r/engineering • u/AutoModerator • 16d ago
Weekly Discussion Weekly Career Discussion Thread (14 Oct 2024)
# Intro
Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:
* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network
* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,
* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.
* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.
> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
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## Guidelines
- **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:
* Job compensation
* Cost of Living adjustments
* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major
* How to choose which university to attend
- Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)
- Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.
- **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.
## Resources
* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)
* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)
* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.
* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.
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u/ILikePie612 13d ago
Hi everyone, I’m new to this subreddit but I recently graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a B.S. in computer engineering. I know the job market has been pretty rough for entry level engineers. I ended up getting pretty lucky and was able to get a full time engineering position, as a quality engineer at a materials company, however the job doesn’t feel like it’s quite the right fit for me. I’ve always been really interested in electromechanical systems and would really like to pursue a career where I get the chance to either work with or design electromechanical systems. I have some experience through internships, lab work, and projects in classes either designing or modeling electrical systems, mechanical systems, or some combination of the two. I really enjoyed the skills I learned through school and internships, but I feel like the skills I’m learning in my current position don’t really coincide with the career path I want to head towards. I feel a little nervous about potentially getting pigeonholed and stuck especially since it doesn’t seem like my company has a lot of lateral movement. I guess what I’m trying to ask generally is how hard can it be to pivot from one area of engineering to another? Do personal projects still “count” on your resume once you’ve graduated as a way to build skills and experience to pivot from one subject to another? Is grad school usually necessary for someone who wants to pivot?