Need Advice for Daughter

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by davesaint, Jul 14, 2010.

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  1. davesaint

    davesaint New Member

    My daughter graduated from the University of Minnesota - Mankato in Dec 2008. She received a BS in Automotive Engineering Technology with a minor in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. The program is ABET accredited. She has been working retail since 2009. She quit looking for a job in her field a long time ago. She told me the other day that she needs to get her act together and do something. She needs a real job to make use of her degree. She has talked about going back and working on her BS in Mechanical Engieering. What I would like her to do is to pursue something (maybe a Greenbelt in LEAN) or something quicker to get her foot in the door in a company like a Boeing, or other large company where she can use their tuition program to pursue the BS in Mechanical Engineering or a graduate degree. All of you engineers out there, what can she do to get her foot in the door or what kind of training should she pursue to help her situation?
    Below is the url to her degree and the classes she took.

    Thanks,
    Dave


    Programs – Automotive Engineering Technology – College of Science, Engineering and Technology – Minnesota State University, Mankato

    AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY BS
    Required General Education (25 credits):
    ENG 101 Composition (4)
    SPEE 100 Fund. of Speech Communication (3) OR
    SPEE 102 Public Speaking (3)
    MATH 115 Precalculus Mathematics (4)
    MATH 121 Calculus I (4)
    PHYS 211 Principles of Physics I (4)
    CHEM 104 Introduction to Chemistry (3)
    STAT 154 Elementary Statistics (3)
    ENG 271 Technical Communication (4)
    MATH 127 Calculus II for Engineering Technology: Integration (2)
    PHYS 212 Principles of Physics II (4)
    CS 171 Introduction to C++ Programming (2)
    Required for Major (Core, 60 credits):
    AET 102 Introduction to Automotive Engineering Technology (1)
    EET 113 DC Circuits (3)
    MET 142 Computer Aided Drafting (3)
    Automotive Engineering Technology
    MET 144 Product Development & Design (3)
    AET 160 Automotive Technology & Systems (4)
    MET 177 Materials Processing I and Metallurgy (4)
    AET 261 Automotive Driveability & Diagnosis (4)
    AET 262 Automotive Computers and Elec tron ics (4)
    MET 322 Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics of Materials (5)
    AET 334 Fluid Power (3)
    MET 341 Advanced Computer Aided Design (4)
    AET 364 Chassis Design and Performance Testing (4)
    AET 366 Automotive Thermodynamics and Engine Design (3)
    AET 378 Composite Materials (3)
    AET 387 Junior Design Project (1)
    MET 424 Industrial Safety (2)
    AET 465 Automotive Laboratory Experience (2)
    AET 468 Automotive Research Methods (4)
    AET 488 Senior Design Project I (1)
    AET 489 Senior Design Project II (2)
    MET 104 Introduction to Manufacturing Engineering Technology (1)
    MET 142 Computer Aided Design (3)
    MET 177 Material Processing I and Metallurgy (4)
    MET 425 Project and Value Management (4)
     
  2. friartuck

    friartuck New Member

    I'm interested in this as well. My kid graduated from Bemidji State's BS-Industrial Technology program and is having a heck of a time even getting interviews right now. Fortunately he has a part time job and free room and board with us. He just dropped his application in the mail for the MS-OM at the University of Arkansas. He wants to make use of his time while he's under-employed.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'm going to suggest that she not earn another Bachelors degree. Aim higher. A Masters in Engineering or an MBA with a tech specialization. Otherwise the big question is, does she really want to be in the engineering field? Also, is she willing to relocate to get that big first job?
     
  4. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Has she thought about working for the government? The agency I work for, DCMA, about half the agency is facing retirement in the next 5 years, so they are starting to hire.

    With her degree, she would qualify as an industrial specialist, quality assurance rep, property specialist, and maybe even general engineer.

    She should look at these websites:
    Defense Contract Management Agency
    Careers @ DCMA

    The Keystone program is what she wants to get into. Just a heads up though, the government hiring process is slow.
     
  5. BobbyJim

    BobbyJim New Member

    Air Force, maybe?
     
  6. davesaint

    davesaint New Member

    I tried talking to her about going into the military. She won't do it. She just got married.
    She has applied for government jobs early on but she never received any calls or interviews. I fact she put in for a ton of jobs early on and did not receive one bite. She got so frustrated she gave up until now. The Keystone program looks great. I also thought about training her myself. I'm a Senior Program Scheduler (EVM) for Boeing. If I could spend some quality time training her she probably could eventually land a job as an entry level scheduler (entry level starts right at 40K). Upper levels you can make over 100k. Thanks for all of your input. Keep the suggestions coming.
    Dave
     
  7. davesaint

    davesaint New Member

    Endowave - The Keystone paragraph states to put the three geographic areas that you would want to work in on the top of your resume. Are they asking for states or more like Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, etc? Where are most of the jobs located outside of Wash DC?

    Thanks,
    Dave
     
  8. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    DCMA has satellite offices near most large military bases. In some cases these positions are remote teleworkers. Memphis is a DCMA central training area.

    Go to USAJOBS - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site and do an advanced search on DCMA to get a feel for where the jobs are.

    Personally if she could handle the work take a look at some of these offerings:

    USAJOBS - Additional Opportunities for Students

    There are several opportunities to get graduate school paid for as long as she is willing to commit to a government position for a period of time.

    We have several interns making the rotations:

    Career Intern Program Information

    Best of luck to her.

    Personally, I believe she should complete an engineering degree while her degree and learning are still fresh, electrical, civil, and mechanical are in demand in the government and she might be able to swing an internship while finishing the degree.

    If engineering is out, then finish at least 24 credits in business and start applying to 1102 series positions.
     
  9. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    First, she shouldn't pursue another BS degree. Second, she shouldn't be working in retail for any reason with such a prestigious engineering degree. Worst case, she should be working in the technical field such as field technician or engineering technician for companies like IBM, Cisco, Xerox, Canon etc... I worked fixing copiers for Canon sometime ago, and I know they are always hiring in different cities. If she's interested (yes I had a lot of female coworkers and they love it because it was easy once you are done with their initial 6 week training) in that kind of work, she can check Canon's site frequently for what's available in your/her area, or watch for jobs at IBM, or at Cisco, and so on...

    Third, an MBA maybe fine, but since, i've always loved the engineering field; even though I made some silly choices and ended up with a tech management undergrad degree, she should pursue an engineering masters in an area like mechanical, electrical, geological, mechatronics. Right now, I think she should look seriously at applying at oil companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, as well as at oil servicing companies like Schlumberger since these companies are always looking to hire folks with ANY engineering specialty degree at the bachelor, master, and doctoral level; and especially, if they are willing to relocate nationally as well as internationally. With a graduate degree in engineering, she can easily teach at colleges offering technical associate/bachelor, and the pay is usually good.

    In summary, she should pursue a graduate degree, and if it must be an MBA, oil sector companies are now more interested with business professionals with degrees in supply chain, and logistics management if she has interest in that sector. I personally think that long term, she can't go wrong with a hard science like an engineering masters. Goodluck to her.
     
  10. BrandeX

    BrandeX New Member

    Given the state of (un)employment in the U.S. there might be more opportunities for individuals elsewhere. I nearly doubled my salary by moving to Guangzhou (after being laid off by my co. closing, and then having to do p/t labor) and mostly doing part-time work while I work on my degree. Here is a few random examples of some jobs from a site I often visit, related to engineering work:
    Plant Manager - Zhejiang Province,China | Shanghai Management level & Administrator Jobs - eChinacities.com
    manufacturing engineer needed in Zhejiang | Hangzhou Professional Jobs - eChinacities.com
    Engineering Manager needed In Shanghai | Shanghai Medical & Healthcare Jobs - eChinacities.com
     
  11. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    There is one car manufacturer that is definitely hiring (at least at one location). Nissan is pumping zillions of dollars into its new plant in Smyrna, TN (just outside of Nashville). They are beefing up the plant to start production of the new all-electric Nissan Leaf, which will be built there. Perhaps this would be of interest to her since her studies were in automotive engineering.

    Nissan picks Smyrna to build electric cars
     
  12. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Just sent you a PM. But yes, the government hiring process can be very frustrating. Get the book I recommended in the PM. Once I understood things like "career conditional" and a GS-7 vs a GS-15, I was able to apply for the right jobs, and format the resume the way they want it.

    Also, EVM is a huge thing for DCMA. If you can give her any type of training in that area, that would help.
     
  13. tribilin80

    tribilin80 Member

    I would agree with "kevin" and "edowave" above.

    also, she doesn't need to join the military to work for the government, we are at war and much funding is going towards DOD, so job opportunities in the defense industry are still strong.

    each service has their own "materiel" command, in the case of the US Army... they have the Army Materiel Command which offers engineers and other graduates an opportunity to begin a career and attend graduate school at the same time (ALLC Current Programs).

    Also, defense contractors are actively searching ways to stay ahead of the competition, so they also have strong opportunities for employment and development. you can search for these defense contractors in many ways but a sure way to find those in the area of interest is to search for summits or conferences in a specific field (IDGA 9th Annual Light Armored Vehicles & Stryker Summit or IDGA Future Ground Forces) you can search for the list of attendees and follow to the company websites...

    of course if defense is not in her interests.... "green" automotive engineering and alternative methods of travel will be strong opportunities for the forseable future.
     

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