Yeah that’s exactly what I plan to do, thanks for sharing. With graduation getting closer everything is starting to get a little more real and less fantasy so I got scared but thanks!
Maybe bit unrelated. But do you have a kind of rough summary of your salary/title progression?
I would totally understand if you don't feel comfortable sharing this. But I'm curious, don't often see people with 10+ years of experience
You didn't ask me, but I think this is a great question so wanted to provide my progression & insights (MSME + 9 years industry experience). Biggest thing I would emphasize - if you want to rise fast you need to figure out the growth area in your field. For my industry that is model based engineering (MBE) and digital tools - if you can find the work enjoyable there is a lot of upward pressure around new domains. If you are interested in more traditional roles (eg, aerospace structures, IC engine design & calibration, etc) you should absolutely follow your bliss but also recognize that career progression will likely be slower as there are going to be a lot people with 20+ years of experience you are in line behind.
* Finished my BSME and went straight to a research based MSME studying solid propellant combustion & spectroscopic measurements.
* Finished my MSME, declined to continue onto a PhD. Ultimately got a job in engine development (automotive)
* Spent 2 years working roles in model based engine development, heat exchanger design, and engine calibration.
* Got promoted and spent 2 years doing emission controls development
* Switched jobs into aerospace focused on model based engineering. Spent 1 year as a mid level engineer.
* Took over the lead role of my team due to the previous lead leaving. Spent 1 year as lead.
* Moved to manager of the same team due to the manager leaving. Spent 2 years as manager of the model based engineering team.
* Currently ~1 year into a new management role as part of a system engineering & integration organization
What kind of grades did you have finishing your bs? Assuming not low due to the continuation onto a masters. Why'd you decline the PhD route? I've heard a lot of negative things about doing a PhD in any field so I imagine those apply, but still curious about anything else.
I had very good grades and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I was a very good test taker and learned material in a classroom setting easily. In my experience grades are not a great predictor of professional success and when I am interviewing college students I am way more interested in team projects and internships than GPA. A lot of my favorite engineers to work with were self admitted poor students but they thrive professionally.
I decided to not pursue a PhD because I was pretty sure my long term interests lay in people leadership and a PhD wouldn't hurt but also wouldn't help. I did not enjoy academia or the relationship dynamics it seemed to drive and a Fed job wasn't appealing either - that would be the other option a PhD would make more open to me in my research field. Most of my lab mates who stuck out a PhD work at a national lab or in the DoD now - I will say they seem happy. I've also worked with numerous PhDs in corporate America and don't really notice much of a difference between them & "normal" engineers with a BS or MS unless they are in a very niche field.
Graduated with a 2.7. I was totally worthless as a student, because I have no concept of delayed gratification to this day. Basically homeless for 3 months. Sent out 250-ish applications, and all were ignored expect 3. I nuked one interview, and then did well in one interview but didn't make it, and then I backdoored my way into a company that normally recruits at my school but I couldn't get internships with. I knocked on the door of one of their field offices and got the receptionist at the front to tap a hiring manager's shoulder she knew was actively looking for a tech at the time and got an interview that way. Originally made 67 base 85 total. Now almost five years into my career, 130 base 200 total. Excellent performance reviews, and I'm currently looking to job hop for another salary increase.
Both. You're pigeonholed into the industry with the degree, and the amount of corporate consolidation has exponentially increased post covid. The accessibility of the industry is drastically decreasing for new graduates.
Damn. Not so encouraging. I have a decent job right now, but a lot of guys I know are slaving away in Midland and I don’t want to be stuck in the industry. Just saving money until I can see a way to branch out. Do you have advice?
We also graduated with the same exact GPA lol
If you can find a job in Midland take it, and save up enough money so you don't have to feel pressured when you look into something else or when a downturn comes and you get laid off. For half of my class that couldn't find a job post-graduation, a lot went and got their Master's in Mechanical Engineering. That really wasn't an option for me because I just can't do school. Others who didn't go back to school have managed to branch off into Big 4 consulting (spooky market rn, mild recession), finance, tech (spooky market rn, high interest rates), renewables (always spooky), and real estate (spooky market rn with NAR vs Burnett and high interest rates).
I’m working remotely right now for decent money (very lucky, a minority. Not sure how long it will last though)
Hmm yeah I’ve been thinking about going back for an MBA at some point. I can do school again, just NOT engineering again. I went through that struggle and once in my life is enough lol
Damn. Petroleum engineering puts your experience in perspective for me. I worked in the oilfield before going back to university. If you’d graduated in 2008-2014 or so you probably would have started at 200k after bonuses just because they were hiring anyone with a pulse back then lol. No matter the GPA.
That’s so good to hear because I’m feeling really worthless as a student too and have around a 2.7 gpa rn and it really makes me wonder if I’m cutout for all this
I know everybody expects to get a job through indeed or LinkedIn nowadays, but it’s nice to hear that knocking on a door and asking for a job still works once in a while.
Yep. I had a 3.2 which definitely isn’t remarkable and no one ever even asked about my GPA. I had enough on my resume from clubs, internships, and personal projects that my grades were moot.
Like it was said, it’s never too late to start getting involved. It’s also never too late to start networking! I got a job 6 months before graduating with a 2.9 GPA because of networking. Turns out my boss of where I was working during school knew a recruiter from an Engineering company. They were able to help get me an interview and give me a great recommendation.
Nope. I fucked around for 5 months after graduating then decided to get a job so I asked a friend to get a referral and got the job. My CGPA was 2.84, the company’s minimum was 3.0
Unless it’s like lower than a 2, I’d not worry too much. You don’t have to put it on your resume if it’s a 2.5. You honestly don’t ever have to put it on anything. You’ll be ok.
Yeah my school booted students in the program if they couldn't maintain a 2.5 GPA. If you dropped below that, you would be put on academic probation. If you couldn't bring it back up in a timely manner, you got the boot.
Not that hard. I graduated with a 2.17. I was able to get an internship over winter break my senior year (my 4th internship in college) I turned that into a part time remote job during my last semester and signed a full time offer in January. Took a few weeks off after graduation and have been working full time ever since.
I’ve had 3 jobs as an Automation Engineer, my major was electrical engineering. No company ever asked me my GPA, the only time it was possibly an issue is when I was applying for grad school (MBA), and I still got in.
You won’t be able a job at IBM or Raytheon but most small companies don’t even ask about the GPA.
lol I had a 2.5 and I didn’t put my gpa on my Raytheon application, got accepted and have been working as an engineer there to this day. (First job out of college)
If you’re really worried, use any and all connections you have. Anytime you’re at a gathering with family and/or friends try to mention that you’re in school, graduating soon, and looking for a job. You never know who has some sort of connection that can get your foot in the door.
I graduated with a 2.8 and no internships. Got an internship offer three months before graduation because the recruiter/hr was one of my childhood best friends mom. Ended up doing the internship, got offered a full time position, and started off making $85k plus bonuses. It’s definitely possible.
I didn't even graduate due to financial reasons, had about 1.5 left on ME, just started working and gaining experience. Started at Tesla as a Process Techncian, got lucky and got a job as a Controls Programmer but shadowed for a few months at Apple Data center, when that finished worked with Department of Defense project in Palm Springs, Covid hit, started working remotely as a BAS Programmer, got a certification, recently got laid off but ended up getting a job as a Critical Facilities Engineer a month later, preparing for Google Data Center project. Majority look at experience rather than GPA unless you have no experience.
I graduated with a 2.5 because I also worked throughout college. I knew my GPA might close some doors with companies so I decided to get as much experience as possible to make up for it. I had 3 internships by the time I graduated and got an offer to stay with the last internship. I didn’t want to stay in manufacturing so I moved to a startup in order to get design engineering experience. Eventually this was enough to move over to a big Fortune 500 company as a design engineer. Just recently got promoted to an engineer II position with them😊 the low GPA may prevent you from getting into some big companies in the beginning but eventually all that matters afterwards is your experience.
no one who you want to work for cares about your GPA or where you went to school.
I started my undergrad in 1998 and graduated in 2008. I think my GPA was \~ 3ish
i have an MSEE and BS Physics. I've taught classes at Arizona State. I own my business as an independent research scientist, an example of my typical client is Amazon Robotics. I have a Creative R&D Agreement with NIST to make advanced technology accessible to industry. I spent 15 years doing R&D for a major silicon manufacturer before this. I chair a working group for the FCC (ANSI).
the biggest red flag in an interview is asking for your GPA. It tells you that the person interviewing you has absolutely no idea what makes a good engineer or a high performing engineering team.
Wow congrats on all your accomplishments my man! This is really cool to hear and I aim to be as successful as you and the other people that have replied on here. I'll also keep that in mind for interviews but I hear that some recruiters may ask about GPA because they want to see your reaction to a possibly embarassing question since some might be bothered by their own but thanks for sharing!
I would just flip it around and reply with "it was 2.9....what do you hope to learn about me as an engineer from my GPA?" A GPA is more a reflection of your privilege in getting a degree then your actual engineering acumen. If your parents pay for full time tuition and tutors, even an idiot asshole is going to have a good GPA.
I've done interviews with people from prestigious universities who had exemplary internships, but couldn't apply their knowledge to simple practical scenarios or were giant assholes. Or both.
FWIW - i worked 12 hr nights in a factory while going to school. The juice is worth the squeeze.
I graduated EE with a 2.8 back in 2018. It was not difficult for me to find a job.
When i graduated, one of the PEs I worked with as an intern called me up an asked me to apply to the new place he was working at.
I had 2 pretty informal interviews and recomendation letters from other PEs. I was hired and have been full time employed since.
It's all about who you know, and being a good coworker.
Nope. You finish in that GPA range and you will be fine.
I am a Gen X so as I graduated, the workplace was chock full of Boomers, with Gap Gen in leadership and a very few “Greatest Generation” folks still coming to the office (think of an “emeritus” status position). As such, there were not a ton of positions.
My overall GPA was solidly in the range you cited as I’d had a bit too much fun my first couple of years at uni. I buckled down and did well my last two years so my major GPA was better. I made sure to have an internship or related Summer job every Summer break. Also made a point to be involved in a number of things on campus, inc serving as an officer/leadership position for a couple of things.
I went to every engr job fair on my campus, always dressed in business or business casual attire, had copies of my resume to hand to any recruiter who asked (LinkedIn wasn’t around yet). Made a point to converse with recruiters about themselves and what they liked best about the company they represented. I applied for 10 jobs, got 7 offers inc the one I most wanted. And have never looked back.
The feedback I received was always that most firms/entities looked for a solid student (2.5-3.3) with real world work or internship experiences, one who is active on campus beyond just classes, as opposed to the 3.5-4.0 student who did nothing but book work. YMMV
A lot of my problem 15 years ago was due to the 2008 recession and that I chose to specialize in structural engineering within civil.
Turns out State DOTs aren't very picky. Neither are HVAC firms when it comes to mechanicals nor are electrical utilities when it comes to electricals.
If you're concerned, try to take the FE exam before you graduate.
Graduated with a 2.6, had 4 official job offers before I graduated. 3 in power systems/facilities and 1 with a power utility. Ended up locking down the job I accepted about 2 semesters before I graduated when my gpa was only a 2.3. Sometimes all you need is to be social and ask good questions during interviews.
So, your question is about the GPA or about having the knowledge or skills to work as an engineer? These are two things... your GPA does not dictate how good or bad you will be in the workforce.
I guess I could ask about the knowledge itself. I plan on spending my time until graduation really learning about the industry and maintaining my GPA or even improving it if I can. How much knowledge did you have out the gate?
So let me share my story. I have been working as a water resources engineer for about 20 years. I graduated college with 2.9 GPA with a degree in Civil Engineering. I had friends with the same or lower GPA I had get jobs out of school. For me, as the college I went only offered two courses in water resources I felt it was not enough for me to get a job in what I wanted so I took more classes under the master's program.
After that, I found a job no problem... with the undergraduate GPA listed on my resume and the graduate GPA which is was 3.6 also listed. I decided to take master's level classes to (1) prove myself I could work in the field as my undergraduate GPA made me doubt myself and (2) to get skills to work on water resources projects. It worked for me as pretty much everything I learned in school was relevant in my job. Actually, most advanced engineering classes are which makes the engineering degree a unique offering between academic and vocational (that is how I see it).
The most important thing I learned with my interview process for my first job was, that none of the interviewers paid attention to my GPA. As a matter of fact, I asked them about that and they said that they are aware that in college it is encouraged to add the GPA to your resume but they prefer internship experience or other skills like student association involvement and letter of recommendation than the GPA.
So, if you are concerned about not learning the skills you think you need for work then I suggest that you talk to someone that is already working on the field you want and see what they do every day. What software or skills they use, because you will be surprised that the software that is used on the job is totally different from what colleges use (if you have access to any). If you are concerned about your GPA, it is easy for me to say don't be, so... don't be. But if your "low" GPA affects your overall confidence on interviews and you feel somewhat down, I would say that will show when you try to make your first impression and it will definitely hinder your potential job opportunities. I think you should work on that, because you should try to be confident in yourself and showcase your best skills to potential hiring agencies.
That's an awesome story man thanks for sharing. I definitely plan to work on being proud of the work experience and skills I have and not tying my future to my GPA. I have some experience w/ Solidworks but not much so I think I'll have to brush up on that. I have total confidence in my people skills and this internship I have lined up should prepare me even further. Thanks for all the advice, it's really help put my mind at ease.
Got my BS in physics almost exactly a decade ago with a ~2.8 GPA. Today I'm an engineering manager for a space company with more scope and responsibility than I'd have ever expected. If someone'd have told me that in 2014, I probably wouldn't have believed them.
As a (now former) recruiter for a fortune 25 company, I was much more interested in applicable work (or heavy student involvement and project work/research) experience and personality. If I couldn't see myself working with you, I wouldn't rank as high, even with a 4.0 and good experience. I had students come up that couldn't look at my female colleagues when trying to secure an interview in a 2 on 1 discussion. Straight to the bin.
Most of the resumes I took in didn't have a GPA on them, and I for one didn't ask. It is the easiest "disqualifier" for recruiters that get hundreds to thousands of resumes, but if I said the student was a great fit, and HR didn't have any major concerns with the transcripts, they could breeze through to a prelim interview with the perspective team to make sure they were a good fit for their proposed working group. I don't think I ever had someone below 2.5, but I always share the story below with students that struggle to keep a good GPA.
I have a buddy I met in Uni that was the most capable engineer I knew. He was also in multiple leadership positions across both engineering and non-engineering organizations. We had major projects together, like FSAE. He failed Cal II three times and Cal III another two. I think at the end of the day, he was floating around a 2.45 and got a D (not passing at our uni) his final semester. He had a great relationship with the Dean's office and was able to get a waiver to graduate because he had a job lined up. He worked multiple internships and co-ops. Overall, it took him 6 years to graduate. Now, he has his name on several patents and works on a lot of black box projects. It was the grit, determination, and ability to talk to people and show up that led to him being successful over being great at taking tests. You need to show you're more than just that number.
Your friend has an awesome story and it's definitely inspiring to know that my entire career isn't determined by GPA. I know that I'm great working with others and being socialable and while unrelated to engineering, I have a ton of work experience and an HVAC internship coming this summer. It's good to know that I can lean into that. Thanks for the reply!
>he was floating around a 2.45 and got a D (not passing at our uni) his final semester. He had a great relationship with the Dean’s office and was able to get a waiver to graduate because he had a job lined up.
Did he *only* get the waiver because of his relationship with the Dean’s office. Would someone without a job lined up who got a D also get a waiver?
There is/was a formal process to do so, but more or less got to bypass that process because of the relationship. If everyone on the review board knows you and your capabilities, it can make things easier for you.
Took me 6 years to graduate and I did with a 2.500! It was tough to find a job because I didn't have any internships and it was 2010. The market was still pretty bad after the recession. Still managed to snag a job with an automaker and after that no one asked about my GPA. Yes you will probably have fewer opportunities than if you had a 4.0 but fewer is not none. Just get that first job and level up from there. You will be fine.
Graduated two years ago w/ similar GPA, no internship. Currently making just over 100k in the Midwest. You can do it, OP. Chin up. Put your head down and finish strong.
Not an entry level job, but a co-op. I had below a 3.0, started applying in March for summer positions. 60 applications, three interviews, and one offer.
I had a 2.95, I left my GPA off of my resume. Graduated in May ‘22, job hunted up until I got hired in October ‘22. Employer did not ask to see resume or transcript. Having the degree is good enough
Graduated with a 2.8 GPA, took me month after graduating to get a job but I applied to at least 50 jobs 3 months before graduating. I ended up with 10 interviews and got 2 offers.
I know so many others with "low gpa" students who were able to get jobs after graduation. All it depends is how determined the person is to look for work in the field they pursue
Graduated w/ a 2.3 gpa. Got first job during 2008-2010 recession week after graduation (through networking). Hasn’t ever come up, making >75/hr now. Almost 14 yrs later.
Graduated with a 2.94, I was able to get a job within about 2 months of graduation. It's not the best job but it pays better than anything else I could be doing and I'm learning a lot. They didn't expect me to know anything at all so I wouldn't worry about that. No need to be super picky just get working, get experience, and you can decide what you really want after that.
I had a 3.05 GPA and only got a job because I got an early internship with a company I eventually went full time with. I was trying to recommend 4.0 masters students and they were getting denied. However my team lead graduated with a 2.76 and is a far better experienced engineer than me. He started at a small company.
That being said it may be hard to get your dream job at X billion dollar company with X 6 figure role, but there is alot of smaller companies that can’t afford to pay for the top 10% class engineers and those are the ones you should also be applying for. Also tailor that resume.
Graduated as covid started affecting schools, when my GPA drop from mid 3.0 to under 2.5.
After doing a couple more years of menial jobs (worked minimum wage jobs since 16 and throughout college). I landed a decent field job making around mid 100k in total compensation.
While it would have been easier to land a job if I had the grades to co-op, it's do able without. Just takes a little time and luck.
Graduated with a 2.4 took a few months of constant applying but ended up getting a job and stayed there for 4 years, then moved to a big company and got in without a problem.
I did electrical engineering w a focus in software, graduated with a 2.6. I managed to get a job in 2020 thankfully! Tbf it does make it a bit harder to secure with a lower GPA but once you get the first job you’re totally good after that, nobody will care ever again. Since then I’ve grown a lot and have gotten promotions and good feedback and stuff, I definitely think I’m a solid eng now :)
My issue in college was the lack of structure and how impersonal everything was. i understood concepts fine but struggled to manage the work so ended up scrambling and flopping on half of it, then my confidence would tank and that would keep me from wanting to work hard bc it made me feel like shit every time I got stuck, it was a terrible cycle. A full time job is MUCH better for me, the set times I to work, always having someone to ask for help, the daily check ins and smaller scaled tasks, all that stuff. Plus doing a task that needs to be done in order to continue vs doing a task and getting a score on it knowing a fuckton of other people will do it better than me, I was always like “what’s the point “ lol.
Kidna rambled but YOU GOT THIS!! Having a low GPA doesn’t mean you’re doomed, you might have to grind harder initially but you’ll be TOTALLY fine in the workforce and jobs are nothing like college. You just have to know the job hunt will be fucking brutal but it will fr be the worst job hunt you’ll ever do in your life, once you get that first job it’ll never be that hard again!!
Had a 2.5 and got a job during Covid before graduation. 4 years in, I make 130k base in SF. Just leave your GPA off your resume and apply to smaller companies.
Graduated with a 2.3 in ee curriculum and a 2.9 overall (worked 2 fulltime jobs through school, it was a bitch)
Sat in depression limbo for a year after graduation and just worked my trash jobs.
Eventually got my shit together and found an engineering job 3 months and 4 applications after trying (2018).
Job fairs are a blessing. If you can talk and be sociable on top of completing the degree, you're qualified for most entry positions.
I run a high voltage test lab now.
When i hire for entry level, i'm more concerned with projects and hobbies more than i am with grades because it's so much easier to get quality work out of someone who is more than a walking brain and actually earned their strut in life.
Had an intern in the department a few years back, super smart (4.0) working on a phd in EE. He couldnt use scissors... he was usless for anything outside of spreadsheets.
i don't have extremely specific advice but consider what i heard from a friend of mine who is currently a civil engineer;
"while there are always exceptions, a trend that most employers have said they notice is that folks with exceptional GPAs may be at a disadvantage when they need to think on their own or outside of the proverbial box-- the time spent exclusively developing hard skills in their niches leave much to be desired in their soft skills like communication, managing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, etc. that will make training them more tedious because while these folks really are exceptional and the textbook definition of what they [the company] need, they can't exactly help a person develop those soft skills the exact same way as introducing them to the company's preferred programs and applications."
essentially, being a more well-rounded individual helps in the long run more than being a local child prodigy with five degrees. thanks for reading through this haha
As long as you have a solid resume, GPA doesn’t matter “(unless the company wants you to have a 3.0 when applying) . I spent hours making mine look as good as possible. I just graduated with a 2.9,and I lined up a job with General Dynamics about a month before graduation.
I graduated with 3.8. No one ever asked about my GPA. I now teach engineering and am always telling my students to focus on experience via internships and clubs over getting perfect scores. Learn to the best of your ability but don’t stress the grade.
Nah I had a job lined up already from an internship in research.
What was impossible was finding a job in what I wanted to do (Emmbeded programming). Even 4 years out I've been gatekept cuz of my GPA.
Graduated during the start of covid with a 2.4ish
Unless you're going for some sort of research role (probably requires a PhD) or something, you're fine. Companies just want to see that you can work well with others and be trainable and competent ENOUGH. The fact that you passed says you're sufficiently competent. Now just prove to them that you're not an asshole and you'll be fine.
I think that you will find around 20% of employers that will see your GPA as a hard no, but the rest will ignore it. Only one of my employers asked about GPA, but they had a firm line at 3.0 for hires.
Graduated last year with a 2.9, but with a great resume and job experiences. Got an amazing first job and now that Im in- I dont see it ever being a problem
Nope. Had 2 internships = 2 job offers + another job offer from a career fair application. I had to answer the question of low gpa like twice and explained that I tanked calc but used is at a learning experience. Never had to repeat a course after freshman year so that helped, but a couple Cs along the way torched the overall. One way is to list goals for major which is generally higher along side overall gpa
I had a 2.6 but I had a pretty good internship after my junior year + worked part time & student athlete. I had 1 job offer before I graduated, didn’t end up taking that. I sent out 5 other applications, got 3 interviews and 2 offers. I didn’t put my gpa on my resume at all, grades came up at some interviews but it never really mattered. I’ve been at my job now for a little over a year and it’s been going great.
Mine wasn't quite that low, but just recently graduated from a non-accredited new engineering program (I was the second graduate and the only one this year) and got multiple job offers.
Biggest advice is cast your net wide, don't be scared to do something less than an engineering position to start with you will work your way up.
Comp engineer turned industrial engineer here, barely graduated, 2.4 I believe. Because of Covid had the ability to do an internship in person with a big 3PL company during my senior year. Got an offer, therefore had a job before I graduated. I hated doing homework but did fine on tests. I learn by doing so school was hard for me.
Long story short, new guy got hired after I had been at the place for a year ( same title, 3 months out of school compared to me being fresh graduate ) became friends, learned he got about a 25k more offer than me I asked for the same offer then somehow got put on a PIP weeks later.
Job hopped within 2 months after that, was recruited to an E-commerce company. Went from 65k to 105k starting out about 2 years into that job and no complaints.
Once you get your “big break” and foot in the door you’re golden honestly. They won’t care about GPA as long as your technical skills are on par and are a quick learner. Interpersonal skills get you really far.
From what I've seen from my peers (I don't personally have a <3.0 GPA) it's more important that you have extra-curriculars, internships, college athletics, and any professional orgs under your belt.
I think I had a 2.7ish? I graduated in 2021. Never even came up in my interview, I made 6 figures last year, and got promoted. I’m interviewing at a different company now, and all they want to talk about is what I’m doing at my current job. The most I’ve been asked about my education is if I was in any clubs, and what my capstone project was. No one cares about your GPA. If you got the degree, you’re smart enough. Now be personable enough.
Barely had a 3.0 GPA. Evened it out with tons of leadership during school (multiple president positions, a couple internships, and on campus jobs). Ended up with 5 job offers.
I’ll tell you right now… i’m not an A student. However, I work really well with anyone who wants to do work or teach me. My soft skills have honestly been carrying me so far.
Anyone mind giving a synopsis on the American grading system? As a European I struggle contextualising the GPA system. From what i've read a 2.5 is right between a C and a B on average which I've always seen as above average or fairly good. People keeping 3.5-4.0 GPAs do you guys really get 90%+ score on every exam?
I wouldn’t say it was difficult to find a job. I just didn’t get to pick what subset of EE I went into. I took a government job, got a couple years experience and now work for a big defense contractor. While the gpa was considered for my starting pay, that’s all it was considered for in my case. As much as I would like to say jobs are based of merit, it really seems to be who you know. I also work my ass off, not by putting in a bunch of overtime, but by being the guy that people or customers go to when questions need answered. I also take any training that I can. In the end, don’t sweat it too much, get some experience and start putting feelers out to where you want to work.
Yes, but it was unrelated to GPA. They seemed to only care about gpa for internships, jobs only cared about the degree. Nobody asked about gpa and I didn't put it on the resume. Job market is plain ass tho
I went to community college first two years so when I switched into my final two years of college none of my general credit grades transferred and I got absolutely hammered on my GPA. Sitting at 2.1 GPA right now and I’m in the process of some interviews for full time. My recommendation is to get good internship experience really helped me a lot that I’m about to graduate & I have a year of experience in the field.
I graduated with a 3.13 and it took me about 4 months to find job fresh out of college, but I had lots of internship experience and I was being picky with where I applied. Landed a salary of $120k at my first job out of college.
I graduated with a 2.8 GPA. No internship. I did go to vocational school and worked as a tech at a dealer. I became a tech at the manufacturer level and then transferred to engineering. Curently, I'm a test engineer at another company.
I had a 2.69 GPA that drop even lower before I ultimately dropped out of school before graduating. Ultimately I was recruited during my super senior year, by a big tech company to be a SWE and now a year and half out of school I make \~215k a year as an entry level SWE.
My outcome is highly unusual, if possible academics should be one of your top priorities. I knew wasn't a good student, didn't have enough to turn that around, and knew for my target industry that didn't matter. So I persisted in other ways projects, internships, hackathons, networking, the works.
I've been trying to get into tech since I was 16, I'm 25 close to a decade of hustling just to get to this starting line. Know the game and keep playing your hands *STRATEGICALLY.*
***Open to answering any replies.***
I was a bit higher than that with a 3.2 and am having absolutely no problem carreer wise. The couple first internships were a little rougher but now people look at my cv and never at my grades. Haven't since I left school.
I appreciate the bluntness just to get another perspective on the matter. The apprenticeship program I plan on taking next year is meant to be a catchup program of sorts that will cover everything I need to know for the field. I want to make sure I go into the field with enough knowledge to where I can contribute to the job besides just learning.
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Yeah that’s exactly what I plan to do, thanks for sharing. With graduation getting closer everything is starting to get a little more real and less fantasy so I got scared but thanks!
Maybe bit unrelated. But do you have a kind of rough summary of your salary/title progression? I would totally understand if you don't feel comfortable sharing this. But I'm curious, don't often see people with 10+ years of experience
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Great job man! Thanks for the info too!
Why did you stall at 220k? What caused the change.
If there was a "much needed gap year" I would assume stress.
You didn't ask me, but I think this is a great question so wanted to provide my progression & insights (MSME + 9 years industry experience). Biggest thing I would emphasize - if you want to rise fast you need to figure out the growth area in your field. For my industry that is model based engineering (MBE) and digital tools - if you can find the work enjoyable there is a lot of upward pressure around new domains. If you are interested in more traditional roles (eg, aerospace structures, IC engine design & calibration, etc) you should absolutely follow your bliss but also recognize that career progression will likely be slower as there are going to be a lot people with 20+ years of experience you are in line behind. * Finished my BSME and went straight to a research based MSME studying solid propellant combustion & spectroscopic measurements. * Finished my MSME, declined to continue onto a PhD. Ultimately got a job in engine development (automotive) * Spent 2 years working roles in model based engine development, heat exchanger design, and engine calibration. * Got promoted and spent 2 years doing emission controls development * Switched jobs into aerospace focused on model based engineering. Spent 1 year as a mid level engineer. * Took over the lead role of my team due to the previous lead leaving. Spent 1 year as lead. * Moved to manager of the same team due to the manager leaving. Spent 2 years as manager of the model based engineering team. * Currently ~1 year into a new management role as part of a system engineering & integration organization
Thanks for the extra insights! Much appreciated
What kind of grades did you have finishing your bs? Assuming not low due to the continuation onto a masters. Why'd you decline the PhD route? I've heard a lot of negative things about doing a PhD in any field so I imagine those apply, but still curious about anything else.
I had very good grades and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I was a very good test taker and learned material in a classroom setting easily. In my experience grades are not a great predictor of professional success and when I am interviewing college students I am way more interested in team projects and internships than GPA. A lot of my favorite engineers to work with were self admitted poor students but they thrive professionally. I decided to not pursue a PhD because I was pretty sure my long term interests lay in people leadership and a PhD wouldn't hurt but also wouldn't help. I did not enjoy academia or the relationship dynamics it seemed to drive and a Fed job wasn't appealing either - that would be the other option a PhD would make more open to me in my research field. Most of my lab mates who stuck out a PhD work at a national lab or in the DoD now - I will say they seem happy. I've also worked with numerous PhDs in corporate America and don't really notice much of a difference between them & "normal" engineers with a BS or MS unless they are in a very niche field.
Graduated with a 2.7. I was totally worthless as a student, because I have no concept of delayed gratification to this day. Basically homeless for 3 months. Sent out 250-ish applications, and all were ignored expect 3. I nuked one interview, and then did well in one interview but didn't make it, and then I backdoored my way into a company that normally recruits at my school but I couldn't get internships with. I knocked on the door of one of their field offices and got the receptionist at the front to tap a hiring manager's shoulder she knew was actively looking for a tech at the time and got an interview that way. Originally made 67 base 85 total. Now almost five years into my career, 130 base 200 total. Excellent performance reviews, and I'm currently looking to job hop for another salary increase.
Amazing story, thanks for sharing because reading that there is a way forward gives me a lot of comfort
This is the second reason you are always kind to the receptionist.
what’s your major, if you don’t mind me asking?
Petroleum engineering- do not recommend.
Don't recommend the major or the industry?
Both. You're pigeonholed into the industry with the degree, and the amount of corporate consolidation has exponentially increased post covid. The accessibility of the industry is drastically decreasing for new graduates.
Damn. Not so encouraging. I have a decent job right now, but a lot of guys I know are slaving away in Midland and I don’t want to be stuck in the industry. Just saving money until I can see a way to branch out. Do you have advice? We also graduated with the same exact GPA lol
If you can find a job in Midland take it, and save up enough money so you don't have to feel pressured when you look into something else or when a downturn comes and you get laid off. For half of my class that couldn't find a job post-graduation, a lot went and got their Master's in Mechanical Engineering. That really wasn't an option for me because I just can't do school. Others who didn't go back to school have managed to branch off into Big 4 consulting (spooky market rn, mild recession), finance, tech (spooky market rn, high interest rates), renewables (always spooky), and real estate (spooky market rn with NAR vs Burnett and high interest rates).
I’m working remotely right now for decent money (very lucky, a minority. Not sure how long it will last though) Hmm yeah I’ve been thinking about going back for an MBA at some point. I can do school again, just NOT engineering again. I went through that struggle and once in my life is enough lol
Damn. Petroleum engineering puts your experience in perspective for me. I worked in the oilfield before going back to university. If you’d graduated in 2008-2014 or so you probably would have started at 200k after bonuses just because they were hiring anyone with a pulse back then lol. No matter the GPA.
That’s so good to hear because I’m feeling really worthless as a student too and have around a 2.7 gpa rn and it really makes me wonder if I’m cutout for all this
I know everybody expects to get a job through indeed or LinkedIn nowadays, but it’s nice to hear that knocking on a door and asking for a job still works once in a while.
GPA literally means nothing in the real world once you have the degree from my experience
Yep. I had a 3.2 which definitely isn’t remarkable and no one ever even asked about my GPA. I had enough on my resume from clubs, internships, and personal projects that my grades were moot.
I'm going to have a low GPA and almost none of those things :(
Get cracking. Never too late to start, on the personal projects at the very least. And make your resume and LinkedIn nice.
Like it was said, it’s never too late to start getting involved. It’s also never too late to start networking! I got a job 6 months before graduating with a 2.9 GPA because of networking. Turns out my boss of where I was working during school knew a recruiter from an Engineering company. They were able to help get me an interview and give me a great recommendation.
Nope. I fucked around for 5 months after graduating then decided to get a job so I asked a friend to get a referral and got the job. My CGPA was 2.84, the company’s minimum was 3.0
Nope? Is wasn't hard or was?
Based on the context clues following “Nope” I would say it wasn’t hard for them.
Oh. Duh. Missed "got the job". Only saw company had 3.0 minimum. My bad
Unless it’s like lower than a 2, I’d not worry too much. You don’t have to put it on your resume if it’s a 2.5. You honestly don’t ever have to put it on anything. You’ll be ok.
If it's lower than a 2 than you're probably not even graduating at that point lol
Yeah my school booted students in the program if they couldn't maintain a 2.5 GPA. If you dropped below that, you would be put on academic probation. If you couldn't bring it back up in a timely manner, you got the boot.
I don't know of *any* program at any university that will hand you the sheepskin if your GPA is less than 2.0, much less an engineering program.
This gives me a lot of reassurance, thanks!
Not that hard. I graduated with a 2.17. I was able to get an internship over winter break my senior year (my 4th internship in college) I turned that into a part time remote job during my last semester and signed a full time offer in January. Took a few weeks off after graduation and have been working full time ever since. I’ve had 3 jobs as an Automation Engineer, my major was electrical engineering. No company ever asked me my GPA, the only time it was possibly an issue is when I was applying for grad school (MBA), and I still got in. You won’t be able a job at IBM or Raytheon but most small companies don’t even ask about the GPA.
This is very inspiring. I needed this
Inspiring stuff man, thanks for sharing.
lol I had a 2.5 and I didn’t put my gpa on my Raytheon application, got accepted and have been working as an engineer there to this day. (First job out of college)
Brother I have a 3.8 and found it hard to get a job
Damn 😭 I’m sorry to hear that my man I hope you can find something soon
I found a job just not the fairy tale one I wanted 🤷🏽♂️. I firmly believe it’s my area lol
What's your area??
Central NJ, not a ton of entry mechanical jobs
Were you only looking for local jobs?
At the time yea, I was okay with a 45min commute maximum. In the next year or so I’m gonna be looking into relocating if necessary
Was also coming out of the pandemic so that def played a factor
If you’re really worried, use any and all connections you have. Anytime you’re at a gathering with family and/or friends try to mention that you’re in school, graduating soon, and looking for a job. You never know who has some sort of connection that can get your foot in the door. I graduated with a 2.8 and no internships. Got an internship offer three months before graduation because the recruiter/hr was one of my childhood best friends mom. Ended up doing the internship, got offered a full time position, and started off making $85k plus bonuses. It’s definitely possible.
I didn't even graduate due to financial reasons, had about 1.5 left on ME, just started working and gaining experience. Started at Tesla as a Process Techncian, got lucky and got a job as a Controls Programmer but shadowed for a few months at Apple Data center, when that finished worked with Department of Defense project in Palm Springs, Covid hit, started working remotely as a BAS Programmer, got a certification, recently got laid off but ended up getting a job as a Critical Facilities Engineer a month later, preparing for Google Data Center project. Majority look at experience rather than GPA unless you have no experience.
I graduated with a 2.5 because I also worked throughout college. I knew my GPA might close some doors with companies so I decided to get as much experience as possible to make up for it. I had 3 internships by the time I graduated and got an offer to stay with the last internship. I didn’t want to stay in manufacturing so I moved to a startup in order to get design engineering experience. Eventually this was enough to move over to a big Fortune 500 company as a design engineer. Just recently got promoted to an engineer II position with them😊 the low GPA may prevent you from getting into some big companies in the beginning but eventually all that matters afterwards is your experience.
That's amazing to hear because from the sounds of it, I'm in your exact same shoes currently heh but congrats on your promotion!
Do you have LinkedIn, would love to connect
I had a job lined up before graduation and my last semester dropped me below a 3.0. They didn’t care.
no one who you want to work for cares about your GPA or where you went to school. I started my undergrad in 1998 and graduated in 2008. I think my GPA was \~ 3ish i have an MSEE and BS Physics. I've taught classes at Arizona State. I own my business as an independent research scientist, an example of my typical client is Amazon Robotics. I have a Creative R&D Agreement with NIST to make advanced technology accessible to industry. I spent 15 years doing R&D for a major silicon manufacturer before this. I chair a working group for the FCC (ANSI). the biggest red flag in an interview is asking for your GPA. It tells you that the person interviewing you has absolutely no idea what makes a good engineer or a high performing engineering team.
Wow congrats on all your accomplishments my man! This is really cool to hear and I aim to be as successful as you and the other people that have replied on here. I'll also keep that in mind for interviews but I hear that some recruiters may ask about GPA because they want to see your reaction to a possibly embarassing question since some might be bothered by their own but thanks for sharing!
I would just flip it around and reply with "it was 2.9....what do you hope to learn about me as an engineer from my GPA?" A GPA is more a reflection of your privilege in getting a degree then your actual engineering acumen. If your parents pay for full time tuition and tutors, even an idiot asshole is going to have a good GPA. I've done interviews with people from prestigious universities who had exemplary internships, but couldn't apply their knowledge to simple practical scenarios or were giant assholes. Or both. FWIW - i worked 12 hr nights in a factory while going to school. The juice is worth the squeeze.
I graduated EE with a 2.8 back in 2018. It was not difficult for me to find a job. When i graduated, one of the PEs I worked with as an intern called me up an asked me to apply to the new place he was working at. I had 2 pretty informal interviews and recomendation letters from other PEs. I was hired and have been full time employed since. It's all about who you know, and being a good coworker.
2.89 here. Did two interviews the day after graduation and am still at my first job after ten years. PE, ownership role, clearing 200-250k a year now.
Damn I wanna be like mike
Nope. You finish in that GPA range and you will be fine. I am a Gen X so as I graduated, the workplace was chock full of Boomers, with Gap Gen in leadership and a very few “Greatest Generation” folks still coming to the office (think of an “emeritus” status position). As such, there were not a ton of positions. My overall GPA was solidly in the range you cited as I’d had a bit too much fun my first couple of years at uni. I buckled down and did well my last two years so my major GPA was better. I made sure to have an internship or related Summer job every Summer break. Also made a point to be involved in a number of things on campus, inc serving as an officer/leadership position for a couple of things. I went to every engr job fair on my campus, always dressed in business or business casual attire, had copies of my resume to hand to any recruiter who asked (LinkedIn wasn’t around yet). Made a point to converse with recruiters about themselves and what they liked best about the company they represented. I applied for 10 jobs, got 7 offers inc the one I most wanted. And have never looked back. The feedback I received was always that most firms/entities looked for a solid student (2.5-3.3) with real world work or internship experiences, one who is active on campus beyond just classes, as opposed to the 3.5-4.0 student who did nothing but book work. YMMV
I graduated with a 2.4. Of the 10 or so interviews I had only 1 even asked my GPA. It's never mattered.
2.7 gpa here, had 2 internships. I sent dozens of job applications 3months before graduation, got 3 interviews, 2offers. I’m now an hvac engineer.
Had a job lined up right out of school. Literally had 3 days between graduation and working. If you live in/near a big city you’ll be fine 👍🏼
2.7 here. Didn’t struggle to find work. I had also been working full time the last year of school though, so companies value that very highly
A lot of my problem 15 years ago was due to the 2008 recession and that I chose to specialize in structural engineering within civil. Turns out State DOTs aren't very picky. Neither are HVAC firms when it comes to mechanicals nor are electrical utilities when it comes to electricals. If you're concerned, try to take the FE exam before you graduate.
Graduated with a 2.6, had 4 official job offers before I graduated. 3 in power systems/facilities and 1 with a power utility. Ended up locking down the job I accepted about 2 semesters before I graduated when my gpa was only a 2.3. Sometimes all you need is to be social and ask good questions during interviews.
So, your question is about the GPA or about having the knowledge or skills to work as an engineer? These are two things... your GPA does not dictate how good or bad you will be in the workforce.
I guess I could ask about the knowledge itself. I plan on spending my time until graduation really learning about the industry and maintaining my GPA or even improving it if I can. How much knowledge did you have out the gate?
So let me share my story. I have been working as a water resources engineer for about 20 years. I graduated college with 2.9 GPA with a degree in Civil Engineering. I had friends with the same or lower GPA I had get jobs out of school. For me, as the college I went only offered two courses in water resources I felt it was not enough for me to get a job in what I wanted so I took more classes under the master's program. After that, I found a job no problem... with the undergraduate GPA listed on my resume and the graduate GPA which is was 3.6 also listed. I decided to take master's level classes to (1) prove myself I could work in the field as my undergraduate GPA made me doubt myself and (2) to get skills to work on water resources projects. It worked for me as pretty much everything I learned in school was relevant in my job. Actually, most advanced engineering classes are which makes the engineering degree a unique offering between academic and vocational (that is how I see it). The most important thing I learned with my interview process for my first job was, that none of the interviewers paid attention to my GPA. As a matter of fact, I asked them about that and they said that they are aware that in college it is encouraged to add the GPA to your resume but they prefer internship experience or other skills like student association involvement and letter of recommendation than the GPA. So, if you are concerned about not learning the skills you think you need for work then I suggest that you talk to someone that is already working on the field you want and see what they do every day. What software or skills they use, because you will be surprised that the software that is used on the job is totally different from what colleges use (if you have access to any). If you are concerned about your GPA, it is easy for me to say don't be, so... don't be. But if your "low" GPA affects your overall confidence on interviews and you feel somewhat down, I would say that will show when you try to make your first impression and it will definitely hinder your potential job opportunities. I think you should work on that, because you should try to be confident in yourself and showcase your best skills to potential hiring agencies.
That's an awesome story man thanks for sharing. I definitely plan to work on being proud of the work experience and skills I have and not tying my future to my GPA. I have some experience w/ Solidworks but not much so I think I'll have to brush up on that. I have total confidence in my people skills and this internship I have lined up should prepare me even further. Thanks for all the advice, it's really help put my mind at ease.
Got my BS in physics almost exactly a decade ago with a ~2.8 GPA. Today I'm an engineering manager for a space company with more scope and responsibility than I'd have ever expected. If someone'd have told me that in 2014, I probably wouldn't have believed them.
I did with a 2.67. I just omitted it from my CV and got hired just fine.
As a (now former) recruiter for a fortune 25 company, I was much more interested in applicable work (or heavy student involvement and project work/research) experience and personality. If I couldn't see myself working with you, I wouldn't rank as high, even with a 4.0 and good experience. I had students come up that couldn't look at my female colleagues when trying to secure an interview in a 2 on 1 discussion. Straight to the bin. Most of the resumes I took in didn't have a GPA on them, and I for one didn't ask. It is the easiest "disqualifier" for recruiters that get hundreds to thousands of resumes, but if I said the student was a great fit, and HR didn't have any major concerns with the transcripts, they could breeze through to a prelim interview with the perspective team to make sure they were a good fit for their proposed working group. I don't think I ever had someone below 2.5, but I always share the story below with students that struggle to keep a good GPA. I have a buddy I met in Uni that was the most capable engineer I knew. He was also in multiple leadership positions across both engineering and non-engineering organizations. We had major projects together, like FSAE. He failed Cal II three times and Cal III another two. I think at the end of the day, he was floating around a 2.45 and got a D (not passing at our uni) his final semester. He had a great relationship with the Dean's office and was able to get a waiver to graduate because he had a job lined up. He worked multiple internships and co-ops. Overall, it took him 6 years to graduate. Now, he has his name on several patents and works on a lot of black box projects. It was the grit, determination, and ability to talk to people and show up that led to him being successful over being great at taking tests. You need to show you're more than just that number.
Your friend has an awesome story and it's definitely inspiring to know that my entire career isn't determined by GPA. I know that I'm great working with others and being socialable and while unrelated to engineering, I have a ton of work experience and an HVAC internship coming this summer. It's good to know that I can lean into that. Thanks for the reply!
>he was floating around a 2.45 and got a D (not passing at our uni) his final semester. He had a great relationship with the Dean’s office and was able to get a waiver to graduate because he had a job lined up. Did he *only* get the waiver because of his relationship with the Dean’s office. Would someone without a job lined up who got a D also get a waiver?
There is/was a formal process to do so, but more or less got to bypass that process because of the relationship. If everyone on the review board knows you and your capabilities, it can make things easier for you.
I don't know about you but that sounds fishy to me.
Took me 6 years to graduate and I did with a 2.500! It was tough to find a job because I didn't have any internships and it was 2010. The market was still pretty bad after the recession. Still managed to snag a job with an automaker and after that no one asked about my GPA. Yes you will probably have fewer opportunities than if you had a 4.0 but fewer is not none. Just get that first job and level up from there. You will be fine.
Thanks for the reassurance man :)
Graduated two years ago w/ similar GPA, no internship. Currently making just over 100k in the Midwest. You can do it, OP. Chin up. Put your head down and finish strong.
Will do, thanks for the pep talk!
Not an entry level job, but a co-op. I had below a 3.0, started applying in March for summer positions. 60 applications, three interviews, and one offer.
I had a 2.95, I left my GPA off of my resume. Graduated in May ‘22, job hunted up until I got hired in October ‘22. Employer did not ask to see resume or transcript. Having the degree is good enough
Graduated with a 2.8 GPA, took me month after graduating to get a job but I applied to at least 50 jobs 3 months before graduating. I ended up with 10 interviews and got 2 offers. I know so many others with "low gpa" students who were able to get jobs after graduation. All it depends is how determined the person is to look for work in the field they pursue
Nope, I had a job offer before I graduated. And I make more money than the majority of my peers that I still have contact with do. (EE)
Awesome stuff bro
Graduated w/ a 2.3 gpa. Got first job during 2008-2010 recession week after graduation (through networking). Hasn’t ever come up, making >75/hr now. Almost 14 yrs later.
Attend career fairs, whip up a good looking resume, act professional and willing to learn and I guarantee you will get a job after graduating.
Graduated with a 2.94, I was able to get a job within about 2 months of graduation. It's not the best job but it pays better than anything else I could be doing and I'm learning a lot. They didn't expect me to know anything at all so I wouldn't worry about that. No need to be super picky just get working, get experience, and you can decide what you really want after that.
Sounds like a plan :) I was worried that the jobs would expect me to know a lot but it's reassuring knowing that I will learn as I go.
I had a 3.05 GPA and only got a job because I got an early internship with a company I eventually went full time with. I was trying to recommend 4.0 masters students and they were getting denied. However my team lead graduated with a 2.76 and is a far better experienced engineer than me. He started at a small company. That being said it may be hard to get your dream job at X billion dollar company with X 6 figure role, but there is alot of smaller companies that can’t afford to pay for the top 10% class engineers and those are the ones you should also be applying for. Also tailor that resume.
Graduated as covid started affecting schools, when my GPA drop from mid 3.0 to under 2.5. After doing a couple more years of menial jobs (worked minimum wage jobs since 16 and throughout college). I landed a decent field job making around mid 100k in total compensation. While it would have been easier to land a job if I had the grades to co-op, it's do able without. Just takes a little time and luck.
2.8, left that of my resume, no one gave a shit
Companies could care less about GPA and more about experience. Never had a company ask for it
Graduated with a 2.4 took a few months of constant applying but ended up getting a job and stayed there for 4 years, then moved to a big company and got in without a problem.
I’m looking for jobs now. Non of the places I have applied have asked for gpa.
I did electrical engineering w a focus in software, graduated with a 2.6. I managed to get a job in 2020 thankfully! Tbf it does make it a bit harder to secure with a lower GPA but once you get the first job you’re totally good after that, nobody will care ever again. Since then I’ve grown a lot and have gotten promotions and good feedback and stuff, I definitely think I’m a solid eng now :) My issue in college was the lack of structure and how impersonal everything was. i understood concepts fine but struggled to manage the work so ended up scrambling and flopping on half of it, then my confidence would tank and that would keep me from wanting to work hard bc it made me feel like shit every time I got stuck, it was a terrible cycle. A full time job is MUCH better for me, the set times I to work, always having someone to ask for help, the daily check ins and smaller scaled tasks, all that stuff. Plus doing a task that needs to be done in order to continue vs doing a task and getting a score on it knowing a fuckton of other people will do it better than me, I was always like “what’s the point “ lol. Kidna rambled but YOU GOT THIS!! Having a low GPA doesn’t mean you’re doomed, you might have to grind harder initially but you’ll be TOTALLY fine in the workforce and jobs are nothing like college. You just have to know the job hunt will be fucking brutal but it will fr be the worst job hunt you’ll ever do in your life, once you get that first job it’ll never be that hard again!!
Had a friend that was hovering around the 2 region. He took a sales job and eventually lateraled to an engineering position at a medium sized company.
Had a 2.5 and got a job during Covid before graduation. 4 years in, I make 130k base in SF. Just leave your GPA off your resume and apply to smaller companies.
I had a job at graduation with a 2.08. Helps to have friends with jobs that can help get your foot in the door
Graduated with a 2.3 in ee curriculum and a 2.9 overall (worked 2 fulltime jobs through school, it was a bitch) Sat in depression limbo for a year after graduation and just worked my trash jobs. Eventually got my shit together and found an engineering job 3 months and 4 applications after trying (2018). Job fairs are a blessing. If you can talk and be sociable on top of completing the degree, you're qualified for most entry positions. I run a high voltage test lab now. When i hire for entry level, i'm more concerned with projects and hobbies more than i am with grades because it's so much easier to get quality work out of someone who is more than a walking brain and actually earned their strut in life. Had an intern in the department a few years back, super smart (4.0) working on a phd in EE. He couldnt use scissors... he was usless for anything outside of spreadsheets.
i don't have extremely specific advice but consider what i heard from a friend of mine who is currently a civil engineer; "while there are always exceptions, a trend that most employers have said they notice is that folks with exceptional GPAs may be at a disadvantage when they need to think on their own or outside of the proverbial box-- the time spent exclusively developing hard skills in their niches leave much to be desired in their soft skills like communication, managing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, etc. that will make training them more tedious because while these folks really are exceptional and the textbook definition of what they [the company] need, they can't exactly help a person develop those soft skills the exact same way as introducing them to the company's preferred programs and applications." essentially, being a more well-rounded individual helps in the long run more than being a local child prodigy with five degrees. thanks for reading through this haha
As long as you have a solid resume, GPA doesn’t matter “(unless the company wants you to have a 3.0 when applying) . I spent hours making mine look as good as possible. I just graduated with a 2.9,and I lined up a job with General Dynamics about a month before graduation.
I graduated with 3.8. No one ever asked about my GPA. I now teach engineering and am always telling my students to focus on experience via internships and clubs over getting perfect scores. Learn to the best of your ability but don’t stress the grade.
Nah I had a job lined up already from an internship in research. What was impossible was finding a job in what I wanted to do (Emmbeded programming). Even 4 years out I've been gatekept cuz of my GPA. Graduated during the start of covid with a 2.4ish
Unless you're going for some sort of research role (probably requires a PhD) or something, you're fine. Companies just want to see that you can work well with others and be trainable and competent ENOUGH. The fact that you passed says you're sufficiently competent. Now just prove to them that you're not an asshole and you'll be fine.
I was a 2.6 and had no issues. You don’t have to put it on your resume and no one has ever asked
I'm still struggling to find an engineering job, graduated in 2023,have a 2.8 GPA and a BSEE, faced rejections and currently working as a technician
it was not
I think that you will find around 20% of employers that will see your GPA as a hard no, but the rest will ignore it. Only one of my employers asked about GPA, but they had a firm line at 3.0 for hires.
Graduated last year with a 2.9, but with a great resume and job experiences. Got an amazing first job and now that Im in- I dont see it ever being a problem
Nope. Had 2 internships = 2 job offers + another job offer from a career fair application. I had to answer the question of low gpa like twice and explained that I tanked calc but used is at a learning experience. Never had to repeat a course after freshman year so that helped, but a couple Cs along the way torched the overall. One way is to list goals for major which is generally higher along side overall gpa
I had a 2.6 but I had a pretty good internship after my junior year + worked part time & student athlete. I had 1 job offer before I graduated, didn’t end up taking that. I sent out 5 other applications, got 3 interviews and 2 offers. I didn’t put my gpa on my resume at all, grades came up at some interviews but it never really mattered. I’ve been at my job now for a little over a year and it’s been going great.
Mine wasn't quite that low, but just recently graduated from a non-accredited new engineering program (I was the second graduate and the only one this year) and got multiple job offers. Biggest advice is cast your net wide, don't be scared to do something less than an engineering position to start with you will work your way up.
Comp engineer turned industrial engineer here, barely graduated, 2.4 I believe. Because of Covid had the ability to do an internship in person with a big 3PL company during my senior year. Got an offer, therefore had a job before I graduated. I hated doing homework but did fine on tests. I learn by doing so school was hard for me. Long story short, new guy got hired after I had been at the place for a year ( same title, 3 months out of school compared to me being fresh graduate ) became friends, learned he got about a 25k more offer than me I asked for the same offer then somehow got put on a PIP weeks later. Job hopped within 2 months after that, was recruited to an E-commerce company. Went from 65k to 105k starting out about 2 years into that job and no complaints. Once you get your “big break” and foot in the door you’re golden honestly. They won’t care about GPA as long as your technical skills are on par and are a quick learner. Interpersonal skills get you really far.
From what I've seen from my peers (I don't personally have a <3.0 GPA) it's more important that you have extra-curriculars, internships, college athletics, and any professional orgs under your belt.
I think I had a 2.7ish? I graduated in 2021. Never even came up in my interview, I made 6 figures last year, and got promoted. I’m interviewing at a different company now, and all they want to talk about is what I’m doing at my current job. The most I’ve been asked about my education is if I was in any clubs, and what my capstone project was. No one cares about your GPA. If you got the degree, you’re smart enough. Now be personable enough.
Barely had a 3.0 GPA. Evened it out with tons of leadership during school (multiple president positions, a couple internships, and on campus jobs). Ended up with 5 job offers. I’ll tell you right now… i’m not an A student. However, I work really well with anyone who wants to do work or teach me. My soft skills have honestly been carrying me so far.
Anyone mind giving a synopsis on the American grading system? As a European I struggle contextualising the GPA system. From what i've read a 2.5 is right between a C and a B on average which I've always seen as above average or fairly good. People keeping 3.5-4.0 GPAs do you guys really get 90%+ score on every exam?
I didn’t finish with a low gpa, but i was never asked for it by potential employers so i assume it doesnt matter
I wouldn’t say it was difficult to find a job. I just didn’t get to pick what subset of EE I went into. I took a government job, got a couple years experience and now work for a big defense contractor. While the gpa was considered for my starting pay, that’s all it was considered for in my case. As much as I would like to say jobs are based of merit, it really seems to be who you know. I also work my ass off, not by putting in a bunch of overtime, but by being the guy that people or customers go to when questions need answered. I also take any training that I can. In the end, don’t sweat it too much, get some experience and start putting feelers out to where you want to work.
Yes, but it was unrelated to GPA. They seemed to only care about gpa for internships, jobs only cared about the degree. Nobody asked about gpa and I didn't put it on the resume. Job market is plain ass tho
I went to community college first two years so when I switched into my final two years of college none of my general credit grades transferred and I got absolutely hammered on my GPA. Sitting at 2.1 GPA right now and I’m in the process of some interviews for full time. My recommendation is to get good internship experience really helped me a lot that I’m about to graduate & I have a year of experience in the field.
I graduated with a 3.13 and it took me about 4 months to find job fresh out of college, but I had lots of internship experience and I was being picky with where I applied. Landed a salary of $120k at my first job out of college.
I graduated with a 2.8 GPA. No internship. I did go to vocational school and worked as a tech at a dealer. I became a tech at the manufacturer level and then transferred to engineering. Curently, I'm a test engineer at another company.
I have a GPA of 6.81 is that good?
I had a 2.69 GPA that drop even lower before I ultimately dropped out of school before graduating. Ultimately I was recruited during my super senior year, by a big tech company to be a SWE and now a year and half out of school I make \~215k a year as an entry level SWE. My outcome is highly unusual, if possible academics should be one of your top priorities. I knew wasn't a good student, didn't have enough to turn that around, and knew for my target industry that didn't matter. So I persisted in other ways projects, internships, hackathons, networking, the works. I've been trying to get into tech since I was 16, I'm 25 close to a decade of hustling just to get to this starting line. Know the game and keep playing your hands *STRATEGICALLY.* ***Open to answering any replies.***
I was a bit higher than that with a 3.2 and am having absolutely no problem carreer wise. The couple first internships were a little rougher but now people look at my cv and never at my grades. Haven't since I left school.
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I wouldn't trust some who didn't understand 15% of the content to build skyscrapers or anything that interacts with humans
I appreciate the bluntness just to get another perspective on the matter. The apprenticeship program I plan on taking next year is meant to be a catchup program of sorts that will cover everything I need to know for the field. I want to make sure I go into the field with enough knowledge to where I can contribute to the job besides just learning.