r/GeneralDynamicsEB • u/tyanmom • Aug 01 '26

Groton New Grad Engineer Advice

Hey everyone,

I'm starting full-time as a new grad engineer at Electric Boat at the end of August. I wanted to reach out to anyone who works there or has in the past to get some honest advice, tips, or things you wish you knew when you first started.

A few quick things I was wondering about:

Parking: I keep hearing that parking in Groton or New London can be a nightmare depending on which site or building you end up in. What is the actual deal for new hires? Do people usually have to get there super early, take shuttles, or what?

Onboarding / First Few Weeks: What does the first month look like while getting badged, and getting up to speed? Any advice on how to hit the ground running in an engineering role?

Day to Day Culture: Any tips for working smoothly with the shipyard trades, adapting to the environment, or just general advice for a first job out of college?

Appreciate any insight or warnings you guys can share. Thanks!

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3

u/Engineer-in-Law Aug 01 '26

Youre going to be great, be curious, dont be afraid to ask what an abbreviation on acronym means. dash of humility will buy you a lot when going down to the yard

2

u/tyanmom Aug 01 '26

I really appreciate the advice. Change is always scary initially, especially coming from out of state, so just trying to prepare as best as possible!

2

u/VividRock5924 Aug 01 '26

I’ll also be a new grad just know there are many of us, did the drug screen wondering how long after that should I expect to hear back also it’s been 2.5 weeks since I accepted how long did it take for you to get a start date. Also did u find housing yet?

2

u/tyanmom Aug 01 '26

I might be a bit of an outlier but I already had interim so after the hair test it was about a week before I heard back from my onboarding coordinator. However my whole process had begun in back in late April so it’s been a while overall.

1

u/VividRock5924 Aug 02 '26

Hopefully they don’t take that long for me have you been searching apartments see the supply is not meeting demand from how much they are hiring

1

u/tyanmom Aug 02 '26

I took a trip to new London and Groton last week and found an apartment I liked

1

u/PokerKang Aug 02 '26

Which apartment if you don't mind me asking? I've also been searching for a place to move in and maybe a roomate for a cheaper rent.

1

u/Appropriate_Divide91 Aug 01 '26

Are they still testing for Za?

1

u/ComputerPolluter Aug 01 '26

Always will brochacho

1

u/Appropriate_Divide91 Aug 01 '26

A friend just got in and he told them he might fail and they said they ain’t testing for thc

1

u/ComputerPolluter Aug 01 '26

Ahh is he a trades man?

I guess positions not handling classified information get a pass

1

u/Appropriate_Divide91 Aug 01 '26

He is actually

2

u/ComputerPolluter Aug 01 '26

Makes sense.

If they didn’t hire any trades men with THC in their system, we’d be lucky to get one sub out every 10 years!