<p>So, I signed up and started browsing the HireMe website to see what employers want, so some observations, along with questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Why does every position seem to want a Computer science major? Looking through jobs, I’m seeing FAR more CS/CE wanted than any other major. And for the most part, ones that want anyone else will take any major. Now, I’m not looking at the jobs in the Chemical industry or other specialized industry jobs which need people of specific majors (I’m sure there’s demand for ChemE, MechE, EE, Aero, etc) but all the general and seemingly less technical jobs seem to all not care or want CS/CE majors only (and something I’m seeing with some jobs, they also want non Engineering majors, commonly Math/Physics/Econ/Finance), so any particular reason why?</p></li>
<li><p>I see a large number (though fewer than I expected from how people on this forum have described it) of jobs which say they want a minimum 3.0, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 GPA (which is posted on the bottom), and I see some which in the description/qualifications say they want someone with a 3.5 GPA and on the bottom have a minimum of 3.0. So…</p></li>
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<p>a. These jobs described first (minimum GPA shown at the bottom) are “You cannot apply if you do not have this GPA” and ones that have one in the description are “We will ignore you application if you do not have this GPA but you can apply if you really want to” or does it work differently?</p>
<p>b. Many of those jobs have you apply elsewhere, if you do can you apply with some sort of half-truth GPA, and show an honest GPA on the resume (for instance, if you have to enter a GPA somewhere, maybe you round up, maybe you count only major GPA, maybe you count only 1 major GPA if you have multiple, etc) but put a fully legit GPA on your resume? </p>
<p>c. I’m told that once you get the interview, your GPA matters none. So do they interview everyone who meets particular criteria? Do they sift through and only interview a few? Does it vary? If it varies what’s most common?</p>
<p>d. Once you’re above the minimum, or for jobs which don’t list a minimum, does it matter how high your GPA is? For instance, if the minimum is a 3.2, and you have a 3.3 and someone else has a 3.5, does that difference give that guy a benefit? Again, I guess this is a question of what is most common. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Pretty much all internships have a graduation date requirement. How enforcable is that. They can’t really hold you to graduating by that date, and they don’t really know when you plan to graduate. As long as it’s reasonable (like with 22 credits I’m not telling them I’m graduating in April 2010) how can they tell? Can you get away with fudging graduation dates (again, within reason)?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there any rule of thumb for how many applicants there are per opening? And what are the biggest factors of it (what increases/decreases that number)?</p></li>
<li><p>I saw one say they wanted SAT/ACT scores. This was discussed somewhere else in this forum and I was told that you can lie because there’s no way they can tell. I just want to confirm again that that’s true. </p></li>
<li><p>Some jobs specifically say in the qualifications that having an Econ background/extra-math, quantitative, or problem solving skills/Finance background/particular programming skills/some other things is a benefit. If a job doesn’t list any of those things, is it a plus to them or completely unimportant. The reason I ask is because not many include those, so from a job outlook standpoint, is it better to just take as many easy-A classes as you possibly can, and don’t worry about anything else (since GPA is important for many jobs), or should you try to minor/major/anything in those. And when they are listed, how useful are they?</p></li>
<li><p>Since I’m trying to compare majors (but have pretty much come to the conclusion that CS trumps everything else) is there any way to get rid of from the search any job which says they want any major? </p></li>
<li><p>Does it mean what it says when it lists a job as Full-Time Entry Level and says in the description they want 2 years experience in a particular field?</p></li>
<li><p>What are other good resources for searching for jobs? (Is it worthwhile to see what postings on Monster.com want?) Specifically jobs that want engineering people which aren’t super-technical. </p></li>
<li><p>This ones a little bit of a disjoint question, but is there a way I can major in two engineering fields (for instance IOE because it sounds interesting and CS because it’s better at getting me a good job), and is that really worthwhile to do?</p></li>
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<p>I know it’s a lot of questions, thanks so thanks for reading/answering.</p>