Focus on getting a Job? or Graduate School?

[AyanHein]

Hello

I'm a senior Civil Engineering student and after Winter quarter, i have 23 units to graduate. That being said, i can take 15 units in Spring and walk graduation ceremony and take the last 8 units in either Summer or Fall this year(2011). Right now i have no job with no previous internship experience. My GPA is above 3.0 as of today and i'm one of those students who can't find internship (.

I don't know whether i should focus on job hunting and graduate in Fall or graduate in Summer and go to graduate school. If i chose for graduate school, my concern would be whether Technical Degree(structure,transportation, or water etc) or Management Degree (Eng. management, MBA). Which one would benefit me more? Which one would get me landing a job? Technical or Management? I'm kind of lost my way.

Any comment would be appreciated because i don't know who to ask and i realize that this forum has tons of experienced engineers and hiring managers. Any advice??

 

[navyasw02]

Hello
I'm a senior Civil Engineering student and after Winter quarter, i have 23 units to graduate. That being said, i can take 15 units in Spring and walk graduation ceremony and take the last 8 units in either Summer or Fall this year(2011). Right now i have no job with no previous internship experience. My GPA is above 3.0 as of today and i'm one of those students who can't find internship (.

I don't know whether i should focus on job hunting and graduate in Fall or graduate in Summer and go to graduate school. If i chose for graduate school, my concern would be whether Technical Degree(structure,transportation, or water etc) or Management Degree (Eng. management, MBA). Which one would benefit me more? Which one would get me landing a job? Technical or Management? I'm kind of lost my way.

Any comment would be appreciated because i don't know who to ask and i realize that this forum has tons of experienced engineers and hiring managers. Any advice??

I always tell new college grads to get a job first, regardless of the situation. Why? Here's my reasons:

1. You dont know if you NEED a grad degree in your career yet because you haven't started your career

2. You'll go through grad school and still get the same crummy 1st job that you'd get if you hadn't gone to grad school.

3. Your interests might change as you progress in your career and go back later. You may not want another technical degree, you may want to do an MBA or vice versa.

4. If you do go back for a technical degree, your experience will let you choose a focus area that fits your interests better. If you go back for a management degree, you'll know something about the business you're trying to manage instead of reading about it in a textbook.

Bottom line is use a graduate degree as a career tool, not just a reason to postpone getting a job or to pursue academics. The academic world is completely out of phase with the real world.

 

[Supe]

If you do go back to school, I heavily suggest that you look for an internship as well.

 

[AyanHein]

If you do go back to school, I heavily suggest that you look for an internship as well.

I definitely will. But i heard from some engineers that a lot of company are not willing to hire graduate students who didn't have any internship/experience in undergraduate?

 

[AyanHein]

Hello
I'm a senior Civil Engineering student and after Winter quarter, i have 23 units to graduate. That being said, i can take 15 units in Spring and walk graduation ceremony and take the last 8 units in either Summer or Fall this year(2011). Right now i have no job with no previous internship experience. My GPA is above 3.0 as of today and i'm one of those students who can't find internship (.

I don't know whether i should focus on job hunting and graduate in Fall or graduate in Summer and go to graduate school. If i chose for graduate school, my concern would be whether Technical Degree(structure,transportation, or water etc) or Management Degree (Eng. management, MBA). Which one would benefit me more? Which one would get me landing a job? Technical or Management? I'm kind of lost my way.

Any comment would be appreciated because i don't know who to ask and i realize that this forum has tons of experienced engineers and hiring managers. Any advice??

I always tell new college grads to get a job first, regardless of the situation. Why? Here's my reasons:

1. You dont know if you NEED a grad degree in your career yet because you haven't started your career

2. You'll go through grad school and still get the same crummy 1st job that you'd get if you hadn't gone to grad school.

3. Your interests might change as you progress in your career and go back later. You may not want another technical degree, you may want to do an MBA or vice versa.

4. If you do go back for a technical degree, your experience will let you choose a focus area that fits your interests better. If you go back for a management degree, you'll know something about the business you're trying to manage instead of reading about it in a textbook.

Bottom line is use a graduate degree as a career tool, not just a reason to postpone getting a job or to pursue academics. The academic world is completely out of phase with the real world.

You do have a point and i agree. However, is it better going to graduate school instead of working other non-engineering related job while looking for internship after graduated?

 

[navyasw02]

You do have a point and i agree. However, is it better going to graduate school instead of working other non-engineering related job while looking for internship after graduated?

In my opinion, no. If I was you, I'd send resumes to every entry level job anywhere in the country, or even in the world for that matter. Assuming you're not married, have a kid, or some other family obligation, you're in the rare position in your life where you are entirely free to live anywhere and do anything you want. I'd also apply to entry level jobs at whatever else sounds interesting that's not necessarily engineering. Maybe I'd join the state department as a foreign service officer, who knows, but if engineering didnt pan out right away I'd go find something that isnt retail or waiting tables that looks good on a resume and has some purpose.

 

[AyanHein]

You do have a point and i agree. However, is it better going to graduate school instead of working other non-engineering related job while looking for internship after graduated?

In my opinion, no. If I was you, I'd send resumes to every entry level job anywhere in the country, or even in the world for that matter. Assuming you're not married, have a kid, or some other family obligation, you're in the rare position in your life where you are entirely free to live anywhere and do anything you want. I'd also apply to entry level jobs at whatever else sounds interesting that's not necessarily engineering. Maybe I'd join the state department as a foreign service officer, who knows, but if engineering didnt pan out right away I'd go find something that isnt retail or waiting tables that looks good on a resume and has some purpose.

Thank you for the great advice. I think i'll try to graduate in Fall this year and in the mean time, i'll try my butt off to find a job, take FE exam and volunteer/participate which would benefit my career.

 

[XOXOXO]

Hello
I'm a senior Civil Engineering student and after Winter quarter, i have 23 units to graduate. That being said, i can take 15 units in Spring and walk graduation ceremony and take the last 8 units in either Summer or Fall this year(2011). Right now i have no job with no previous internship experience. My GPA is above 3.0 as of today and i'm one of those students who can't find internship (.

I don't know whether i should focus on job hunting and graduate in Fall or graduate in Summer and go to graduate school. If i chose for graduate school, my concern would be whether Technical Degree(structure,transportation, or water etc) or Management Degree (Eng. management, MBA). Which one would benefit me more? Which one would get me landing a job? Technical or Management? I'm kind of lost my way.

Any comment would be appreciated because i don't know who to ask and i realize that this forum has tons of experienced engineers and hiring managers. Any advice??

Why not plan to do both? Actively look for work, maybe drop to part time to complete your undergrad degree (do it in three terms instead of two? etc.), and then go right into grad school (night/part time etc.)...

I dunno if you've obtained your EIT, but that will help beef up your resume as well.

I was lucky in that my final semester as an undergrad, I found work, and started immediately upon graduating in June of that year.

I then found a better job three months later...and seven years into working at that firm, decided to go to grad school. There are some at my firm who went for the grad Civil degree, but I went for Management. Either way, it will help you stand out.

Good luck either way.

 

[DynaMechEng]

Hello
I'm a senior Civil Engineering student and after Winter quarter, i have 23 units to graduate. That being said, i can take 15 units in Spring and walk graduation ceremony and take the last 8 units in either Summer or Fall this year(2011). Right now i have no job with no previous internship experience. My GPA is above 3.0 as of today and i'm one of those students who can't find internship (.

I don't know whether i should focus on job hunting and graduate in Fall or graduate in Summer and go to graduate school. If i chose for graduate school, my concern would be whether Technical Degree(structure,transportation, or water etc) or Management Degree (Eng. management, MBA). Which one would benefit me more? Which one would get me landing a job? Technical or Management? I'm kind of lost my way.

Any comment would be appreciated because i don't know who to ask and i realize that this forum has tons of experienced engineers and hiring managers. Any advice??

Why not plan to do both? Actively look for work, maybe drop to part time to complete your undergrad degree (do it in three terms instead of two? etc.), and then go right into grad school (night/part time etc.)...

I dunno if you've obtained your EIT, but that will help beef up your resume as well.

I was lucky in that my final semester as an undergrad, I found work, and started immediately upon graduating in June of that year.

I then found a better job three months later...and seven years into working at that firm, decided to go to grad school. There are some at my firm who went for the grad Civil degree, but I went for Management. Either way, it will help you stand out.

Good luck either way.

I completely agree. There's really no reason not to do both at the same time. I did. You'll work your butt off, but you'll gain valuable experience while also getting an advanced degree.

Keep in mind that getting into an MBA program usually requires at least two years of work experience (so you would probably have to wait a while if you did this option).

Also, your GPA matters if your applying to grad school. Depending on the school/program you choose, you may need significantly higher than a 3.0 to get in, so I would work on that in your remaining coursework.