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A former professor of mine has asked me to give a talk to his senior design class about how to get a job. This has got me thinking lately: how do you get that first job after graduation?

The first lesson for any engineer should be “any conclusions made from a single datum point should be highly suspect”. Since this whole series is based on just my experience, you should view it more as an opinion than gospel. My experience is around Mechanical Engineering training, and getting a job working in medical devices, but it might work with some translation for other degree programs and industries.

We’ll start from the beginning. You have to decide what interests you; after all we are talking about your career here. Something about mechanical engineering drew you to the degree program, so there must be appeal in some aspect of the industry. When I started in school, I was going to work in aerospace. Rockets, satellites, or whatever, it didn’t matter. I wanted to work in that industry, and that’s what drew me to an ME program. Many people I know started in ME because of their interest in cars.

But you have learned more about the various industries as you have progressed through school. Maybe there are areas you had never considered before. But now that you know more about the discipline, it is worth spending some time re-examining your career goals.

• What topics in class have you enjoyed? Note that that is topics not professor personality.
• Student memberships in the professional associations come with a magazine and often a second that is targeted at students. These will give a cross-section of possibilities too.
• People. Networking is a fact of life, you might as well get used to talking to them now. Engineering contacts at companies are orders of magnitude more useful than HR contacts.
• Research areas for your professors are involved in are normally targeted at specific industries. You don’t need to become an expert, just know what’s out there.
• Read. Search the internet. Seek out the possibilities.

There are lots of aspects to mechanical engineering (just look at the different divisions within ASME), and there are jobs in all of them. That is just within one professional organization, there are dozens more that work with engineers.

Once you have an idea of what you want to do, take steps to tailor your education in that direction. Electives, internships, co-ops, student organizations, senior projects, and volunteer work are all opportunities to steer your career. The idea is to make it clear from your entire resume that you are headed toward a job in a particular area, not just the two-line objective at the top.

Now, if you think this takes time, you are right. If you think this should be considered long before the first resume goes out, you are right. If you are in your last semester and just now thinking about a job, is everything hopeless? No, I don’t think so, but it sure would make it easier if you start early.

In the next post, we’ll get into cover letters, resumes, and why keywords are your friends.