Graduated in May 2020 and still no job

[Bruhplem]

This is my first post here and I just want to get this off my chest. It's been a bit of a rough year for me and I figured writing something down might help me cope with all of it.

My father passed away from brain cancer last year, a month after my graduation. We couldn't afford a nurse, so most of my family travelled back to Mexico (me included), to take care of him.

I had to watch him slowly lose all of his functions, from his ability to walk, he wasn't able to stand up by himself, and at the end he even had trouble breathing. Me and my family did everything we could to make his last moments as comfortable as possible. Even after 11 months I don't think I'm over the experience, I'm not sure I'll ever be to be honest...

Two months later I lost my aunt to COVID. She was a wonderful woman with such a wonderful attitude. She helped take care of my father and went above and beyond. She was the person that was there to console me, to tell me that everything was going to be fine for me, even though she had just lost her brother. I miss her a lot and I wish I could've said goodbye in person.

Some time in November my appendix gives out and I have to go to the hospital to get it removed. Not being able to move sucked and just made me feel even more useless that I already felt...

Throughout all of this I'm just trying to find a job, I just wanted to start my career and leave all of that behind me. But I can't. No matter how hard I've tried I haven't been able to find one, done over 500 applications, had a couple of recruiters contact me, had some interviews, but no luck. I just feel like such a failure and I can't help but feel like I've let my father down. The man came to the US so he could give his kids a better future and I can't help but feel like I wasn't good enough to meet his expectations.

I'm just tired. Tired of the applications, updating my CV, looking at companies, getting my hopes up only for them to come crashing down, seeing my classmates move on with their lives, while mine just seems to be stuck, of everything really.

I know this sounds a little morbid, but don't take it as a cry for help. I'm not about to off myself or anything like that. I just wanted to write all of my frustrations down, confront them at least a little bit, and just try and move on.

Here's to some better luck in the future.

 

[A B]

I'm sorry for your losses and setbacks.

Consider the US military. They are always looking for engineering talent. After engineering school, I entered the US Navy and served as a nuclear propulsion officer. Great, very marketable experience.

Good luck -- I think you're probably set for a better year this year.

 

[jeb6294]

Are you locked in to a location? Always jobs on usajobs.gov even for new grads and especially if you're open to different locations.

 

[Bruhplem]

I'm sorry for your losses and setbacks.

Consider the US military. They are always looking for engineering talent. After engineering school, I entered the US Navy and served as a nuclear propulsion officer. Great, very marketable experience.

Good luck -- I think you're probably set for a better year this year.

Thank you for the advice. I've been considering joining either the Navy or the Air Force. I've talked to a couple of friends already in different branches and I keep getting mixed messages.

Some of them are really adamant that it's a good option and that I will be better off in the long run for it. Others are telling me that I am better off working for the military as a civilian or not at all. Don't really know who to listen if I'm being honest.

 

[Bruhplem]

Are you locked in to a location? Always jobs on usajobs.gov even for new grads and especially if you're open to different locations.

I appreciate the link, I have applied to a couple of jobs from there already.

I've been using Indeed and LinkedIn mostly though, so maybe I should start putting my efforts somewhere else.

 

[snickerd3]

which engineering field? I work with a lot of USACE civilian folks. They travel a lot like private company consultants, but get the government employee benefits.

 

[snickerd3]

Environmental Justice is a hot commodity at the moment. You said you went back to Mexico, so I assume you are bilingual. You can make this work to your advantage in the government employment world.

 

[Bruhplem]

which engineering field? I work with a lot of USACE civilian folks. They travel a lot like private company consultants, but get the government employee benefits.

I studied Mechanical Engineering.

Environmental Justice is a hot commodity at the moment. You said you went back to Mexico, so I assume you are bilingual. You can make this work to your advantage in the government employment world.

I haven't thought of going into the environmental route. I do speak Spanish as well, I've been sure to include that in my resume and I'm not sure how much big of a difference it makes.

I have applied to some of the government jobs, but one of the drawbacks for some of them is that I have to forfeit my dual citizenship. I'm not sure if I want to do that just yet, but if things keep going like they are I might.

 

[Tiger15]

This is my first post here and I just want to get this off my chest. It's been a bit of a rough year for me and I figured writing something down might help me cope with all of it.

My father passed away from brain cancer last year, a month after my graduation. We couldn't afford a nurse, so most of my family travelled back to Mexico (me included), to take care of him.

I had to watch him slowly lose all of his functions, from his ability to walk, he wasn't able to stand up by himself, and at the end he even had trouble breathing. Me and my family did everything we could to make his last moments as comfortable as possible. Even after 11 months I don't think I'm over the experience, I'm not sure I'll ever be to be honest...

Two months later I lost my aunt to COVID. She was a wonderful woman with such a wonderful attitude. She helped take care of my father and went above and beyond. She was the person that was there to console me, to tell me that everything was going to be fine for me, even though she had just lost her brother. I miss her a lot and I wish I could've said goodbye in person.

Some time in November my appendix gives out and I have to go to the hospital to get it removed. Not being able to move sucked and just made me feel even more useless that I already felt...

Throughout all of this I'm just trying to find a job, I just wanted to start my career and leave all of that behind me. But I can't. No matter how hard I've tried I haven't been able to find one, done over 500 applications, had a couple of recruiters contact me, had some interviews, but no luck. I just feel like such a failure and I can't help but feel like I've let my father down. The man came to the US so he could give his kids a better future and I can't help but feel like I wasn't good enough to meet his expectations.

I'm just tired. Tired of the applications, updating my CV, looking at companies, getting my hopes up only for them to come crashing down, seeing my classmates move on with their lives, while mine just seems to be stuck, of everything really.

I know this sounds a little morbid, but don't take it as a cry for help. I'm not about to off myself or anything like that. I just wanted to write all of my frustrations down, confront them at least a little bit, and just try and move on.

Here's to some better luck in the future.

Wow. Sorry for everything you've gone through. I know it's been rough. And the job market is weird right now with the pandemic. Good luck.

Can I ask you some questions?

You said you're in Mechanical Engineer. (Me too ). What industry or job function are you trying to work in?

• Consulting? Government? Manufacturing? etc
• HVAC? Machinery? etc
• Design/analysis? Project management? Sales? Quality? etc

Or are you just looking for anything at this point?

Do you have work experience? ... engineering related?

Are you open to relocating, or locked to your location?

Have you gotten any help with your resume and interview skills? If you want, I wouldn't mind taking a look at your resume. DM me if you're interested. Feel free to remove your personal details if you want to keep your anonymity.

 

[A B]

Consider working for Corning - it's a well-run company with facilities in the US and Mexico. They'd probably love a bilingual engineer. All their different lines of business are booming, too.

I'm afraid I no longer know anybody there.

 

[Dleg]

Check out federal government job listings for the Indian Health Service on USA Jobs. They're always looking for engineers to work on projects to help Native Americans, and applicants willing to move and live in remote areas for a while. If you get a job with IHS, you can also pursue getting commissioned as an officer with the US Public Health Service, one of the 8 uniformed services of the US. Spanish language skills would be a great asset for that role, they deploy a lot of officers to assist with the unaccompanied minors response and other situations along the border, in addition to the day work at IHS helping underserved Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

I hope you find something soon. It sounds like you've had a rough year, but you'll bounce back!

 

[Bruhplem]

Wow. Sorry for everything you've gone through. I know it's been rough. And the job market is weird right now with the pandemic. Good luck.

Can I ask you some questions?

You said you're in Mechanical Engineer. (Me too ). What industry or job function are you trying to work in?

• Consulting? Government? Manufacturing? etc
• HVAC? Machinery? etc
• Design/analysis? Project management? Sales? Quality? etc

Or are you just looking for anything at this point?

Do you have work experience? ... engineering related?

Are you open to relocating, or locked to your location?

Have you gotten any help with your resume and interview skills? If you want, I wouldn't mind taking a look at your resume. DM me if you're interested. Feel free to remove your personal details if you want to keep your anonymity.

Hey thank you for the condolences.

Honestly I've been interested in doing something centered around design. I don't have any genuine engineering experience besides 2 undergraduate research projects. I thought they would mean something since it was for NASA and NATO, but apparently I was wrong.

I'm willing to relocate, I live in an area where there's not much engineering prospects.

I have gotten a bit of help with my resume and interview skills, nothing professional though.

I'll definitely take you up on the resume I would really appreciate it.

 

[Bruhplem]

Consider working for Corning - it's a well-run company with facilities in the US and Mexico. They'd probably love a bilingual engineer. All their different lines of business are booming, too.

I'm afraid I no longer know anybody there.

Thank you very much for the insight, I'll be sure to take a look at their website and apply!

 

[Bruhplem]

Check out federal government job listings for the Indian Health Service on USA Jobs. They're always looking for engineers to work on projects to help Native Americans, and applicants willing to move and live in remote areas for a while. If you get a job with IHS, you can also pursue getting commissioned as an officer with the US Public Health Service, one of the 8 uniformed services of the US. Spanish language skills would be a great asset for that role, they deploy a lot of officers to assist with the unaccompanied minors response and other situations along the border, in addition to the day work at IHS helping underserved Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

I hope you find something soon. It sounds like you've had a rough year, but you'll bounce back!

Thank you very much for the well wishes, I'll be sure to check them out!

Do you by chance know what kind of projects the Indian Health Services perform?

 

[Dleg]

Thank you very much for the well wishes, I'll be sure to check them out!

Do you by chance know what kind of projects the Indian Health Services perform?

They do design and construction of water and wastewater systems and healthcare facilities on Native American Reservations and Alaska Native Villages. Very rewarding work, and a great mix of old-school design and construction responsibility as well as contracting. So as a mechanical engineer, probably more heavily in the healthcare facilities arena (hospitals, remote clinics, etc.). Additionally, they have a lot of facilities engineer jobs in hospitals, where you work with facility (hospital) management/ maintenance, upgrade projects, and repairs.

Search USA Jobs for Indian Health Service (under the Department of Health and Human Services) and engineer positions to see what jobs are open and where. Most are usually in the Arizona - New Mexico or Alaska regions, but they can also be just about anywhere else in the country, especially for the facilities stuff.

If you're interested in this type of work and willing to relocate, send me a PM and I can direct you to some vacancy announcements.

 

[Platypus Engineer]

You may want to look at Houston area or any where along the Gulf coast between there and New Orleans. Between oil and gas and NASA, should be able to find something. Consider also being a field technician/construction inspector use it as a way in. It will also give you some hands on experience that will help with design work.

Houston would also keep you near any family in Mexico.

It is not clear from your original post, but you should document on your resume what has happened since you graduated. It is generally recommend that any extended period of unemployment (more than about 2 months) be documented on a resume. Don't have to go into details could just say something like "Assisted with care of terminally ill family member." This way it doesn't look like you were just sitting around watching TV or surfing the internet.

Another to consider is to get a temporary job in retail/restaruant. It would show you are working, plus you get skills in dealing with people and still have the flexibility to schedule interviews since those jobs usually get at least one weekday off.

Also look at my post in this thread:

https://engineerboards.com/threads/non-traditional-me-student-frustrated-beyond-belief.37026/