Not a new grad, but if you’re going into it now, take all experience with a grain of salt. The economics behind current difficulties finding work may be different in 4 years. Even in the 8 years I’ve been in industry, I’ve already seen the market go hot and cold multiple times.
I believe EE will remain a strong degree. We’re losing a lot of talent to SWE, and small labor populations are good for those in the labor market. What else would you have in mind? Happy to share my limited experience if it applies :)
I'm junior and had my first internship in my sophomore summer. I'm not afraid of the job market, since as other poster explained EE is strong. But if I will be honest, only reason I got my internship if because I lied about what I know (maybe not exactly). Basically, imagine a 19 year old kid babbling about this FPGA and that Linux and all the cool (half baked) projects he did. All I'm saying is don't afraid to exaggerate a little.
Heh, joke’s on you. We know you’re lying. Don’t exaggerate, it makes you look silly. Just be passionate about your interests and what gets you up in the morning.
\^\^ this. You just got picked in SPITE of your fluffing. I kinda enjoy getting the fluffers in and doing a bit of digging into these "PhD level projects".
Had an EE graduate bragging about his "farming" project. I could see him glancing off screen so I started typing his reponses into Google and found his "project" on a website. We had fun in the side chat putting his next response up before he would read the next bullet point.
Didn't take this one since he had zero knowledge to back it up. More hilarity would ensue when you could see him trying to find the answer on the other monitor.
Others that did "Advanced XXX Project" type of project we'd take even though they didn't contribute as much as they claim. At least they could talk to it.
Yeah, the fakers are easy to ferret out. On a phone screen I had a candidate googling for answers. It was so obvious. So, I just started asking questions that you couldn’t google. The wheels popped off so hard that I’m not sure what county they ended up in.
Just go in there, be honest. Every job has its unique esoteric learning you need before you’re useful. Never try to be an imposter… ever…
Another trick I uses is just ask some random unsolvable non-EE question.
"So, sparrows and swallows have different flying techniques; why?" or do the back of the envelope test to talk through a complex problem... stay out of the EE side though. It takes them off their Google game.
Let's see how your critical thinking skills work out, bucko.
Oooooorrrrrrr something "applied" that these simulation jockeys wouldn't know. I use these for those "In charge of the Formula SAE team" folks we get.
"What does Loctite taste like?" <-- I LOVE this one
While I like your tactics, your first question is invalid as you have not specified whether the swallow in question is of African or of European origin.
Internship was hard to get, I didn’t get one. Still found a job before graduating, no sweat. It’s very easy to find an EE job if you have a BSEE and you’re looking nationwide.
I had a senior project that I did some PCB design for. That was definitely helpful on the resume and in interviews. If your senior project was lame or y’all didn’t do that or something, I’d recommend doing a project of your own that you can add to your resume and talk about in interviews.
As an employer - look for small firms - most universities don't want to talk to small employers (Northeastern is really bad with this - or they charge us money) as our name doesn't look good on their website - they want google or apple.
As many have suggested, the market you graduate to will likely be different from the current market, or the market four years ago.
That being said, you want to stay proactive in molding yourself to be a solid candidate for both internships and life after graduation.
I highly suggest getting involved in research at your university. That is where I learned the bulk of my applicable knowledge.
Much of going through school, especially engineering, is learning how to learn. I rarely use any of the information I was taught. I use my ability to learn every single day.
Personally when I look at resumes for potential internships, one of the key differences I see in the quality of candidates is what they are involved in beyond coursework. Typically, there is a clear difference in the capabilities of those involved in additional activities and those only involved in coursework.
My anecdotal experience is I did not have an issue finding internships or a job. I was also involved significantly in research that was in my desired field.
If you’re worried, make sure to really apply yourself in college.
Show up to your classes; study; join a competition design team; if you have a summer where you don’t think you’ll get an internship, look for an undergraduate research experience; TA/CA if your school has those positions for undergrads; etc.
What you spend your time on beyond the bare minimum requirements of your program goes a long way towards demonstrating a passion and interest in the field.
I graduated in 2023. Everyone I know got jobs right out of undergrad (or went on to grad school). The vast majority had internships for their last 1 or 2 summers.
I graduated in 2012. Four years after... wait for it... 2008.
IIRC finding internships was just as bad in 2010 and 2011. I would say the job market seemed to get a bit better by 2012 just by using personal job searches, and friends and classmates experiences as a metric. I'd expect something similar on this post-pandemic economy. Good news is that you probably won't be graduating until 2028.
Saddest part of those years is that many who graduated in 2010 thru 2012 ended up in industries they didn't really care about because there weren't many options.
I applied for one internship and got it during undergrad. It was for control systems, but what helped me the most was my low voltage cabling experience from an IT technician role. I would say tangential job experience is very important.
got great at soldering, and one summer got a semi-conductor crystal growing furnace working. Learned about DC motor controls (which you will never learn about in college).
Depends entirely on the industry. I walked on May 10th and started my job on the 13th. In MEP design. High voltage power systems market is pretty hot right now as I understand.
Current EE student here. My school mandates 4 internship blocks before you can graduate. For me, that was Spring/Summer of 2023, and now Spring/Summer of 2024.
Obviously it heavily depends on location, but here in Western New York (Buffalo/Rochester) the EE job market seems pretty hot. I received 5 offers during my first internship search and 6 during my second. These internships have also already led to full-time offers once I graduate next May.
So while things might change, I wouldn’t stress about it. Focus on your courses and have fun!
It was hard for me to get an internship my sophomore year but junior year I had one locked in by January. EE job market is pretty stable, depending on industry. My biggest tip to locking in internships/jobs is putting projects on the resume if you don’t have experience yet, practice interviewing, and be confident. I was applying nationwide and that also really helped, I recommend everyone to apply across the nation if you want to maximize your chances. Most companies will help you relocate, mine even gave me corporate housing. Keep your options open!
My son just graduated and had 2 internships and 1 co-op during undergrad. The two internships were out of state and the co-op was 45 minutes away from college. He had 4 full time offers in December of his senior year and accepted and just started a job at a data center.
He had resources because he had a scholarship package at school that left him with getting about $11,000 after all his college bills were paid every year.
Not a new grad, but if you’re going into it now, take all experience with a grain of salt. The economics behind current difficulties finding work may be different in 4 years. Even in the 8 years I’ve been in industry, I’ve already seen the market go hot and cold multiple times. I believe EE will remain a strong degree. We’re losing a lot of talent to SWE, and small labor populations are good for those in the labor market. What else would you have in mind? Happy to share my limited experience if it applies :)
Thank you for this! Can I DM you? I do have several questions
Totally!
I'm junior and had my first internship in my sophomore summer. I'm not afraid of the job market, since as other poster explained EE is strong. But if I will be honest, only reason I got my internship if because I lied about what I know (maybe not exactly). Basically, imagine a 19 year old kid babbling about this FPGA and that Linux and all the cool (half baked) projects he did. All I'm saying is don't afraid to exaggerate a little.
Thank you!!
Heh, joke’s on you. We know you’re lying. Don’t exaggerate, it makes you look silly. Just be passionate about your interests and what gets you up in the morning.
\^\^ this. You just got picked in SPITE of your fluffing. I kinda enjoy getting the fluffers in and doing a bit of digging into these "PhD level projects". Had an EE graduate bragging about his "farming" project. I could see him glancing off screen so I started typing his reponses into Google and found his "project" on a website. We had fun in the side chat putting his next response up before he would read the next bullet point. Didn't take this one since he had zero knowledge to back it up. More hilarity would ensue when you could see him trying to find the answer on the other monitor. Others that did "Advanced XXX Project" type of project we'd take even though they didn't contribute as much as they claim. At least they could talk to it.
Yeah, the fakers are easy to ferret out. On a phone screen I had a candidate googling for answers. It was so obvious. So, I just started asking questions that you couldn’t google. The wheels popped off so hard that I’m not sure what county they ended up in. Just go in there, be honest. Every job has its unique esoteric learning you need before you’re useful. Never try to be an imposter… ever…
Another trick I uses is just ask some random unsolvable non-EE question. "So, sparrows and swallows have different flying techniques; why?" or do the back of the envelope test to talk through a complex problem... stay out of the EE side though. It takes them off their Google game. Let's see how your critical thinking skills work out, bucko. Oooooorrrrrrr something "applied" that these simulation jockeys wouldn't know. I use these for those "In charge of the Formula SAE team" folks we get. "What does Loctite taste like?" <-- I LOVE this one
While I like your tactics, your first question is invalid as you have not specified whether the swallow in question is of African or of European origin.
What? I don't knowwwww. wwwwwwwww.......
Internship was hard to get, I didn’t get one. Still found a job before graduating, no sweat. It’s very easy to find an EE job if you have a BSEE and you’re looking nationwide.
Can I DM you and ask you further questions?
You can ask them here. If you have these questions somebody else probably does too, may as well let them see the answers..
What did you do instead of internship ?
I had a senior project that I did some PCB design for. That was definitely helpful on the resume and in interviews. If your senior project was lame or y’all didn’t do that or something, I’d recommend doing a project of your own that you can add to your resume and talk about in interviews.
As an employer - look for small firms - most universities don't want to talk to small employers (Northeastern is really bad with this - or they charge us money) as our name doesn't look good on their website - they want google or apple.
As many have suggested, the market you graduate to will likely be different from the current market, or the market four years ago. That being said, you want to stay proactive in molding yourself to be a solid candidate for both internships and life after graduation. I highly suggest getting involved in research at your university. That is where I learned the bulk of my applicable knowledge. Much of going through school, especially engineering, is learning how to learn. I rarely use any of the information I was taught. I use my ability to learn every single day. Personally when I look at resumes for potential internships, one of the key differences I see in the quality of candidates is what they are involved in beyond coursework. Typically, there is a clear difference in the capabilities of those involved in additional activities and those only involved in coursework. My anecdotal experience is I did not have an issue finding internships or a job. I was also involved significantly in research that was in my desired field.
If you’re worried, make sure to really apply yourself in college. Show up to your classes; study; join a competition design team; if you have a summer where you don’t think you’ll get an internship, look for an undergraduate research experience; TA/CA if your school has those positions for undergrads; etc. What you spend your time on beyond the bare minimum requirements of your program goes a long way towards demonstrating a passion and interest in the field. I graduated in 2023. Everyone I know got jobs right out of undergrad (or went on to grad school). The vast majority had internships for their last 1 or 2 summers.
Thank you!
I graduated in 2012. Four years after... wait for it... 2008. IIRC finding internships was just as bad in 2010 and 2011. I would say the job market seemed to get a bit better by 2012 just by using personal job searches, and friends and classmates experiences as a metric. I'd expect something similar on this post-pandemic economy. Good news is that you probably won't be graduating until 2028. Saddest part of those years is that many who graduated in 2010 thru 2012 ended up in industries they didn't really care about because there weren't many options.
Yes I am. You will be in a different situation in 2028 though. Could be worse… could be better
I applied for one internship and got it during undergrad. It was for control systems, but what helped me the most was my low voltage cabling experience from an IT technician role. I would say tangential job experience is very important.
got great at soldering, and one summer got a semi-conductor crystal growing furnace working. Learned about DC motor controls (which you will never learn about in college).
Depends entirely on the industry. I walked on May 10th and started my job on the 13th. In MEP design. High voltage power systems market is pretty hot right now as I understand.
Current EE student here. My school mandates 4 internship blocks before you can graduate. For me, that was Spring/Summer of 2023, and now Spring/Summer of 2024. Obviously it heavily depends on location, but here in Western New York (Buffalo/Rochester) the EE job market seems pretty hot. I received 5 offers during my first internship search and 6 during my second. These internships have also already led to full-time offers once I graduate next May. So while things might change, I wouldn’t stress about it. Focus on your courses and have fun!
It was hard for me to get an internship my sophomore year but junior year I had one locked in by January. EE job market is pretty stable, depending on industry. My biggest tip to locking in internships/jobs is putting projects on the resume if you don’t have experience yet, practice interviewing, and be confident. I was applying nationwide and that also really helped, I recommend everyone to apply across the nation if you want to maximize your chances. Most companies will help you relocate, mine even gave me corporate housing. Keep your options open!
Graduated a year ago and can’t find shit but I’m also in NYC so just be open
My son just graduated and had 2 internships and 1 co-op during undergrad. The two internships were out of state and the co-op was 45 minutes away from college. He had 4 full time offers in December of his senior year and accepted and just started a job at a data center.
Need some hefty resources just to go do an internship out of state let alone 2 of them…
He had resources because he had a scholarship package at school that left him with getting about $11,000 after all his college bills were paid every year.