May 04 will mark my graduation date....i'll have a electrical engineering degree from WVU

My problem is now going to find a job....the problem i have encountered are alot of the jobs requires experience....well unfortunately i had to play army durning some of those summers that I would of loved to do a internship....

I looked for some entry level jobs and alot of them require skills that I am not strong in (like programming) or are in something that I am not interested in or have no knowledge in that field....(my emphasis was Biometrics...and the ones i seen were mostly on control/power systems)

My question for you electrical engineering people is how much weight doesn this pull in finding a job? If you dont know programming or lack knowlegde in that area, do they hold that against you?

Also do they expect you to know everything on the day you start or is there prior training that you go through?

thanks,
space

 

I assume that you are finishing a BS, right?

A lot of employers have raised the bar, are are looking for people to have finished Masters (2 years) or Masters of Engineering (1 year) graduate degrees. But it depends.

Do any recruiters come to your campus, companies looking for engineers next spring?

What was your specialty (focus) in EE?

Given the trends in EE now, I would seriously consider focusing your job search on defense contractors. It's your best shot at having a career that lasts beyond when you turn 50.

You could supplement your programming skills with either some classes in the spring or study during your winter break. Right now, you just need to be able to pass an interview. Study your C (including memory allocation and pointers), and learn your UNIX basics, and you will probably be fine.

Send me more questions if you have them.

 

If you cant find employment, then enlist in the army as an officer, use that to gain your expierence.

 

Seen computer assembly jobs that wanted a degree. Pays $14 an hour.

 

I would steer clear of the Army. If you are looking at staying technical looking into Officer Training School for the Air Force would be a good option. Something to keep in mind. The pay is good and you get great chances to travel. Plus you never have to worry about the economy taking a turn for the worse and getting canned. Plus you can come live in Germany and drive a fast Porsche!

Remember, in the Army....You are a rifleman first, and then a (insert job title here) second...

 

If you don't know *IX and C++ learn both quickly and well, perhaps Perl too. (Get a Linux distro on your home/dorm PC and play with it. g++ and Perl are standard installs.)
All the EEs I went to school with either use computers heavily, or have the same type of Software Engineering jobs that we Computer Engineers go after.

I'm glad I learned how to build a 4th order Butterworth filter (and then forgot, due to lack of use).

 

The only butterworth I remember now.

 

my emphasis is bioengineering/biometrics..

i dont want to go into the military full time....i like my national guard status...full time isnt something i would enjoy doing....

space

 

How about working for a military contractor - you are still a civilian, the products you work on have military applications.

 

I was thinking aobut that cuase in clarksburg, the FBI has that biometrics labatory....

theres also a place back home that i can apply to, but you work in a cubical...i like hands on....

what about going to grad school and durning the summer getting internships....how will that help me out?

space

 

Something they never tell you in school... not many places have opportunities for hands-on.

Have you done any job search yet? You should be thinking of starting right away if you would like to start somewhere in the summer of 2004.

You might try grad school, but you need to be sure that your profession is what you want to do, it is an addition investment of time and money.

Instead of an internship, are there any professors that would take you on for an independent research project for credit?

 

I'm a former CTO of a medical device company in Silicon Valley so hopefully I can give you an insider's view.

If you want to continue in bioengineering/biometrics you're in good shape. With the growth of the biotech industries you should be able to find something interesting to do, rather than just settling for some ol' job.

Email me and I can give you some info: pcutt@yahoo.com

 

Whoops....I got my email addresses mixed up. Don't email me there, email me here: paulcutt@yahoo.com

 

Hmm.. hopefully that will be me in 4 years (BS) and another 6 or 7 (MS) in EE. As an insider, what are corporations looking for in schooling? Basically what would you suggest? Cal-tech, MIT, etc.? Do you know of other good choices (maybe not as hard to get into (As I fill out my app. for Colorado School of Mines )

Thanks!

 

I did my Bachelors and Masters in 5 years total.

A Masters degree gives you an edge in the job market. You will find that with all of the undergrad requirements, it may be hard to get the depth in EE that you need to really "pull together" all the concepts you have learned.

A masters could also allow you to have a project/thesis that would be a good substitute for practical experience if you have a hard time getting internships.

Are you applying for college now? Or next fall?