Job market sucks....

[avs]

Graduated 9/03 with a BS in mechanical engineer and still haven’t found a job yet. Got a bunch of interviews and most of them said i'm overqualified. What's up with the damn job market? Who's here in the same boat as me? This is sooo frustrating.

[kitty]

i was until october. now i've got a job. my bf is in your boat... desperately clinging a paddle for dear life.

[avs]

whoa that was quick. Yea plenty of engineering jobs in Iraq, but that's not gonna happen.

[SunWuKong]

Graduated 9/03 with a BS in mechanical engineer and still haven’t found a job yet. Got a bunch of interviews and most of them said i'm overqualified. What's up with the damn job market? Who's here in the same boat as me? This is sooo frustrating.

hey i got your email. but sorry, no, i don't know of any open positions for mechanical engineers. where are you willing to move to? i know that Lockheed has operations in Orlando that would need mechanical engineers.

anyway. hang in there. quite a few members here actually have been unemployed. before my current job, i was unemployed for 11 months. it sucked big time watching money leave my bank account and seeing no money going in.

[younggiftedandblack]

Times like these I'm glad I work for the government.

[teaz0r]

Schlumberger.
Sugarland, Texas

[tommyhtown]

Schlumberger.
Sugarland, Texas


That is pretty much Houston, TX. Are they hiring, pip? A co-worker just left that company to join my current company.

[teaz0r]

That is pretty much Houston, TX. Are they hiring, pip? A co-worker just left that company to join my current company.
i think they normally have a quota for entry level positions no?
i'm not sure, i haven't been keeping up to date.

[moJo]

Times like these I'm glad I work for the government.
I'm gov't, too. I feel very fortunate, but I'm still antsy to look around even tho my position is pretty secure (as are most gov't jobs).

avs - maybe you could look into government, too. also, how is your school's Career Center (mine sucked!)? i had a tough time dealing with being unemployed for a few months upon graduation. i have two friends, both MS in comp sci, who recently graduated and are looking too. you're not alone. i hardly know of anyone who has job offers lined up at graduation, save for the i-bankers and consultants. anyhow, good luck.

[Kuchana]

I'm gov't, too. I feel very fortunate, but I'm still antsy to look around even tho my position is pretty secure (as are most gov't jobs).

avs - maybe you could look into government, too. also, how is your school's Career Center (mine sucked!)? i had a tough time dealing with being unemployed for a few months upon graduation. i have two friends, both MS in comp sci, who recently graduated and are looking too. you're not alone. i hardly know of anyone who has job offers lined up at graduation, save for the i-bankers and consultants. anyhow, good luck.

But don't most government jobs require relocation after a certain period of time? I was fiddling with the idea of the FBI but since I also applied for grad school, they told me it would be best to apply after I graduated and when I have my M.A. And how do you exactly go about applying for a Federal job?

[moJo]

But don't most government jobs require relocation after a certain period of time? I was fiddling with the idea of the FBI but since I also applied for grad school, they told me it would be best to apply after I graduated and when I have my M.A. And how do you exactly go about applying for a Federal job?
i'm not an FBI agent, nor do I work for the CIA. :tongue: my definition of "gov't jobs" is just working in the public sector - in city, state, or federal. i'm currently a transportation analyst with a state agency, working primarily with employees and outside vendors. nothin' cool about it, compared to working for the FBI. :wink:

i found my job through State Personnel Board, which is for state jobs in CA. spb.ca.gov or something like that. Generally, City pays better, but it's a much more complicated process. when i was getting super restless at my job, i would just randomly google "City of [insert city name here]" and look up their job opportunities.

[Kuchana]

i'm not an FBI agent, nor do I work for the CIA. :tongue: my definition of "gov't jobs" is just working in the public sector - in city, state, or federal. i'm currently a transportation analyst with a state agency, working primarily with employees and outside vendors. nothin' cool about it, compared to working for the FBI. :wink:

i found my job through State Personnel Board, which is for state jobs in CA. spb.ca.gov or something like that. Generally, City pays better, but it's a much more complicated process. when i was getting super restless at my job, i would just randomly google "City of [insert city name here]" and look up their job opportunities.

Are there any requirements that they look for in general? Can you go more into detail about the complicated process?? :smile:

[moJo]

Are there any requirements that they look for in general? Can you go more into detail about the complicated process?? :smile:
Requirements? Nothing more than any private company offering the same position (such as accounting, marketing, etc). Oh, they also do background checks.

Complicated application process? Off the top of my head, the City of SF and City of Santa Monica both asked for more than the standard resume and cover letter. They both had a list of questions to answer. Also, SF wants a letter from your prevous employer on that company's letterhead, verifying the # of hours you worked with them. This might not be a uniform procedure, but it was for the positions i looked into.

[kboy75]

But don't most government jobs require relocation after a certain period of time? I was fiddling with the idea of the FBI but since I also applied for grad school, they told me it would be best to apply after I graduated and when I have my M.A. And how do you exactly go about applying for a Federal job?
yes, i belive mojo is talking about the public sector, and not those federal agencies.

however, i'm in the process of applying for the FBI now. I took the phase 1 test over a year ago and failed cause i took it very lightly. you have to wait a year to retest, but last summer i got sick and was hospitalized, and am trying to get another retest. my recruiter said that apps had been way up, so she has been swamped.

but, yeah, you don't necessarily need a MA or advanced degree for the FBI. You do need at least a Bachelor's. From there you need either an advanced degree, 3 years work experience, or special proficiency in a foreign language; one of those.

from there, you submit your app. if they like it from the initial screening, they offer you a test date for phase 1. if you pass that, you take another test for phase 2. if you pass THAT, you go for a series of interviews with current special agents and such. If they think you are the right material, they do the FULL background check (like call people who you haven't seen in 15 years and stuff) and make you take a lie detector test. they also require you to reveal your entire drug use history from the get-go. they understand everyone experiments, but of course, there are limits. if they find you lied, you're out.

Once you pass all that, you go to the academy in virginia. I think it was 16 weeks? I forget. there are also physical req's that you must pass, but they are not impossible. after all that you get your 1st assignment under the tutelage of another agent. my recruiter said the city you ask to work in will probably be the city for most of your career.

my recruiter said she became and FBI agent after years of being an elementary school teacher. she absolutley loves her job. she met her husband in the FBI too. oh, theyalso tell you how much you make starting out. It's like $~55K a year. That's like nothing if you live in a big city like NYC, but there are hidden costs that are covered by working for a fed agency like that. Also, you don't do it for the money anyhow. :cool:

[ellsworth81]

now which part didn't you take "seriously" if you don't mind me asking?

yes, i belive mojo is talking about the public sector, and not those federal agencies.

however, i'm in the process of applying for the FBI now. I took the phase 1 test over a year ago and failed cause i took it very lightly. you have to wait a year to retest, but last summer i got sick and was hospitalized, and am trying to get another retest. my recruiter said that apps had been way up, so she has been swamped.

but, yeah, you don't necessarily need a MA or advanced degree for the FBI. You do need at least a Bachelor's. From there you need either an advanced degree, 3 years work experience, or special proficiency in a foreign language; one of those.

from there, you submit your app. if they like it from the initial screening, they offer you a test date for phase 1. if you pass that, you take another test for phase 2. if you pass THAT, you go for a series of interviews with current special agents and such. If they think you are the right material, they do the FULL background check (like call people who you haven't seen in 15 years and stuff) and make you take a lie detector test. they also require you to reveal your entire drug use history from the get-go. they understand everyone experiments, but of course, there are limits. if they find you lied, you're out.

Once you pass all that, you go to the academy in virginia. I think it was 16 weeks? I forget. there are also physical req's that you must pass, but they are not impossible. after all that you get your 1st assignment under the tutelage of another agent. my recruiter said the city you ask to work in will probably be the city for most of your career.

my recruiter said she became and FBI agent after years of being an elementary school teacher. she absolutley loves her job. she met her husband in the FBI too. oh, theyalso tell you how much you make starting out. It's like $~55K a year. That's like nothing if you live in a big city like NYC, but there are hidden costs that are covered by working for a fed agency like that. Also, you don't do it for the money anyhow. :cool:

[kboy75]

whoa that was quick. Yea plenty of engineering jobs in Iraq, but that's not gonna happen.
i know a guy who did that for two months doing defense contracting. VERY lucrative...

[kboy75]

now which part didn't you take "seriously" if you don't mind me asking?
i meant that they sent me a sample test in a packet, i barely cracked it open. i've always done well on standardized tests, so i just was so BLAH. i dunno why, i guess i was being cocky. anyhow, when i took the actual test, i got stumped on more than few problems and time ran out very quickly.

[Blue dice]

Instead of FBI why don't you guys look into DEA, ATF, Customs agent, Postal inspector, and foreign affairs officer (diplomat) federal positions? Everyone and their grandmother applies to the FBI so that's why they are swamped. A lot of people (without law enforcement experience) don't apply to the other agencies so they have way more leeway to hire on entry level college grads. If you're asian believe me it's a big plus. They need native mandarin speakers and asian-americans in federal positions.

[jimbo]

The markets pretty messed up here in u.k as well, I started my current role working for visa last week and monday just gone was offered another role with goldman sachs, No offers at all in 6 months and within a space of a week I get two!

Bloody typical!

[SunWuKong]

most jobs here in the DC area are either government (as in federal) or government funded/related. the DC economy is so tied to federal government spending that the real estate market goes up and down with federal government spending.

working on government projects, i've come to realise that they are the most inefficient pieces of shits i've ever experienced. and it's ass-backwards, too. the less productive you are, the more revenue you generate.

[Craig]

working on government projects, i've come to realise that they are the most inefficient pieces of shits i've ever experienced. and it's ass-backwards, too.
you must not have experience in the semiconductor industry ; makes one glad to be working on the ultra-efficient government project ... oh well, i need to pay the bills ...