For graduating engineering students from the University of Wyoming, job prospects are promising even in a difficult economy.
According to recent survey statistics from the UW Engineering and Applied Sciences website, 43.8 percent of seniors secured a permanent position in their major before they graduated. The survey also said that 43.1 percent of seniors reported an initial salary greater than $60,000.
But just earning an engineering degree from the university does not guarantee employment.
Landon Dawson, a petroleum engineering student graduating in December, said students looking for jobs in the field of engineering need to be well rounded to be an attractive employee prospect.
“Employers want decent grades, but it doesn’t have to be a 4.0,” Dawson said. “They want to see that you are out doing extracurricular activities as well, not just sitting in your room studying and doing homework all the time.”
Dawson said that any extracurricular is important, whether it is participating in clubs or playing intramural sports. But he also noted that engineer-specific activities are also important.
“Field experience is important. You need to do some internship work or any sort of work experience whether it is paid or not, just to show that you have been around the work outside of classes and labs.”
This is important for all fields of engineering whether it be petroleum, mechanical or what have you, according to Dawson. Though employers from different types of engineer companies may put more emphasis on grades than others, work experience is always heavily sought after.
Dawson said he feels excited for job prospects in the near future. At the last job fair he attended at the university, more than 30 different petroleum companies came to talk to UW students. He said he also learned in his classes that, because a majority of jobs in his field are held by “baby boomers” approaching retirement age, there could be an excess of jobs in the next five to 10 years.
But it does not come down to just a grade point average or extracurricular activities while searching for a position. Kyle Purcell, a mechanical engineering student graduating this spring, emphasized the importance of passing the FE, or Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
Purcell described the experience of completing the test as “pure torture.”
“The FE is an eight hour exam that is divided into two four hour sections that covers everything that you have learned over the past four years, and a lot of things that you haven’t learned yet,” Purcell said. “The first section is general engineering questions, and the second part deals with things specific to your department.”
The FE may be an ordeal, but Purcell talked about the benefits of successfully passing the exam.
“It is probably the most important moment as an engineer student. It is crucial to prepare for because if you get your degree but you didn’t pass the FE you are a step behind every engineer student that did, and it is expected that you will take it until you pass it.”
Purcell passed the FE on his first attempt, and he credits that to the strong education that he was given by the University of Wyoming.
“I believe that coming from [UW] I have a stronger foundation than most. If you look at the facts, the university had about a 10 percent higher rate of passing the FE than the national average.” Purcell said. “Also, graduating from an ABET accredited program is a great leg up on the competition.”
