Engineering job market in Atlanta (Sandy Springs, Dallas: transplants, apartment, renters)

[MrJester]

I am an Electrical Engineering major going into my senior year at the University of California, Davis, and want to move to the Southeast permanently. How’s the engineering job market in Atlanta? Of course, Silicon Valley is unbeatable for high-tech, but I really don’t like the fast-paced, expensive, liberal atmosphere of California, so I’m looking for jobs in the Southeast. I spent a summer in New Orleans and Biloxi and loved the humid weather and scenery there much more than California, so I know I want to go to The South.

Does anyone have insight to the following questions?

1. I am taking courses mainly in signal processing and antenna design. How are the telecomm and Aerospace/Defense industries in Atlanta?
   
2. Is it harder for an engineering grad from California to get a job vs. someone from a nearby college? Do I need a more impressive GPA, internships, projects, etc. than I would need if I were to apply to jobs back in California? We all know how competitive Silicon Valley is, but Georgia Tech is a very prestigious school, too.
   
3. I am a US-born citizen and have heard that since the 1990s the influx of H1B applicants has made engineering much more competitive, especially for new grads. How much of a problem is this in the telecomm/defense companies around the area?

[AnsleyPark]

I’d check out Boston for hard engineering over Atlanta.

[cparker73]

With Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, IBM IoT, Verizon Telematics, AT&T Mobility among many other small and mid-sized engineering firms located in Atlanta, you have options. You'll find yourself competing with a diverse set of recent grads from all over the country, but Georgia Tech and the big SEC schools pump out plenty of local and regional talent. I've found GPAs to be not as important as internships and projects, and at a certain point, no one asks about your GPA. If you demonstrate your skills with passion projects or side hustles, you'll make a better impression.

[lethalhipster9]

You should be fine. Keep in mind that anywhere with a good job market for professionals isn't very southern anymore because of transplants (Maybe compared to California it is) and the areas popular with young professionals in Metro Atlanta lean liberal.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by lethalhipster9

You should be fine. Keep in mind that anywhere with a good job market for professionals isn't very southern anymore because of transplants (Maybe compared to California it is) and the areas popular with young professionals in Metro Atlanta lean liberal.

Of course Atlanta itself is solidly liberal. But I'm sure suburbs like Sandy Springs are more conservative, right?

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

I’d check out Boston for hard engineering over Atlanta.

I'm checking out Houston and Dallas and Austin, too, but Boston? Meh. Expensive, liberal, and very cold.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by cparker73

With Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, IBM IoT, Verizon Telematics, AT&T Mobility among many other small and mid-sized engineering firms located in Atlanta, you have options. You'll find yourself competing with a diverse set of recent grads from all over the country, but Georgia Tech and the big SEC schools pump out plenty of local and regional talent. I've found GPAs to be not as important as internships and projects, and at a certain point, no one asks about your GPA. If you demonstrate your skills with passion projects or side hustles, you'll make a better impression.

Thank you. Does it mean it would be harder for me to apply for an engineering position in Atlanta than a similar position in Silicon Valley, simply because I am much closer geographically to Silicon Valley? I mean, it couldn't be more competitive than Silicon Valley, right? They've got Stanford, Berkeley, and a lot of transplants from UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Davis.

[lethalhipster9]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Of course Atlanta itself is solidly liberal. But I'm sure suburbs like Sandy Springs are more conservative, right?

Sandy Springs is actually a mix of both liberals and conservatives. The single young professional apartment renters are liberal while the older homeowners in expensive homes are conservative. Sandy Springs is pretty much a cross between urban areas that are popular with young professionals and suburban areas that are popular with affluent families. I did hear at Young Democrats that Sandy Springs has a nondiscrimination ordinance for the LGBT community. There are more conservative suburbs but you'll be spending 2 hours a day in traffic and you'd be bored as a young single person.



Use this link to find areas that are conservative enough for you.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/data-dive...-precinct-map/

[stoxdiamond]

If you are hard set on doing engineering work, have you considered a Master's in EE at a school in the SE like Georgia Tech?

EE is a good degree and EE majors have plenty of options in non-engineering fields: finance, consulting, etc. The tough part of finding an engineering job with just a bachelors is that there is a very large number of people holding graduate engineering degrees looking for those same jobs so you will looks less competitive. In addition, all the REAL engineering and design is done with people with graduate degrees for the most part. They typically put Bachelors grads in less interesting job positions.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by stoxdiamond

If you are hard set on doing engineering work, have you considered a Master's in EE at a school in the SE like Georgia Tech?

EE is a good degree and EE majors have plenty of options in non-engineering fields: finance, consulting, etc. The tough part of finding an engineering job with just a bachelors is that there is a very large number of people holding graduate engineering degrees looking for those same jobs so you will looks less competitive. In addition, all the REAL engineering and design is done with people with graduate degrees for the most part. They typically put Bachelors grads in less interesting job positions.

I'd check out this path out or get a job in Silicon Valley for 2 years and then move to Atlanta. You probably can get an internship in Silicon Valley easier while at Davis also.