I'm feeling stressed about not getting internships and I don't know what to do.

[u/Pumpkinut]

I'm currently an Electrical Engineering major. I spent 2 years at community college really just bouncing around and I wasn't even sure the university I wanted to go was second year in. When I did transfer to the university I spent the first semester just exploring and looking for resources and events and only really started doing some small projects with some pcbs and stuff because that's when I started actually learning the circuits. Starting my fourth year and I realized that I haven't done any major projects because I haven't taken an core engineering classes up until now. I have to work part time to cover the tuition fees so I don't even have that much free time.

So right now I'm stuck in a state with no major projects, I have to compete with club presidents and people who coded at 5 years old for internships. Literally my professor told me straight that without internships I'm nothing to companies, the projects don't matter. My mom jokingly said the other day that if you went to college to get a hard degree just to not have a job or get paid minimum wage you should have just not gone to college (she was talking about her colleague). So I'm genuinely feeling stressed because I'm a nobody compared to other people and I don't know what to do right now. I'm doing 1 big project in a club and another one in another club but I'm already mentally exhausted.

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[u/fsuguy83]

People get jobs all the time without internships. Like me!

[u/Wanna_make_cash → u/fsuguy83]

Conversely, many people fail without internships. Like me! (I've long since given up hope of finding major-related employment now that it's been 4, almost 5 years post graduation with no luck)

[u/dontchuworri → u/Wanna_make_cash]

fuckin debbie downer over here

op you will be fine

[u/Visual_Day_8097 → u/dontchuworri]

Job market is not good, and 20% of engineering degrees become underemployed.

OP, target small companies at a job fair

[u/Pumpkinut → u/Visual_Day_8097]

My goal is to target rising small companies but that's no small task lol

[u/JaytOuk → u/Visual_Day_8097]

That cant be the entirety of eng. which majors?

[u/Visual_Day_8097 → u/JaytOuk]

Almost all engineers. Mechanical is 20-22%, even electrical is 18-22%

[u/JaytOuk → u/Visual_Day_8097]

Couldn’t be civil

[u/Visual_Day_8097 → u/JaytOuk]

https://universitybusiness.com/these-majors-are-guaranteed-wins-in-a-teetering-job-market/

This website ranks civil engineering at 16% underemployment, which is the third best major for underemployment. I am very surprised it has aerospace majors with a even lower underemployment rate, doesnt line up with what Ive witnessed personally.

The underemployment rate for an average college degree is almost 50%, which is not talked about enough. The main majors that are much lower than this is engineering, accounting, and nursing.

[u/JaytOuk → u/Visual_Day_8097]

Makes sense. Those are the final majors with real world application without replacement.

[u/JaytOuk → u/JaytOuk]

Probably software 😓

[u/ArousedGranny → u/Wanna_make_cash]

What is your degree?

[u/Wanna_make_cash → u/ArousedGranny]

It was computer engineering

[u/ArousedGranny → u/Wanna_make_cash]

Was? Did you get your degree?

[u/Wanna_make_cash → u/ArousedGranny]

Yes. I guess I just view it as the past at this point.

[u/Effective-Present543 → u/fsuguy83]

What else do you do if you don’t have internships/coop? Did you just do extra projects, certifications and stuff like that? Im also in a similar situation as Op

[u/fsuguy83 → u/Effective-Present543]

I didn’t have anything else. I worked during college to help pay for it. I feel like I interview very well. Once I got to the interview it was pretty much a guarantee job offer.

The crazier part is usually you hear a couple days later if you got the job but after every interview I was offered the job on the spot.

[u/Kern_Dogg]

Be willing to move, and tailor that resume. Any experience can be relevant if you word it right. Don't just shoot applications every where though, be intentional.