Under pressure

These are exciting days here in CaitlinMSE-land, and nothing says “festive” quite like clip art and a post title taken from a Queen & David Bowie duet! Now that the fun of my on-campus interviews has come to a close, I’m staring down three on-site final interviews. Have you seen me lately? Do I look particularly terrified? Yes, I’m not so good at hiding my anxiety, am I? The on-campus interviews, they were becoming old hat, no sweat. Next week I’ll be out of my element on two separate occasions, and that isn’t counting that non-ferrous midterm or ferrous quiz sandwiched between my interview trips. I’m desperately trying to keep everything in perspective, which is difficult to do when you’re treading water in the deep end of engineering. (It’s especially difficult when you’re dealing with the fear that you’re innately a humanities major who just happens to be sporting a colorful engineering candy coating.) My advice to all MSE majors: schedule a very, very light autumn quarter class load your senior year. Also, don’t try to TA three sections of a class four days a week. Otherwise, unless you’re superhuman, you’ll become so stressed by the middle of the quarter that even cheese won’t sound appetizing to you. Cheese! Your favorite!

In an effort to divert my attention from the impending terror of next week, I’ll explain a little about how great Engineering Career Services (ECS) is in helping with the job search. I’ve heard students complain that it’s good only for students looking to stay in Ohio – not true. My interviews are in Texas, Indiana, and…okay, Ohio. A lot of the companies are located all over the country, and yes, a lot of them have branches in Ohio, but many hire for all of their locations. Another benefit of ECS: they bring the interviews to you. I suppose this is hard to appreciate unless you’ve had experience pounding the pavement, hunting for a job. Trust me, not having to drive all over the place for interviews is amazing. And when it comes time for on-site interviews, the companies usually foot the bill for travel. Finally, the staff at ECS is super-helpful when it comes time to make your resume look all buff and toned. Also, if you give the counselors an idea of what you’re looking for job- or internship-wise, they’ll keep an eye out for any special work prospects that come their way and encourage you to pursue those opportunities. The job database is exhaustive, and once you pay your one-time $25 fee, it’s yours to peruse whenever you so choose. You can go hog-wild and apply for any job that’s looking for employees with your credentials, or you can be more selective and just follow the companies in which you have a keen interest. In essence, ECS is well worth the time, effort, and money.

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