what to do with an ee degree

July 30, 2009 6:28 PM

What can I do with an EE degree (either as an engineer or in another field) in and around New York City?

I'm a woman who's hoping to return to the workforce after several (too many) years outside of it. At the time I left, I had two years of experience in Systems Engineering (writing technical requirements - not the IT kind of SE which, from my understanding, is something completely different). This was in software. It was practically the perfect job for me. As part of the development team, I needed to have a strong technical understanding of the product, but I also worked closely with sales and marketing, which I also enjoyed. If it required calculus (like much of my coursework in college), I think it really would have been the perfect job for me

So, now, years later, I've searched for "Systems Engineer" job postings online, and the few matches I get require 5+ years of experience. I know I have an EE degree, but I'm not sure I remember enough of my coursework to go for a hardware job, even though I would be more than happy to work in hardware.

What other options are there for me, both within and outside of engineering? I'm looking for something that requires a good mix of analytical skills and people skills. Long working hours and/or lots of travel are fine. So is a steep learning curve as long as an employer is willing to hire me with the understanding that I'll work hard to catch up. I'm sure (OK, I hope) there's a job out there for me. I just don't know what to look for.

posted by anonymous to work & money (8 comments total)

You can work in a software development company writing and gathering requirements interfacing with customers, programmers and interface designers -- look for producer, business analyst, technical project manager, jobs. You can work in an IT/software development capacity at a finance company. You can sell technology solutions - look for sales engineer jobs. You can join a startup. Check out http://www.nextny.org for a good place to find out about technology startups in New York.
posted by lsemel at 6:41 PM on July 30 [2 favorites]

Holy shit, I feel like I could have written this. I'm in an extremely similar situation -- EE degree, 2.5 years of system engineering after college, now trying to remember enough hardware to be an actual EE at my new company. It's tough to find anyone who will hire system engineers like this. I run in to your 5+ years experience problem, too, but it's mostly because I'm young (only 25) and most companies won't hire a junior employee for a system engineer. So yeah. It's a problem.

If it helps, I find that defense contractors are much more understanding of what system engineering is and what your skills will be -- I encourage you to look at their postings. They don't have to be giant companies like Raytheon or General Dynamics; there are smaller companies (my experience is with robotics, and those companies tend to be 30-60 people) that could use your skills.

I don't know what the big tech industries are in NYC (other than the Googles and the like) but I would encourage you to read NYC-centric tech blogs and things like that to see what companies are there. Early-stage companies are fun to work for, but can sometimes not realize they need a systems engineer (even though they most certainly do) so more mature companies may be a better bet for you.
posted by olinerd at 6:49 PM on July 30

I'll second that financial firms are always looking for folks with analytical ability for a variety of positions, software related and otherwise. Most would consider a degree in EE (or CS, physics, or applied mathematics for that matter) a huge plus.
posted by ExpertWitness at 7:02 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]

Most jobs are not gotten by answering postings. Don't believe me; but a copy of "What Color is Your Parachute?" and start networking.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:15 PM on July 30

BUY a copy...
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:16 PM on July 30

Finance is an excellent choise for someone with an engineering background.

We always find it easier to teach finance to someone with strong maths than to try to teach an individual with an economics degree how to solve a differential equation.

Given your gap and in an effort to help you stand out from the crowd more, I'd suggest taking some short courses in finance. This would help you sell yourself as someone who is genuinely interested and looking for an opportunity to prove yourself.

But finance is a very, very broad field, so you'll have to do some research to figure out where your precise interests lie.

The New York Institute of Finance has wide range of classes, and offer up what looks to be a fairly comprehensive Capital Markets class.

This scope of study looks at equities and fixed income, but they do offer other courses looking at the credit markets or even retail banking, so once again before dropping some cash take some time to research the field.

You can also help yourself by starting to read the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg.com or other financial publications. Finance, like any field, has its own jargon. Once you get past the code words you'll be surprised just how easily understandable this material is. Your maths background will help you gain a deep understanding of the material.

Try to avoid reading 'blogs early on in your financial education, as very often these reflect the opinion of the author, rather than an objective examination of the material.

In terms of placement, given your stated views on long hours and travel the consultancies (e.g., KPMG, D&T, etc) would be an ideal match. But don't approach them until you've gotten some education - self gained or via formal courses - under your belt.

If I can help don't be afraid to drop me a MeMail.


FWIW, I'm not affiliated with nor have I ever studied at NYIF, but when I was working for Deutsche Bank in New York several of my colleagues took courses there and thought it good value for money.

posted by Mutant at 1:17 AM on July 31 [2 favorites]

Nthing Finance, and recommending that you look for programs that finance companies have to target women that have been out of the job market for a while and would like to come back. I don't know how active they are in the current economy but they are out there, and you are definitely the kind of woman they are looking to attract. If you would like feel free to memail me and I will see if I can dig up specific programs/possibly put your resume in at my firm.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:59 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]

Finance is probably the right answer here. I also have an ee degree, but wanted to stay in New York, and found my calling in more of a computational finance discipline. It's a lot of fun, there are plenty of engineers around, and the work is largely on very complicated trading systems.

It might be hard to get a job in finance straight away with little experience and the state of the job market these days. Going to school might help, or even working in more of an IT role in a financial company until things shapen up.
posted by gushn at 5:02 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]