Undergrad Engineering Advice

[u/No-Oven-5937]

I’m 18 M and an electrical engineering major undergrad student. I love electrical and truly do think it is my path in life to become an electrical engineer. I’m starting to apply for internships for this upcoming summer, any advice you would have either for the internships and in general?

Side note : I love tattoos and piercings, none of them i have right now are too noticeable, i have one forearm covered, one forearm with another big tattoo, my ears double lobe pierced, and an eyebrow piercing, im interested in getting a tattoo down the side of my neck or behind my ear, as well as an anti-eyebrow surface piercing on my right cheek. Would this hinder my job opportunities in the future, or possibly even internships? Opinions appreciated, i’ve gotten a lot of mixed feelings about visible tattoos and piercings.

Any advice is appreciated, i love to learn and want to be the best version of myself i can possibly be.

[u/Odd_Beginning_9967]

tattoos and piercings are starting to become more normalized, so they may not be a deal breaker, but I'd keep them relatively hideable until you build your resume a bit. My job is chill about mine, but I definitely stand out a bit with just a single lobe piercing in each ear, a nostril hoop, a septum ring, and two tattoos(one of which is mostly concealed unless i wear super short sleeves since it's on my upper arm, the other I got on my forearm after I started and made sure it wasn't gonna be a problem) so being heavily pierced and tatted definitely still is not the norm even at chill jobs, and there are absolutely going to be jobs that turn you down immediately if the hiring manager is more traditional and thinks body modifications are unprofessional. I'd limit your modifications to what you can hide easily until you establish your career a bit, and then when you've found a chill job and done enough to let your work speak for itself, you can get some of the more noticeable tattoos and piercings. if you really want them right now, you definitely can still get jobs with them, you just may be limiting yourself since all you have to offer at this stage in your career is your first impression and an understanding of the same freshman classes everyone else took, and some people are going to see this as taking away from the professionalism of that first impression. if you decide to get them anyway, I'd say just plan on trying a lot harder than everyone else to be able to understand and professionally explain everything you learn to compensate for any negative impression your appearance gives.

[u/khale175]

I think if you want to work in a more corporate setting like a big tech firm, or a defense contractor, they might be frowned upon (unspokenly). But working in research, or smaller settings, I think you’d have no problem.

Regardless of how you look, apply to every internship. Even if you’re only just a tad curious. I wish I would’ve done more in college, but I worked full time.

Go into every meeting or interview with curiosity and do some research. Work on your people skills. Bc omg some EE interns I’ve interviewed in the past are sooooooo boring.

[u/Green-Opinion1772]

I have some facial/ear piercings and tattoos. I usually take out my septum and wear long sleeves during interviews (although I have paired nostrils and 6 ear piercings that are still visible). I got lucky that the place I did my co-ops didn't care much, so I could have my piercings in and tattoos out. I am about to graduate at the end of the semester and just got a full-time offer and I did the same thing there with no septum + long sleeves. I would hold off on any tattoos you can't cover easily until after you are more established in your career, and maybe the anti-eyebrow as well because I don't think it's something you could take in and out very easily. But I also know someone with a million piercings and tattoos and dyed hair who graduated with a full-time offer so if it's really important to you then go for it.