{"id":9290,"date":"2023-05-19T16:28:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T16:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=9290"},"modified":"2023-05-19T20:08:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T20:08:47","slug":"the-numbers-dont-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=9290","title":{"rendered":"The Numbers Don’t Lie"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nearly 90% of Auburn Engineering graduates gain positive career outcomes within six months after graduation and that number jumps past 90% for students who completed an internship or co-op rotation. These statistics wouldn\u2019t exist if not for the hard work and encouragement of theAuburn Engineering Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations (CDCR).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located within the Brown-Kopel Center, the Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations (CDCR) offers students a wealth of career-related preparation services, not just in their final approach to graduation but from the moment they enter campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear so many students as we work with them over time say, \u2018I wish I had accessed the CDCR earlier,\u2019\u201d said Jessica Bowers, manager for career development content and strategy. \u201cWe spend a good deal of time with parents at Camp War Eagle while students are registering for courses. We know parents and family members are often the sounding boards in their students\u2019 ears over the course of their education. Something we try to reinforce to them is that if their student will come in the door \u2014 they don\u2019t even have to specifically know their question \u2014 but if they will come see us, we\u2019ll get the conversation started with them about where to begin and how to approach things step-by-step.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the office opened in 2018, establishing the College of Engineering\u2019s own career office distinct from the university\u2019s Office of Career Discovery and Success, CDCR has become an essential stop for students on their paths to graduation and finding purposeful careers. With four distinct branches \u2014 career coaching and programs; career development content and strategy; corporate relations; and cooperative education and internships \u2014 the CDCR team brings a collaborative approach to its work where each segment of the office informs the others, leading to the successful model at work today.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t just want our students to have a job when they graduate, we want them to have the best job,\u201d said Apryl Mullins, assistant director for corporate relations. \u201cWe want them to be excited and empowered when they graduate about their career or their graduate program. We want them to feel like they were supported and cared for while they were here, and we want them to be positioned to have their best life when they graduate.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Designing Engineering Careers <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Established in 2018, the CDCR team assists students in many areas including career fair prep, mock interviews, job searching and salary negotiations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All Auburn Engineering students are training to become designers of some sort, whether that\u2019s designing physical buildings and roads, or digital systems and processes. Why not train them to design their future careers, too? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs they\u2019re training to become engineers, they\u2019re training to become designers. We describe the career design process in four parts: design, build, prototype and launch,\u201d Bowers said. \u201cIt\u2019s really intended to convey that this is a process and not something that happens overnight, but also to convey that it\u2019s not linear \u2014 it\u2019s not necessarily A+B=C when it comes to designing a career.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Through the career design process, Bowers encourages students to think outside the box and explore all options available to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey have the agency and ability to really explore what they want their career to be and build their way there,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Bowers and her team launched an outreach effort to connect with faculty to make in-class career development presentations available as an integrated part of the normal class curriculum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn spring 2022 we piloted for the first time the ability for faculty and staff who teach a course to submit a class presentation request,\u201d Bowers said. \u201cWe received more than 45 requests in that first semester. In doing so, we reached more than 3,400 students inside classrooms where we delivered a presentation on a career development topic customized for students in the course.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Such interactive presentations covered career development topics including how to approach career interests and planning from a design perspective. Other skills covered in class presentations included how to build a personal brand, using virtual tools and platforms such as LinkedIn, how to network and build connections with potential employers, and key networking rules such as how to request meetings with professional contacts or after an interview.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a really important time in their careers where they need guidance beyond subject matter knowledge,\u201d said Davide Guzzetti, assistant professor of aerospace engineering who hosted CDCR presenters in his Space Mission Design class in the spring of 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n

For Bowers, incorporating career development topics in the classrooms signals to students the importance of considering these skills as part of their overall engineering education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I see this as particularly meaningful is because the institution signals to students what is important, what is a priority, based on the content and materials integrated in the academic experience\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we integrate career development topics in the classroom, it signals to students that it matters and that there is a significance to spending time on it. It helps students prioritize it so they are prepared to seek full-time jobs by the time they need to conduct a job search in fall of their senior year.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Building Students\u2019 Confidence<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Similar to the signing day celebrations for future college or professional athletes,SignENG Day is an opportunity for Auburn Engineering students such as AdiaFoster (above) to share where they will intern, co-op or work full-time, complete with a celebratory photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before a student is ready to apply for a position or attend a career fair, much preparation work is done with the help of a career coach like Marissa Miller. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the assistant director of career coaching and programs, Miller interacts with students on a daily basis, assessing where the student is in their career design process and offering tools to help the student grow their confidence and become a stronger candidate. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a career coaching session, we focus predominantly on working one-on-one with students and being able to cover a variety of resources and strategies for how to think about designing that future career path, what are resources that are available for students and provide insight on effective ways to navigate provided resources,\u201d Miller explained. \u201cA lot of times with career services and career coaching, it\u2019s a found resource and it\u2019s one that we hope to uncover early and often for students.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The office offers a wide variety of career coaching services, including career fair prep, resume and cover letter assistance, interview prep and mock interviews, as well as job and internship searching. Once an offer is received, career coaches are also on hand to navigate the particulars of job, co-op and internship offers and salary negotiations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to be able to help build confidence and help students really think about how to articulate what they\u2019re looking for and how to make a confident decision moving forward, whether that\u2019s for an experiential learning experience or for a full-time job post-graduation,\u201d Miller said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gaining Real-World Experience <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

For Jesus Barragan, a sophomore in electrical and computer engineering, seeking out services such as professional resume preparation and application reviews helped him secure a cooperative education position with Southern Company. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy first week at Auburn University as a student, I went into Brown-Kopel so that I could find the co-op office and started looking into that process and the requirements for a co-op,\u201d Barragan said. \u201cThe CDCR office was having an event just outside their office that same day. I was able to meet the recruiter and some employees of Southern Company as they were tabling at the event.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Some may call it luck but to Barragan, it was fate. That initial conversation with Southern Company got his foot in the door and eventually helped him land a position as a protection and control field service engineer co-op student. \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCo-ops and internships are very important in making students marketable when they graduate for full-time engineering positions,\u201d said Edie Irvin, assistant director for cooperative education and internships. \u201cIt takes the average college student between six and 18 months to get a job upon graduation. Co-op and internships let students put that job search in their collegiate career versus waiting until after graduation to start the search.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Auburn University has a long history of cooperative education dating back to 1937. <\/span><\/p>\n

The university\u2019s co-op office joined CDCR in 2021 to be closer to the majority of the students it serves \u2014 more than 90% of all Auburn students who complete a co-op position are pursing engineering degrees. And employers can\u2019t get enough. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers are coming to us seeking out students for co-op positions and internships \u2014 the manufacturing industry especially,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cThey can take a student through a deep dive into the company. I believe that\u2019s why employers are coming to us. Number one, the quality of engineering students that Auburn puts out. But also, because we do have a program, we\u2019ve been around since 1937. We can offer employers the structure they need to continue to hire those students.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

For Barragan, the value of the experience has been immeasurable. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a first-generation college student and the first engineer in my family, I figured the co-op program would be a great first step into understanding the industry side of engineering prior to graduation,\u201d he said. \u201cI hear from new alumni across engineering fields that they are not satisfied with their new positions right out of college mainly because they did not fully understand the role they were getting into. That is where the co-op program really blossoms as you get real-world experience in a role for a short term to really understand if that role or company is something that would interest you after graduation.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It Comes Back to the Auburn Creed <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very exciting time for students to be able to graduate within engineering. The job market is there for them, but then I think the preparation that our career development staff does in helping students figure out what industry they want to be in, what they want to do, the direction they want to take in addition to just being prepared to present themselves and articulate their experiences to employers, I think that\u2019s made a huge difference,\u201d Mullins said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers have taken note and the demand for Auburn Engineering students has never been stronger.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe hiring of our students and the feedback we receive from employers is that our students are very, very well prepared,\u201d Mullins said. \u201cWhat our faculty are doing to prepare our students, technically, is very strong, but then I also think that our students have a practical piece to them \u2014 they know how to work. I really think it\u2019s the Auburn Creed that sets our students apart from students at other schools of engineering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mandy Ledkins, human resources manager for International Paper, agrees. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a lead recruiter at Auburn for International Paper, we enjoy interacting with such talented students in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering,\u201d Ledkins said. \u201cIt is crucial to our recruiting efforts around diversity that we continue to meet with all students on campus.\u202fAuburn students are well prepared and ready to join the workforce and have the ability to contribute immediately to the success of the company.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Ledkins emphasized the tailored approach that the CDCR staff bring to their interactions with employers, working to make sure each company has the best experience on campus as possible to maximize their potential future employee pool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cApryl and her team strategize on ways each employer can be successful and align students with companies they know they will be successful joining,\u201d Ledkins said. \u201cThis approach gives employers the ability to share with interested students the opportunities they have within their organization and that are good fits for companies.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This customer service-based approach just makes sense to the CDCR team and it\u2019s only one of the reasons why Auburn engineers enjoy such a high employment rate within six months of graduation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are having success and building a network through their interactions with our office,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cI think we\u2019re helping them understand that the world is a lot bigger than Auburn, Alabama.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n