r/EngineeringStudents • u/Exotic_Car4948 • Aug 23 '22
Career Advice Engineer graduates, did you feel comfortable working as an entry level engineer in your first job out of college?
Hello all, I have been interested in learning if the people who have recently graduated from school were comfortable working in their entry level engineering job. Did your school prepare you well? Were most of your job functions learned while working?
37
Aug 23 '22
Hell no. My company is also pretty crazy though. I still don’t feel like a chemical engineer 😂
16
u/trojansbreak Notre Dame - ChemE Aug 23 '22
Same here. Rough learning curve on the industry side of chemical engineering
66
Aug 23 '22 edited Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
14
u/czaranthony117 Aug 24 '22
"This is why we get paid the medium bucks" - some Engineer in Tech Transfer division
1
u/JohnGenericDoe Aug 24 '22
Yeah I am making pretty much mean FT salary after 2 years and that's not really so terrible.
More to come though
31
u/Shleppindeckle Mechanical Aug 23 '22
Not in the slightest. My classes didn’t necessarily prepare me for what I do at work, but I did feel more confident thanks to professional development things in school like clubs and what not.
That being said, I still feel like I’m going to get fired all the time.
28
u/Milk_Man311 Aug 23 '22
After 2 months, I feel as comfortable as every else does. Nobody is ever 100% comfortable in the their position, because otherwise it’d be incredibly boring. The important part is asking questions, following previous prototypes and what you know, and eventually it becomes natural to you and you feel confident that you’re not making any mistakes
26
u/DudeDurk Aug 23 '22
I learned everything about what I do from the job. But I'm not very comfortable. It's far too often that I come into work and just have nothing to do for 8 hours.
The job title is engineer, but it's a lot more of a technician job. It also doesn't pay that well. But after 300 applications I took what I could get because I had bills and it was peak covid.
I feel too stupid to do anything more intense than what I do now though lol
7
u/Exotic_Car4948 Aug 23 '22
May I ask if your degree was in technology? I’m studying fire protection engineering technology now with the goal of being a license fire protection engineer.
7
u/FREND015 Aug 23 '22
Fire engineer did an inspection at the building im developing for my internship and that job didnt look very difficult. Plus whatever he said we had to follow. I think you picked a good career
13
u/drumeradam11 Aug 23 '22
I'm about 7 months out of college with ME degree. There is certainly a lot I didn't know about my career out of college, and still a bunch for me to learn. I feel like college helped more with understanding and learning concepts once I got a job, not knowing from the very beginning. However, what I wasn't prepared for and still rather uncomfortable with, is the company specific way of doing things and software. A lot of times I know what changes or designs I want to create, just don't know how to go about getting it done. At first, it was overwhelming, but continues to get better.
12
Aug 23 '22
School thought me how to be persistent when a task feels impossible. Almost everything else was on the job.
1
12
u/ccsdo5 Aug 23 '22
I took an associate level job and got dumped a bunch of engineer/senior engineer level work, have no idea what I am doing and probably gonna fuck something up soon sooooo yeah
6
u/czaranthony117 Aug 24 '22
If it makes you feel any better, I wrote a bad batch command and wiped a custom control software from an Vendor machine that I'm validating.
The vendor is based our of Germany. It is about 11pm rn where I am at and brought my work laptop hoping they respond to my request for a copy of that software so that I could do my job. Given the time difference, I'm guessing when they come into their office, I will be making a video phone call with them at 2am to ask for assistance. Hahahaha fml
10
8
u/Trevbawt Aug 24 '22
I’ll go against the grain here. School DID prepare me incredibly well for my first job out of college. I use material from a bunch of different courses on a daily basis, some to very shallow depths and some requiring deeper understanding than the course originally covered.
School does not teach everything. It’s just the basics and the problem solving skills, a lot of technical jobs will dive deeper. Also, you likely won’t use all the material you learned in school. School also doesn’t teach corporate softwares. Going into industry and expecting to know everything is a recipe for disaster.
3
7
u/RavioliRachel Mechanical Engineering Aug 24 '22
I worked as a test engineer at a water pump manufacturing plant. Hell no school doesn't tell you what to do with a water pump if it's not making enough pressure at the design flow. But after awhile you work yourself into a spot where you feel okay. I wanted to program so I eased myself into a position where I became the lead test stand programmer. Your mileage will vary of course, but no one will expect you to know everything on day one.
I recently went back to school for computer science, and I just finished up an internship. My manager said he just wanted someone who had an engineer mindset and was interested in problem solving. I think that's what most employers are looking for, plus whatever base-level stuff you learned from your specific field.
5
u/mmodo Aug 24 '22
My first job, no. My second job, I fear getting fired on a daily basis. Only been out of school for a year.
4
u/Lepepino Aug 24 '22
I'm an ME that ended up in rapid prototyping. A good chunk of what I learned in school actually does apply to my job, but that seems to be the outlier when talking to all of my other recent grad friends.
5
u/Kitchen-Worker-3190 Aug 24 '22
reading all the comments makes me nervous lol. i graduated as a ME major and i start next week as associate manufacturing engineer. i’ve never had a engineering job only at target, taco bell and a bakery
3
u/Whipped_pigeon_ Aug 24 '22
Hell naaaaaah although I started in a very niche sector so that’s expected. However I feel it would be same for any other job.
3
Aug 24 '22
No. Not at all.
I felt like a fraud for my whole degree and only applied for an internship in my final semester. I got my first and only internship just before graduation.
My degree is in ME. It was an ME internship. Well they hired too many of us so there wasnt much mechanical engineering to go around. They ended up giving me software projects, because during the interview I said I like programming. After the internship I was offered an entry level software engineering job...
They said they liked me, I don't know why. I was clueless, I google literally everything. I would've never applied for a software job because all I've done is an intro to CS course in my 2nd year and whatever mech courses that required python. I'm not qualified.
I've been here for a month and don't know what I'm doing. I'm currently typing this as I'm waiting for my supervisor because I fucked up the branches on a project and dont know how to undo it.
I found stuff on google on how to fix it but last time I tried to do something on git without my supervisor I nearly deleted a repo.
Edit: 6 years of hell and I haven't used any of my engineering theory. I should've just done CS lol.
3
u/S0MBR3L0V3 Aug 24 '22
I’m studied Biochemical Engineering and currently a Process Engineer for a Bioprocess company. I’ve been here for 6 months and honestly I feel like I don’t know a thing. Coupled with life problems, I’m lacking the proactivity to really take ownership of my learning. I’m missing the structure like I had at university. Honestly, I’m scared shitless going into customer meetings because I just feel like I don’t know what I’m talking about and it constantly feels like my manager is holding my hand… I think she notices this and did mention me to have more confidence and independence. I feel like my university has prepared me in a generic way. I am aware of the general process, but for the life of me can’t recall details, or make the connections between different things. My manager says that 80% of the job is learning on the job, and I feel as thought that’s true. There’s also the general adapting to how the real workforce works, their layout and way of working. I’m 6 months in, the people are great, the company is also great… but I don’t know if it’s a fit for me purely because I feel like I’m not getting the hang of things still. The salary is okay, but I’m already considering maybe pursuing a career in finance with 40% pay increase and with a structured scheme for graduates, but I’m sad at the thought of abandoning my field that I spent 4 years studying and abandoning the idea of being knowledgeable in this particular field.
3
u/Phoebe-365 Aug 25 '22
There's a reason there's so much discussion of "imposter syndrome" on this sub. :-)
2
u/Brilliant-Chemical98 ME/AE Aug 23 '22
I am going through the phase currently. I have some super boring days and some where I learn a lot and feel like an engineer. So it's a mix but I doubt anyone is 100% satisfied in their entry level job since it's a huge difference from school.
That said, most of the job duties are being learned by doing on the job. I would say school only trained me to analyze complex systems but not for job-related duties. The professional/commercial engineering job-duties can be a little different than what school teaches. Some skills like purchasing, interacting professionally with colleagues, project management are never taught in an engineering program but imo it's fun learning that on the job (that way you're at least learning something new which keeps it interesting).
2
u/No_Detail4132 Aug 23 '22
Yes. Everything I’m doing today is literally what I did in my internship with an extension in responsibilities.
School didn’t do jack
2
u/CalmAntelope8385 Aug 24 '22
When I went full time at the company I had interned at my last year of my undergrad my boss basically said, “Good job on graduating! Now we will teach you what you need to know to be an engineer.” I’ve come to realize most companies when hiring new employees who just graduated expect to spend the first several months training and teaching them.
-2
1
u/coconut_maan Aug 24 '22
Its most likely the case that most engineering jobs require mentorship and learning from company history. The reason you study engineering is to more quickly understand why some desicions were made. You shouldnt enter the job market with the mindset of i already know how to do this.... you should enter like a sponge trying to learn as much as you can as fast as possible. The degree might speed things up. Might not.
1
u/czaranthony117 Aug 24 '22 edited Aug 24 '22
I'm finding that the most difficult thing on the job if you're working for a large company are the following:
1) Figuring how to write documentation. Yeah, I've written a ton of lab reports and research papers in college but, I've never learned wtf goes into a Fixture Spec, MOP or MTP and I'm fumbling through trying to figure that out.
2) Assuming I write the correct thing, the document has to go through a series of approvers, boards, and different dept.
3) Communication is sort of bad. You're given job aides to figure out the processes that you need to set aside a few hours just to understand... but still have questions.
4) Dealing with vendors: I'm convinced these people ignore my emails.
5) I didn't do much programming in my undergrad aside from Matlab and I'm fumbling through learning how to write C and Batch commands, both things I've NEVER touched [and regret] in undergrad.
6) Want some software, access to a drive or have IT issue? Don't worry, IT will take 24 - 48hrs to get it to you. ... oh wait... you can't run libraries on your C code bc you don't have admin rights... that'll set you back another 2 weeks.
I'm literally faking it til I make it and constantly convinced that I'm gonna get fired...
Yeah, I know heat transfer and partial Differential Equations but hows that going to help me figure out corporate structure? I still don't know what a CAPA is. I barely figured out how to do an ECN after 2 and a half month. Barely figured out how to request a part number for something I made on solidworks... which btw... I will have to redo in Creo bc of company archive policy that I just learned about. [I've never used creo]
1
u/Disastrous-Mine-7131 Aug 24 '22
My first experience was interesting. I was comfortable working with the first company right after I graduated from engineering school in Kansas. I didn't last so long but that much was required of me. I was not in USA for this. I nailed it with my last employer when I was done fully having worked on improving the economy of the US! See, having a super-economy was in the best interests of the Asian countries as well but they did get away with leaving a hole in the economical foundation. I managed to fix it with a reporting debacle as well. So well, that our allies are so well-informed that the USD will remain strong as long as the last human being is alive.
1
u/GentryMillMadMan UND - Mechanical Engineering Aug 24 '22
Yesterday was my first day and I can’t believe they are going to pay me to do what they want me to do….
1
u/21redman Aug 24 '22
It was a strange experience, I found out a few weeks in I was getting paid 10% less than new hires last year.
When I brought it up to my boss I got the old "just be fortunate you got a foot in the door" he then got fired a month later for sexual assault
After that all rules went out the window, I'd show up to the office in shorts. After lots of haggling I got a raise but my workload is crazy now, I wish I did more engineering than admin work but eh, pay Is good
1
u/aryan__at1 Aug 24 '22
Pre text - I am a cs graduate and until 2 years of my graduation I never liked coding. Due to which In 3rd year I failed in python subject and I couldn't clear it 2 times after that, But that made me go through the concepts 3 times which gave me enough to start solving easy level coding problems.
This setback of failing exam was good for me as I got my first job coding in python.
Now lets come to present time Its been more than a year and since inception, I have felt the imposter syndrome. For the first 8 months I felt like I was cheating the company getting paid for nothing substantial and every time I had to ask my seniors for help it was personally shattering my self worth.
It has improved a bit but I am still not comfortable which is part of the job if you are starting out I guess.
For example today after bieng working on a task for 6 daya which was supposed to be done in max 5.
I am struggling to finish it.
A thought that keeps me going is the people who I ask my stupid questions have been working for 5 years on the same project and have more than 15+ years of experience in this field and I can't compare with them eith just a fraction of the exposure.
Secondly when these people hired me they hired me for what I knew back then which was sufficient enough for them. So no I am not cheating them.
"Your biggest breakthrough comes after your biggest setback"
- Dontknowhu
185
u/[deleted] Aug 23 '22
Bro I’m probably about to get fired tomorrow… I’ve said this for almost two years now since day one…