<p>I'm a sophomore Industrial Engineering Indian student studying here in the US. I went to the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers conference last year with some hispanic friends and found the career fair to be very useful in securing interviews. I just found out that the NSBE is having a conference in Toronto which is 3 hour drive from where I live and might be a good idea to go.. However, I had a few questions and would appreciate it if you guys could answer them: </p>
<p>1) I am looking for a summer internship in banking/manufacturing but since this conference is being held in March end, do you think they will still be looking for summer interns?
2) I'm brown so while I could kinda mesh in the SHPE conference looks-wise, I'm not really sure if I'll stand out in the NSBE conference.. While standing out could be a good thing, would they look at it in a negative light that I'm "stealing" potential opportunities from black engineers or are they as laidback as they were in the SHPE conference?
3) Would you guys recommend I go considering I am not African American?</p>
<p>if theres any potential for rejection because your not black, why are you thinking about going? Plus wouldn’t you feel out of place and awkward because you would obviously not be one of the candidates they are looking for? Personally, I would feel bad and selfish going to a conference that is not meant for me.</p>
<p>“I’m brown so while I could kinda mesh in the SHPE conference looks-wise, I’m not really sure if I’ll stand out in the NSBE conference…”</p>
<p>if that was supposed to be a light-hearted racial joke, its not funny at all. Your calling yourself “brown”? what on earth are you trying to say?</p>
<p>In america, you don’t call someone or yourself a “brown person” or “white person” whether it is in their face or behind their back. it looks rude or just really snarky. Isn’t “indian” enough?</p>
<p>I do not wish to get into an argument here but i’ve lived in the US for the past 6 years and my american friends, both in high school and college, have used it in a casual setting! While it may not be accepted in a professional setting, it’s fine for such a forum. Also, if this was the case, the society would be called “National Society of African American Engineers” as opposed to “National Society of Black Engineers”…</p>
<p>I never said thats wrong in a casual setting, a lot of people do that without any sharp meaning. But your OP is very focused on color and whether “blending into” the color of blacks is going to be bad for you or not. </p>
<p>in any case, we’re moving off-topic. I don’t know how NSBE and SHPE operate but it would be common sense to know that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to go to a conference where you obviously are not part of the target audience.</p>
<p>Are you already a member of NSBE? Otherwise non-member registration rates for the national convention are $360 at this point, it may not be worth your while to go if you’re just going for the career fair. There’s a lot more to the convention than that.</p>
<p>Because you don’t have to be black or an engineer to join, I don’t see a problem with your presence (we have members of all sorts of races at our chapter’s meetings), but your intentions are a bit disturbing if you don’t plan on actively participating in the organization.</p>
<p>Companies do not go to NSBE conferences to hire “black candidates”, they attend those conferences to hire candidates. At the NSBE conferences I have attended, I have seen individuals of many different races and ethnic groups, and the conference was marketed towards all engineering students, not just to engineering students of a specific skin tone.</p>
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<p>The major companies will have already hired their summer interns, but there’s the possibility (which is actually a good possibility this year) that departments just received funding for summer interns, meaning that they’re hiring now. There’s also the possibility that too many offers were rejected and they still have spots.</p>
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<p>Come on. At least 1/3 of the individuals there will only attend for the career fair / interviews. There’s nothing “disturbing” about it. In fact, it’s good for the organization as it brings in registration fees without having to incur the cost of hosting the individual.</p>
<p>Why are you not active in your current college’s chapter?</p>
<p>Although you don’t have to be black or an engineer to be a member don’t say you think you can “mesh” in. That’s just something you don’t want to say. </p>
<p>Since you just found out hurry and register before the rate increases. The deadline is approaching I think within the next 2 weeks. </p>
<p>Manufacturing/banking are on opposite ends of the spectrum so if you get an interview make sure you can explain why you are genuinely interested in those positions.</p>
<p>With that being said- yes i think you should attend.</p>