Let’s continue the “Catch Up Series” with the next events that took place during my journey ultimately leading me to where I am today.
We left off during my Freshman year of college having finally settled on Chemical Engineering as my major of choice. The next four years until graduation were fairly uneventful. Everything moved according to plan and I graduated in 2017 with a degree and no job lined up like the majority of my friends. Luckily I had a short-term Resident Assistant job lined up for the summer at my college so I had another 3 month buffer to find a job in the area I studied.
As the months pass on by with no leads to any promising jobs, I packed my suitcase and went home. Over the next couple of months my identity crisis continued, I was in limbo. I did not know what to do. I had applied to maybe over 150 positions online with a good amount of referrals from friends.
Graduate School or a Job to Catch Up?
At this point I thought the best thing to do is go back to school. I thought I might not have the education or background these employers are looking for, so naturally a masters degree is the way to go. With that in mind, I started studying for the GRE. I even paid for an online program to help me achieve a higher score on the test. My days were filled with 8 hours of GRE reading, problem solving, and essay practice. I absolutely hated it. The idea of continuing the same school grind for a couple more years did not appeal to me. However, I did it anyway because I was in limbo and needed something to do.
While I was studying for the GRE and browsing graduate degree programs, a friend of mine asked if I was still looking for work. Finally, something real I can latch onto. He said he is currently working as an intern for a large general contractor and that they needed another intern. He said he is close with the hiring manager and can possibly get my resume on his desk. Why not? At this point I will take any job just so I can start accumulating experience. I sent over my resume and got a call the same day with an offer to start. They must have been in a real tight spot to have a response so quick. I started my internship one week after, which ended up being the first step towards my current career as a Construction Project Engineer.
I think I will end this part of the “Catch Up” series about here. If you have not gotten a chance to read Part I of my “Catch Up” Series, you can read it here.
-E J
