Based on what I have done with while studying engineering, what are my career options?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Hello,

Currently I am a mechanical Engineering undergrad with minors in Finance and Japanese.
Academically, I am an honors student who has been awarded accolades in:
-University honors
-Major honors/dean list
-national honors (Tau Beta Pi)
-etc
(I know that awards often dont mean anything; but, I hope it gets me noticed for my first job or serious connections)

I have had 4 internships
—Biomedical where I had to design, test, manufacture, present, budget, etc for a research lab project.
—Private contract/consulting: for an engineering firm I communicated with clients as I also helped with device research and analysis. Experience in both business and engineering.
—Federal research: I was a student researcher for a project funded by the fed. gov.
—Corporate executive assistant: has to reach out and collaborate with clients from across various engineering projects. Some were international clients.

I have studied abroad once in China, and I hope to study abroad one more time in Japan.
If everything goes well. I will have studied in the top 3 economies in the world and 3 major regions: Toyko, Guangdong/Hong-Kong, and California.

I hope to pursue a career in the international arena where I can assist companies break into East Asian markets and/or help East Asian companies break into the western economies. From my time in China, I was taught be the leaders from universities such as Fudan, Peking and Hong Kong. We learned about the complexities between the western and Chinese companies. In Tokyo, if I am able to go, I will learn about the role of Tokyo in asia as well the growing trend, laws, etc within the Asian economies. I do hope to get an MBA from in Japan, Singapore, England, or (and I really hope) Booth Business School.

My university advisers and career office does not know where to send me and it is kind of frustrating that I graduate in a year and half; yet, I don’t have any career connections toward the career I want.

I am trying to figure out how to approach the industry, where to look to for serious connections, etc.

anything helps.

(I apologize for the grammar mistakes, it was raining and I typed this while waiting for assistance with my car)

Thank you.

Y.H.

2

I’m not clear on what you’re asking. Where to get your MBA? What companies to apply to?

As a side note, being a year and a half out and having a job lined up would be the exception, not the rule. You have time still.

3

Yeah this is a really lengthy and muddled question. It sounds like what you really want is to get involved with consulting but it’s hard to say.

4

@eyemgh I am hoping someone can guide me toward how to connect with individuals in the Finance, Intl. Business, or Engineering industries so that I can begin to pursue an international career.
So companies, sources, etc are all welcome.

5

@boneh3ad I am looking for guidance.
How can I connect with individuals in the finance, intl. business, or engineering industries.

After meeting with councilors, advisers, etc…I really don’t think I can do well in a small city or town. I am trying to reach out to the bigger metropolitan regions to look for a job, or individual for guidance, so I can begin to pursue an intl career in Asia

6

Like I said, I think your best bet seems to be to get into consulting. Companies like Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG come to mind. It certainly isn’t a traditional engineering field, but it sounds like that isn’t what you are looking for anyway. Those are all (understandably) multinational corporations and recruit pretty widely. Your best bet is probably to attend a career fair at your school if any of those companies attend. Otherwise you will have to find someone with connections to them or throw your application into their hiring system and see what happens.

7

You seem to have a lot of accomplished so far - that’s great! Do you have an interest in using you Mechanical Engineering skills (beyond general problem solving… which likely is a big strength based on you above info.) If not, that is ok. But it might be why your career center is confused.

8

I think the big question, as others have alluded to, is do you want to do engineering per se, or do you primarily want to be doing business? Your experience has pointed in both directions.

9

@boneh3ad awesome, thank you. I will look into those companies. :slight_smile:
I will have to done research for what exactly they look for in candidates in order to understand how I can present myself in a manner they find useful or attractive.

A big issue, i think, I dont really know how to present myself in a manner that makes sense.

10

@colorado_mom I want to go into the investment, financial, negotiation sides of engineering.
I chose mechanical engineering because it was challenging and really caused me to think critically in a manner that I just can’t explain; but, it has helped me see things from various perspectives.
. Another big reason was because developing economies need an influx of mechanical engineers to go along with civil to upgrade their infrastructure to the modern era.

Asia is a big draw for me, opportunity and diversity are a big attraction for me. Studying in China was a big plus, and I chose Japanese over Mandarin because as of right now, more fortune engineering come from Japan vs China and it is likely to stay with America at number 1, followed by Japan, Germany, and then China for a few decades…its very interesting for me :slight_smile:

11

@eyemgh I want to go into the he investment, financial, negotiation sides of engineering.
I got the wide array of experience to understand the engineering process from the ground up. I have a much stronger understanding of the issues and conflicts of the engineering process having seen both ends.

Based on my strengths, I feel that I can do really well on the business side of the industry and help bridge the gap between cultures as well as be the voice for engineers in management to resolves issues at a much more profitable pace.

12

Got ya. Well I’d follow @boneh3ad’s advice. Another angle you might consider is international law. Engineers with MBAs are pretty common. Engineers with law degrees, not so much. It would be a powerful combination.

13

@eyemgh well, how much more difficult is it for engineers to pursue Law vs and MBA?

14

I’m not sure how you can compare difficulty. They are different degrees with largely different purposes.

15

Having not done either, I can’t comment from personal experience. I’d agree with @boneh3ad that they are substantively different and thus like comparing apples to oranges.

You’ve already established a track record of success in a very challenging field, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Both MBA and Law will be a bit different though than what you’ve experienced. They are both reading/recall intensive as opposed to problem set/synthesis centered.

16

@boneh3ad How about a company like Accenture? From your perspective, would it be a good place to start?

17

Like I said: consulting. Accenture is consulting.

18

Accenture, Deloitte, Booz Allen Hamilton, McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc. Most big strategy and consulting firms have a large global presence.

19

@sevmom Thank you for the list of possible companies, I have begun to research them in hopes of understanding how I can stand out or become more competitive for them.

I am doing my best to continue my development; however, I feel that I am lacking in many ways that hinders me from being competitive.

Is there any advice you might have for me in regards to standing out and presenting myself as a strong candidate?
I am still doing my best to continue my development by doing things such as:
-study abroad one more time to Asia
-continuing my development in language skills
-doing a collaborative engineering-financial research project

Is there any other recommendations you might have?

Thank you for the advice, and any more you might have :slight_smile:

20

As others have said, you still have time if you are a year and a half from graduating. You are obviously a very good, driven student and already have some good experiences under your belt . Since you are in Tau Beta Pi, your GPA must be very good . Companies like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, in particular, seem to like very top schools and top GPA’s. Check to see what companies come to YOUR school to recruit. There are also smaller, more niche consulting firms out there. But, I am not an expert on any of this, and am not an engineer. Good luck.