A question for the engineers...

steingar

steingar

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My nephew graduated in June with a mechanical engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. I gather that he was not their top student, but that he successfully mastered their curriculum. Since then he has been working as a draftsman for a medical supply company. His remuneration is insufficient to cover his expenses (which are minimal). He appears adamant about remaining in the Cleveland area.

My nephew has not scored an engineering job in eight months since he graduated with an engineering degree. Should I be worried, and if so how much?
 
Does he interview poorly? Issues with a background check?

Have him look into contract houses - not a permanent position but if he does well companies can "convert" temps to real employees - at worst it's an engineering job to put on the resume.

Speaking of resume's - I've seen some that are pretty poorly done - have someone go over his. Is he getting interviews or just no response?
 
JOhnH said:
No, you shouldn't worry.

Your nephew should be worried. He should be worried enough to go where the jobs are.
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Pretty much, that.

I will say this - my undergraduate degree is in mechanical. When I graduated there were no jobs for ME's. I took a job as a CE. Didn't look back.
 
In engineering ya go where the jobs are. That said, even in high school I made decent coin as a draftsman...
 
Fresh Out engineers are generally easy for employers to find. He'd do better to get a real job somewhere, as he will become much more valuable with 3-5 years experience. Get the experience, then move back to Cleveland if he still wants to . . . .

--signed, BSME, MSE
 
He should reach out to a headhunter,that specializes in his field.
 
frfly172 said:
He should reach out to a headhunter,that specializes in his field.
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Certainly worth a try, but, there is no way in hell we would hire a new grad through a headhunter.
 
Has he looked at jobs with the local utilities and governments? Things like the permit offices. That will require him to be on the licensing track.

Also, depending on what he wants to do, he may need to take the licensing exams for PE. At this stage, he ought to take the EIT (Fundamentals) exam before he forgets everything in school. A review course is recommended. If he can pass the first exam, he will be even more attractive to employers - and his grades will be less important.

He also needs to be networking - local chapter of NSPE and the like. Places where the folks running firms will go. And finally, he may well need to move, at least early in his career. Tell him to check the NSPE job board. And talk with both his professors and the placement office.
 
Yes, he should be worried. Whether you should be depends upon whether you'll need to support him.

We're hiring engineers, both experienced and new grads, like crazy right now. If he's not willing to relocate that could be a problem, but otherwise he should be able to find employment as an engineer unless his grades are awful, his resume is crappy, or he doesn't know how to interview.

I'd be glad to look over his resume for you, if you'd like. Just let me know.
 
wsuffa said:
Also, depending on what he wants to do, he may need to take the licensing exams for PE. At this stage, he ought to take the EIT (Fundamentals) exam before he forgets everything in school. A review course is recommended. If he can pass the first exam, he will be even more attractive to employers - and his grades will be less important.

He also needs to be networking - local chapter of NSPE and the like. Places where the folks running firms will go. And finally, he may well need to move, at least early in his career. Tell him to check the NSPE job board. And talk with both his professors and the placement office.
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I took (and passed) the EIT while still in school. The engineering college even had professors provide refreshers in their areas before the test came around. That's the best time to take the EIT, while everything that you will never look at again is fresh. Of course, this was over 40 years ago, so things may have changed a bit. :)

Networking is very important. And moving early in one's career is virtually unavoidable. He may be able to move back to his desired location in the future, but for now, go where you can find a job. Heck, it took us 20 years to get back to the part of the country we wanted to live it.
 
Gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for your prompt and wise responses. I am in your debt.
 
My son graduated from University of Rochester about 4 years ago, Mechanical engineering. No problem landing a job, he's changed jobs twice and is up to 6 figures now. Sounds like your nephew is not applying for jobs. Don't know about Ohio but there seem to be plenty of ME jobs here in the Northeast. I wouldn't worry if I were you , but I would try to light a fire under his butt, he should be doing much better. Linked in, indeed and other online job listings seem to work well.
 
Should he be worried? Yes.

How much? It’s not like he’s going to be viewed as damaged goods, but he’s falling below his potential and it ain’t gonna get easier with the choice he’s made.

His big problem is that he has taken his options from global down to the narrow Cleveland area. That’s his issue. Bottom line. You can’t expect to be that specific with your first job out of school. He should be getting multiple offers at once and picking the best option. Think continental US.
 
My undergrad is ME as well. He needs to be mobile. Especially when he's young and early in his career. There's no shortage of jobs for engineers in this economy, including new grads. If he absolutely must stay in Cleveland he needs to figure out which are the fastest growing companies that have engineers, and they need to be a reasonable size or he won't get the mentoring - most small companies don't have the resources to properly train and bring along young recruits.
 
asicer said:
But that might mean California and we know how POA'ers feel about Californians. ;)
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Until he gets his PE he can claim import status on the farm team. ;)
 
GRG55 said:
Until he gets his PE he can claim import status on the farm team. ;)
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Use caution if he ever will need a security clearance. I’m fairly certain that travel to the People’s Republic of Kalifornia can delay a clearance, or even get it denied if he visits a sanctuary city.

I might be wrong, but why take the chance?
 
My son will graduate UCF (the National Champs in college football?) in May as an industrial engineer. He has a job waiting for him in Virginia. His grades were decent, but not stellar. I echo the comments that you need to go where the jobs are.
 
Or as Sac alluded to, broaden the range of disciplines, if he hasn't already. Civil, structural, etc open up jobs in the construction industry. I work for a construction management firm and we've got lots of ME and CE on the payroll. Few go on to get their stamp, which is unfortunate depending on your perspective, but if you can make similar income without it... Maybe not a big deal.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
With few exceptions, my guys are having no problem finding jobs in the Detroit area.
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The auto industry is growing again. Not like it was at one time, but better than a few years ago.

Self-driving vehicles are the hot focus and present opportunities on the mechanical side as well as electrical.


Forensic engineering is growing. Building construction is still pretty good (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing or MEP) is needed. There is some mechanical stuff involved in fracking and oil exploration (area south of Akron over into Marcellas shale in Pennsylvania - drive down I70 and see all the oil-related trucks an installations). Not too far from Cleveland... And Pittsburgh is not a bad town at all.
 
wsuffa said:
There is some mechanical stuff involved in fracking and oil exploration (area south of Akron over into Marcellas shale in Pennsylvania - drive down I70 and see all the oil-related trucks an installations). Not too far from Cleveland... And Pittsburgh is not a bad town at all.
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The oilfield service companies will take mechs as a lower cost alternative to pets and chems. Long hours, lots of figuring out how to make things work with hardware, software, chemistry, training, people, safety, you name it problems. Tying to another thread, social drinking can exceed 7/hr. YMWV
 
Sac Arrow said:
The only real reason to get a mechanical PE is if you're going to be doing building HVAC work, otherwise, it doesn't mean much. On the civil side, it's important.
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I'm a Mech PE, in my 41st year in hydrocarbon energy industry. I would suggest the above comment isn't always the case, but agree it depends what you want to do.
 
Only one time I needed a PE stamp....and that was for my own home project...and I found a co-worker with one and gave him $100 to stamp off on it.
 
wsuffa said:
The auto industry is growing again. Not like it was at one time, but better than a few years ago.

Self-driving vehicles are the hot focus and present opportunities on the mechanical side as well as electrical.


Forensic engineering is growing. Building construction is still pretty good (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing or MEP) is needed. There is some mechanical stuff involved in fracking and oil exploration (area south of Akron over into Marcellas shale in Pennsylvania - drive down I70 and see all the oil-related trucks an installations). Not too far from Cleveland... And Pittsburgh is not a bad town at all.
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Agreed on the energy industry. My company has been hiring dozens of engineers (mostly MEs, but one or two EEs). We hired a few from Penn State and they office out of Altoona doing new product engineering and fluid dynamics analysis/FEA. Our division manufactures products for the O&G production industry.


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PaulS said:
My son graduated from University of Rochester about 4 years ago... and is up to 6 figures now.
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That's pretty depressing to someone who's been practicing for decades.
 
SoonerAviator said:
How so?


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A kid 4 years out of school is getting a six figure income. The max I've seen for a senior engineer is probably $120-150. So you max out earnings within about a decade of graduation. Someone with decades of being in the trenches is making marginally more than a relative novice. It's called salary compression.
 
paflyer said:
A kid 4 years out of school is getting a six figure income. The max I've seen for a senior engineer is probably $120-150. So you max out earnings within about a decade of graduation. Someone with decades of being in the trenches is making marginally more than a relative novice. It's called salary compression.
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Hmm, I can see where you’re going with it, but I’ve seen many engineering department heads making more than that with bonuses taken into account (north of $200K).


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paflyer said:
A kid 4 years out of school is getting a six figure income. The max I've seen for a senior engineer is probably $120-150. So you max out earnings within about a decade of graduation. Someone with decades of being in the trenches is making marginally more than a relative novice. It's called salary compression.
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That's always been true with engineers. However, you can move into engineering management, or just plain 'ol management and change the dynamic. Also, you've got the logic and math background to go into the finance world, which can be financially rewarding.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Hmm, I can see where you’re going with it, but I’ve seen many engineering department heads making more than that with bonuses taken into account (north of $200K).
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That’s true at our place. Lots of top engineers doing over 200 with salary and bonus. Toss in stock options, 401k matching, and a benefits package and it’s enough to squeak by if you scrimp and mind the pennies....
 
kyleb said:
That's always been true with engineers. However, you can move into engineering management, or just plain 'ol management and change the dynamic. Also, you've got the logic and math background to go into the finance world, which can be financially rewarding.
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This guy right here. I’m 14 years in and maxing out. If I wanted to stay technical track in my industry (medical) I’d need a PhD. Working on an MBA instead. Being late 30’s, I think it’s a little late for me to go to finance, but I’m getting training in FP&A.

Aside of “marry rich”, I’d give the advice that any engineer with the least bit of EQ do a couple of years and head to business school. Your options are wider and your income potential far higher.

Regulated industries (medical, aerospace, pharma) - quality and regulatory people seem to have more room to grow, but it’s not really engineering, and it takes a unique personality.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Hmm, I can see where you’re going with it, but I’ve seen many engineering department heads making more than that with bonuses taken into account (north of $200K).


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Management, not engineers.
 
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