DS struggling to get an engineering job

[Enginer]

DS graduated in engineering with a 2.2 from Oxford. He didn’t apply to jobs while a student as the course was too intense.

He’s now really struggling to get anywhere with jobs. He’s applied to a few graduate schemes but got nowhere. He’s got as far as second interview with a speculative application but that’s it.

He is getting increasingly low about it and I’m worried about him. His mental health isn’t great anyway due to previous issues and he’s quite isolated as many of his friends have moved away.

Has anyone got any tips to pass on? Any good recruitment agencies to try? Is he stuffed because of his 2.2? He would like to live at home for the moment (London area) so maybe that is also part of the problem as many jobs are elsewhere.

To answer possible questions in advance, his CV looks quite good I think. He’s got some good internships on there and he has done things outside of formal study that are relevant to engineering (personal coding projects etc).

My son is also an BEng graduate (Aerospace) and got a 2:2 after having health issues which were only diagnosed late in the course. He's applied for around 20 grad roles and no bites. The job market is so brutal at the moment. I lay awake at night worried for him.

Nope. Anyone can apply for apprenticeships unless stated otherwise. I did one with an MA.

I didn’t know that, it’s likely still hard to get in to but seems tricky if too general.

Op the navy, army as suggested in pp?

No advice, but solidarity - my DC is in his third year of general engineering MEng and is on the summer job treadmill at the moment. Each application takes a fair amount of work/focus, which is hard when his academic workload is already quite fierce. All his friends are in the same boat, applying for loads and loads of placements without really knowing yet what kind of job they’re going to thrive in. As I understand it, the big 4 consultancies have reduced their graduate intake significantly, and as others have said that used to be a major route for gen eng grads, so the competition has only got fiercer all round.

Older son (left Oxford with an MMath last summer) has neatly avoided it all by doing a PhD with a princely stipend of £22k 😬, but has lots of ex-Oxford friends who are working in libraries, coffee shops, taking a year out. (I’m sure the same is true of excellent grads from other unis.) It’s so, so tough out there. Tell your son he is absolutely not the only one!

but has lots of ex-Oxford friends who are working in libraries

Lucky them - libraries have slashed their workforce, cut their vacancies and made lots of very experienced people redundant. Library graduates are finding it very difficult to get jobs. If your son't friends are working in libraries they should consider themselves very fortunate.

Apologies, I misread what you'd put.

He hasn’t ruled out the services but is a bit wary of the lengthy commitment required.

Think I have a different worldview from you @SirChenjins - I don’t generally think and of us should creep around being grateful when massive structural forces have resulted in carefully planned and worked-for outcomes suddenly disappearing. I think young people (from any academic background) who’ve worked their socks off are entitled (yes, entitled! I said it!) to feel privately a bit sad that things aren’t going the way they hoped. If these young people were slumping around the library wearing ‘my job sucks’ t-shirts you might have a point, but I’m fairly sure they’re not. They’re just a bit fed up, you know? It’s definitely allowed.

A 2:2 from Oxford isn't ideal because they do expect a lot from Oxbridge students.

Terms are 8 weeks long, so he absolutely had time to apply for jobs and grad schemes, he just didn't want too.

He needs to apply for anything and everything.

@Enginer get him to look at the Royal navy. He can study whilst working and will make more friends. Plus travel.

The army are currently recruiting for soldiers and officers. There are lots of different roles including logistics and intelligence with on the job training.

I'm grateful for all suggestions.

I'm also eyerolling at the people who are telling me that my son's qualifications aren't very good, he doesn't stand much chance and should have applied for jobs while studying. Thanks!

Would he consider moving into a more technical/hands on area? The whole world of renewable energy/electrification/construction is crying out for intelligent, numerate youngsters and I think the money is probably better too!

I am with you. My son has a 2:2 which is still a very good achievement for engineering.

Exactly!

I fully understand that students who have studied for a degree in a particular subject are disappointed they can't get a job in their field - but those "massive structural forces" have also resulted in libraries (the places that supported students through their learning) losing funding, staffing and vacancies. Anyone without a degree in library or information science or without experience of working in libraries who manages to get a job in a library is bucking a very large trend. Hopefully your son's fed up friends can move on soon and free up the library jobs for the many people who actually want them.

Your DS needs to wise up and start applying for a hundred or more. He might need to move to find work. The larger employees will be after graduates with a 2:1 or first class honours and don't forget some engineering courses have a year spent in industry. Also mechanical engineering seems to be the most popular branch of engineering so most competitive. He should take any job for now whilst making mass applications for far more jobs including smaller firms where his 2:2 might not hold him back. Plus any volunteering or additional work experience with a large firm might help him get a foot in the door. Large shipyards such as youth or Rosyth might be another avenue work presuming. If he only applies for a handful of jobs he limits his chance of success.

@PacificState yes, my son feels very puzzled by all the push to get people into engineering, stuff in the news about "we need more engineers" and finding that he can't get a job. (He is also coming to the realisation that some of that is down to the geographical restrictions he's been putting on his search.)

@Enginer My nephew uses this recruitment site for his engineering jobs

https://www.matchtech.com/

Might be worth a look.

Maybe look into degree apprenticeships. I don’t know a lot about them but I read that they go up to masters level and he will be getting paid hands on experience and course fees covered.

https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships

Also - what other skills does he have? If he can show some versatility, for example, do some basic social media management, he might be more appealing to a small engineering business. Can he drive?

Has he contacted BAe directly? He really should.

Has he thought about moving abroad? I know it sounds drastic, but DS is in Australia and there are lots of opportunities over there.

A friend's son did engineering and worked a summer job helping out in a boatyard. That was enough experience as a first job to get him his first proper graduate job working in nautical engineering. Your son might look for something equivalent - helping out at a small airfield or applying for work with a major airport as practical crew. It may not seem directly related but it's more connected than office work and he may also get to meet more relevant people.

If he enjoys being hands on he definitely ought to consider experience constructing or installing mechanical/electrical equipment. Even if he aims to become a designer/manager etc later on, having been 'on the tools' is irreplaceable experience. And there's always work.

Also, he should put on some smart casual clothes and print some CV copies on good quality paper. Then he should visit smaller engineering firms in person, asking them if they have any vacancies or would be willing to take him as a trainee. If he’s personable and presentable, this can sometimes work.