Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Engineers Week 2014

Last week was Engineers Week, which is an entire week dedicated to events related to careers in engineering. Some of the events include the annual Evening with Industry Banquet and the Engineering Expo which I both attended.

The Evening with Industry Banquet was Wednesday night, and it was at the Huntington Club on the fourth floor of the stadium. One of the sponsors of the event was SWE, so I know some of the girls that helped run the event. The event was free to attend, but attendees had to register and pay a ten dollar deposit by a deadline. The deposit was returned to each person as they checked into the event. Students get a chance to network with many of the same company representatives that attend the Engineering Expo the next day. They also get to eat a free dinner and listen to a keynote speaker.

The program starts with check-in and mingling with the company representatives. Then, everyone takes a seat and company-sponsored scholarships are awarded. Students who are involved with SWE, Women in Engineering, Diversity Programs Office, and service can apply or be nominated for some of these awards. Then, it is time for dinner, which includes a salad, chicken or vegetarian main dish, and cake for dessert. Dinner is also a good time to talk to some of the representatives at your table. A talk given by a keynote speaker was the final event of the evening.

The Engineering Expo is a career fair that takes over the Engineering Building for an afternoon. Companies look for engineers for summer internships, co-ops, and full-time positions at this event. A lot of the companies conduct interviews at the stadium the following day. I spoke with a lot of company representatives, many of whom were MSU engineering alumni. One lady had my research professor as a professor and asked me to tell him that she said hi. Knowing that some of the recruiters were once in the exact same spot as I am now made me feel much more comfortable talking with them. There were so many people and companies that it was hard to walk through the hallways! I did have an interview with one company for an internship, and many of my friends had interviews for internships and co-ops.

Over the past week with the SWE conference leading into the festivities of Engineers Week, I have been super busy. I am definitely ready for Spring Break next week!

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