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r/EngineeringStudents • u/lazydictionary • Jan 20 '26
Here's a guide for your internship, co-op, or job search. It is targeted at US job applicants in the private sector. Resumes and applications for academia, the federal government, and niche industries may require different approaches, so do your own research for those specific paths.
If you've been applying for jobs recently but haven't been getting hired, you need to figure out why. If you aren't getting interviews, something is wrong with your resume. If you are getting interviews but not landing the job, your interview skills or personality need work.
Go to /r/EngineeringResumes.
They have templates, a Wiki/FAQ, and offer free critiques if you follow their posting guides. Any advice I could give is just regurgitating what they've already written. If you are serious about your search, read their materials. A proper resume is the most important step in this process. Even if your current resume is getting you interviews, it could still be improved.
If you are struggling to write bullets for jobs or projects, you can use AI to help. LLMs are decent at resume writing, but context is everything. Give the AI as much context as possible: your major, fields of interest, specific details about the project, tools/software used, and the types of jobs you are targeting. I personally write my resume in LaTeX because it's easier to cut and paste or have LLM CLI tools interact with the document.
If you are applying for a variety of roles that are very similar, consider having multiple resumes. For example, my undergrad was in ME, but my masters is in materials science. I have both an ME focused resume and a materials focused resume that I start out with, depending on the job(s) I'm applying for.
Now that your resume is updated, your LinkedIn should match. You can cut and paste your resume bullets, but feel free to add more detail than a one-page resume allows.
Get a nice headshot for a profile picture. Don't have one? Put on a nice shirt, do your hair, and ask your friends for help taking pictures. Clean, not busy background. Smile.
Connect with friends, classmates, professors, people you've worked with before.
Fill out everything you can. Don't go crazy with AI, no "thought leader" "entrepreneurial spirit" bullshit. Just be a normal person.
LinkedIn exists so people can look you up and verify you're real. Your Indeed page should be the same. Upload a high-quality PDF of your resume there; I’ve found that Indeed’s resume import for job applications often works better than LinkedIn’s. Some recruiters prefer Indeed, some prefer LinkedIn. It doesn't hurt to use both.
The modern job hunt is a nightmare for both applicants and employers. It's just how it is. To give yourself the best chance, you need to make it as simple for the employer to find your application, your information from your resume, and to contact you.
Never use the quick apply features of LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. Always apply on the company website, if you can find it. Why? You need to get your application and resume into the companies Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Sometimes companies use API from the big job boards to pull that info into their own ATS, but not always. And who knows if it will format and input everything correctly. Just do it manually. If you updated your Indeed and LinkedIn in the previous step, this shouldn't be that difficult or take that long. Double-check everything imported is correct. Formatting is less important here, but make sure job/project bullets are formatted well.
Aim to be one of the first applicants. Everyone is applying for entry-level jobs. Last years grads, upcoming grads, entry and mid-levels who were laid off. If you're the 300th person applying for a job, your resume isn't going to get seen. Set up job alerts on Indeed and LinkedIn for job titles/saved searches so that you are notified within 24 hours of a job being posted. If you're the 10th application, you have a much better chance of someone actually seeing your resume.
Use social networking whenever it is available. Hopefully you have some friends, family, classmates, professors added on LinkedIn. Whenever you are applying for a job, check to see if you know anyone who already works at the company, or is a friend of a friend. If you have a direct connection, obviously reach out and let them know you applied and if they can offer any help. If you have a friend-of-a-friend connection, think about using it, especially if you think it's a good role for you. As a last resort, you can reach out to complete strangers in the company, but you'll probably want to be bringing something truly unique to the position, or have something to talk about other than "I really want this job, please help". Most people are willing to talk to you if you are brave enough to talk to them.
University job fairs should be a top priority. Every online job posting is inundated with hundreds of applications. Now, more than ever, companies are using recruiting efforts at schools to sort the wheat from the chaff, and get immediate face time with job applications.
Do job and company research. Weeks before a job fair, the career office at your school should have released a list of the employers attending, possibly which jobs those companies have openings for. Find all the jobs that interest you, and do research on those companies, and the job role and job descriptions. Take notes. On the day of the fair, even during the fair, before approaching an employer, read your notes on the company and job. Think about specific projects, work, or classes that might be relevant to bring up. Things that interest you about the work there. Have some questions to ask the employee working the fair. Many times they are engineers, so they can speak with good detail about the work. Sometimes its just an HR rep or recruiter, but you can still ask about the company culture and vibes. Show interest and that you prepped for the fair. Do not be one of these fools who show up to the job fair and ask the employees "so what jobs do you guys have?" Instead, be the person who asks "I applied for the Mech Eng internship this summer, what kind of work do you think I would be doing there? Would it involve [topic you researched about the company]?"
Dress business casual. For those presenting as men, this means chinos/slacks, a belt that matches your shoes, a dress shirt/flannel/sweater, possibly a blazer, and usually some kind of Chelsea boot or similar brown or black shoe. A nice, clean pair of sneakers may also work. Just Google business casual male attire and figure out the vibe you want to match. You do not need to wear a suit, and almost no one should be wearing a suit unless you look the absolute balls in one. For those presenting as women, I don't have specific advice. Ask around and/or Google. Maybe some commenters can offer specific suggestions.
Hygiene. Take a shower, get a haircut, trim the beard, wear deodorant, comb your hair, clean your glasses, use moisturizer on your skin. Look more human than you normally do.
Practice an elevator pitch. This is a 30 second intro, saying your name, your major, things you've done, and things you'd like to do. Something else that can be googled or workshopped with AI. Practice it out loud dozens of times. It should come naturally and comfortably. Don't rush to get it said as quickly as possible, aim to be understood.
Apply to the jobs beforehand. Print out more copies of your resume than the amount of jobs you applied for. When you approach the employees, introduce yourself, let them introduce themselves, and launch into your elevator pitch. At the end, mention how you applied for XYZ job, could they tell you anything about it, or a specific question you wrote down beforehand. Then you just have to be a normal human. Listen. Make eye contact. Nod your head. Active listening. Ask more questions. Maybe they'll ask you questions. Answer them as best you can. Sometime during the conversation, they might either ask your for a resume, or you can offer them one. Maybe it's best to give them a resume during or right after your elevator pitch. You'll have to feel it out. You're going to be doing this more than once, and hopefully at least 10 times, so it will get easier. Many times, employees will take your resume, and after the conversation, mark it - maybe they give you a big star, underline work or a project you did, take notes. They then give this to HR or the hiring managers when they go back to work. They'll have a small stack of people they've already vetted, and your resume should be in that stack. And because you already applied, you're already in their system.
Relax. Everyone wants you to succeed. The employees want to find good people. They want you to be a good candidate. I know talking to strangers can be really hard for engineers. The people you are talking to are likely engineers too. Some of them may even be as terrible socially as you are. This is a no pressure environment. If you misspeak, don't present well, just get nervous - it's fine, and totally normal. It gets easier the more you do it.
Generally speaking, cover letters aren't very useful unless specifically requested. Most people use AI for them now, and recruiters know it. Only write one if you need to explain a perceived "weakness" on your resume (e.g., why you are a fit for a role despite having a different major). Note that no one will read the cover letter if the resume doesn't interest them first.
Okay, so you passed the pre-screens and are doing an in-person or virtual interview. Again, remember that they want you to succeed, they want you to be the candidate they hire. Relax.
Business casual again. Unless you're getting a completely different vibe that would mean everyone was wearing suits, this will rarely do you wrong. If you are likely to tour a manufacturing facility or job site, wear closed toe shoes that you wouldn't mind getting slightly dirty.
Soft skill prep for the interview. Do more research on the company and job role. If it's an internship, there's not much to research about the role, but for entry-level, there can be a lot to dive into. I've had decent luck posting job descriptions into LLMs and asking them give me topics, technical knowledge, tools, and techniques I should know about for an interview. Anything you don't know, start learning the basics of. You don't need to be an expert, but if something comes up in the interview, you should be able to say "I don't have professional experience with [topic], but I'm aware of the basics, like [details]." Show an interest in learning.
Be able to nail basic interview questions. This is especially relevant for internships. They know you have minimal to no work experience, so a lot of times they're going to have to default to basic stuff like "Talk about your strengths and weaknesses", "talk about how you overcame personal conflict as a member of a team", "why us?", or "preferred work environment, individual/team, many projects, single project", etc. Look up common interview questions, and practice answering them out loud. Sit in your room and talk to yourself, multiple times. Practice. Figure out what you will say. Think about how you can tie in school, work, teams, or projects in your answers.
Bring a notepad, a folder, and pens. Take notes when you ask questions, even if you won't look at them later. Have more copies of your resume in the folder. If you are interviewing at a manufacturing facility, consider bringing your own safety glasses if you have some. Look prepared and like you are taking it seriously.
Hard skill prep for the interview. Again, especially relevant for internships. Internship job postings will usually specifically ask for applicants who have taken certain classes. If those classes are mentioned, brush up on the material from them. If they mention statics, you better do some practice static problems. If they mention circuits, you better practice your circuits. Refresh your memory. They might ask you to solve a problem in front of them, or ask you to talk through a problem. You don't want to be caught completely off guard. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know". They don't expect you to know everything. Instead, say "I don't know, but my educated guess would be [answer]." Talk about how you would find the answer.
You can do everything above correctly, be a perfect candidate, and still not land the job. As I previously said, everyone is applying for the same jobs. If employers want to, they can be extremely picky, sorting through hundreds of candidates to find their ideal match. What usually happens is they look through the first 50-100 applicants (maybe fewer), and start looking for reasons to reject people. They'll give your resume a 10 sec glance, and either trash or pass you. This is someone that's likely non-technical (HR), and they'll narrow it down to 10-20 people. Then they start the phone call pre-screen interviews. Maybe 7 make it past that point. Then they do in-person interviews, maybe a second round, and then they'll make an offer to their best candidate. Maybe that candidate rejects them, and then have to offer to the 2nd, or 3rd, of further down the line.
It's a numbers game. You're going to get rejected far more than you find success. Following this guide should hopefully grant you more success than you would have had otherwise.
tl;dr points of emphasis:
Fix your resume, never been an easier time write one
Be one of the first applicants on the company website (not Indeed/LinkedIn)
Job fairs skip the digital queue and get you face time right away
r/EngineeringStudents • u/cyderyt • 11h ago
im actually tweaking Its so insane how far behind i am and week 7, im doing nothing but studying btu im not gaining anythig, i study for hours on end and gain nothing .
Please i need genuine idiots who went into eng, struggled immensely, found a solution somehow.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/Typical-Speed-6829 • 9h ago
I had to be online for the first two years of college and I wasn't in person, and I am so behind. I didn't have exposure to networking opportunities and career fairs and my resume was sparse. I transitioned to in person and now I have realized how behind I am. I am trying everything and I feel so useless and depressed. I feel like my life is so over. I am not able to turn my life around the way others are.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/Alive_Quote_2128 • 8h ago
Am I crazy for dropping out 2nd semester junior year from my mechanical engineering degree. I chose engineering my freshman year because I thought I would make a lot of money but had essentially no goals or ambitions for any engineering job. I thought of dropping out multiple times throughout my college career but just continued because everyone said it would become easier and more exciting after the first two years. I am now currently in my junior year and that could not be further from the truth I hate all of my classes and my grades have been worse than ever.
I am a fairly mediocre student, I have a 3.6 GPA and am generally involved on campus. I have had one internship at a pretty big and prestigious company but I absolutely hated it. I possibly have a return offer to work there again but I couldn’t even imagine taking it because it was such a bad experience. But besides that I really haven’t gotten anything else out of college and it has been overall just a bad experience.
Almost everyday I pretty much wake up and think about if any of this is worth it. I used to have a lot of hobbies and passions and be a genuinely happy person but now I have no time to do anything I enjoy. I also feel like my health has suffered both physically and mentally and I’m pretty sure my hair is falling out.
I am set to graduate a semester early so i technically have only two semesters before I graduate but right now that seems impossible to complete.
So am I crazy or should I drop actually out?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/ultragigabased • 1h ago
As the title states, I completely bombed my first linear algebra midterm which was 25% of my whole grade. Its basically impossible to get even a B+ avg if I still continued, so I was thinking of withdrawing from it. Idk if taking it next sem would be worth it just to maintain a good gpa, not to mention that after you withdrew you'll get a big fat W on your transcript for that semester. What do you guys think
r/EngineeringStudents • u/spoonfedbaby • 15h ago
I am an EE student in my junior year, and I have a goal of working on RF/Microwave systems in the aerospace/defense industry in the future. I am currently doing an internship in an unrelated field, and the work can best be described as technician work. Because of my goal of working in defense, I have applied to an ungodly amount of intern positions in the defense/aerospace industries at every company you can think of - RTX, Boeing, Northrop, Lockheed, Textron, Huntington Ingallis, General Dynamics, and others as a way to "get my foot in the door". Also, it's worth noting that the positions I've applied to are not exclusively RF. I'm applying to anything EE and EE-adjacent.
I've gone to career fairs, had my resume workshopped with a recruiter, received referrals from a recruiter, and so far I haven't gotten even an interview, just rejections. My GPA is solid(3.55), I have junior class standing, an internship in progress, and a few relevant projects.
Is it just too early to tell or am I screwed?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/dreamsequenced • 17h ago
i’ve had pretty bad depression and ocd that’s caught up to me this semester. i can barely bring myself to wake up for lectures, care about my grades, or even take care of myself. i neeeeed a semester off but im too far into these damn classes to quit now. at the same time i have like 8 weeks left and im also barely holding onto a B in 2/3 of my classes.
i’m so tired and defeated. i don’t even LIKE engineering anymore but ive spent 3 years on this degree that ive fallen victim to the sunken cost fallacy so im not only sad but also angry with myself. i DID like it in the past, but that was mostly because i liked calculus and diff eq and circuits. everything else i couldn’t care less about. im just upset and needed to rant about it. okay thanks bye
r/EngineeringStudents • u/nomadlegend3 • 1d ago
Why do these exams have to be so difficult? Society likes to praise how to succeed in college you just "need to work hard" but then in reality it's like a hunger games scenario where colleges make it practically mandatory to fail some students because if everyone passes the class then it's seen as "too easy".
Should I just adopt a ruthless mindset that I hope my classmates fail the class so I'm the one that passes the class? After all, they can't fail everyone but they can't pass everyone either, so just hope something horrible happens to your classmates, right?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/zacce • 19h ago
Often, ppl say one may get blacklisted for reneging a signed offer.
I can see this happen with University career service, if the employer has ties with the university. But I rarely saw an employer blacklisting a candidate for reneging especially an internship.
Who knows? It actually happens and not a myth. I'd like to hear, if anyone wants to share.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/acallfrommydream • 10h ago
I am a sophomore ECE who just transferred into uni. My major GPA is a 3.5, but I have a handful of Ds and Fs on my transcript from my first go at community college 6-7 years ago in a graphic design program, so my cumulative GPA is 2.1.
In my last meeting with my advisor, I brought up taking a break next year to retake all my bad classes at the other school, because I know that it’d get me above a 3.0 cumulative. She advised against it, and said that if it really proves to be a barrier to finding internships we could revisit the idea, but for now I can just use my uni/major GPA in applications because it’s a more accurate representation of where I’m at and what people are really looking at.
On one hand, I really want to follow her advice, because retaking the two quarters of classes I failed would cost me ~$6k, take me away from the classes that really matter to me and delay my graduation, but on the other, I’m worried that if I use my uni GPA when I apply to opportunities, it will be looked at unfavorably (or just looked at as a lie??) when I provide my transcripts which have both the institutional and cumulative on them. I know that not every opportunity will even require a GPA but I am worried!
Do you think it would be worth it to retake everything or should I just live with it? Will my cumulative GPA kill my chances?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/KaptenKorea • 1d ago
It scaring me.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/JaytOuk • 17h ago
A bit of a lure for a title. I’m just curious of how difficult these exams truly are?
It’s near mythical - the descriptions I hear of these exams. I understand it is truly difficult, but how much of that difficulty comes from lack of preparation?
Does anyone have an example of the sheer difficulty of these exam questions? How does sheer grit and preparation ratio to the grade of an exam?
Example -
Abnormally intelligent ruthlessly studious student on the high end
Average student
Below average
What grades would you expect from each of these students on a typical exam? Of course it varies by course and preferences? Let’s theorize.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/untitledmoney • 32m ago
Hi everyone,
I’m a student in Germany currently trying to decide on my Bachelor’s degree, and I could really use some input. My ultimate goal is to work in Biomedical/Medical Engineering. I am absolutely fascinated by everything related to MedTech, and the thought of developing technology that can directly save and improve human lives is my biggest motivation.
Because I can't relocate right now, I am tied to my current city for my Bachelor’s. I plan to switch locations for a dedicated BME Master’s later, but for now, I have to choose between two specific Bachelor programs at my local university:
Computer Science: Its not typical CS, and more a Mix of CS with a focus on Cognitive/Intelligent Systems, with a specialization in Computer Engineering and Robotics.
Medical Physics: If I take this route, I also have the option to fill my schedule with several CS electives.
Which of these two degrees do you think provides a better foundation for a BME Master's and a future career in the industry?
Will the CS and Robotics route make it too hard to catch up on the medical/physiology side later, or is strong software/hardware knowledge highly demanded in MedTech? Conversely, does Medical Physics give me the right engineering background to build devices, or is it too focused on clinical physics (like radiation therapy)?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially if anyone has navigated a similar path in Germany. Thanks in advance!
r/EngineeringStudents • u/kira2122 • 59m ago
ok so this is a bit trivial, but it's really bothering me. So I took AP Calc AB in high school, and I had the chance to transfer my credit for my college course so I could go ahead to Calc 2. The issue is i never got the chance to transfer said credit, so im currently in calc 1. my calc prof is telling me i should definitely see what i can do, and even maybe try to transfer calc 2 and then go to calc 3. in highschool we did learn the calc BC stuff, but i just took the AB exam. The Calc 2 topics in my college only go to Maclaurin series.
So the question is, should I transfer to Calc 3 from Calc 1? I feel a bit guilty being in Calc 1 cuz I feel like I'm wasting my time and money on a course I've already taken, so I feel like I'm trying to make up for it by skipping Calc 2.
and lets say, if i do go to calc 3 from calc 1, am i gonna have a hard time? Im doing chem eng btw
r/EngineeringStudents • u/AnyExplanation7847 • 4h ago
hi, really need motivation right now. for those of you who had a rocky start but recovered and are now thriving, how did you do it?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/BayArea_Fool • 1d ago
It solved the problem
r/EngineeringStudents • u/Confident_Review7095 • 11h ago
bombed it so bad. the professor curves alot but i feel like im not enough for engineering. im a soph
r/EngineeringStudents • u/SupremeG1634 • 10h ago
Hi Everyone. I’ll try to keep this as short as I can. I’m majoring in Aerospace Engineering and planning to graduate this semester, but now I don’t think this will be happening because of senior design. In my school, senior design is a full year course. Last semester we learned the material and concepts for the project we are doing, and this semester we are designing the project itself.
I was doing ok initially at the start of the semester, but now Im struggling bad to complete my tasks. Due to work for other classes and personal stuff, I have fallen behind and doing my best to get what I can done for the next deadline. I communicate this to my TA and team leader, and while they understand and told me to get what I can done, I just feel like crap.
My role particularly is one of the more easier roles, but even then I still struggling to complete my tasks. I don’t know why but it’s like my brain has stopped working. Even when I speak to the TAs or my team leader, I can’t figure out a solution for the tasks I’m doing. I’m basically questioning my work at every step, asking myself if what I’m doing is acceptable for what the professor is looking for. Im starting to feel like I’m only good for classes with exams, but when it’s time to take what I learned and apply it, I don’t know where to start or justify what I think. I been struggling for 2 weeks now and I just wish I could have seek help sooner
The next deadline is coming up soon, which we submit our work in a presentation format to present with a separate report as well, and honestly I just want to give up. I’m starting to question everything about myself up to this point, wondering where everything went wrong. I spoken to my parents about how I feel. While they understand and given me whatever advice they can, I feel like crap for letting them down. I promise them and myself that I will graduate, but now I don’t think that is happening. Every time that I look at this project, I now feel stress, anxiety, and anger towards myself, and everyday it gets slightly worse. I feel that none of my teammates are struggling as bad as me, and I’m letting them down as well. I spoken to my friends who took senior design before me and while they reassured me I will still passed, I don’t think I will. Senior design in a way represents how it will be like to work in a engineering environment and I can’t even do that right. Just want to give up but I know I will regret it and 4 years of hell will go down the drain.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/WishboneCalm1067 • 1d ago
Hey everyone,
I wanted to post here and see if anyone else is noticing this trend on campus or experiencing it themselves. Over the past couple of years, AI tools like ChatGPT have completely taken over how engineering students handle coursework and honestly, I feel like it's doing serious damage to actual academic performance and foundational understanding. Back in the day (or even just a few years ago), when you got stuck on a brutal Statics, Thermodynamics, or Differential Equations problem, you had to spend hours wrestling with the math, re-reading chapters, drawing free-body diagrams, and actually figuring out why a specific approach works. That struggle was frustrating, but that exact process built engineering intuition. Have you noticed your own study habits changing for better or worse? Curious to hear how others in mechanical, civil, electrical, or software engineering are navigating this balance.
r/EngineeringStudents • u/ewbeem • 3h ago
I was admitted to MSE and truly thought I’d enjoy it as I wanted to go into something medical related or semiconductors, and thought I’d enjoy the intersection of chemistry and physics. Recently, however, I found out more about typical job destinations, competition for those industries, possible roles, etc and my intro course feels quite disengaging and confusing for me. I no longer think MSE is for me.
I also have read that it’s better to do something more general like mechE for undergrad. Also not very into the idea of grad school at the moment (heard for MSE grad students kind of dominate industries?) because I’m pretty low income and unsure how long my school (Carnegie Mellon) is willing to aid me.
Instead of something as niche/specialized, I figure I’d be interested in something with more physics and hands-on, tangible stuff, less molecular and atomistic level things.
Should I just thug it out and try to stay strong in my own major? Has anyone else had the same experience and enjoyed MSE undergrad eventually?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/Fun_Platform_8891 • 3h ago
I am currently a senior in Aerospace engineering and I am feeling burn out this semester. Currently I am taking a heavy workload and idk is the first time I do feel dumb. Past classes have been so easy to understand used to go to gym and read. Could just sleep 4 hours and be fine. This semester I am taking fluids, thermo and controls. The class that is taking more of a toll on me is 451 as I feel like I do my homework (no chat gpt)go to lecture and office hours and I still get cook. First time I am actually feeling stupid. I haven’t even been going to gym or reading a lot.
Btw was wondering what you guys do when that happens?
r/EngineeringStudents • u/PapyrusThegoat • 1d ago
(16yo, and this post is not to be taken very seriously) Currently planning to study Mechanical Engineering, got most stuff as figured out as I can so... Just wondering, does it actually drain the life (and hair) out of you? I don't wanna go bald
r/EngineeringStudents • u/Visual-Gas6540 • 19h ago
Nothing but studying Stress when I am stressed.
Studying Pressure when I am under pressure.
Studying Free Fall when I want to freely fall.
Studying Moment when I am not good at the moment.
Sketching Free Body Diagrams when engineering makes my body not free.
Studying Heat when I have a fever.
Setting up equations when I am not set up.
Studying strain when I’m straining to take a shot because of the stress!
(Amazing poetry, Let’s continue these lines together give me lines suggestions below I will edit with time)
r/EngineeringStudents • u/ryuKEN-19 • 4h ago
Hello everyone , I m cse fresher I m very intrested in space sector and would love to contribute and make career in it.
I m thinking of aiming to space tech in flight software, robotics , fear of ai has got me anxious and demotivated .
Recently if u know Microsoft is volunteering layoff 60k of its employee salary of 3 months. This got me scared.💔
what if I don't enjoy my work ? What if I get laid off mid project?. Is my space tech path is right.
Also it will be helpful if any working individual to any government or private sector will able to tell me the what ai changes and affects.
Thanks.
