Could use some advice from the pragmatists here.
Son graduates in May with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has already completed a three-rotation co-op and a summer internship, both in manufacturing, and while they were great opportunities and he learned a lot, he really doesn't want to work in manufacturing. His interests are in design (as I imagine a lot of students' are).
How realistic is it to think he has a shot at a design job, and what can he do to increase his odds of working in design in the future?
I am not an engineer, but I keep thinking design jobs go to employees who've proved themselves in other areas, like manufacturing. Are there first jobs that are more likely to lead to design opportunities in the future? Or does some type of master's degree make sense? My son is relatively reasonable, but I'd like to steer him in a realistic direction.
He will graduate summa, Pi Tau Sigma, and Tau Beta Pi, having passed his FE exam, and with zero debt because he took the advice offered here five years ago to take the money at an out-of-state flagship (Alabama) rather than our in-state one (Penn State).
Is there such a thing as a postgraduate internship that might make him more marketable or are there companies that hire a lot of new grads and train them for a design track I can direct him to?
Sorry if any of these questions are stupid, and I am not a STEM person myself!
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