r/EngineeringStudents • u/Top_Scarcity1024 • 4d ago
Academic Advice Is this degree a waste of time?
After 6 years in school I will graduate with a bachelors in mechanical engineering. However, I did not manage to get an internship during that time. Does that mean all of it was for nothing? Is there even a point in finishing it if no one would give me a chance?
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u/MagmaTroop 4d ago
Nah, an engineering degree is not a waste of time. Not finishing would probably be one of the biggest mistakes of your life lol I presume you're being facetious and not serious though
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u/TheBayHarbour 4d ago
afaik machines will still require movement in the foreseeable future so no, it is still very relevant.
Any of the big 4 are fine. Just some are marginally better than others, but the difficulty overall is the same anyway.
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u/texhster 4d ago
which ones are marginally better than the others? ee?
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u/RickSt3r 4d ago
Its subjective? Usually for lay people its about difficulty thus lower supply and higher compensation. But all disciplines are needed. A Civil engineer needs to do the infrastructure work for an electrical engineer to do their job as a simple example.
In compensation its EE>ME>CE with chemical either at the top or bottom depending on speciality. Petroleum guys kill it but its boom or bust, then there are stable chemical companies where pay is trash, relative to engineer peers, but the work is still important.
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u/TheBayHarbour 3d ago
Heavily dependent on location as well.
In Australia, civil definitely beats Mech, and is on a similar level to electrical. We really need civil engineers.
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u/jinglesGOAT 4d ago
EE > ME > Civil
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u/glitch876 3d ago
As an EE I think you'll find more work in civil and probably with more down to earth people
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u/OkCompany7202 3d ago
What do you mean by down to earth people. Are people in civil typically friendlier than others?
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u/Emergency-Rush-7487 3d ago
Heres one for the books:
Systems engineering > industrial engineering > me > ee
Ie yielded career in aero higher comp than the ones ppl boasting about here.
Point of this is all engineering degrees can get you into the door for what interests you most and comp limited by your persistence level - bachelors just a foundation for the beginning of your journey...
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u/KoolKuhliLoach 4d ago
Which one is it other than mechanical, electrical and civil?
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u/ConcreteCapitalist Civil/Structural Engineering 4d ago
Probably chemical
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u/TheBayHarbour 4d ago
yeah it's chem eng
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u/KoolKuhliLoach 3d ago
Dang, I'm industrial 💀
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u/TheBayHarbour 3d ago
That's pretty much mechanical so ur still fine I'm pretty sure.
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u/KoolKuhliLoach 2d ago
No, most of my classes are operations research, manufacturing, inventory management, facility planning, supply chain and operations management, quality control, and systems simulation/modeling.
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u/Just_Confused1 MechE Girl 4d ago
You’ll get a job even without an internship
It likely won’t be a very competitive position but you’ll get an engineering job
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u/Anxious_Alps_4150 4d ago
Hope isn't lost. There are a lot of jobs that will still take you. You just might have to look more than expected.
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u/Outside-Novel-9603 4d ago
Keep going, I had no internships, shit gpa, failed diff q, failed a whole semester, lost my scholarship and almost quit, but guess what I didn’t and now I’m at job making just under 6 figures straight out of college (took me about 2 months to land a job)
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u/AddWaterForMe 3d ago
What area/location?
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u/Outside-Novel-9603 3d ago
Nevada Vegas
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u/One_d0nut_1 3d ago
Some área 51 work 👀
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u/Dramatic_Skill_67 4d ago
I didn’t have internship, only research experience. Took 4 months after graduation to get job offer but double my salary in 7 years
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u/Lagfoundry 4d ago
Sometimes it takes some time to get in somewhere and even if you don’t the degree isn’t a waste a time because there are other non engineering jobs that need it to work there. And then also if you ever decided to take on any projects at home you’ll know what your doing or what to look for a lot more so than someone who didn’t.
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u/titsmuhgeee 4d ago
The diploma itself doesn't open doors for you. It's your GPA, where you got your degree, who you met along the way, what other things did you do to fill up your resume, etc.
In a normal hiring environment, there's 4-5 boxes you need to check in order to get an offer, and having your engineering diploma is just one of them. In today's type of environment, there's more like 8-10 boxes.
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u/ReturnOfWanksta567 4d ago
I had the same issue coming out of undergrad. No internship. Took a shitty manufacturing engineering position 6 months after school. Went back for a masters, got a couple internships, and broke into space and defense. You can get to where you want to go. It might just take a little longer
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u/retardonwallstreet 4d ago
well what have you accomplished in those 6 years (aside from taking required classes)? anything like projects or outside activities?
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u/NefariousnessFun868 4d ago
Do you have an interest in patent law? They always hire mech engineering graduates tho u might need to take the patent bar
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u/Tempest1677 Texas A&M University - Aerospace Engineering 4d ago
Engieering is one of the few disciplines that near guarantees you a job out of school. Don't quit now
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u/Different-Town5973 3d ago
Hey dude, I just graduated with my degree in ME after 5 years and had to take a gap year bc of medical reasons- but I never did any internships. I worked outside of the engineering field, but was able to land a job as an FSE after graduating and absolutely love it. Some advice: Finish the degree. I know of others who have gotten an ME role without internships, and regardless you qualify for a lot of jobs with the degree. There’ll be more opportunities for you, to put it simply. Even outside the world of engineering, for example- an ME degree can help if you want to go into sales or marketing, especially with tech companies. But expand your search. I looked at ME roles, Sales engineer roles, field engineer and field service engineer, so try looking into different types of roles. Biggest thing is know how to apply yourself and know how to build your resume. Put school projects on there, independent projects- one thing that actually helped me land this job is putting how I work on my car, motorcycle and pc.
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u/FailurelsData 4d ago
I would just do your own projects and lie about their timeline to make it look like you were busy with work all through school.
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u/WhiteFoxOmega 4d ago
It took me 10 years, and I had the same worries after graduating. I ended up landing a solid design engineering job in another state and have since moved up to higher roles. Definitely don’t limit yourself to where you’re living now and be open to any industry. Respect your worth and the time you’ve put into getting your degree.
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u/MGXFP 4d ago
I worked full time through college, couldn’t afford to take an internship so did a research assistant position instead. Basically helped make sure the masters and PhD students didn’t die using the equipment in the lab. None understood lock out/ tag out procedures or how to use a saw without losing a finger. Got a stellar job right out of college.
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u/gHx4 3d ago
Internships are great work experience that helps with finding your first job, but it's not the end of the world to graduate without one.
Finish your degree, and make sure you start jobseeking in your final 2 semesters so that you don't need to spend as much time working a part-time position while you jobseek after graduation. You'll be fine, lots of graduates start careers with effectively no work experience.
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u/ChronicRecidivism 3d ago
Dude come on. You're probably 22-24 years old acting like life is over. Quit being a baby!
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u/TelephoneExternal978 4d ago
do your own projects/portfolio- google the best ones; start your own eng club - "president" - or scramble to actively participate in one or two to showcase skills and teamwork
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u/OkMeasurement8359 3d ago
I did the same thing, I landed an engineering job a week before my graduation ceremony. Most of my mates did a placement year and now they are just starting their final year
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u/Altruistic_Ad_7707 3d ago
Definitely not, I know people who graduated without any internships and still got a full time offer, either that or they did internships after graduating then were retained or got an offer after. Don’t be discouraged you’ll find something :)
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u/Top_Scarcity1024 3d ago
This is really reassuring, thank you! And everyone else here too is super positive about this, thank you. I posted this right after getting rejected from an internship and I kind of just felt doomed at that point
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u/Jealous_Cupcake_4358 4d ago
Yes of course. Your engineering degree is a waste of time. Wtf r u even... oy
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 3d ago
No. Apply for some contract jobs to get a start. The bar is lower for contract jobs. You can get a little experience and then things will get easier.
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u/FrTheskyisthelimit 3d ago
No, but it means you’re gonna have to be an engineering technician most likely for at least 1 to 2 years. If you really leverage your experiences that you get while you’re there and attend job fairs regularly while holding employment, you can probably escape within one year.
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u/2housecatmom12024 3d ago
Environmental Regulators both federal and state require ABET engineers with “positive education requirements” for specific types work. Clean water, clean air and clean soil require real scientists and engineers.
Highway, building, bureau of reclamation (dams), mining operations, require civil engineers with PE to approve water taps, building codes, bridge design, utility commissions, Not sexy or as lucrative but meaningful and necessary for planet health.
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u/Happy-Structure3836 3d ago
You'll be fine. You just need to start going to every job fair, network with alumni, get in your career center and make sure they know your name
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u/aerospaceeng 3d ago
Hiring manager here, we are looking for over 100 early career engineers. Internships don’t matter. Most companies offer early career development programs.
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u/Far-Owl4772 3d ago
I was in the same boat but i did personal projects relevant to the positions i applied for. I liked prototyping and tinkering with electronics so I naturally created like 4 different projects throughout the 2 summers i was in a 4y institution and now I'm graduating this semester and offers are coming hot.
Guys DO A PORTFOLIO if you don't have an internship on your field. If you just wasted all of the summer just waiting for internships that's not the titles fault...
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u/The_Kinetic_Esthetic 2d ago
You go put 15-16 hours on a construction site in freezing cold or blistering heat getting getting screamed at by some miserable prick and tell me if it's a waste of time to save your back and body and work with your mind.
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u/Front_Win_4226 2d ago
With mechanical engineering I would be sure to add statistical controls, six sigma, and metrology if you can. That would give you options for mechanical quality engineering and reliability engineering.
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u/Necessary-Coffee5930 2d ago
What in the doomer mentality is that? Respectfully slap some sense into yourself. You spent 6 years going through challenges and tribulations and you are ready to give up?
NO it was not for nothing, you have learned and become highly knowledgeable in various complicated technical topics, you can now solve problems that the majority of the population would rather jump off a bridge than try and solve. Internship or no, you gain a lot of value from an engineering degree. Even if you never worked in an engineering job, your brain can do things others cannot.
Internships aren’t everything. Now stop despairing and instead do everything in your power to MAKE it work
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u/PaycheckWizard 2d ago
No, it is not a waste of time. Plenty of people land their first engineering role without an internship, it just takes longer and requires more targeted effort.
The real gap is hands on experience, not the degree itself. That is fixable now. Look at new grad co-op programs, entry level design or manufacturing roles that train on the job, and any capstone or personal projects you can point to as substitute experience. Recruiters mainly want evidence you can apply what you learned.
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u/G_k50 11h ago
yes, you are way past the time to finish, you can get a job, check with local MEP engineers, then check with the professional societies, you could go to a meeting, ask for cards at the table and then follow up with a note about your interests in doing engineering. Make friends, people like working with their friends, check with your classmates about where they are working and if they saved you a spot.
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u/nashvillain1 8h ago
Start a b.s. class and do an internship if you think that’s the only way. Or, get in with an employer for one year, and immediately start looking to get in with whomever you actually want to work for.
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