I have a BS computer engineering from GT and the only interviews I have received have been from companies wishing me to sign a 3 year contract or other 1*star glassdoor type shenanigans. I am trying to stay positive but I have lost hope. Ive done the mass submitting and specific tailoring strategies to no avail. Now I wish I had gotten a degree in ANY other engineering discipline. Any advice?
Sorry to hear it's been hard. It depends what you're going for.
I'm an EE, less relevant than CE to CS (if you're going after software positions). There are plenty of EEs, physicists, etc. who are in top posts at most tech companies for software. Your degree isn't limiting you.
Job hunting is about demonstrating value to people who matter. If you can demonstrate value to the hiring person (hiring manager, HR, etc.), then you'll get hired.
So while the resume and education are one thing, they're really the tip of the iceberg. You can contribute on open source, you can showcase papers you've authored, you can build relationships with hiring managers to show that you know your stuff.
If you're going for hardware, hardware positions are lower paying, harder to get, and require more experience than software positions. You might want to apply for internships. Broadcom, Qualcomm, Nvidia, all have great internship programs. They might get you to do fun things you'd never do as a full timer as well (Apple gets lots of interns to go to Shenzhen, Nvidia gets it's interns to drop boxes on the floor to test packaging).
Almost all tech companies I've ever interacted with have different staff that deal with new grads/university students than the rest of HR. A typical HR person probably doesn't like new candidates, but new grads are what university recruiters are supposed to do. I'd seek out university recruiters specifically (you can search "university recruiting" on LinkedIn).
I know lots of people who start companies because the jobs they're qualified for, suck. Honestly, I started my first company because I engineering stopped being challenging/fun and no business wanted to take me on. Now I can say I've scaled businesses, sold my B2B SaaS product to $B companies, etc.
Finally, on the motivation/keeping the hope alive. I've had my fair share of dark times. Tony Robbins, Art Williams, and Zig Ziglar are all great to listen to.
I appreciate the response. Are you commenting from a CE standpoint or software engineering? I took a lot of EE classes thinking I could get a hardware job, but that seems like a lost hope.
Software engineering. It can be a bit tough getting in because employers are reluctant to train programmers with no work experience. With a couple of years experience your options broaden significantly, with 5+ years and 2-3 employers under your belt (and provided you are good at what you do) you will have many offers to choose from.
Absurd as it may be, it is the reality of the market and the majority of graduates go through it.
