

Ask HN: Why my graduated friend (BS Electronics) can't find a job? - umrashrf

As mentioned one of my friend has graduated 6 months before and he still has no job. He says he's looking for jobs but can't find one. What would you suggest him to do?
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duiker101
Please, expand "can't find one". Does he just sends online curriculums and
nobody answers? Does he fails the interviews? There are no job related? Does
he wants to much money? All this things can have different solutions.

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nicholas73
This is only my experience, but it may help. I have an MSEE and had a hard
time finding work in 2008. I found 3 jobs since but all were mediocre. Back
then I'd probably get a response rate under 5%. It might be 1/100 tries before
I get the job. It's not my interview skills - once I get in person I'm more
than 50/50.

I think there are two reasons electronics majors have a hard time finding
work, which the software people here haven't experienced.

First of course is that there are much fewer electronics jobs. You can just
look at craigslist or whatever. There might be 1 job for every 10-20 software
posts.

(As an aside, I taught myself web development and recently applied to 6 or so
companies. 3 responded, plus another I didn't apply to found me on LinkedIn.
The market is that much different.)

Second is that advanced electronics is already highly specialized, yet
prohibitively expensive to tinker with designing (integrated circuits, power
supplies, etc). Nor would you have any personal use for them. That means you
are useless when right out of school. That in turns means that companies have
no incentive to hire, except from only the best schools.

The options thus are to either find a non-design job (tech support, marketing,
applications), or find work at a company whose product is not so expensive and
you can build something similar with an Arduino or whatever.

Or, try to get into a highly regarded graduate program.

Or, as some have pointed out, try your hand at software.

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skadamat
1\. Tell him to get a LinkedIn and start networking like crazy. Go to
networking events, Meetups (Meetup.com, there are hardware groups), startup
events ,etc. Most are free. Also, use LinkedIn to find employees / founders of
electronics / hardware startups and ask them out for coffee.

2\. Buy this book - [http://www.amazon.com/The-Education-Millionaires-Think-
Portf...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Education-Millionaires-Think-
Portfolio/dp/B0085RZKVE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358536911&sr=8-1&keywords=education+of+millionaires)

3\. Make a blog and start doing DIY hardware / electronics stuff / projects.
Post those to Hacker News and other communities online, build an online brand.
Also great to have those things on your resume in the 'Projects' sections.
Play around with Arduino, Raspberry Pi's, etc and make some cool stuff.

4\. Learn more software and emphasize your software skills on your resume.
Tons of jobs for people with software experience / knowledge over those that
are pure electronics.

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merinid
In addition to looking for a job (ie constantly emailing resumes, going to
networking events, and reaching out to everyone he knows), I would strongly
suggest tp get involved in side qork projects. If he can code, these come
rather easily, or he can just jump into hacking at some opwn source. People
notice you and hire that way. What sort of work is he looking for and where?

~~~
umrashrf
I remember he mentioned once. I am looking for jobs in Dubai. He lives in
Pakistan.

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darkxanthos
Another thing that hasn't been mentioned that used to great effect to become a
programmer is take any job that's the least bit in the vein of what he wants
to do for the tiniest sum of money. After 6 months of _some_ experience he can
start looking for another job and iteratively work his way up.

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rikacomet
When you walk into the office, your so called degree "BS Electronics" here,
sits at home, what you carry is the things you learned while doing it, and you
need to figure out, which company would want those skills. If you don't have
that type of mentality, perhaps, it might be another 6 years, before one can
find a job. A degree, is in no way a guarantee to get a job to keep it simple.

~~~
umrashrf
What DIY projects he can do which will generate meaning for some company so he
can apply?

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thoughtcriminal
Here's what I told my two daughters to do (one is midway in college and the
other in University, both were looking for employment):

Instead of having the mindset of: "I need a job, can you give me a job" change
it to:

"I have these specific skills and _this_ is how I can be an asset to your
business".

See the difference? Your friend needs to tell these employers how his
particular skill set can benefit their business. This requires knowing a bit
about the business beforehand. Not a lot, but enough to show initiative and
forethought.

No one is handing out jobs anymore. That era is over. Now people need to
demonstrate value right out of the gate. Reframe the situation from one of not
having and needing to one of 'I got something that can help you succeed'.

I'll end with this: the best advice I ever got was "make your boss look good".
That is the golden rule. If your friend can make it evident he will make his
next employer look good, he will be gainfully employed very quickly.

P.S. Since applying my advice, my daughters quickly got work and have never
had employment problems since.

