h4nsm0l3m4n Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hey guys, I just finished my second to last term here at OSU. I'll be graduated with my mechanical engineering degree in March. I know there are a few people on here who work in many different fields. I just wanted to check to see if anyone feels like sharing the hiring situation at the company they're currently working for and if any new positions (for engineers especially) are likely to open up. I have been looking for jobs over the last few months and expect to do so full time over the next couple weeks. Ideally, I would like to have a choice between 2 or 3 possible places of employment and would start sometime in April. Preferably, I would like to stay in Oregon/Washington, but please feel free to respond if you're not from this area. I am definitely open to new things and places. In case someone is actually interested in my background, I do have work experience at 4 engineering companies, excellent references from my old supervisors, and can provide a full resume on request. Hopefully I'm not breaking any kind of forum rule by posting this. I'm just trying to network as best as I can as I look for work. Thanks for any comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundmasterg Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 With the job market the way it is right now you might just want to stay in school and go for your Masters. There are a LOT of people out of work so you're competing against all of them in addition to all of your peers that are graduating and looking for work too. BTW how did you work in engineering positions in the past without your degree? I'm working towards an EE and I don't get any bites on working anywhere in that field without a degree...... Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 I've been on several internships which basically let me work in an engineering position without a degree. OSU has a special program where take 6 months out of each school year to work basically as an underpaid, temporary engineer. Really helps getting jobs later on I think. I've thought about staying to get my Masters but ultimately decided to take my chances. I am hopefully going to get an offer from one of the places I worked for previously, but was hoping to have more than one choice for work.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 If you get an offer from anyone, take it (in my opinion). The job market is still *really* bad. The only reason I didn't stay in for my masters was that I wasn't sure what I wanted to go for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peternell Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Offering a little hope. The largest construction project in the country is only a couple of hundred miles from you. Our local economy is booming and a big part of that is thanks to the Hanford Vitrification Plant and the 2 Billion dollars of extra stimulus funding beyond the annually allocated 1.5-2.2 billion dollars. Unemployment is 5.5%ish and pay is good. http://www.hanfordvitplant.com/careers/opportunities/'>http://www.hanfordvitplant.com/careers/opportunities/ http://www.hanfordvitplant.com Vista Engineering http://www.vistaengr.com does a lot of engineer work at Hanford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Any rotating equipment experience? What are your feelings about overseas travel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, if by rotating equipment you mean pumps, compressors, etc, I don't have any direct experience working with these things. We had some basic course work on pumps and compressors but not much beyond that I'm afraid. Most of my jobs were in front of a computer in a cubicle, or helping out with things on the assembly line, so work involving doing a lot overseas travel would definitely be a lot different from what I am used to. However, I have always liked traveling myself and it seems the kind of job that requires a lot of it could potentially be really interesting, and a great learning experience if nothing else. I'll look into the info about the Hanford plant and Vista engineering. This all seems to lean more towards civil engineering but is definitely worth a closer look nonetheless. Thanks! If you get an offer from anyone, take it (in my opinion). The job market is still *really* bad. The only reason I didn't stay in for my masters was that I wasn't sure what I wanted to go for.Thats actually why I chose not to go for my Masters. I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to go for and I didnt want to do it "just cuz." I feel you should go to grad school if there's really something that has your interest and that you want to be a real expert in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Most companies will pay for a job-related Masters even today. Why pi$$ away your money for another 3-4 years and go further in debt when you can go out, focus your life towards a specialty, then get someone ELSE to pay for it (and pay you decently at the same time!) Usually they want a business masters anyway, and not a technically-oriented masters unless you are in a really specialised field or doing research & development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240hoke Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 You should check out the train industry, they are pushing hard right now and have hired several people from my class. Northrop Grumman also hires ALOT of people every year. These are really the only two companies that I heard really hiring people at my school...unless you had worked for them previously. I would go for it and try to find a job. A masters would be great but after talking with alot of people decided its wasnt right for me...I wanted to jump in and get practical experience. You can get in trouble with a masters and do research on something that you will frankly never use unless you stay on the research route. In addition to this almost everybody that cant get a job is getting their masters lol. I may get my MBA later in life after I have more experience depending on where I want to go with things. I was able to find my dream job, but I left school with a 1 year co-op with a robotics company and an internship where I ultimatly got a job. I also had a very high GPA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Tony, if by rotating equipment you mean pumps, compressors, etc, I don't have any direct experience working with these things. We had some basic course work on pumps and compressors but not much beyond that I'm afraid. Most of my jobs were in front of a computer in a cubicle, or helping out with things on the assembly line, so work involving doing a lot overseas travel would definitely be a lot different from what I am used to. However, I have always liked traveling myself and it seems the kind of job that requires a lot of it could potentially be really interesting, and a great learning experience if nothing else. Perfect! A blank slate for filling;) Couple years with tony you will be able to punch your ticket anywhere! Oppertunity like that may only come around once in a life time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlebmaster Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I've been on several internships which basically let me work in an engineering position without a degree. OSU has a special program where take 6 months out of each school year to work basically as an underpaid, temporary engineer. Really helps getting jobs later on I think. I've thought about staying to get my Masters but ultimately decided to take my chances. I am hopefully going to get an offer from one of the places I worked for previously, but was hoping to have more than one choice for work.. Network, network, network! Get in as many places as you can and blow them away with your enthusiasm. In healthcare that is how you get a good job. It seems like everyone knows everyone else in healthcare so getting to know people in your field of interest is a gold mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Hoke probably put it better than I did, if you grasp at the wrong masters direction, you can either waste a lot of time, or get it right. Likely, you will miss the boat. Getting out there, and working gives you a LOT better idea on which way things are flowing. You may come across something you recognize people missing, or overlooking, and say "hey, I can be the expert here" and then specialize further. But until you get out there you won't know where that is... It's not like the movies where some guy comes up and says "Plastics" and then walks off and you spend the next 20 years going 'Oh man, he hit it right, I should've listened then!' But back to what Hoke said... he mentioned something I was being diplomatic about as well. I was once told by someone 'how can anybody be a 'master' without ever working? Others have said they won't hire a masters of anything unless they got the diploma after they were 32-35. In some administrative occupations I've been told they will basically ignore a masters acquired before the age of 40! I know a LOT of guys where I work that the company paid for an Executive MBA so they could go into upper management. But till then they paid and paid for classes and confrences, seminars, all sorts of knowledge. In an engineering profession, the company (if you have a decent one) will realize that any additional schooling you get, you will benefit from, as will the company. If you 'need' an administrative specialization like an MBA, you can get it at any time later. Till then, your hands-on skills will benefit the company more directly. Getting that first job and finding your niche is more important IMO than getting an upper level degree. Mostly because right now you're unfocused. You still have no clue what the working world needs, or wants. It may change in 2-3 years and you may find going in a different direction is more to your liking. If you are in school when this happens, you're SOL, you won't know it happened, or won't see the signs that it's happening and be able to shift your coursework accordingly. The one thing I've seen consistently over the past 20 years is that people doing the teaching rarely have a hand on the pulse of what the working world really wants. They know their cirricula, and they can teach that very well. But for trends in the working world they are sadly behind the times. Really the kids on internship programs are their most valuable feedback source for the information they DO have. I saw it in the military as well, and to this day I see guys with resumes written by base career counselors and usually take the time to talk with them after the interview: "Do you want to be the CEO of this company, or do you just want to do a job where you fix the exuipment, and go home at the end of the day and don't want to worry about getting phone calls in the middle of the night?"---in almost every case, these guys (upper level enlisted guys) will say they are SICK of upper level managerial responsibilities, and they just want to do a job and go home. I advise them to trash the resume the government people wrote them, and totally rework it. The government career counselors know what they THINK the working world wants to see, but they have no clue. Because they aren't out there. And that is the key, IMO: Get out there. Do something. Once you're out there, you will be amazed what you will find that will interest you. And if you're decent, good work will FIND you. Additional education can always be had, and if you are someone desired, they will PAY YOU AND PAY FOR THE EDUCATION. And to me, that is probably the best way to go about it. Having student loans sucks, you got to pay them off. Do so, with a job. And from this point forward, you shouldn't have to pay for classes again. Come to think of it, I just realized I have to call HR to get our company's scholarship for my son. He starts school next year, and I totally forgot our company has a 'gimmie' program for kids of employees who go into any engineering program. Hey, free is free, and anything I can get for him means less out of my pocket, right! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Hey, free is free, and anything I can get for him means less out of my pocket, right! LOL Nope, that is not free, you worked for it and that shows appreciation....... Not to mention keeping you on the payroll for the next several years;) Good to see that some companies appreciate the most valuable assets one company can have, good employees. For years the thinking was, "they are an asset that is a cost, not a profit" put out by our finest minds. Odd they created the work enviroment we see today and will not own it! The "evil" empire, was born in a class room,,,,teehee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Who is John Galt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinCA Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Who is John Galt? ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 ...... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Galt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinCA Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Who is John Galt? ...... I haven't finished the book, I'm actually only 115 pages in, but my initial impression is that we are all John Galt. And on that note, I have zero engineering experience, which means I have developed no engineering related bad habits. Any chance of getting hired Tony? Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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