Guide to Getting an Engineering Job

Every year, we take our best engineering career and employment writing on EngineerJobs and roll it into a massive, comprehensive Guide. Whether you’re picking your major or eyeing the corner office, you’ll find expert counsel from working engineers and hiring managers to help you achieve your goals.

This Guide contains interviews, articles, and relevant data for every phase of your career. Check back as you advance – we’re always developing new engineering-focused content – and maybe you’ll have counsel of your own to offer your fellow engineers.

We’ll see you then!

– The Staff and Contributors of EngineerJobs

Engineering Students

With forty or fifty working years ahead of you, it’s easy to feel you’ve all the time in the world. Engineering careers are very sensitive to initial conditions, however, and the choices you make now will shape your career.

You can search our database of engineering internships without registering an account, though you should if you intend to post a resume or apply directly to a company.

Using survey data and internal jobs numbers, we ranked engineering disciplines by competitive outlook, salary, and degree completion rate.

Six months after graduation, over 50% of college graduates will be unemployed or in a job that doesn’t require a degree. To avoid this fate, start your job search as soon as you get to college.

Your senior engineering project often makes the difference between an employer taking a second look at your resume and tossing it on the reject pile.

An engineering co-op puts classroom theory to real-life, real-market use. Graduate with the same degree, a year of experience, and money in your pocket.

As you near the end of your mechanical engineering Bachelor’s, you’ll inevitably be faced with the decision to pursue a postgraduate degree or move into the workforce. Is a mechanical engineering Masters worth it?

Job Search Tips and Tactics

Your first forays into the job market can be seriously intimidating. Keep a cool head and a eye on personal connections to get yourself in the door.

You will get the most value from this section by first registering with EngineerJobs. As a registered user, you may post your resume, set job alerts, and determine whether your resume is visible to employers and recruiters.

You’ve heard it hundreds of time: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Is it just an old saying, or the most important advice you ever received?

One of the most common questions we get from students is whether an engineering internship is worth it. Does it really make a difference when landing that first job?

Congratulations, graduate! You’re a qualified engineer! Now get a job and start paying back those student loans.

Top schools and employers scout engineering competitions for talent. Even if you don’t win, it’s worth your time to be there.

Application and Interview

You’ve found the engineering job you want – now, how to earn it? Industry experts and hiring managers take you through the application and interview process.

Sooner or later, your career may turn on a single piece of paper: the infamous cover letter. How can yours avoid being filed under Recycling without a second glance?

All too soon, many veteran engineers and fresh graduates will enter the job market in earnest. We asked HR and engineering managers how you can rework your resume, master the interview, and secure competitive advantage.

Congratulations, you got an interview! But the sense of accomplishment is short-lived. The next thoughts that come to mind are visions of sweaty palms, dusty suits, and uncomfortably long silent pauses.

In a job interview, asking focused, intelligent questions of your interviewer demonstrates initiative, thoroughness, and careful analysis of your options – qualities every engineer should have.

Working on your follow-up game? These four schematics take the stress out of follow-up letters.

You’ve aced the interview, and they want you! Now it’s time to hammer out the details. Engineers and managers weigh in on when and how to negotiate salary.

Our mission is to help you find and land engineering jobs – but there really are times when you should just say no.

Your Early Engineering Career

The engineering workforce is nothing at all like school. How do you navigate the corporate world and thrive in your new job?

Making your way as a new hire isn’t always easy. Taking charge of your own onboarding, professional networks, and career development will help smooth the transition.

How do you make the transition from student to professional engineer? What can you expect? Ford engineers give their advice.

You got your first job. You’re officially an engineer. It’s time to enjoy the rewards of all your hard work and start paying off those student loans … while avoiding these nine rookie mistakes.

When you decided to become an engineer, you probably had some ideas about what you wanted to do. But are you thinking about your career, or are you only concerned with your next job?

Moving Up the Ranks

The new hires are getting younger every year and you’ve forgotten more than they learned in school. It’s time to advance, move up the ranks, and guide the final shape of your engineering career.

Being the heart of your team – the truly indispensable engineer – is a less of a stable state than an ongoing commitment to professional development, integrity, and excellence.

Few engineers stay with the same company throughout their working lives, anymore. It’s perfectly normal to change jobs every few years. Is it time for you to move on?

You know you’re better than this. You know you have potential. But what do you need to do to get noticed and get your career moving?

At some point in your career, you will be faced with a decision: should you stay as an engineer and become an expert in your field, or should you make the transition to a management role?

Some engineers chafe at working for others and need to be their own boss. Here’s what you need to know before striking out on your own.

If you don’t want to run an engineering firm, or retire working for one, consider working as a consulting engineer.