<p>does race matter when looking for an engineering job?</p>
<p>uh oh... shouldn't have said that </p>
<p><em>gasp</em></p>
<p>If you are the same race as the interviewer, there might be a slight advantage.</p>
<p>proton:</p>
<p>Race does matter to a number of companies who practice AA (probably most of the large ones). These companies are typically trying to have some diversity. Whether the particular race helps or hinders will depend on the race and what the racial makeup of that company's engineering group is like. Hint - Being Asian or Indian probably won't be a boost.</p>
<p>True, being Hispanic or Black means that companies basically implies that you will have many offers upon graduation.</p>
<p>i don't know about other majors, but for engineering, it does matter. companies and grad school like to diverse themselves. If you're native american or some combinations of minority then it's easier to get in b/c most companies like to diverse themselves.</p>
<p>I think race plays a role, especially in engineering which has been a traditional bastian of the white male. I know efforts have been made in Canada to diversify the engineering workforce. </p>
<p>I graduated in Chemical Engineering from a top school with good grades. At graduation time, all the usual Chem E firms came around recruiting (i.e. Dow, Carbide, P&G, EIdDN & Co, Big Oil, Big Paper, Big Metals, i.e. you know the lot). Despite interviews, I was not hired by any firm. Others with similar qualifications but who belonged to a minority group were hired. Mind you, all of these people were good candidates who were well-qualified for these positions. I believed back then (more years than I like to admit) that the fact they were a minority pushed their candidacy slightly ahead my mine given that all factors were essentially the same (xc, summer employment etc). </p>
<p>However, I later realized that the bigger problem was not that I was not hired per se, it was that these same companies went to all the major campuses across Canada. In fact, at the end of the day, only a few people in our class (maybe 20%) were hired by these aforementioned firms or comparable jobs. I realized that there were simply too many candidates for too few positions with the most desired Chem E employers. </p>
<p>Looking back at class photos over the years, there were 12 to 15 grads per year in 60's. May 25 to 45 in the 70's and 80's. When I graduated we were maybe 65 or so and incoming classes at graduation were pushing 80 to 95. Some people had B.Sc and M. Sc. degrees in biology and chemistry and were returning to school after working 1 or 2 years or re-orienting their career after being denied entry to medical or dental school (multiple times, hence the M.Sc). </p>
<p>I realized for the Canadian market, there were simply too many Chemical Engineering students graduating seeking work with a top employer (listed above) and the supply/demand equation was very weak (or good for the employers) depending where you stand. In the end, I realized my not getting a good Chem E job had little to do with the fact I was a white male and far more to do with the fact that there were simply too many grads chasing too few jobs. </p>
<p>The Chemical Engineering Department never told us this - they simply trumpeted the well-known names that came recruiting and assured us that we would be hired by these firms. Bunch of crap. </p>
<p>I know many people on this forum write about Chem E being the highest paid field of engineering with starting salaries of 50 or 60 or more. I have no doubt that is true, certainly in Texas/Gulf Coast area. I am sure this a great place for a Chem E to work. </p>
<p>But I cannot believe that all or most Chem E grads in America can find work with an employer that pays starting salaries in this range. I think this represents the top range but not the average. My opinion only.</p>