<p>so im graduating this quarter from ucla civil engineering program with a 2.8 gpa, i planned on getting a job out of college but after all the careers fairs, career center job applications and online job applications, i didn't get any interviews at all. I have indicated willing to relocate and travel so i wasn't picky at all. </p>
<p>So now im graduating this quarter, what should i do next? current plan for me is to keep applying to every opportunity but is there anything else i can do? </p>
<p>I am scheduled to take the FE/EIT exam in april, would that be helpful in terms of getting a job? Should i try to get an unpaid research position to boost my resume? </p>
<p>I have struggled in college and ended up with a low gpa, i couldn't find any internship opportunities for engineering the past few summers so i decided to do summer school so i can graduate early but now I am really lost on what my next step should be.</p>
<p>I have also thought about going into teaching while i wait for an engineering job, would that be a good route and if anyone have any information on how to pursue that would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Dont put your GPA on your resume or tell them unless asked. FE/EIT might help, but the bad thing is this job market isn’t good, especially in CA. I’d just keep applying for any job on monster that has the word engineer in it. Also dont get too hung up on doing civil unless you really have your heart set on it. People seem to get hung up on “This is what my degree says so I have to do this”. Look for other engineering branches that you can probably do like mechanical or some quality control engineer jobs. If all else fails, do something completely non related to engineering like civil service work for the feds. I’d love to spend a few years working for the State Dept as a foreign service officer for a few years. The military will also take you with an engineering degree as well. Lots of options, just dont get hung up on one of them.</p>
<p>1) Keep applying for jobs and YES, you may want/have to not be as picky.</p>
<p>2) After a obtaining about 5 -7 years of experience, enroll in either a part-time or distance graduate program.</p>
<p>For grad school, ask to be a non-degree graduate student. Take about 3 courses and ACE them which will be very possible because you now have experience. If you have aced 9 credits of a 30-credit grad program, it will very hard for a non-Top 10 school to deny you admission. You may have to aim for rankings #10 to #20.</p>
<p>Just from the tone of your post, I really don’t think grades are the major issue. You come across as a defeated individual not worthy of employment. If you convey to employers that you are desperate, there will be no chance of landing a job. You need to talk to peers, friends, etc. to assess how they interpret your personality and revise accordingly. Again, this is based on one post, but something to consider.</p>
<p>thanks for the advices! I will continue to apply to any job i see although previously i haven’t applied to anything not civil related (such as comp sci or mechanical jobs, should i apply to those as well?) </p>
<p>also i been debating on whether to include the GPA on the resume, i heard a decent amount of information suggesting both sides and I heard a lot of companies have a GPA cutoff of 2.8 so if i don’t include it i get denied automatically, can anyone elaborate on whether i should include GPA or not?</p>
<p>and lastly i guess I do feel a bit desperate and defeated, but I haven’t given up and i will keep trying!</p>
<p>again thanks for the valuable advices and keep them coming! :)</p>
<p>First of all, if you want to regret something, don’t regret your GPA, regret your choice of major. Even if you got a 3.8 GPA instead of a 2.8 GPA, you’d still find it almost impossible to find a job related to your major because the construction industry has been hit particularly hard in Southern California. On the other hand, I know a lot of engineers (outside of civil), business majors, and even liberal arts majors with lower GPAs than yours, and most of them got job offers before graduation. Heck, some of them even got signing bonuses last year.</p>
<p>So what are your options? The best one would be to relocate to North Dakota. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the country (below 4%), and plenty of people are going there to work the oilfields. What does that mean? Housing shortages, which means there is (and will be) plenty of construction work, so they’ll be looking for civil engineers.</p>
<p>If you can’t take the harsh winters there and don’t want to relocate, drive up to the closest workplace near your home at 9AM. Ask to speak to the manager, and say you want to work there. If he/she says there are no openings, ask to have your resume and/or application on file, so that you will be considered if and when a new position is available. Make sure you go back to the store/factory/office every month to follow up.</p>
<p>After that, walk or drive to the next store/factory/office on that street. Repeat that process. Take a lunch break at noon, and then hit the streets again until 5PM. At night, email former classmates and professors for leads, and apply to jobs online. Do this every day, and you should have a job by the summer.</p>
<p>One option that you might want to consider is to pursue a Masters degree at any of the Cal State universities, whether in Civil engineering or another field. Usually their gpa requirements are more relaxed than the UCs for grad school.</p>
<p>i been taking your advice and looking into midwest states for jobs (ND, SD, Wisconsin, Minnesota to name a few) any advice on how to find more jobs though because those companies don’t recruit much out here, is there any good sites i can use to find those jobs?</p>
<p>also i tried a couple companies by going there but had a hard time trying to get to the manager as they mentioned they are not in charge of hiring (not sure if thats just an excuse)</p>
<p>I think that while you are at it, you might also try and look for a volunteering research position at the university. Anything that is science related will be fine. The reason that most companies don’t even give you a chance in the interview is because you do not have experience.</p>
<p>Since you have skipped internship, I suggest that you go for free undergrad research or join ewb so that you could at least put something other than your degree on your resume.</p>
<p>From what I remember, 3.0 was the usual GPA cutoff for throwing resumes in the recycle bin. Obviously some companies will hire those with less than a 3.0 but the 3.0 cutoff seemed to be the most common.</p>
<p>This is why it is so important to look at industries/majors that are projected to be in high demand. Hell, a 2.8 over the span of 120 credits with CivE as a major ain’t bad at all but that may get your resume in the recycle bin.</p>
Instead of looking for recruiters here, try calling them and/or applying to their websites. Express your interest and willingness to relocate, and broaden your horizons; the jobs you should look for don’t have to be directly related to civil engineering.</p>
<p>“After reading about North Dakota’s budget surplus and low unemployment rate, Bill Siderski, 42, and his partner, Jana Lynn, 39, moved to Fargo… Neither had job offers and within two weeks of arriving, they both found work through a temp agency.”</p>
<p>“The western part of North Dakota, in the midst of an oil boom, is desperate for welders and engineers.”</p>
<p>“Job placement of our graduates in the last few years has been almost 100%. The starting salary accepted by recent civil engineering graduates was between $46,000 and $68,000.”</p>
<p>“Most graduates are involved in more than one type of civil engineering activity.”</p>
Use loopholes. With some luck, you can make your resume more impressive than it really is.</p>
<p>Go to a civil engineering company and speak with one of the engineers. Say that you are a student who is interested in civil engineering and wants to see how that job is like. Job shadow that person, get his/her contact info, and offer to help out for free. Most of them won’t want to see you around for long, but a few will appreciate that free volunteer help. Now you’ve got references and work experience on your resume.</p>
<p>Also, see whether you can take one or two classes at UCLA as a part-time continuing education student. If you do well enough, you can now say that your cumulative GPA is above a 3.0, and listing “Attended UCLA from 2007-2012” on your resume will make you look like a recent graduate next year.</p>
<p>During the weekends, work as a day laborer at the local Home Depot. You don’t have to do this every weekend, you just have to show up 2-3 times a month. Continue doing that for a year, and pay attention to the construction methods used in the field. Voila! You now have a year of hands-on construction experience to put on your resume. </p>
<p>Next year, expand your horizons. Don’t just go to UCLA’s career fair; show up to USC’s career fair, Cal State LA’s career fair, Cal Poly Pomona’s career fair, and all other career fairs in your area. </p>
<p>Even if you do what I just described, you probably won’t get a job in your major. However, it’s a way forward. It may be a long shot, but it’s your only shot.</p>
<p>Oddball’s advice is the best yet. Don’t give up, stay positive and enthusiastic. Who wants to hire someone with a sour outlook? Answer: no one!</p>
<p>PLEASE don’t just apply to any job that has “Engineer” in the title, it won’t help. You have to have at least 50% of the skills they are looking for. You don’t need to have 100% of what they are asking for, but you have to have a good chunk of it.</p>
<p>I’m trying to fill a job now (Test Engineer), the requirements I’ve listed are pretty specific, yet >60% of the resumes I get have ZERO chance of getting the job, their skills are not even close to what I need. Why are they wasting their time and mine? These people just **** me off.</p>
<p>Find a company you want to work for, I mean you REALLY want to work there. Then find a way in, tell them you just want to learn about the industry, tell them you’ll work for free. Any way to get your face in front of the right people. Use LinkedIN, find the name of someone who’s title sounds like a hiring manager, then call them, keep calling them, send them letters. You have nothing to lose, you will annoy some of them and they’ll tell you to buzz off, but so what? What harm is there in it? Others will be impressed with your persistance and creativity, you only need one person to let you in the door. I for one value that kind of persistence, I know that others are annoyed by it. </p>
<p>Then show them what you can do, if they like you, your GPA won’t matter, eventually they’ll find a job for you. But you have to work hard, they have the KNOW they can count on you. It’s hard to find people that you can count on.</p>
<p>You could always join the military. They are ALWAYS looking for engineers. And since you have a college degree you could probably be an officer.</p>
<p>Consider showing your major GPA, which is the GPA of only the classes of your major. Also consider that internships and jobs for civil engineering are very broad, such as traffic engineering. Who knows? You might be able to get a job in civil engineering that you have never heard of…</p>
It was much worse in 2009 and 2010 than in '08. This year, things are noticeably better, but it’s still far worse than the bubble years of '05 and '06.</p>
<p>Kick53rv5, you may want to think about what Synx111 posted and check with the military. You definitely want to go in as an officer only, do not let them talk you into going in as an enlisted troop. There is nothing wrong with being enlisted, as I started there at the age of 18, but you need the experience as an officer. It would be best to go in the Army Corps of Engineering, Air Force Civil Engineering or the similar branch of the Navy. Yes, it will be four years of your life, but the experience is worth it and the pay is pretty good. Plus they will pay for your advanced degree. Just make sure the job you take in the military is in your field and not in a general field like Tank Company Commander.
I know when I came out of the Air Force as a Logistics Officer, I had multiple great job offers. In fact, I was approached constantly while in the Air Force by headhunters wanting me to get out and work for their company. I was nothing special either – every officer that I worked with that was average or above got the same opportunities. The big companies were interested in us because we: 1) had a degree 2) had experience in our field 3) had experience under pressure as a leader of other people. They also knew we would be to work on time, show up groomed neatly and would work until the job was done.
I’m not insinuating that someone not in the military does not have these skills, but companies know a military officer has them, or they would have been shown the door.
If active duty is not for you, check out the Reserves or National Guard. You can still get some experience, but not have a full-time commitment. Also, check out usajobs.com as they list jobs in all departments of the government and the pay is not bad for the experience you will get. I hope this helps and good luck with your search.</p>