I am currently a junior at Auburn university majoring in industrial and systems engineering. I have a 2.86 gpa currently, but I hope to have around a 2.9 by the time I start applying for jobs. I am really nervous I won’t be able to get a good paying job with my gpa, however I am currently co-oping with Rheem Water heating as an industrial engineer and I have a great resume. I am in a sorority and have held multiple positions within my sorority, a part of 2 scholar programs on campus, and a part of the society of women engineers. I am also a diversity ambassador for the school, an ambassador for the athletic department in recruiting, an even an ambassador for the college of engineering. With a year of industrial engineering experience, and a great resume, but a 2.9 gpa will I still be able to get a decent paying job? If not, would it be smart to go straight to graduate school for my masters?
Yes, you should be able to get a decent paying job with a 2.9 GPA. You co-op experience in very valuable, for one thing, and will set you apart from other students who did not co-op. There is good demand for industrial engineers, and it is excellent preparation for moving into management.
I do not recommend choosing graduate school so soon. In fact, it might be harder to get into grad school than to get a good paying IE job. After you have been in your career for 4 or 5 years, then consider grad school – particularly an MBA, if you want to become a manager.
You might have an inside track on a job where you are doing your co-op. In any case, with the experience you have you should be able to do well in the market. I agree with @NROTCgrad that you do not want to go to a graduate program right away. With your current GPA and with experience you will have a much better opportunity to be admitted later on. You will also have a much better idea of what program will help you reach your career objectives with some work experience, not to mention that your employer might reimburse you for some of your costs.
You might want to take the GRE next year anyway. The scores are good for 5 years and you are still in that academic mode. If you wait until later, you might have to put more effort into studying for it. It costs a bit but might be worth it even if you end up not going to graduate school.
With your experience, you should be able to fit that at the top of your resume. Being female really helps, so make sure you use the SWE website for leads.
That being said, I know that some companies, my husband’s and my dd’s, won’t conduct interviews with students who have less that a 3.0. It’s harsh but they aren’t good about making exceptions.
Yes, some companies have a hard minimum GPA of 3.0. I know because that is what the company I worked for had.
The reason that some companies can get away it that they have way too many applicants for the available positions and so they can be choosey. A minimum GPA is an easy first screen.
However, I was able to hire some applicants that had an overall GPA less than 3.0 if their GPA in the major was above 3.0. If this is the case for you, you should state both your overall GPA and your major GPA on your resume and application.
There are still plenty of companies that do not have such a criteria. Have a conversation with your manager at your internship and see if they will hire you. If not, will they give you a good reference?
I encourage you to remember that you are an engineering major. Thus, most employers will take that into account. A 2.9 GPA is in the high “B-” territory, and nothing to be ashamed of. On a scale of 100, a GPA of 2.9 is about an 84. Not bad for an engineer.