Quote :

""How much team vs individual work do I want? Don't know, never had a job before, never had to deal with it before. " Don't you know that when you have no job experience to answer interview questions, you move onto schoolwork experience? You have had to deal with individual vs. teamwork before at school. If you don't have school experience, you probably shouldn't be having those questions at an interview anyways."

That's not what I was talking about. I was talking about the questions I am supposed to ask them at the end of the interview.

They ask questions to me during the interview, and I answer semi-intelligently, mostly talking about schoolwork and school projects.
At the end of the interview, they say, "So, do you have any questions for us?" And I always say, "uhhhh, durrrrr, well you covered it pretty well when we were talking earlier durrrr," and I think that's a big turnoff for interviewers.
They asked questions to determine if I'm a good fit for their company. I am likewise supposed to ask questions that determine if the company is a good fit for me. But I have no fucking clue what would determine if the company is a good fit for me. I have no clue what "company culture" even is, much less what type of culture I want.

So I might ask dumbass questions about work-life balance or management style or team vs individual when I don't know what answer I'm looking for.
"So, what's the team vs individual breakdown?" "It's 90% teamwork." "Okay, great! I love teamwork! That makes me happy."
"So, what's the team vs individual breakdown?" "It's 90% solo." "Okay, great! Fuck teammates, those guys always suck anyway."

9/24/2010 9:37:47 AM

Quote :

"I don't regret getting my English and Chemical Engineering degrees at the same time at all."

Unless you want to write technical doc I don't understand why one would get these two degrees.

9/24/2010 10:23:47 AM

^^ I tend to ask more questions about the actual position then the company at the end of interviews. Sure, they probably have it all listed out in the posting and the interviewer may have gone over it some, but sometimes it's not enough. What EXACTLY will you be responsible for individually? I always try to create a link between what I've done in the past and what this job would be expecting from me. Also, Product Engineer means various things with different companies, as do other positions like Quality Engineer, etc., so it's best to understand what you're getting yourself into based on that particular company's definition for that title.

9/24/2010 10:49:25 AM

^^prolly b/c she likes english but doesn't want to be an english teacher...

[Edited on September 24, 2010 at 11:15 AM. Reason : amazingly, some people have non-career-related educational goals]

9/24/2010 11:14:24 AM

Quote :

"amazingly, some people have non-career-related educational goals"

Shocking, right?

People on TWW should stop berating others for choosing to study subjects they're interested in, impractical or not. Regardless, I'm glad I have the English degree. It definitely comes in handy more often than you'd think.

9/24/2010 4:21:40 PM

I'm going to continue berating others for choosing impractical majors. It's a waste of time and money. Naive kids just entering college need a reality check sometimes.

9/24/2010 4:24:41 PM

It's not a waste at all. It's ridiculous to assert that everyone should be a science, engineering or business major "for their own good."

[Edited on September 24, 2010 at 4:39 PM. Reason : .]

9/24/2010 4:38:52 PM

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain" - John Adams


If you don't come from a family of means it makes more sense to study something of practicality.

9/24/2010 4:52:26 PM

it also makes more economic sense not to pay for cable and to drink water instead of buying coke, but you pick your priorities in life

9/24/2010 5:41:50 PM

I don't disagree but a freshly graduated engineer not being able to find a job is more concerning than a freshly graduated women's studies grad not being able to find a job.

I'm not shitting on anyone's choices, but these sorts of things aren't really kept hidden from them when deciding on a major.

9/24/2010 7:21:51 PM

fair enough

9/24/2010 10:19:27 PM

Quote :

"It's ridiculous to assert that everyone should be a science, engineering or business major "for their own good.""

It's ridiculous to get 6 figures in debt for a degree which pays 30K a year at best.

9/25/2010 1:30:28 AM

if you go 6 figures in debt getting a degree at NCSU, you're doing something wrong.

9/25/2010 11:27:48 AM

^^ If all you care about is making money, of course you might choose another major. If you care about being happy and studying something interesting, your choice might be different.

Of course there are some obviously majors who deserve to be paid better (Education comes to mind).

^ Also true.

[Edited on September 25, 2010 at 11:59 AM. Reason : I'm going to let this thread get back to what it was about in the first place.]

9/25/2010 11:52:16 AM

Quote :

"if you go 6 figures in debt getting a degree at NCSU, you're doing something wrong"

True, although I've met quite a few people who took the private school route for a degree which was certainly not worth the money.

Quote :

"If all you care about is making money, of course you might choose another major. If you care about being happy and studying something interesting, your choice might be different."

Yeah, I bet all those unemployed chass majors are real "happy" My career allows me to do things which make me happy. When you're young and stupid you have career aspiration like sports allstar, astronaut, etc. and while a few select few may actually achieve that goal, eventually most people grow up and pick something far more practical. Having a hobby like sports, art, whatever is great, but to think you can just make a career out of anything which makes you happy is just foolish.

9/25/2010 3:57:29 PM

Called up a company that I summer interned at and saw if I would be able to intern again, and they gave me an internship. Will start on Tuesday. Not a full salary, but its something for the mean time. Not what I want to do full time so I'm still going to keep networking through LinkedIn, and instead of asking random people "Hey get me a job plz?" say "Hey, I'm trying to get in your field, any advice/What was your career path?/Have any connections for more information?"

When I talked to the CEO of the place where I'm going to be interning, he said that they have salary positions open and I think eventually I could get a salary position offered. We'll see what happens...

9/25/2010 6:31:08 PM

Getting paid for the first time since graduation, first paycheck is Friday. Maybe. I'm waiting for the Army to screw that up, too.

9/25/2010 9:09:21 PM

In reference to using LinkedIn:

I recently went to a LinkedIn training session, where the instructor showed us a few things about it. One was if you're trying to get into a certain industry, you can go to Contacts -> Network Statistics (http://www.linkedin.com/network?trk=hb_tab_net ) and track how close you're getting to your industry. For myself, trying to get into Defense, my statistics should show that I'm building my network in Defense, whereas currently my biggest connection industries are

9% 1. Information Technology and Services
6% 2. Chemicals
5% 3. Computer Software
5% 4. Pharmaceuticals
4% 5. Biotechnology

So lately I've started joining groups geared towards the area I'm going into and searching out people who are in the area that I want to be in. I recently searched "chemical engineer" and "BAE" and found a guy in my network who is a CHE at BAE. I added him to my network and asked for 1) how he got into his job and 2) if he had any advice or connections. He replied with a pretty intriguing email...of course, he got his current job because of personal referrals .

Hopefully I'll be able to get closer to my ideal job sector while working this internship.

9/25/2010 11:49:00 PM

I am currently unemployed and am searching for a temporary position until mid-March. I start TBS for the Marines then and will be on active duty. However, between now and then I am not getting paid nor am I doing anything productive besides working out and running. I've been applying to internships and temporary civilian positions to no avail - so far. Hopefully I will hear back from some companies between now and the first week of October.

^ Hey, can you get me a job??!?!?!

[Edited on September 27, 2010 at 2:41 PM. Reason : plz?]

9/27/2010 2:41:11 PM

The engineering career fair for NC State is coming up really soon. I know I plan on going. I probably don't stand a chance of getting anything due to all of the competition that I'm sure will be there, but it's all I've got left at this point; daily internet searches rarely turn up anything, and my social network is so tiny that I can't leverage it worth a damn. If I can't get a job after this, it's more or less a done deal that I won't find a job at all this year.

9/27/2010 3:43:28 PM

I just started a job but I'm hoping it will just be temporary.

9/27/2010 3:50:46 PM

Updated open positions at Bronto Software in Durham, NC:
- Support Associate
- Financial Analyst
- Web Designer
- Java Software Engineer
- PHP Software Engineer
- Partner Account Manager
- Online Marketing Strategist
- Integration Product Specialist
- Software Sales Executive
- Director of Sales

If you're interested drop me a line. Details on each of the above positions is available at our career site (http://www.bronto.com/careers). Let me know if you apply and I'll try to help you with whatever I can.

9/27/2010 4:17:48 PM

had a followup at Goldman Sachs, about 95% certain I'll get an offer by end of the week

9/27/2010 5:54:43 PM

Quote :

"and my social network is so tiny that I can't leverage it worth a damn"

Seriously, get on LinkedIn and start adding people from like your email address book and professors. I started talking with a few entry level guys and got a pretty good perspective on what's it like out there. Plus I now have access to their connections so (and their second connections) so my network has just exploded as far as people I can message and add.

Like one guy I searched "Chemical Engineer" and "BAE" and found he was in my network through the AICHE group. I added him and asked about his career path, and he responded with a bunch of info.

[Edited on September 27, 2010 at 6:18 PM. Reason : lkj]

9/27/2010 6:17:22 PM

^Already on LinkedIn. I've only found 2 contacts on there as of right now, however. And that's after importing all of my emails from gmail. So far I don't found any of my professors on there.

[Edited on September 27, 2010 at 10:07 PM. Reason : blah]

9/27/2010 10:06:07 PM

well in the quest for "real world" employment i'm still unemployed

but in the fake world i got a job! another retail job! and it pays $10 an hour which is pretty darn good for retail.

its full time 830-530 everyday :/ and 10-5 on saturdays. i dunno yet if it will be really EVERYDAY or if i get a day off during the week.

sucks for football games, but i think they alternate saturdays?! i certainly hope or else my time at games is pretty much dunzo.

so at least i got A job even if it isn't a big girl job. i mean...its something and it is going to allow me to save a pretty good amount since i'll be working 40+ hours a week and living at home. sweeeet. i'm not super excited cause it is work. and retail. but i mean, i'm excited cause it is a job and not one that takes a lot of brain power to do.

9/28/2010 3:55:19 PM

grats

9/28/2010 4:00:57 PM

^^ What is the name and address of the store, when is your lunch break, and what make and model of car do you drive?




Also, congrats!

9/28/2010 4:35:23 PM

lol

9/28/2010 5:05:02 PM

its a baby store so i don't think you guys will be hanging around much

9/28/2010 5:16:43 PM

DPK, PM sent.

9/28/2010 8:04:53 PM

got a job offer outside of hickory for $32k......im thinking of declining just because of the area but idk

9/28/2010 11:25:58 PM

I will be working the NC State Engineering Career fair next week for my company (Fluor) if anyone is going there.

[Edited on September 29, 2010 at 8:53 AM. Reason : ]

9/29/2010 8:45:09 AM

My department is looking for a tech writer. PM for details

9/29/2010 9:45:07 AM

My temp job will be ending at the end of October. I had a phone interview for another job today that went well. However, their interview sounds very slow.
I hope I can find something else when my current jobs ends.

9/29/2010 6:38:41 PM

Hopefully not for too much longer. Interview #2 with a place I went last week.

9/29/2010 6:44:29 PM

Had a second interview yesterday. Sent all 3 of my interviewers thank you emails. They emailed me back saying how well I handled myself in the interview and made a "very positive" impression. Called back today to tell me they are going in another direction.

WTF

9/30/2010 11:21:39 AM

^I really hate it when interviewers do that. Some days it feels like companies have no actual intention of hiring me, they just do it for the sake of procedure. For all I know some of them even do it for the lulz.

9/30/2010 12:58:32 PM

moving up within the company, with a much more dedicated job role and no more assistant work! Yay!

9/30/2010 1:14:26 PM

Well second interview went well. Pretty much a meet and greet with the president of the company. The VP laughed when I said I'd start tomorrow in response to him asking if I was still interested.

9/30/2010 5:50:09 PM

wtf I can't post from my phone without double posting or getting flood controlled.

9/30/2010 5:50:09 PM

I keep setting up informational interviews, but I keep thinking they are a waste of time. So far the only thing they have gotten me is more informational interviews.

10/1/2010 11:58:43 AM

wohoo, just got a compelling offer from a fixed income trading firm
still waiting to hear back from GS

10/1/2010 5:02:24 PM

I know a guy at GS

Told me his salary and I lol'd

Told me his bonus check and I

10/1/2010 5:04:29 PM

^Yeah that's why accepting the GS job could be tough since I won't see much of a bump until bonus season next year

10/1/2010 5:25:12 PM

Will you be coding HFT algorithms?

10/1/2010 6:19:53 PM

I have a phone interview tomorrow!! Wouldn't you know it, I was out running errands today and the lady emailed me three times to get me to schedule an interview so it looks like I'm one of the last interviews of the day. I could kick myself for not being by my computer
This is my first interview after hundreds of cover letters and almost a year of being unemployed, I'm going to put all my energy into standing out and being charming.

10/4/2010 4:30:08 PM

^ GOOD LUCK Missy!!!!

10/4/2010 7:59:48 PM

^thank you darling!!! and guess what, now I have an in-person interview with them tomorrow!! omg I am so excited!

10/5/2010 5:45:22 PM

Got a job offer with a company that is exactly what I'm looking for ...except its not in Raleigh but Charlotte is close enough

I just need to negotiate the salary and all that. Had a call out of the blue to come in for an interview the following week, interviewed that morning, and had a job offer before the day ended

10/7/2010 2:13:55 PM