Joshua
What activities were you involved in college that you think helped you get your first job after college?
I am looking at going into Mechanical or Electrical Engineering and I have found there to be many different research projects or school clubs/events that I could join and wondering which would be the most beneficial. #engineering #electrical-engineering #mechanical
3 answers
Paul Hauber
Paul’s Answer
This may not be a direct answer but perhaps could help.
I worked at Sears all through college. Part time during school and full time during summer and holidays. I was fortunate to work in automative and sporting goods. 2 areas I really had a passion for. It was fun and I looked forward to going to work every day! Fortunately, I was offered full time employment when I graduated and was put in charge of the hardware department. Craftsman, the backbone of the Sears name at that time. Management was a huge change for me - people, inventory, customers, management etc. The joy and passion was lost. Personal computers began to emerge and found my true life long work. And opportunities opened up for me to move in that direction.
I believe working or volunteering in areas you have passion will help you connect with people and companies that will help spark employment when you graduate. It is not necessarily what you know, but who you know that will open the door for post graduate work. Take advantage of the digital social media that is available to connect and stay informed. Study and learn about companies you think you would like to work at and reach out to employees and establish an inside track what it is like to work there. I hope this helps.
All the best.
Nicole Baillie
Nicole’s Answer
I specifically agree with the response you were given to consider participating in a student engineering society. My experience in having been a member of a student engineering society when I was in college was incredibly valuable. As a group, not only were we able to learn from each other (as some members were upper classmen/classwomen), but we had and created ample opportunities to do community outreach. This included tutoring, creating events that spotlight relevant speakers and more.
I found these efforts helpful in building the necessary soft skills that persons with technical backgrounds can use as part of their collegiate and professional growth.
This is not to say that you can't get these growth skills in other types of student groups. Consider music groups/arts/student government groups.
What is important is that you do your best to engage in the richness of campus life. In this era of a pandemic, that becomes a bit more of a challenge but still doable even if in a more virtual manner.
Hope you find this answer helpful and best of luck!
Peter Sturtevant
Peter’s Answer
Joshua:
There are several outside activities that you can do while going to college that will help differentiate yourself from many other engineering job applicants:
Join and take a leadership position in a student engineering society.
Actively work in a club that does good for others. One well-known and prestigious group is Engineers without Borders. Not only does this group give you an opportunity to travel abroad for short periods to deserving third-world villages, but it allows you to apply your engineering experience to provide badly-needed infrastructure. Many colleges have EWB groups on-campus.
Work as a summer intern for an engineering form or a municipal public works department.
Good luck, Pete Sturtevant, PE