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[scampster]

I do sympathize with the OP; my anecdotal evidence is that, the last couple of years, engineering students who would have easily had a job a couple of years ago are out in the cold at the moment (I do think it will recover though), especially if they aren't geographically flexible. But it actually sounds like the OP is, at least for contemplating grad school.

OP, when did you graduate? In May? So it has been six months without a job? I think this time of year in general is a hard time to find a job; I was really not all that attractive to consulting companies right after graduation, since I had a GPA like yours and no internship experience (I always did summer research). But in June or so, when the companies had filled the positions they could with masters grads etc, I started getting calls about interviews. Anyway, if you haven't, you might check out the oil companies and oil exploration companies (like Schlumberger); my impression is that their construction is less likely to get put on hold when the economy is slow than some municipality who wants to update their sewers that haven't violated codes yet.

In the end, I joined the Peace Corps and that gave me enough hands on experience that finding a job wasn't hard (ten years ago though). But like grad school, I don't recommend Peace Corps as something to do just to bide time.

Also, whoever your advisors there who are not forcing you all to take the FE exam are nuts. (a) It is way harder to take when you have been out of school. (b) Civil engineering companies want PEs - they are wasting time on you if they give you experience and you haven't passed the FE exam because it doesn't count. You are also wasting your own time working without passing the exam, as PEs get a hefty raise typically. I'm glad you are planning on taking it in April, but I wouldn't be surprised if that has partly hindered you in your job search.

Polly gives some good suggestions as well.

[polly_mer]

But like grad school, I don't recommend Peace Corps as something to do just to bide time.

I think this has to be emphasized again.  Whatever you do, get experience doing something that will get you the next job and that will be interesting while you do it. 

Don't collect degrees like stamps.  Nobody wants an employee who is a good student with the biggest degree collection; employers want motivated self-starters who have solid educations and have demonstrated the ability to use that education to solve problems.  A good GPA with zero interesting experiences is a far bigger handicap than an ok GPA with several interesting experiences.

Don't act as though you are just waiting to win the lottery when the right job comes in.   Get a copy of What Color is Your Parachute? and do the exercises.  Investigate careers that are open to people who are competent enough to graduate with an engineering degree from a good school.  Get a copy of the materials from a variety of professional societies about what people do with degrees like yours and read those materials.  You might be surprised about what people are doing that isn't "traditional" civil engineering.  Do informational interviews with anyone who will talk with you.  Find more career fairs, particularly ones where the company representatives do presentations on careers with their companies, and take notes.  Make yourself interesting and exciting instead of just one more kid with a diploma and no clue.

You can do this, but you have to put in the effort.  No one will do it for you.

[jaypr]

I don't recall if you explained this, but is there a reason why you are primarily looking for jobs near where you live?

Relocating wouldn't be a huge problem but I'm looking for jobs near where I live first.

But at the same time, moving to a different state or far away within my state will involve searching for a new place to live and etc so it's definitely something to think about.

What non-engineering jobs are you considering? Are you qualified in any sciences? Can you write? Can you analyze? With an engineering degree, you are not limited to jobs that have engineer in the title. What else can you do and what else do you want to do?

Well, I'm currently working at a mechanical company as an assistant but it's not a full time job and pay isn't so great. I've been working here for over a year and co-workers are very nice although it's not what I want to do in the future.

As for non-engineering jobs, I been looking at office assistant jobs. Sometimes there are openings for office assistant jobs for an engineering firm and list of responsibilities are not as difficult and I have done some of them in my previous internship and do not require a lot of technical skills. (Also thought it would be good to learn about the industry while working as an assistant and possibly move up)

I've also been thinking about Army-Corps of Engineers but I haven't looked into that in details yet and I don't know of anyone who has experience working there.

OP, when did you graduate? In May? Anyway, if you haven't, you might check out the oil companies and oil exploration companies (like Schlumberger);

In the end, I joined the Peace Corps and that gave me enough hands on experience that finding a job wasn't hard (ten years ago though). But like grad school, I don't recommend Peace Corps as something to do just to bide time.

Yes, I been looking at oil companies as well as energy/resources companies. Most openings are out of state and as I wrote on top of this reply, I would need to consider it more carefully.

How long did you volunteer for Peace Corps? Last time I checked, they wanted 3.2 GPA or higher from engineering / environmental applicants.

I think this has to be emphasized again.  Whatever you do, get experience doing something that will get you the next job and that will be interesting while you do it.  

I also agree with you on this. Some people told me just go out there and get any kind of job and start working but I believe working at dunkin donuts wouldn't help me becoming an engineer in the future. Even volunteering, as long as it's related to engineering or something that interests me (environment, water & wastewater) I believe that it would be much more beneficial. I'm starting my volunteering work at one of the environmental associations next week and will try to apply to their 3 month internship program.

Question: What are some certificates or licenses (other than FE/PE) that Civil engineers (or environmental/construction) have? There was a class in my senior year that allowed students to take the course for credits and they gave OHSA Hazwoper 40 certificates. Too bad it overlapped with one of my senior project courses and couldn't take it. I'm asking this because I would like to study and take tests for certificates or licenses that could possibly help me in the long run or make myself more flexible to different positions within civil engineering. I know some companies give you training for OHSA if you are a field engineer/construction engineer but if I could already have it and show that in my resume I believe it could help.

[zharkov]

I don't recall if you explained this, but is there a reason why you are primarily looking for jobs near where you live?

Relocating wouldn't be a huge problem but I'm looking for jobs near where I live first.

Being mobile for any field is important, but double for civil, triple for construction.  I knew I guy who took a job in the West Indies (civil/construction) during the last recession, when construction ceased in my part of the country.

Find out about how to apply for state and federal positions, and begin to seek them out.

I know another civil who became an Air Force officer, worked out fine for him, got two masters degrees in 10 years and became a major or captain or something.  YMMV.

[jaypr]

Being mobile for any field is important, but double for civil, triple for construction.  I knew I guy who took a job in the West Indies (civil/construction) during the last recession, when construction ceased in my part of the country.

Find out about how to apply for state and federal positions, and begin to seek them out.

I know another civil who became an Air Force officer, worked out fine for him, got two masters degrees in 10 years and became a major or captain or something.  YMMV.

I guess it depends on the company but do companies pay you for relocation in general?

Wouldn't the companies typically want to take experienced engineers overseas?

Anyways, State DOT was on hiring freeze for over 2 years now and they recently opened only the Civil Engineering Trainees position and I applied for that (I believe the deadline is today Nov 30).

It would probably be awesome to become an AF officer, get paid decent and awesome benefits.

[zharkov]

It would probably be awesome to become an AF officer, get paid decent and awesome benefits.

If the military interests you, it would not hurt to look into the opportunities.  I bet all the branches have websites with the info you need to know.

The downside -- to me -- is going halfway around the world to build an airstrip or whatnot in a hostile area.   I think the minimum sign up for officers is 4 or 6 years.  The civil I knew got promoted to captain (?) just before re-enlistment, so he stayed on.  The pay was less than in civilian life, but the level of responsibility (for a young guy) and the benefits were greater.  Worked for him. 

PS:  Many companies pay for relo, some don't, some only for certain hard to fill positions. 

[scampster]

How long did you volunteer for Peace Corps? Last time I checked, they wanted 3.2 GPA or higher from engineering / environmental applicants.

You have to do two years (believe me, once you are on the ground, you realize why these are two year projects even though they would be done in a month in the US). I did not have a 3.2 GPA, although I probably had that for my last two years and in my major. They may have changed the requirements since then, but it never hurts to talk to a recruiter (you probably have one on campus).

I know people who work for the Army Corps and like it. I'd work for the Army Corps if the right job opened up. Go to USAJOBS and do a search for engineering positions. A lot of government agencies hire engineers (including some you would think of automatically, like the forest service). The application process is long though and they can be hard to get because of the point system. But if you can get in the system, you're golden.

[southerntransplant]

Jay, I have seen aimless non-thesis option students get lost in the shuffle and take forever to finish because no one really cares about them; the ones with a more formal project at least have a cohort and someone cares about that cohort generally, if not the individuals, as the project often come from local industry so they don't want the students to totally flub it.

So take your list of schools and figure out which ones offer M.Eng degrees (not all will) and then look more in depth at the program requirements and find one with a group project component (not all will have that).

I think the discussion has evolved beyond the value of my reply, but our program has two large labs on campus that require lots of grind-em-out labor. Many of our non-thesis masters students work there so that they can align themselves with a project, and the lab directors are happy to have them. They often get an hourly wage rather than full support, but they don't get lost in the shuffle either. If the non-thesis option is still on the table, the OP might look into an institution that has some major infrastructure to support.

[scampster]

Jay, I have seen aimless non-thesis option students get lost in the shuffle and take forever to finish because no one really cares about them; the ones with a more formal project at least have a cohort and someone cares about that cohort generally, if not the individuals, as the project often come from local industry so they don't want the students to totally flub it.

So take your list of schools and figure out which ones offer M.Eng degrees (not all will) and then look more in depth at the program requirements and find one with a group project component (not all will have that).

I think the discussion has evolved beyond the value of my reply, but our program has two large labs on campus that require lots of grind-em-out labor. Many of our non-thesis masters students work there so that they can align themselves with a project, and the lab directors are happy to have them. They often get an hourly wage rather than full support, but they don't get lost in the shuffle either. If the non-thesis option is still on the table, the OP might look into an institution that has some major infrastructure to support.

Wise words from someone who knows more than me :-)

Out of curiosity, how would you suggest a student figure out which schools have needs like that?

[southerntransplant]

Jay, I have seen aimless non-thesis option students get lost in the shuffle and take forever to finish because no one really cares about them; the ones with a more formal project at least have a cohort and someone cares about that cohort generally, if not the individuals, as the project often come from local industry so they don't want the students to totally flub it.

So take your list of schools and figure out which ones offer M.Eng degrees (not all will) and then look more in depth at the program requirements and find one with a group project component (not all will have that).

I think the discussion has evolved beyond the value of my reply, but our program has two large labs on campus that require lots of grind-em-out labor. Many of our non-thesis masters students work there so that they can align themselves with a project, and the lab directors are happy to have them. They often get an hourly wage rather than full support, but they don't get lost in the shuffle either. If the non-thesis option is still on the table, the OP might look into an institution that has some major infrastructure to support.

Wise words from someone who knows more than me :-)

Out of curiosity, how would you suggest a student figure out which schools have needs like that?

Well, usually a department will list its lab spaces on their website. A lab that's rollin' in it will usually say something like:

"$M of research expenditures last year"
"Mix of federal, state and industry research"
"Here's a video of a specimen getting smashed up real good"

and so on. Additionally, if the lab

a) has a Director
b) has a Staff
c) has the word "center" in its title, or is named after someone
d) is a standalone operation somewhere off campus, or at least housed apart from the department

that might be another indication that it might be a major, or at least good-sized, operation. Of course, it's a bit tricky, since some more enterprising faculty have taken to calling their spaces "labs" or have even managed to get their research group called a "center," even though it's only a center in that the room they're in has a geographic one. So the OP will want to try and confirm this.

Now, this is all empirical, and somewhat cynical, observation. Additional study will be needed. (Oops - clearly I've been writing too many proposals.)

[jaypr]

Thank you all for the informative replies.

At the moment, I'm continuing to search for jobs and looking at graduate school and studying for GRE exam.

This is a bit off topic but does anyone know of a good website on cover letter tips?
I'm trying to re-write my cover letter since it needs improvements and update. Still not sure if I should put a sentence or two explaining my circumstances back in early college years.

My cover letter is in this format
1st paragraph: showing my interest on a job
2nd paragraph: about academic work that qualifies me for the position
3rd paragraph: about internship and work experience that qualifies me for the position
4th paragraph: closing & thank you

I think I should work on making it 3 paragraphs (combine 2nd and 3rd together somehow but not make it too long). And I'm not sure if I should include contact info like phone number to reach me, it seems kind of useless since they will all find it on my resume or on the job application.

[zharkov]

The letter is fine either way.  Don't point to anything negative, or try to explain it, like your GPA.

And I'm not sure if I should include contact info like phone number to reach me, it seems kind of useless since they will all find it on my resume or on the job application.

Would you engineer something to make it easier or harder for a client to use?

[polly_mer]

Don't ever put anything negative in your cover letter.  Explain about your qualifications and sell yourself as a good fit for the job.  Cover letters are sales documents; make it sell you in the best possible life.

This is a bit off topic but does anyone know of a good website on cover letter tips?

This is something you ought to be able to do for yourself.  Hint: put together all the words for what you want into a search engine and see what you get.  Pick sites that are affiliated with universities or other reputable folks.