Engineering is currently one of the most popular areas of study in the United States, it is a career that offers job security, good salaries and the opportunity for creative thinkers to be part of an industry whose sole focus is on design and innovation. Such is the popularity of engineering, there is high competition for jobs once you have completed your education and it is very important that you do all that you can to stand out from the crowd once the time comes to look for jobs. In order to give yourself the best opportunity to get the job you want when you graduate here is what you need to be doing.
Education
It goes without saying that to give yourself the best opportunity at getting the best jobs, your grades need to be very good right the way from high school through college, more than that however it is important that you become an all round student of engineering, keeping tabs on what is happening in the industry. Even Anura Perera Raycom’s Chairman, a man who has over 30 years experience in the industry working in many branches of engineering, now a successful businessman and philanthropist, constantly seeks to keep up with innovations and movements in the industry through many memberships with engineering institutes across the World. You will never stop being a student of the industry and it is vital that you start as soon as possible.
Use Free Time
If you truly want to stand out when the time comes to go after that dream job then one of the best ways that you can impress prospective employers is to demonstrate projects and experience that you have completed and gained in your own free time. Personal engineering projects show employers your level of dedication to your field of study and when doing so it is important that you keep evidence of this in order to show off your hard work. Naturally, you shouldn’t let personal projects affect your studies but don’t think that your studies alone will be enough to stand out from the crowd.
Experience
Having prior experience looks great to employers and you can do this by looking for things like summer internships, weekend volunteer work or any other gratis work that you can find. Offer yourself to companies, tell them you are a student who is looking to broaden their knowledge and experience, you will be surprised at how many give you an opportunity to learn. Working in this type of situation gives you the chance to work with experienced engineers where you can pick their brains about the industry and learn how it runs and operates. There is only so much that you can learn in a book about engineering and the fastest way to truly learn about the industry is to gain some experience within it. If a company sees that you have prior experience in your chosen field then it means that they will need to spend less time and money on training and this makes you look lie a very attractive candidate.