Stuck in Ohio- but Moving to So Cal in 6 months! ADVICE (Stanford: find a job, university)

[mandasand]

Check usajobs.com and search the Navy for civilian engineering jobs in San Diego. My friend already has a job lined up with the Navy as a civilian engineer. She doesn't graduate until December. They hire a lot of engineers.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by blauskies

It all depends now doesn't it? If you have an Engineering degree and are fresh out of school, taking a job waiting tables, which is something completely out of scope, can have a detrimental effect on your CV. Say you have a B.S in Mechanical Engineering and worked at In-N-Out Burger for 3 years, then apply for Engineering jobs you are pretty much not too marketable against other fresh grads who have internships within the industry on their CV.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

If there's a company that's going to hold someone taking a dead end job to make things meet for a while then I don't want anything to do with that company.

Further, you're assuming that the original poster doesn't have that experience that others have. That's a huge assumption to make.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by GMUAlum08

i plugged my info into those COL calculators and they told me I could take around an 11% pay cut and have a comparable salary to what I make in DC. That surprised me a little bit

Yep. Housing is actually cheaper here. I think it was $600K versus $800K for housing.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

If there's a company that's going to hold someone taking a dead end job to make things meet for a while then I don't want anything to do with that company.

Further, you're assuming that the original poster doesn't have that experience that others have. That's a huge assumption to make.

It's reality, it doesn't look good and only sets you back in some instances. Sometimes you will find some compassionate hiring managers but in an employers market everything is scrutinized. A dead end job in your chosen field or in a sector which you can gain skills from is better and overall looks better on your CV than one in retail or fast food. I am talking now about someone with an Engineering degree.

Also when applying to some big companies, the software they use to filter out people by keywords or what you entered is typically going to catch this and cost you a possible next stage, I know Nokia in San Diego employs this. If you get past the filters, a Recruiter will contact you and send you a 2nd stage filter which you must fill out, basically essay questions on your experience and etc. If you get past that, you might get a call from HR which will then screen you again prior to the hiring manager calling. Then they will ask salary requirements and filter you out by that even if they are salivating over you.

Based on the OP, it sounds like they are going to be a greenhorn right out of school. Unless there was some summer internships going on, odds are the experience is null.

[Toroid]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

If there's a company that's going to hold someone taking a dead end job to make things meet for a while then I don't want anything to do with that company.

Further, you're assuming that the original poster doesn't have that experience that others have. That's a huge assumption to make.

Why is that ridiculous?

Every year that someone is out of the field there competition is growing and they're losing skills. Those jobs up in the Bay Area people are saying pay really well usually give an exam to applicants during interviews. That kid fresh out of Cal, Caltech, UCLA, UCSD, Harvey Mudd, etc is going to know the answer most of the time.

[divagotstyle07]

alright let's get some basics down here because there's a lot of assumptions going on, and this thread has gotten away from the main point.

1.) I'll have 2 years of experience at a great company, with a resume that recruiters have personally told me looks great.

2.) From speaking with recruiters, advisors, and other professionals-- no one seems to think I'll have a hard time getting a job. At all. Once I get an interview, I'm in. I just need to be able to GET an interview with a company I want to work for.

3.) If anything, I won't take a dead end job, but rather budget and dedicate a certain amount of time for a few months of job hunting IF I haven't gotten one by May.

4.) There's a possibility I'd stay in Ohio during the summer (3 months) IF I haven't gotten a job by May-- Just to make more money to head out and be able to stay longer while on the job hunt.

5.) I'm going to be able to go out in March or April and I'll probably interview then, since most people just say, contact us when it's closer.

[blauskies]

Create a LinkedIn profile and network, I get 5-10 inquires a week for jobs all over the world even in this crappy market, from recruiters or companies directly. For example, Microsoft contacted me around 5 times in the past year, but I have no desire to live in dreary grey, cold Seattle so I keep telling them "thanks, but no thanks". I could have possibly ended up in a few places in Europe, Japan and China, opportunity is great but you have to want to do it and sometimes where the jobs are, end up not being where you want to be which can be a really bad career move since job hopping is also frowned upon on your CV, well at least outside the Bay Area, as it's quite common to see this from my experience.

Odds are you will get leads for jobs in places you don't want to live, rural areas in the Midwest or deep south or similar to where you are now or worse. These might be good jobs, good places to gain experience but being less desirable in terms of location and the perks, your odds of getting the job are better compared to San Diego or San Jose since the competition for these jobs will be less, especially if you are not in the area currently. Another thing to keep in mind, there is a big pool of candidates coming out of the education system in the Bay Area, so overall the competition is much greater and people tend to want to stay in the area, though there is obviously a shortage of experienced engineers since companies are willing to relocate the right people.

[divagotstyle07]

i have a LinkedIn profile, a monster profile, an indeed profile, and I'm getting my usajobs.gov profile started. I've received calls and emails, but a lot of places tell me to call them when it's closer to my graduation date.

[blauskies]

I would suggest you Ax the Monster profile or at least not make your resume searchable by recruiters, you will be hit with lot's of spam and job leads for positions totally out of your field. I once did that by accident when I applied for a job and I got hit with calls and e-mails about opportunities in Insurance, a few looked like professional scam artists not until after I made the resume hidden did they stop.

On LinkedIn you can select who you share info with or connect to, be careful as there is a lot of spammers on there, I always check people out before I connect with them, if their profile is blank and they have a odd profile picture it's obvious.

I used Indeed the most for searches, but it doesn't catch a lot of jobs from Careerbuilder and Ziprecruiter. LinkedIn jobs are okay, but it's sporadic and seemed more alive back in the spring.

[divagotstyle07]

thank you!!