by "RCMF - is hungry for V10 Touaregs and long kinja names" (mile-rei-club)
Published 11/02/2017 at 16:55
by "RCMF - is hungry for V10 Touaregs and long kinja names" (mile-rei-club)
Published 11/02/2017 at 16:55
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STARS: 1
Soliciting career advice after the jump:
So, here’s my situation. I’m a junior in college, and after spending two years in school with intent to graduate as a mechanical engineer, I’ve just switched gears and redeclared as a computer science major. I still love the idea of working in the automotive industry (preferably in a somewhat technical role).
I know people end up where they do for all kinds of reasons, and no two paths are identical, but what should I keep in mind while trying to reach this goal?
I’m surrounded by business/finance/investment banking undergrads who are already in the thick of applying and interviewing for serious jobs and internships. Some of them have even gotten post-grad offers almost two years in advance. It is overwhelming. I do not like it.
But instead of dwelling on all that, I wanna get a game plan together. I’d appreciate any advice oppo has to offer (and thanks for the reads)!
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/02/2017 at 17:05, STARS: 5
Don’t worry about landing a career starting position yet. Get an internship. Preferably at the company you would like to work for, even if it isn’t in your exact field. Or just get a summer job. Sweep the floors at Ford or work a night shift in a GM plant.
Also, don’t forget to have fun. You will be working permanently once you graduate.
Take your time getting into your first job. Hold out for as long as you can to get into the position/industry you want. Harder to switch careers mid-stream.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/02/2017 at 17:23, STARS: 1
Don’t worry about what those business & finance types are doing. You’re not in their degree programs.
I’m a corporate recruiter at an engineering-y company. We often hire recent grads.
Assuming you have 2 years of school left, this coming summer, get some kind of software engineering internship. If it’s in the car field great but otherwise just do it in at least the type of programming you want to work in.
If there are any co-op type programs you can do during the regular school year, try to do that as well. We often when looking at entry level candidates will say, “soandso has some good internships and co-ops.”
If you’re going to graduate in May 2019, you should start applying for jobs no later than spring break of that year. You can try applying sooner than that as well. Put this in your education section of your resume:
State University of Blahbitty Blah Blah College, City, State
Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science
Current Student, Expected Graduation May 2019
(Or whatever your graduation date is)
Apply for any job that lists any permutation of 1-3 years of experience, even though you don’t have that experience. No company puts “we’ll take kids fresh out of school!” on their job description, but often times they might do just that.
"TysMagic" (twjeffery)
11/02/2017 at 17:26, STARS: 2
Came here to say pretty much all of this.
I had several internships through college. Honestly it’s an awesome way to dip your toe in the water of a bunch of different fields without people questioning what you’re doing - do that with jobs and people call you an unstable job hopper.
I also heavily concur on the have fun part!
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
11/02/2017 at 18:14, STARS: 0
Lots of good things here. I will add, what you may have surmised, is you will still work at the next step after university. There will always be a desire to move up and get a happier environment, raises, etc. It comes with effort and I can see you are doing just that now. Keep it up!
From other comments, extra activities help promote you. It’s not about studying in your field and getting a degree, theres more. What did you also do that shows genuine interest beyond just getting a degree. Also do something that shows interest in others you work with.
I was on my union scheduling committee, others organized other social aspects of their company environment. Etc.
What to show is you’re gonna be more than that guy who works 8 hours and goes home without caring about the job or company because any future references on your behalf will come from the next job.
"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002)
11/02/2017 at 18:16, STARS: 1
I had three internships in college. None of them were in a field I wanted to work and only one gave me some transferable experience. However, it gave me a solid list of references and plenty of professional experience. When I was applying to jobs out of state, about 90% of the jobs I applied for called me back. So you might think you are getting nowhere, but if a company is looking for fresh grads, they will favor the candidate that had an internship or two. That said, don’t forget to have fun!
"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002)
11/02/2017 at 18:17, STARS: 1
If you can’t find an internship in your desired career path, join a club and ideally gear your senior design project towards that field.