2024 grads- job placement

[Anonymous]

As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

I wrote that earlier post and of course the mob interpreted as just get a 2.0 and join a frat.

My point was get a decent GPA…but the marginal effort to get a 4.0 vs a 3.5 is massive and absolutely not worth it if it comes at the expense of building your peer and professional network (which is often what happens).

It’s not the bottom of the list…but yeah it’s 4 or 5 on the list (out of 10).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both DS and DD recently graduated on May '24 along with three other nieces and nephews:

- DS graduated from Ivy and still looking for a job, had internships in both sophomore and junior year,

- DD graduated from Duke and is still looking for a job,

- Nephew #1 graduated from JMU. Received a job offer from a financial service because he was an athlete at JMU, and that job via athletic alumni,

- Nephew #2 graduated from UCLA; got a job offer from one of the political donor connections because he played music at one of the private fund-raising events, and made friends with several young people at the event. Their parents are rich political donors,

Niece #1 graduated from UNC; got a job offer as a government contractor PM job because her father is a SES in the government,

Both DS and DD are still looking. Without "networking" with decision makers, it is difficult to land a job these days. They both now realized that it is not the school you attended, it is who you know that matters. FWIW, nephew #1 is trying to leverage his skills to get both DS and DD a job where he is at.

Hahaha the ethically challenged SES put pressure on the gov contractor to hire his kid

Disgusting

I've seen SES card play many times in my 30+ years of gov't contracting.

OP - what did you DS and DD major in?

Total conflict of interest and fireable (like walked outta the building fireable) offense. Which agency is this?

DP. It goes on at many agencies, probably at your agency too.

When you have an active contract & are SES? NO
When you’ve worked with someone in the past but not currently? Sure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

I wrote that earlier post and of course the mob interpreted as just get a 2.0 and join a frat.

My point was get a decent GPA…but the marginal effort to get a 4.0 vs a 3.5 is massive and absolutely not worth it if it comes at the expense of building your peer and professional network (which is often what happens).

It’s not the bottom of the list…but yeah it’s 4 or 5 on the list (out of 10).

I would say a 3.0 GPA for CS or Engineering is often more than enough if you have the right connections. It is a massive effort to go from 3.0 to 3.5 or 4.0 GPA. I will also say this. If the connection comes from a regular engineer working for the company, it probably means very little. However, if the connections come from an SES fed or an SVP/EVP of the organization, it means a lot more. I've seen it first hand as a government contractor, and as an employee at a F100 company. The SES fed told me verbatim, verbally of course, that I should hire this candidate that he recommended even though he wasn't a good fit. At the F100 company, I was directed to hire this candidate because my yearly bonus depends on it. This happens all the time.

Most college students don't realize the importance of connections when they are in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

And that the alumni power has to deal with the school, not the size. DC's LAC is undoubtedly tiny, but the alum network is very very powerful, and alum even reach out sometimes. Meanwhile at DS's big state school known for its connections, he's really struggled to connect with alum and have the same type of experience as DC, and he's the more social child! You have to tap into that alumni pool to get the unique positions that people want after an elite college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

And that the alumni power has to deal with the school, not the size. DC's LAC is undoubtedly tiny, but the alum network is very very powerful, and alum even reach out sometimes. Meanwhile at DS's big state school known for its connections, he's really struggled to connect with alum and have the same type of experience as DC, and he's the more social child! You have to tap into that alumni pool to get the unique positions that people want after an elite college

Agreed. Most alumni people are generally older and they are likely to play golf, and in the past few years Pickleball. It is a great way to get to know them and build that connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD '24 graduated from HYP with a physics major and...is currently teaching at a boarding school, because she couldn't find work. 4.0 with a lot of research and tech skills but just couldn't get anything. Most of her friends are off to med school or fellowships, so she's feeling a bit distraught. I feel horrible and like I failed to support, but I know she'll figure it out.

Quit teaching ASAP and go look for real jobs. Teaching is a trap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD '24 graduated from HYP with a physics major and...is currently teaching at a boarding school, because she couldn't find work. 4.0 with a lot of research and tech skills but just couldn't get anything. Most of her friends are off to med school or fellowships, so she's feeling a bit distraught. I feel horrible and like I failed to support, but I know she'll figure it out.

DS ‘24 graduated with chem degree and will be teaching hs chemistry at a private school (while getting a paid-for masters from Penn) and I am exceptionally proud. This was his ( and my) first choice! More smart people should go into education

This is true until your 35 and realize all the "dumb" people make 3-4x as much as you and you can't afford to buy a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Total conflict of interest and fireable (like walked outta the building fireable) offense. Which agency is this?

DP. It goes on at many agencies, probably at your agency too.

When you have an active contract & are SES? NO
When you’ve worked with someone in the past but not currently? Sure

That is being ignored all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD '24 graduated from HYP with a physics major and...is currently teaching at a boarding school, because she couldn't find work. 4.0 with a lot of research and tech skills but just couldn't get anything. Most of her friends are off to med school or fellowships, so she's feeling a bit distraught. I feel horrible and like I failed to support, but I know she'll figure it out.

DS ‘24 graduated with chem degree and will be teaching hs chemistry at a private school (while getting a paid-for masters from Penn) and I am exceptionally proud. This was his ( and my) first choice! More smart people should go into education

This is true until you’re 35 and realize all the "dumb" people make 3-4x as much as you and you can't afford to buy a house.

Hey PP you responded to here. He’s very likely to get a long term position with this school, and they pay for faculty housing after 5-10 years of teaching. He is going to do well, though I feel for private school teachers who get paid Pennies for a very very hard job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

And that the alumni power has to deal with the school, not the size. DC's LAC is undoubtedly tiny, but the alum network is very very powerful, and alum even reach out sometimes. Meanwhile at DS's big state school known for its connections, he's really struggled to connect with alum and have the same type of experience as DC, and he's the more social child! You have to tap into that alumni pool to get the unique positions that people want after an elite college

Don't believe a word of this until the poster names the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

And that the alumni power has to deal with the school, not the size. DC's LAC is undoubtedly tiny, but the alum network is very very powerful, and alum even reach out sometimes. Meanwhile at DS's big state school known for its connections, he's really struggled to connect with alum and have the same type of experience as DC, and he's the more social child! You have to tap into that alumni pool to get the unique positions that people want after an elite college

It can also be very dependent on major. DD goes to a small, relatively unknown school but a very strong program for her major. She had an internship this summer after freshman year, in part because her boss's wife (same field) went to that school. She's getting confirmation of what the school had promoted when she chose it -- a lot of people in her field in the mid-Atlantic went there and it is well known in the field for being a great school. It doesn't matter that my neighbors don't know it.

It also really helps (especially if you aren't going to a big brand name school) to go to a school in the region you ultimately want to be in, if you have any sense of what that is. DD wants to stay in the mid-Atlantic (Virginia up to NY state) so this school made sense. If she was dying to live in on the west coast we'd have sent her to college in that region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As some PP mentioned, GPAs should be near the bottom of the priority list, unless you go to law or med school. Connections and networking should be the number one priority on the list, because they will get you jobs after graduation. My Ivy kids learned that too late.

And also a school with a STRONG alumni association, or go to a LOCAL school and network. Especially for a field like CS, the networking and internships trumps ranking, and your ROI is much higher.

And that the alumni power has to deal with the school, not the size. DC's LAC is undoubtedly tiny, but the alum network is very very powerful, and alum even reach out sometimes. Meanwhile at DS's big state school known for its connections, he's really struggled to connect with alum and have the same type of experience as DC, and he's the more social child! You have to tap into that alumni pool to get the unique positions that people want after an elite college

Don't believe a word of this until the poster names the schools.

Sure. She goes to Williams.
Son goes to UIUC.
Why this matters to you? Not really sure.

[Anonymous]

University of Tennessee, Supply Chain major, 2.95 gpa. No internships. Three job offers in his field, took the best option which included a relocation bonus. Tennessee hosts a lot of job fairs and some of the junior and senior level classes actually require not only attendance at the job fair but that the student speak to at least three different companies and have those companies sign off that they’ve been spoke to. They also require resume review. He found the job he ended up with on LinkedIn but I believe that Tennessee prepared him well for the job market.