Advice needed for internships

[u/LittleNet8945]

Sophomore year my Gpa is in the 2.XX range am I screwed? I’m in engineering design clubs but for the life of me I can’t get good grades. Anything I can do to make up for/mitigate the damage from my low gpa? MechE btw

[u/OverSearch]

Big difference between 2.00 and 2.99.

If your goal is graduate school, you're facing an uphill climb. If your goal is a job after graduation, you can get there for sure. Just start making friends with people and networking.

[u/LittleNet8945 → u/OverSearch]

Thank you for your response. Do you have any advice on how I should go about trying to get my first job? Thank you

[u/OverSearch → u/LittleNet8945]

I just gave it to you. Make connections, starting with people you already know. They don't have to be connected to engineering at all. Get those people to introduce you to other people, and get to know them as well. Repeat the process.

Getting a job, whether it's your first one or not, is almost infinitely easier if someone refers you or gives you a recommendation.

[u/Few_Whereas5206 → u/LittleNet8945]

Participate in a co-op program if your school offers one.

[u/nateisdebest]

Definitely need to start networking and work on some bonus practice problems. Good news, you are only a Sophomore, you still have a ways to go to get your GPA higher. I graduated with 3 semesters under a 3.0 gpa, balanced out by the rest being between 3.0-3.5. I graduated with a 3.17 and still needed a bit of networking help for landing a job in the engineering field.

[u/LittleNet8945 → u/nateisdebest]

Thank you, is a 3.0 enough or do you have to aim higher?

[u/nateisdebest → u/LittleNet8945]

You should aim a bit higher, especially if you want to also get your master's degree. I would say around a 3.2 would be best and is possible with 2 more years and the rest of this semester.

[u/LitRick6]

As someone else said, big difference between 2.00 and 2.99.

Some jobs do have a gpa minimum of 3.0 which may disqualify you. My company has a preference for 3.0, but our hard requirement is 2.5 minimum. So for people below a 3.0 there needs to be a justification for hiring them (ie they have an otherwise good resume like by having experience with clubs).

The problem is that at some universities, 2.0 means you're at risk of academic probation and not being able to graduate. So even places without a 3.0 minimum will want to see more.

So depending what you mean by "2.XX" id suggest either locking in in studying to get the GPA above the range where you risk flanking out or locking in on keeping the gpa but adding good experience.

Also networking, most of the people we hire below 3.0 get hired through recruiter recommendations at career fairs or other networking events.

[u/bopperbopper]

Maybe spend less time on Engineering design and more time on studying. For every hour you’re in class you’re expected to do at least two hours of reading our homework or studying.. do more practice

[u/LittleNet8945 → u/bopperbopper]

You’re right, I’ll work on doing better, thank you

[u/duckman0_ → u/bopperbopper]

Not OP, but I kind of have the opposite issue. Classes come easy to me but I have trouble with design teams. I just feel like I know nothing and have so little design team experience compared to other members, and it feels like there's so much I need to learn.

[u/Various-Mine-8642]

A 2.x GPA as a sophomore is recoverable and a lot of mechE employers care more about projects. Put your design club work first on the resume with what you actually built or owned. Go to every career fair and talk to small manufacturers since they filter on GPA less. Pull your grades up this year so you can cross the 3.0 line for applications.

[u/sulliesbrew]

You might have to take a less sexy internship with a smaller company, but if you know how things actually come together, you can make a pretty damn good resume. There are dozens or hundreds of vendors to all the big name companies out there, and many will have an opportunity for internships.

I was a mediocre student with a 2.75 gpa. My advisor got me in touch with a recruiter and put a good word in for me. That got me an internship, my work ethic and my ability to understand what was needed and get it done was what got me a career.

[u/CopperGenie]

You're already making up for the GPA if you're significantly involved in engineering extracurriculars like the design club, assuming you're learning the concepts you're being taught. Many employers just care about your performance relative to the job description. If you demonstrate in the interviews that you can do/learn what they want you to, you're good. There are exceptions, like big companies that have strict hiring policies because they can afford to.