I have a BSME from Stanford, 3.3 GPA, no internships, no extracurriculars, unemployed 2 years and now stuck in a dead end job for the last 3 years. Is there any way to salvage a career out of this or is it over?
I thought about grad school but there is no chance I am getting any professor recommendations. I was accepted to SJSU MSME but wouldn’t be able to pay for it without loans.
You need to talk to people in the field. Even getting an internship is a step in the right direction. That is a VALUABLE degree people would love to have. You need some goal setting ( calling three people a day, sending out x resumes a week, doing other things). What you need is a job, any job in your field. Do you think you might have an issue with interviewing? Some people do. They come off as too quiet, arrogant, talkative etc. But they can practice so they can pass the interview process. People will help at Stanford. Go there and get working. These years are important. If your parents or their friends can help, let them.
Also you didn’t mention the dead end job. Is it in your field? If so great. If not, then get one in your field. At this point it doesn’t matter where. Or even go into a related professional field that is interesting to you.
In terms of EC’s. You can volunteer to tutor math or robotics or science or work in a Summer camp. The possibilities are endless. But volunteering is secondary to finding work in your field.
Call a recruiter. And ask them why they think you are having trouble. Be read to listen and HEAR what they have to say. Collect the data and work on what they told you. Good luck.
My official title is mechanical engineer but I do nothing related to engineering,
Why did you not do any internships while at Stanford? No EC’s? That may be the root of your current problem.
I applied to about 30 internships a year but didn’t get any of them. Also was barely staying afloat academically so didn’t have time for ECs. Too late to fix any of that anyway.
That lends support to @Happytimes2001’s advice about your interviewing skills. As a Stanford student you should have been able to get an internship. Did Stanford offer and did you participate in job search workshops? Does the Stanford placement office offer such workshops to alumni?
Reach out to the Stanford Career office and also get involved with alumni
Feel free to PM me if you want some interview advice. I’m a EE rising junior at Ucla and have a gpa right around yours and have not done any clubs on campus that are technical and I’ve interviewed at some major corporations for engineering internships and will be completing one this summer.
Of course you can rescue your career. You have a great degree but you need to find some direction. Careers grow, they don’t emerge fully formed like Venus upon your graduation date. Start networking, join a professional organization, take a professional class, go to conferences - get out there and figure out where you want to go. Then start applying and interviewing. If you’ve been working in something that says “engineer” for 3 years, can you study for your PE exams? There’s always a way to move on but you need to take some initiative and be willing to do the work equired to boot strap your way into a better job. Grad School may be required but it may not - it depends upon what you want to do. So the question to ask yourself is - what kind of job do I want?.