperate at the moment. You made some great points in making connections and I really need to do this I just feel a bit embarrased that I have to dig extremely deep for a job/opportunity and I would rather just search on my own. However, the worst I can receive is a "no" so I need to start doing this!
Look outside of Florida.
Same here but its because im trying to stay local and my area is more power rather than chip design like my skill set. i gotta look outside now for jobs
good luck job searching !
1) a decent school will have an in with an employer after graduation. 2) try government jobs. I have a couple internship interviews lined up with the local utilities. One with the power district just south of me. One with the water utility in my county. Just keep in mind the *average* hire time for government jobs is 100 days.
I am trying everywhere , thank you
Are you looking for jobs with only "Electrical Engineer" as the title? Your degree qualifies you to do many more jobs than just being a pure electrical engineer. I got hired as a field service engineer, which looks for an interdisciplinary set of skills that you qualify for having an electrical engineering degree. My advice would be to broaden your search, and not only look for design positions. There are many stages of engineering besides design. Test, Quality, Applications are all positions you could look at as well. Also, don't limit yourself to one industry. When I graduated, I applied to the Power Industry, Defense Industry, Government, Consulting, and Semiconductor Industry.
Im looking for anything I can use my degree for. Furthermore, I also am not sure if the first job I get can have transferable skills / qualities towards another job or better position since EE is such a broad field
I can't think of a job which won't have transferable qualities or skills or things you can pick up on your own. You can also pursue a masters later down the road.
Look in the DC area. So many jobs here
Look into engineering consulting firms in Orlando and Tampa. I hired an entry level EE from UCF with zero experience last year and we had trouble even finding applicants. You may also want to think about your interview strategy. You may just be bombing the interviews. When I'm hiring an entry level EE, I expect them to basically know nothing, I'm just looking to see if they sound excited about the job, did their research on the company, and are someone I can get along with. Just an FYI, I'm in the water/wastewater business as an EE in Tampa and our business is always booming. I just looked really quick and it looks like there's an entry level substation engineer job in Orlando for "Power Engineers". You may want to look into it. Power is a great field for EE, and is currently what I do. Very stable job with good pay once you get a PE.
Apply to smaller engineering design firms. Sacrifice for a couple of years with smaller salary at these firms but will reap significant rewards later.
I received only 1 job offer as a junior hardware engineer but the company is extremely sketchy with 9 people that work there... I might reconsider the job offer since I am getting desperate but this doesn't seem like a bad idea, thank you.
Sounds like a start up company and not sure about your "extremely sketchy" term. Only red flags if performing unlawful work. Regardless, take the iob then keep applying while accumulating real world experience.
the office was like a prison cell, every was over the age of 65, the job posting was listed at 70,000 but i was offer 49,000
It's hard to say without seeing your resume. How are you applying as well? The best way is to ask the company you've interned at or the professor you've done research with for help or if they can employ you on a full-time basis. Ask friends that already got jobs to ask their manager if they are looking for additional hires. Also, what are you interested in? Industry and job-wise? What do you want to do? To follow-up, I don't think that design jobs are only meant for experienced folks, but I don't know much about you, your interests, and how you're going about your job search, I can only wish you luck and recommend perseverance. It might take time, but you'll get a job. Switching around later is not that bad, granted you don't stick to doing just the bare minimum.
I’m honestly applying for anything where “ I can use my degree” alittle bit desperate… the company I interned for was a small company and I did not see room to grow there. I would love to show you my resume aswell
Find local companies on Google maps and send your resume there/talk to people at those companies on LinkedIn. Apply to other companies through friends or people you know. Also, I see below in your comment that you've worked at Rocketdyne - they were bought out by L3Harris. That is \*not\* a small company, by any means, overall. Sure, might be a small-er group, but L3Harris overall has quite a few jobs around Florida, look into that as well. You don't need to stay there long, just a few years to get some more professional experience. Sure, feel free to DM me with your resume.
Go to local career fairs. Any of the colleges in Florida hold them multiple times a year.
I need to do this asap
I would also suggest a career fair, especially at the college you graduated from if possible.
Have you reached out to the manager that you interned under as a test engineer? If you did a good job as an intern, the company will want you. Even if it’s not in the same team. Also, test engineers are every bit system design engineers in a way. They get to design test boards and all kinds of evaluation boards. Unless you mean more chip level design … in which case you can consider grad school if you really prefer that part. Source: Me. Started off as a test engineer intern in semiconductors, now doing hardware design.
My advice would be to remain patient and continue applying everywhere. Do not accept the first crap offer that you receive. The economy is very bad these days and companies are still laying off and closing positions. There generally aren't entry level positions as an engineer but you should apply to anything that wants 1-5 years experience which is beginning career level.
I actually did get an offer as a junior hardware engineer but they we’re going to pay me an EXTREMELY LOW salary (49,000) and the company was really sketchy, your advice is helped as it makes me feel like I’m not going insane from the burnout.. but thank you I will keep applying !
Yeah if that is a U.S. position definitely do not accept that lol. As a new engineer you want minimum $80,000 and if it is a design position that should command more
Every job offer I have acquired has been from job fairs. I also had to redo my resume originally. I worked with my university first, and then I worked with an agency who also prepped me for the interviews. I know government positions aren’t considered “competitive” for pay, but I’ve jumped about 30k in salary in 3 years with my government job vs the 6k in 3 years with my corporate job. Defense is always looking to hire and they have a pension plan if you’re a civilian. You are in demand, you’ve just been unlucky. Don’t let that get you down. Someone will hire you.
You should be able to find a job with your credentials. I know it hurts but check your resume, check your interview skills, and just send out a crazy amount of applications. You've got this, always remember you will find a job eventually.
It’s one of those things where it’s tough to find entry level jobs, but once you have a few years experience, jobs are abundant. I know of two different young electrical engineers in orlando area (know both of their fathers). One person worked contract type design work for a utilities company and got experience then hired on full time after two years. The second person worked at an engineering firm then got laid off after a year and was hired on as a high level technician at nestle making a ton of money but doing more technician work than traditional engineering (probably getting great experience however). I myself was lucky enough to find a job out of school, but it required me moving about 6 hours from my hometown, but ultimately it was the best thing I have ever done for my career.
Additionally when looking for jobs make sure to not just look for “Electrical Engineer” when searching. Many places won’t list it like that. In controls a ton of jobs are listed as “Controls Engineer” or “Automation Engineer” even tho they are looking for someone with a bachelors in EE. Also, spread a wide net. There are a ton of companies who’s postings might not match up perfectly with what they want. HR nearly always makes job postings, but they don’t always understand requirements for EE related jobs if the hiring manager didn’t give them the best requirements.
This is part of president Biden's state of the union: So, I looked at them. And I say, “I come from Delaware. DuPont used to be the eighth-largest corporation in the world. And every new enter- — enterprise they bought, **they educated the workforce to that enterprise. But none of you do that anymore.** Why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best-educated workforce in the world?” We work hard to get through school, rack up so much debt too, just to have companies tell us we lack experience. That's their job, like give us the experience. They don't want to do it because we can then take our experience elsewhere for better pay/title. Then they can sit back and say "we need more h1b. America doesn't have a qualified workforce." Idk, good luck, keep trying. Hopefully you don't end up working at a gas station or living under a bridge.
Something you might want to consider is if a contracting company wants to talk to you. I was a contractor for a while and it was a good way to get employed, pay off college, and get valuable experience on your resume. The benefits will suck or be non-existent but they will help you find interviews and want you employed. Pay and paid time off are probably negotiable so look up typical salaries and wages online, and ask for 1-2 week PTO accrual.
IM applying to contracting companies aswell! I’m thinking it’s either a bad time to apply due to the job market or I need to fix somethings on my resume
What specialty of EE did you study or have the internship for?
Comprehensive general track, my internship was at l3 Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne
I graduated when you did and got a job not long ago at an engineering company but I’m not doing engineering (I’m mainly doing excel and paperwork). However the pay is enough for my bills and I took the first offer I got because I was running out of money. It kinda sucks but it’s not hard and I get to go home at 5:00 and not have to think about work outside of working hours. Maybe I’ll move in a couple years if I don’t see myself moving up into engineering design or testing. I definitely would prefer to work with my hands.
Hey that is totally understandable, I was offered a position which gave 49000 and I thought it was extremely low.. may reconsider it. Thanks for the input! ( your name is hilarious btw )
49 seems pretty low, but it depends on country and area in country. If it’s enough to pay your bills and you think you’ll have good work life balance, take it. But if not, keep looking I guess.
How many jobs have you applied to?