<p>Hello everybody,
I am 17 years old, just starting grade 12 of high school. My passion is energy efficiency. The only types of engineering that I like are: environmental, energy, and electrical. I want to know what is the best path to take; university or not, to guarantee a good job later on as many of my older buddies are now struggling to find jobs despite their engineering majors.
Thank you.</p>
<p>OP, are you an int’l?</p>
<p>What does int’l mean?</p>
<p>sorry, international student. are you a US citizen, permanent resident, or int’l?</p>
<p>I am an international coming from Lebanon</p>
<p>Electrical engineering has good job prospects, as does most engineering in general. If you’re an international student looking for a job in the United States you are at a severe disadvantage. It might not be talked about, but a lot of companies just won’t hire international students due to having to sponsor them. </p>
<p>Yep. Many employers want to avoid the bureaucracy of sponsoring students from abroad. Of course many do so nevertheless. But your visa/documentation permitting you to work in the U.S.A. has to be in order. This is particularly critical in the engineering disciplines. By the way, similar rules apply in other nations, like the U.K., for example.</p>
<p>The environmental path is more narrow; there are fewer ABET accredited environmental engg programs. Here’s a list of the ABET-accredited engg programs in the US.</p>
<p><a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx”>http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx</a></p>
<p>There you can also find why you might want to graduate from an accredited program.</p>
<p>Oh good point! Thank you for telling me! Do you think just applying for jobs is the way to go or should I be more specific in where I want to study, e.g: ommitting U.S when searching?</p>
<p>Hello, thank you for your answer. Could you clarify more on the sponsoring, I don’t get it (still a newbie sorry). If I went to uni in the U.S for example, wouldn’t they give me a work visa or do I still need residence ( 10 years living in U.S before being able to actually work there)?
Thank you</p>
<p>Hello, knowing that environmental is generally narrow, do you advise me to major in electrical engineering or after majoring in electrical, specialize in energy?
Thanks</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this is correct, so take my comments below as such.</p>
<p>I don’t think you will just get a work visa by going to school. You will need to get a company to agree to sponsor you so you can obtain your work visa (H1B I think). I say this because I have friends who are foreign students who are purposely delaying graduation to keep their student visas so they can stay. They are trying very hard to get full time positions and company sponsorship.</p>
<p>I am not trying to pain a bleak picture, I’m just trying to help you out. You have a tough hill to climb, as a lot of companies don’t want to put in that extra work of hiring internationals. I do know people who majored in electrical engineering and computer science who got company sponsorship because of how in demand some of those skills are.</p>
<p>EnvE jobs are hard to come by as it is. If your intent is to stay in the US after graduation, then I suggest an EE degree.</p>
<p>The US government has a lot of info on foreign nationals obtaining work in the US. You can start at the following link: <a href=“Working in the United States | USCIS”>http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/working-us</a></p>
<p>I am not real familiar with the process but I believe the sticking point may come down to showing that you are “performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States”. This is a requirement for category EB-3, which is what I read you would fall into once you get your BS. Some fields have shortages that they can make that argument, but not sure about your desired field.</p>
<p>A friend of mine in college (many moons ago, so rules may have changed) had a similar situation. He ended up working for a US company but at one of their overseas offices where he could easily obtain work permits. After a couple of years, he had enough experience that they could make the argument that there were no US workers with his qualifications. He was then able to get a US work permit. It took some time obviously, but he also got some valuable experience with his overseas work, more than what he would have gotten if he started in the main office in the US.</p>
<p>Thank you, I got what you mean. Do you think going to a U.S university gives me a higher chance of having a job there and lowers the chance of having one in Europe? I’m kinda lost now since I was planning to study in the US…</p>
<p>Hello and thanks for your answer:) I’m not gonna go for environmental anymore, but do you think majoring in electrical then minoring in energy will narrow my chance of having a job or broaden it? I prefer to work in the energy field more</p>
<p>Hello and thanks for answering. Does a international student need to be unique and a genius with exceptional skills to be able to work in the US?Is it the same with Europe too?</p>
<p>Genius not required in the US. A job is required, however. And to get a job a student visa or travel visa won’t serve. I don’t know the situation in European engineering.</p>
<p>What does he need other than a student visa?</p>
<p>he needs a work visa. then he needs the skills that an employer desires. the employer is not going to care about where his degree came from as long as it is an ABET-accredited program. the employer is looking for how the student’s internship, work experience, and skill set match up with their needs. </p>