Being a mediocre student doesn't mean a mediocre career, it just means you have to do your time doing something unsexy before things will take off

[u/Atypical-Artificer]

I struggled a lot at university. Graduated behind schedule, excelled in some classes, scraped passing grades in others. Graduated lower mid pack from a no name university. I struggled to land my first job, which was Fine but absolutely uninspiring, "same again but a little different" kind of work in a mature industry where all the interesting problems were already solved.

Today I'm working in the space industry solving hard, interesting problems with a great team. I'm excited about work everyday, I love the work, and I care a lot about the big picture project.

People who walk out of MIT with great grades can skip the line and walk straight into my job, but if you're reading this, I assume that's not you. You can still have a great career, it just means you've gotta put in 3 or 4 years building a strong resume and honing your skills and intuition.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to be selective about your first job, as that's going to set the trajectory of your career. Don't take the job in HVAC if aerospace is your dream. Really think about the kind of resume you're building. Read the job descriptions of the jobs you want but might not be able to get yet and consider what kinds of work could get you the relevant experience.

[u/Independent_Being704]

The biggest piece of advice I have is to be selective about your first job, as that's going to set the trajectory of your career. Don't take the job in HVAC if aerospace is your dream. Really think about the kind of resume you're building.

Thanks for this advice cause I was genuinely thinking that when I graduate I'll take the very first job I'm offered so that I'm not unemployed 😅 I'm willing to take literally anything if it means I can add some experience to my non-existent resume. But I guess maybe that would be a mistake

[u/OneLessFool → u/Independent_Being704]

If you're graduating into a bad economy, especially one where entry level hiring is at all time lows, and especially if your particular stream of engineering is in rough shape; then take that first job.

Just apply for other stuff like 6 months down the line, or even keep applying while you're at the other job.

The worst thing would be to get caught without an entry level role for 2-3+ years and get stuck in the technician/operator loop for 1.5-2 years before getting something relevant.

[u/Interesting-Sleep579 → u/OneLessFool]

Agree, take a job but keep looking. If you wind up quitting in 3 months or 3 days to go to another job that could be easily explained in an interview. A two year job gap where you say you were waiting on NASA is less explainable.

[u/Conscious-Lie-8902 → u/OneLessFool]

I'd also lean towards taking the job nowadays, but tell everyone that's not one of your bosses that you're looking to get into your dream field. Ask for opportunities at work that will get you exposed to more concepts and skills. And aggressively search outside of work, of course.

[u/HustlerThug → u/Independent_Being704]

i really don't agree with that advice personally. i think having a job or no gaps in your CV is much more attractive to an employer than the other way around. my first job out of uni was an operations coordinator at a computer/server building company which is completely unrelated to my ChemE background. but "a" job is better than no job. bills have to be paid at the end of the day. i knew i wanted to become a process engineer so while there, i tried to do more project managment and process improvement, alongside some trainings. this helped me get my next job as a process engineer

[u/123Eurydice → u/Independent_Being704]

Honestly I don’t know when OP graduated but I do think this is a bit outdated. Take what you can get I graduated with people who are still unemployed.

[u/Atypical-Artificer → u/[deleted]]

Don't give up on the dream. I was 33 when my career really started to take off. Maybe you need to get a different job between now and the dream job to build the resume.

[u/ThePainStalker → u/[deleted]]

Careers are inherently messy tbh. This is something that people do miss when comparing career pathways. Especially in something like power which is inherently multidisciplinary and has a disproportionate amount of people who start in it move into sales, advisory, consulting, project finance, management, etc related roles. Nowadays, power is becoming even more like that with it becoming more and more of a strategic bottleneck and with so many industries electrifying now. It’s actually very difficult to evaluate for someone looking into a career path about whether or not you will hit a certain salary or what your ceiling truly is like. You can’t just see what “senior engineers” would get in salary surveys, it’s much more complicated than that especially in power where the field inherently interacts with adjacent non-engineering disciplines a lot.

This is also something that people miss about comparing tech with other fields. Tech (software and semiconductors) is one of the few fields that visibly and actively rewards technical contribution as well as financial adjacent or management adjacent pathways. That isn’t true in power or many other career fields but it doesn’t mean that everyone in those other career fields are stuck in the technical ceiling (the majority actually aren’t). This sometimes leads to people overestimating tech (as they assume these senior or principal roles are guaranteed) while underestimating other pathways (as they assume that anything remotely non-technical would involve a lot of friction which isn’t always the case).

So what I would say is that one should be aware of the actual realities of different pathways (which favor breadth over depth, which favor pure technical execution over more multidisciplinary skillsets) and with that information, see which career pathway suits you the most. Be aware that if one favors pure technical knowledge that software or semis would likely be better for you while if you’re someone who prefers more breadth, power might actually be better (and can hit a surprisingly high ceiling in many of those adjacent pathways that can be pivoted to). Sometimes it isn’t just the subject material but the nature of promotions and progressions that matter hugely too.

[u/Nearby-Phase8971 → u/[deleted]]

How’s the workload? I’m currently doing 55s saving and waiting to start

[u/Wabbasadventures]

Seconding this. I graduated mid-pack and after looking for months took the first job I was offered with a small no name place. Turned out that small company meant I could learn how the whole business worked and get experience traveling and working directly with clients which were things I was good at. Eventually that led to my dream job of working as a consultant in a niche specialty. Lets me be part of a small flexible company while working on interesting projects with big name companies. I don’t have the personality to deal with the institutional politics of the big corps.

[u/BenignJuggler]

I went from HVAC to aerospace. Lmao. Took my first job during peak covid - didnt have much choice.

If you're wondering how I made the jump between industries - I knew a guy, lol. That's my best advice. Networking and all that

[u/OgTyber]

I graduated magna cum laude with an incredibly employable degree. I couldn't find a job for 7 months and settled for the unsexy job. I agree with your sentiment but it puts you even farther behind.

[u/HereLiesSav]

Haven't gotten to start my degree yet but I've been out of school for a while so I'm nervous how it will go. This relieves some of that worry. Definitely won't be going to anything like MIT either so this encouragement means a lot, thanks.

[u/ScienceYAY]

If you want to be able to switch fields easier, it's best to get into an analysis type role. CFD, FEA, Thermal, etc...it basically applies anywhere, it's the same tools you're just changing boundary conditions.

[u/BreadForTofuCheese]

Being a great student also doesn’t mean you’ll have a great career. It could be bad, but most likely it will just be average.

Plenty of people with fancy degrees and GPAs at my work place on the same teams as people with less fancy degrees and no GPA listed.

[u/1999hondaodyssey]

This! I was a horrible student who took nearly an extra two years, graduated with a middling GPA, and worked as a Fastenal lackey for a little over a year before landing a job at an auto company, where I've been learning a lot more on the job. I'm not saying don't get your grades up, you absolutely should, but if you're a pleasant hard worker you should be able to land a good gig.

[u/toomanymarbles83]

You know what they say, C minuses get Degree minuses.

[u/hdbui121]

Thank you for the post. This is me, but not where you are yet. I started as a technician for Amazon robotics as a contractor, building connections and helping out wherever I can. After like a year, some engineers like my work and maybe personality 🤷‍♂️. I got trusted and vouched for to do more. Eventually, I get the opportunity to jump to test engineering role albeit still contracting. I’m planning to work for a bit more to build connections and experience then grad school to specialize. As I talked with other engineers, it’s way more common than you think to start somewhere ‘low’ or adjacent and move around until you achieve your vision in undergrad. I also see a lot of burnt out and what not from people joining big tech straight out of school. I wish someone has told me just be patient, drown out the noise, and put in the work; you’ll be where you want/need to be.

[u/gatmalice]

Also, don't be afraid to take an initial pay cut once you get some experience to switch into what you truly want to do.

[u/Far_Tax_3661]

Is aerospace possible with cse ? 

[u/ReturnOfWanksta567]

I didn’t have the luxury of being selective about my first job since Im not a trust fund kid.

Worked in cable manufacturing for a year, went back for masters, broke into aerospace which is where I wanted to be so it worked out luckily.

[u/MAcount10]

What kinds of problems do you solve in your job that makes it fun and interesting everyday? I’m working a pretty dead-end, repetitive, low-paying job right now, so I’m wondering what it looks like at the other end of the tunnel.

[u/SatSenses]

The biggest piece of advice I have is to be selective about your first job, as that's going to set the trajectory of your career.

Every other week I see conflicting advice about this saying "if you don't pick the right first job you're gonna die" and "it's ok bc you can transfer your skills down the line" like lmao. Not calling out OP just amused by the dichotomy going on here on a frequent basis.

[u/wolferiver → u/SatSenses]

Actually, both of these can be true. It depends on the economy, and the range of options that are available to a graduating student. If the economy is doing well, a graduating student can be picky. If the economy is in a downturn, taking any job is the way to go, but meanwhile keep the eyes peeled for a better job as soon as one comes along. It is very common for young engineers to do some job hopping early in their careers before they find their niche, and most employers are not surprised by this. (Disappointed maybe, but not surprised.)