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What counts as job experience?

For any kind of engineer #engineer

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David’s Answer

Stany - when people ask what I do, I tell them I solve problems by designing and building things. With that in mind, what experiences have you had where you solved a problem by building something? Perhaps you built an improved website for your local animal shelter. Maybe as an Eagle Scout candidate you led a project to build a pedestrian bridge. Or maybe you coordinated the plumbing work while volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build. When you don't have a long work history to fill your resume, make sure you include projects like these. Be prepared to talk about how you overcame the various obstacles to completion, what you learned along the way, what you liked about leading a team, and the mistakes you made (and learned from). All of these experiences enrich you as an engineer and will make you more valuable to a potential employer.
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Drew’s Answer

The door opening experience is an accredited engineering degree. I can't think of any experience I have had that is not helpful to my practice of engineering. I sold life and health insurance, studied political science, and was a sailor at sea and in shipyards for an extended period. All of these varied experiences complement my engineering education and make me a better engineer. Engineering is an art and a science. I have always thought the art is finding creative ways to combine the various elements (science, environment, finance, etc.) into workable solutions.

Drew recommends the following next steps:

Learn more about what engineers do at the Occupational Outlook Handbook
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Stany Y. Thanks for your awesome question!

As I try to dig a little deeper into your question I will share four things that, if I were a hiring manager of engineers, might demonstrate a good body of job experience. 1)How long were you either doing your job or working on a project? If we are talking about a summer internship, then 30-60days for the job or project. Otherwise a minimum could be 12-18 months. 2)What was the job or project? In other words, if you could summarize what you did with your time, while on your job or project, >=80% of the time, how would you describe it? 3)How big was your job or project? Were you a member of a team or was the focus of your job your own input/output? 4)What were the results of your job or project? How did you learn whether or not what you were doing was successful? How did you and/or your supervisor track improvements based on what you did 80% or more of the time?

I share that I have been a engineer for a while and in general terms, the expectation is that engineers are working on meaningful projects that have sustainable and effective outcomes. One individual usually cannot ensure that a job/project is successful so a person's ability to work well in a team environment is another important piece of determining good job experience.

These are just a few of many items to consider. Hope you find them helpful. Best of luck to you!
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