<p>I'm graduating in May and I have no extra-curriculars. Is that bad? My GPA is a 3.2, and I am currently doing a co-op and I have just finished up a research position that I had for the past several months. That's it. I have no extracurriculars like engineering clubs, engineering honor societies, etc. I have no other internships either. Will employers look down upon that? What should I do?</p>
<p>Employers are looking for engineers. You’ve got a co-op and research exp. That’s way more important.</p>
<p>The co-op and research are likely more interesting to employers than most campus clubs you might join.</p>
<p>When I was interviewing college applicants I would use any ECs as just an ice breaker. Something to talk about to try and set the applicant at ease in an otherwise very stressful position. So, in that respect, they aren’t really important. Your GPA, your ability to “play well with others”, your co-ops and your internships (about in that order) are what is critical in the job hunt.</p>
<p>HPuck35 is right. A lack of EC activities won’t really hurt you. They’re mainly there to give interviewers a sense of who you are.</p>
<p>I only put down “hobbies and interests” on my resume as conversation starters. And sure enough, I usually end up chatting with my interviewers about books and music and things like that. It helps interviewers see you as a human being, which is difficult to do in a tense, interview situation.</p>
<p>With several months of research and a Co-op, you are orders of magnitude in a better position than I was when I graduated. I graduated with a 3.5 BS ChE with absolutely nothing on my resume. I am working a low level 6 month temp position now and also in grad school and I know at least 10 classmates in the same boat as me.
I believe I would in a better position now if I had gotten at least 1 co-op, participated in undergrad research when one of my proffessors was interested in taking me on, and I hadn’t slacked off in my non-ChE classes (I could have had a 3.8 easily).</p>
<p>@MalcolmC: You have nothing to worry about. With a good co-op and literally any undergraduate research experience, you’re well ahead of the game. The GPA is a little on the low side, but it’s plenty high to compete for most jobs.</p>