What the hell will i do with my life after university?

[MrKrako]

Hi! I'm 21 years old, next year i'm graduating from university and i will get my degree in Industrial Electronics and Automatisms Egineering. I live in the Canary Islands, Spain, and they are those little dots in the map. Spain does not have any outstanding university (like USA or UK have), and mine is not even a really good one among the spanish ones in my opinion. I will have a hard time trying to explain how engineering works in Spain, but i'll try:

Next year i will be what we call here a "Technical Engineer" which means i studied 3-4 years of engineering. The next step is what we call a "Superior Engineer" which means you studied 5+ years of Engineering. To be more specific, i will become an "Industrial Technical Engineer" and i'll have certain certified professional attributions in the industrial field. E.g: I'll have attributions to design industrial buildings or electrical installations but with some restrictions. The only field i would not have any limitations would be industrial electronics and automatisms due to my specialization.

The thing is that i can become a "Superior Engineer" by studing the Master's Degree of Industrial Engineer. That would give me all the professional attributions to do what the hell i want to do in any industrial related field i want. But, to be honest, i don't want to get stuck again for two years studing some "more advanced" mechanical structures or thermodynamics. I studied the basics of those things and i don't feel like i want to do it again.

My dream job would be something related to power electronics, like PSU designing for example. But i don't really know if that Master's Degree is going to matter outside of my country or if i'm going to be able to find a job in a field related to that. As i said, my university is not a really good one (of course there are some that are in even worst than mine), and i fear i will not be able to find a company interested in me because of that. What do you guys think about that? Am i stupid because of being afraid of that?

 

[smorizio]

no it what called being smart in these days and age of hard to get jobs. here in the us it worse becuase there are to many over schooled people and very little manufacturing jobs left here in the us. most have gone south or to china. what i would do is write to main power supply vendors like seasonic/goldenflower....see if they have any entry level or summer schooling. to get your foot in the door. today there going to be people that on paper using 3d tools making power supplys at point a then sending there drawings to a prefab shop in china..they make few test units..debug them and then the product goes to market. the other end of power supply and or products..is debug repair and defect monitoring. any product can have a bad batch at any time..it the defect monitor that telles eng and higher up there an issue with there product.

 

[tominsac]

You'll find as you get older that you're gonna do a lot of things that you don't want to. take your advanced classes if you can, it will make "dealing with life " easier - later.

 

[MrKrako]

no it what called being smart in these days and age of hard to get jobs. here in the us it worse becuase there are to many over schooled people and very little manufacturing jobs left here in the us. most have gone south or to china. what i would do is write to main power supply vendors like seasonic/goldenflower....see if they have any entry level or summer schooling. to get your foot in the door. today there going to be people that on paper using 3d tools making power supplys at point a then sending there drawings to a prefab shop in china..they make few test units..debug them and then the product goes to market. the other end of power supply and or products..is debug repair and defect monitoring. any product can have a bad batch at any time..it the defect monitor that telles eng and higher up there an issue with there product.

But do you think i will get something? I'm not really used to "Summer schooling" thing: is not even common here in Spain. I will try, even if i get rejected i don't have anything to lose anyway but... Having a lot of good universities and colleges in the US i don't thing they would even consider me as a solid candidate to anything. I'm graduating with a 7,5/10 average mark (but i passed with honours like the half of my electronic related subjects) from a mediocre spanish university and don't really speak more than 2 languages (spanish and english). I know marks doesn't really matter but i think i have many things against that dream hahahaha

 

[MrKrako]

You'll find as you get older that you're gonna do a lot of things that you don't want to. take your advanced classes if you can, it will make "dealing with life " easier - later.

Yeah, i'll end up doing that Master's Degree because i'll get a lot more professional attributions but the ponit is that i don't really know if that will matter in any other country apart from Spain. Would any company related to Engineer consider it a thing or would they rather a "specialized" engineer with some other kind of Master's degree?

 

[tominsac]

Isn't college free in parts of Europe? you have to give a vital organ here in us to pay for it

 

[thx1138v2]

Fear of the unknown is universal. You are moving from the academic world to the engineering world. Angst is to be expected.

Fear, per se, is not a bad thing. How you handle it is the important thing. Many times in life you will fail at some endeavor. But, like a boxer, it's not the getting knocked down that is important. It's the picking yourself up again that is important.

Focus on what it is you want to do. If you take a "job" that is unsatisfying you will not last at it. Focus on what you want to do and gain employment where you can both contribute with the knowledge you have now and learn about things you are interested in. If possible, acquire the master's degree while working. It may take more than 2 years that way but you may also be able to get your employer to pay part or all of the expense. The more degrees and awards you accumulate during your life, the more valuable you become and with that value comes the freedom (to a degree) to learn and work on the things that interest you. It's the combination of education and experience that feed each other.

Take a look at the early life of Nikola Tesla.

Here are a couple of my favorite sayings:
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra

"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience - well, that comes from poor judgment." - A. A. Milne

A friend of mine explained to me that last as, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted at the outset." - Dennis Conner

 

[MrKrako]

Isn't college free in parts of Europe? you have to give a vital organ here in us to pay for it

It is in some countries. In Spain you have to pay a fraction of it. For example, a full year of Engineering at my university cost around 1200€ (1300-1400$) but it varies depending on which university are you attending at, which degree are you studing and some other things. You pay like 120€ for a 6 credits subject (4 hours of classes per week, which is the normal) and if you fail that subject and have to do it again, next year you have to pay double for it (and keeps going on 'till you have pay like 5 times its original price).

The things is that if you don't have enough money and you are a decent student the goverment can pay your education. I.e. my family is a normal one here, not rich or poor, and i receive a grant every year that pays my college fees and give me like 600€ (680$) to pay transports or materials i need.

 

[MrKrako]

Fear of the unknown is universal. You are moving from the academic world to the engineering world. Angst is to be expected.

Fear, per se, is not a bad thing. How you handle it is the important thing. Many times in life you will fail at some endeavor. But, like a boxer, it's not the getting knocked down that is important. It's the picking yourself up again that is important.

Focus on what it is you want to do. If you take a "job" that is unsatisfying you will not last at it. Focus on what you want to do and gain employment where you can both contribute with the knowledge you have now and learn about things you are interested in. If possible, acquire the master's degree while working. It may take more than 2 years that way but you may also be able to get your employer to pay part or all of the expense. The more degrees and awards you accumulate during your life, the more valuable you become and with that value comes the freedom (to a degree) to learn and work on the things that interest you. It's the combination of education and experience that feed each other.

Take a look at the early life of Nikola Tesla.

Here are a couple of my favorite sayings:
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra

"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience - well, that comes from poor judgment." - A. A. Milne

A friend of mine explained to me that last as, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted at the outset." - Dennis Conner

I've been told that many times from both teachers and friends of mine that are already working. Things outside Engineering Schools work in a really different way and people are not even going to bother in looking at what grades you got back in college. A language, an expertise is something, your working experience or even your personality will matter more than where did you study or how many years took you to finish your studies. But i can't control that, i'm worried about that things even though i consider myself one of the best among my classmates. I guess that things would resolute by themselves when the time comes.

 

[smorizio]

few things to start looking at are local union/shop houses. if you have to look at a/c tech jobs. also see what the local power comp are looking for. also look at state and fed jobs. here in the us the post office needs a lot of computer people same with lotto. also look at the school your at now for work in server /it jobs. here in the us server and it jobs are still a hot tix to fill.

 

[thx1138v2]

I've been told that many times from both teachers and friends of mine that are already working. Things outside Engineering Schools work in a really different way and people are not even going to bother in looking at what grades you got back in college. A language, an expertise is something, your working experience or even your personality will matter more than where did you study or how many years took you to finish your studies. But i can't control that, i'm worried about that things even though i consider myself one of the best among my classmates. I guess that things would resolute by themselves when the time comes.

The fact that you get the degrees is what's important. They open doors. By getting the degree(s) you show that you have the perseverance to complete what you start. It's not so much that it will get you a job but they are critical to getting an interview for a job which is the first step. If they are not on your CV you will not even get a callback no matter how many jobs you apply for.

 

[MrKrako]

few things to start looking at are local union/shop houses. if you have to look at a/c tech jobs. also see what the local power comp are looking for. also look at state and fed jobs. here in the us the post office needs a lot of computer people same with lotto. also look at the school your at now for work in server /it jobs. here in the us server and it jobs are still a hot tix to fill.

The thing is that destiny may have heard of me. I met my power electronics teacher this morning in the car park outside my school (it's been a while since the last time i saw him because i passed his subject with honours in january). We chatted a little bit and he asked me how I was doing and if i have already chosen a tutor for the final degree project. I don't know if in other countries it works this way, but in order to get your degree you have to do a final project about any field related to your degree (like you have to do when you're trying to get your PhD but adjusted to a normal degree level). So i told him i still have not asked anyone yet because it's next year and i have plenty of time. Surprisingly he told me not to ask anyone and if i want to, he would gladly be my tutor next year. He even told me that an air conditioner company has contacted him several times to repair electronics boards and inverters of their equipments. They are looking for people to some jobs and maybe hire them. So i think i can have chance in the power electronics field at least! Maybe the PSU-related job market is not the best idea hahahaha