<p>bigtrees,
Does your employer recruit more heavily at some schools than others?</p>
<p>I don’t really understand how my company makes hiring decisions. They do have a proprietary list of schools they recruit at but it includes a whole lot of schools. And they are very careful to say they hire students from all schools, not just ones they recruit at.</p>
<p>When I look around at my coworkers, they have come from all different colleges. Private schools. State schools. Community colleges. There isn’t a clear differentation of who graduated from where, and I don’t see much correlation on performance.</p>
<p>This is all very fascinating to me. As you look at your coworkers, did they start at your company or did they start somewhere else? For new hires (right out of college) or those accepted into summer internships, does the school seem to matter? The coursework (eg of they took fluid dynamics, had autocad experience, etc)? The GPA?</p>
<p>What I have learned as a parent - </p>
<p>I would ask in an engineering forum and specify the school and the major. My experience, and that of some other parents of graduating engineers, has been that hiring is generally better in engineering than in other fields, BUT some companies will pull back their recruiting from schools not at the top of their list if the economy is not good, and engineering specialties can fall in and out of favor. It is possible to get a job from a school where a company does not recruit, BUT in that situation it is extremely helpful to have a hook such as a relative or friend already working at the company, to have a security clearance in hand for some companies, or to fit a desired demographic.</p>
<p>It is the job of the career office at each school to establish and maintain recruiting at select companies. Some do this better than others. During the past ten years, there have been years at some schools where every graduate in good standing has found a job (regular or co-op), and other years where nobody has. The past few years have been tough in many areas of engineering. My son and husband are regularly asked by acquaintances if they have job or co-op leads for their children, even children at top engineering schools.</p>
<p>One advantage of engineering is that students can begin meaningful paid work as undergraduates, thus building up resumes (and connections) well before a job search. Many schools do encourage students to work in labs beginning in freshman year, and these students should have good recs by the time they graduate. When you tour schools, it might also be helpful to ask about senior projects, as these also involve a significant amount of time and go on the resume.</p>