<p>I would like to know what you would advise career-wise while finishing up my EE degree. This may take anywhere from four to six semesters on account of a transfer requirement gaffe.</p>
<p>That said, I am still trying to figure out what I will do with this degree. It was unwise for me to do this, but due to the versatility of the degree itself, I decided to get the general education credits out of the way while exploring my options. I am concerned primarily about marketability on an international level since the United States' prospects are sub-par.</p>
<p>From there, I think fine-tuning things to maximise the chance of being hired will be simple</p>
<p>How would you go about figuring these things out? Besides the IEEE Spectrum magazine, what would be considered the 'trades' of the EE industry?</p>
Then you will probably find international prospects to be abysmal. I have no idea what makes you think the prospects of finding a job in US is unlikely and the rest of the world is better, because the exact opposite is more likely to be the case.</p>
<p>What exactly do you want to know? What classes to take? What kind of work experience to look for?</p>
<p>I heard Canada, Germany, and Australia are actually doing quite well economically but they have strict immigration requirements. China and India are doing well too but that’s because they have low-wage labor. The rest of the world, however, is still trying to get over from the recession. If I were you, look at parts of the US where job prospects are decent. This includes the Washington DC area and Texas.</p>
<p>If you are a US citizen and not opposed to the field, defense contracting is still hiring and is pretty safe from international competition.</p>
<p>If you are not opposed to “simple” work, systems-level engineering is still in demand in the US - outsourcing at the moments seems to be focused on the component and board levels, and many US companies really focus on higher-level design.</p>
<p>If you are not opposed to “scientific” work, materials and microscopic-scale engineering is still big in this country. Low-priced international companies often lack the controls, facilities, or experience to handle this type of work.</p>
<p>Finally, there are a ton of non-design engineering jobs in the US, far too many to describe and largely unrelated to your course selections.</p>
<p>Regardless, focus on your academics - EVERY field is hiring at least some people, and the best way to get a job is to have a good GPA and activities. Oh, and be able to show that you can work with people and preferably speak in public without having a panic attack.</p>
<p>If you are going to a prestigious U like UMich you can get 150k starting salary. Maybe you could get a Masters in UMich to increase your chances of your getting that 150k salary.</p>
<p>cosmicfish - why would I want to upgrade to first class on a sinking ship by establishing myself in the US? Your nation is in terminal decline, and I do not wish to stick around when things get nasty.</p>
<p>tentai - right now, I am leaning toward nuclear engineering through Penn State’s distance MS programme, but if I find a job with my BS-EE, I can pursue a masters elsewhere.</p>
<p>PurdueEE - I would like to see the numbers on the starting salaries; 150K smells like propaganda.</p>
<p>My inquiry was what to do while finishing up my BS-EE to maximise earnings potential by being internationally marketable. You addressed what I could do after obtaining said degree. I do not think you have earned the right to know of my glorious native tongue.</p>
<p>Ummm. First, 4-6 semesters to go isn’t “finishing up”. You’re barely half-way through your degree. Don’t get too ahead of yourself.</p>
<p>First, most of the cutting edge research and development along with product development is done here in U.S. Opportunities in the EE field will primarily be located in the US.</p>
<p>To increase your chances of getting hired, you need to prove that you can get stuff done. Do an internship. Do co-op. Work on open source projects. Join project teams. Take interesting project classes. Do research. Work on your own projects. Basically, you want to be able to show hiring managers a portfolio of your most interesting works. This’ll give you the edge over other applicants regardless of location.</p>
<p>As for publications geared towards EE, IEEE is the premiere engineering society for EE. IEEE Spectrum gives very general reportings of the on-goings of the industry. If you find a particular subject in IEEE that truly interests you, there are hundreds of conferences and journals that IEEE sponsors. You may want to browse through those conference proceedings or journal papers. Conference and journal papers will give you a good picture of what the current technical state of the field is.</p>
<p>If you’re more into software, there are also a number of very good software-related blogs.</p>
<p>Kyt - from my experience, things do not happen instantly; plans must be ‘put in the pipleine’ for them to be ready for execution.</p>
<p>Your suggestions are quite pertinent; I am active in the robotics club which carries course credit, so one is already under way. At this point, I do not really have the education to assemble anything beyond a few logic gates made from BJTs.</p>
<p>As for the US: I went into EE to get out of here; the reasoning was that everyone everywhere needs to keep the lights on and that it can act as play on other engineering fields in that most things use electrical components. That, and EE got my parents out of their country, so a BSEE can travel. The last thing I want to do is be stuck with a first-class room on this sinking ship. I may not be on the cutting edge if I expatriate, but I will surely be better off in the medium term and avoid the same trouble that befell Russian scientists when the USSR collapsed.</p>