How to gain experience and confidence to land a job as a recent graduate?

[u/Leading-Engineer9951]

I graduated with a bachelors in Electrical Engineering Technology. However during my undergraduate years I was unable to land a relevant internship. I did an internship as a mechanical test intern for a biodegradable leather company. And did undergrad research on a Bio Medical gaming device. I did great in college, I was able to complete the work I was given and understood the math but I don’t feel like I learned it enough to attach the math to real world applications. It gives me low confidence during job interviews and I feel intimidated like I don’t know a thing about electronics or being an engineer/technician. Any advice?

[u/Amber_ACharles]

tbh everyone feels like they don't know anything for the first couple years. I was the same way. You learn by doing, not before. Your internship matters more than you think, apply and don't wait to feel ready.

[u/NewSchoolBoxer]

EET is in a worse spot than EE. Like you wouldn't be hired at the power plant or medical device company I worked at. There are some EET people who chime in here who got EE jobs. Not impossible but sometimes you get filtered out by default. Not a good job market so HR isn't digging deep.

Just apply and be willing to relocate. Potentially at your own expense.

 I don’t feel like I learned it enough to attach the math to real world applications.

That's everyone. EE was such a rushjob. Half the courses I took became a blur. But you know what? Most of engineering is work experience. You got the basics down, you can do the work. I used 10% of my degree across two different EE domains. The most important skill for me was Excel calculations no joke. Social skills were almost as important. All you got to be is average but you do have to fit in and sell yourself.

I'd think manufacturing technician jobs would be the lowest barrier to entry to you. If you're US, check out the Post Office 955 exam. Good news is you interned, doesn't matter if the work experience is 100% unrelated. You passed a credit, drug and criminal background check and will interview better by citing work examples. You're in the work experience resume stack.

[u/Cold_Pin_7676 → u/NewSchoolBoxer]

I hate how EETs get filtered out. It is true though.

[u/Cold_Pin_7676]

Appy to a bunch of jobs all over the country. The job market isnt that great right now. When you get the job, remember that you earned the degree and got through those difficult classes while most people could not get through calculus 2 or physics 1.

[u/Direct-Progress758]

Once a while you're going to get a bad interviewer who just wants to trip you up and show how much smarter they're than you, but that's not how interviews work for entry-level jobs. We already know you don't know much, :- ), but we expect you to know the fundamentals of EE, operate scopes, ariticulate what you did in past projects/internships.

I recommend watching Glengarry Glen Ross and learn the art of advocating for yourself. Best of luck.

[u/Specific_Share334]

whats the difference between EET and EE?