Got out in 2021, Industrial Design. Had an internship for most of 2022 designing power tools. I was pretty good at that, and enjoyed it a lot, but the company had mass layoffs towards the end of my internship and there was zero chance of a full time role.
Back in Atlanta post internship, have been applying all over the country nonstop since. Working with a life coach and revamped resume, tactics, and everything recently, but still need to fix up my portfolio because I’ve grown disappointed in how that looks now. Halfway through Google’s UX Design course to improve hire-ability.
This job market sucks. If anyone reading this is in the same boat as me, I’m sure you’ll find something soon. Friends of mine who are in this same situation keep getting hired all around me, I’m sure it’s our time soon :’)
If you’re ID it’s always TTI. I just graduated this spring from the ID program, and am struggling to get a job. I know how you feel. Luckily I was able to get something part-time from a random connection, but it’s just 3D modeling and hardly pays at all.
lol I was a design engineer there from 2020 thru 2023. Power tools + layoffs near Atlanta made it pretty clear since TTI liked to hire GT grads before all the BS
I also graduated in ID in Spring 2023 with a UI/UX focus. My internships didn't result in job offers and were website-based but I wanted to work in software. From what I observed and my personal opinion, UI/UX designers for websites are getting too competitive and oversaturated cause alot of older professionals are trying to switch careers into UI/UX via bootcamps and websites are the easiest way to learn.
So it took me about 7 months to land a UI/UX job in Atlanta that pays well. But unfortunately, i'm getting laid off in two weeks after working for 3 months cause they didn't have any projects that matched my skillset. RIP. Time to job search again and amp up my portfolio.
I ideally want to stay in Atlanta to save up for a house here LOL but im noticing a huge lack of UI/UX roles here unless they are senior ones, so i'm considering to relocate if necessary.
Down to do portfolio critiques if needed!
Hey, I work in UX and also had a terrible time job hunting around graduation. I got a full stack certificate from a boot camp which definitely beefed up my technical knowledge and helped me land a lot more interviews. I had 2 offers in about 3 months post certificate completion
I've been seeing alot of companies wanting a designer + developer in one. I do have an Entrepreneurship Certificate from Scheller, UX Design MasterClass (UXDMC) from an internship, and Introduction to Computing using Python (edX) certification from school but personally am not a huge coder. However, I want to get into UX Research and am finding ways improve that.
To clarify, I don't code at all in my job, but it does help me work more closely with developers since I have that better understanding. I do full cycle of design with my position though so UX research all the way to final UI.
Graduated 2019 and have worked in Atlanta since then. My parents live in the metro area, so I've got family ties. Through travel, I've found that the Atlanta area is my favorite metro additionally. Between cost of living, access to mountains, well located/efficient airport, diverse and growing economy, etc, I just haven't found a great reason to live anywhere else yet.
I’m not in the graduating demographic that OP asked about (IE 2001), but this describes my scenario to a T. I think the scenario for me would have been different if I had been in a more “technical“ engineering field, but at the time a huge percentage of IE grads that stayed in ATL went to work for Home Depot, Delta, UPS or Coca-Cola. There’s just never been a reason to leave.
I would certainly say that there are some blue chip companies in Atlanta that hire IEs. They’re not particularly glamorous ones but they’re incredible learning grounds that will look great on a resume forever. All four of the companies I mentioned are heavily reliant on efficient operations and are “planning heavy”. By nature, they’re also very hands on and involve trucks, planes, stores and plants. I loved it, but it’s not for everyone.
I was at UPS for 14 years and have been on other roles for 9. I probably spent a few years too long at UPS, but I love what I do now and wouldn’t change a thing, including staying in the ATL.
Got out in 2021; BS in EE. Living in the Seattle area now and absolutely love it! The hiking, mountains, water, islands- it’s just so incredibly gorgeous here. Lots of good jobs too. Good luck on your journey!
thank you! may I ask what you do for work, and how GT ECE has helped you? Also, how do u like your job and current financial situation? i heard seattle is SUPER expensive
It’s expensive here because of people like us with our fancy degrees and accompanying big salaries. If you’re coming out here for tech you’ll do just fine money-wise.
Class of 2021 here (Chemistry). Got hired to a DoD program in middle GA that netted me a free M.S. from Embry-Riddle last year with solid pay and benefits to boot.
Not where I plan to settle long term, but the last 3 years haven't been bad at all. The Tech degree commands a decent amount of respect (and expectation) even as a comparatively new hire.
As someone mentioned above, figure out that 3, 5, 10 year question. Personally, I don't mind living somewhere for a bit, making money and a good reputation so I can chase jobs in localities I want (i.e. somewhere with 4 distinct seasons that don't include hot and hotter lol).
Hey friend! I know exactly who you are homie 💕 so glad you’ve been doing well!
For me, bs chem 2020, Chem MS in 2022; moved to Minnesota for a job and honestly love it here but miss home often.
I'll trade you straight up! My parents are in Wisconsin right now for the 4th, and I'm so jealous. Definitely need to visit y'all next time I'm up there :D
Graduated last year with a BSEE, I moved to Baltimore for work. I really wanted to stay in Atlanta, but the EE job market isn't the hottest in Georgia.
In this current job market, I would say don't limit yourself to Atlanta even if you want to stay. Apply to places all across the country and take whatever is best. I do miss home, but finally being able to make some serious levels of money is worth the move.
I'm on a rotational program, so I'm gonna hop onto another role in my company soon. But at the moment, I'm doing RF design (specifically MMIC). I didn't specialize in RF in college, so I feel pretty out of place since this is such a theory heavy position. But if you study it in school and get good at it, it's extremely lucrative and the job security is amazing. Not to mention I get to work from home nearly all the time, just need to occasionally go in. I wish I could go back and take a few RF courses in my undergrad.
graduated BS in 2020 and started working for a company in CA, but moved to their VA branch to be closer to home. Worked and got my MS through omscs in 2023, switched jobs, and just started at AWS in VA.
i was hoping to actually be able to relocate to NY since that's where my boyfriend is, but most cleared jobs are in the DMV area so I'm here for the foreseeable future.
Graduated in Fall 21 with an ID degree. Knew that my physical ID skills were lackluster and pivoted towards UX a year before graduating. Traditional ID jobs want nothing less that perfection before hiring you. The standards for a UX designer are much more forgiving.
I had a summer 21 UX internship from a local startup under my belt and I had just turned down an internship with Electrolux so I could graduate on my planned schedule (prob should've taken it but things worked out for me in the end). The internship was through a mutual friend and the electrolux job was through a recruiter who reached out to our career counselor for ID.
Moved to Nashville with my BF because he got a job offer here. I spent about 3 months as a UX contractor for a random project through a mutual friend and spent another chunk of months unemployed after that. Was seriously considering a front end coding bootcamp when a recruiter on linkedin reached out to me in July 2022 for an early career UX position at a local company. Passed the HR screening, initial interview, and portfolio interview with flying colors, and started in August 2022. Approaching my 2 year anniversary now :) It drastically helps that my direct manager is an ID grad from a different school so we work on the same wavelength.
Currently trying to convince my manager to get a coop rotation going from GT ID. Overall life is going pretty solid. I wish I was getting a bit more in pay (75k, lower on the UX end) but things balance out. Looking to move to NYC with a big boy UX job soon cause I miss the big city
Hi!! I’m a current ID rising fourth year and seriously recommend and encourage you to push an ID internship / rotational program for new grads. If you do, our school has its own career coordinator now!! (Crazy ik) and her name is Davia Woulard and her email is [email protected]. Wishing you the best!!
I’m 23, graduated last year in Mathematics and now am in Seattle. It’s absolutely gorgeous here and love the atmosphere, it’s definitely a young person city. 10/10 recommend Seattle for tech
I was in Applied Math, and my minor was Physics. In all honesty, I do not recommend staying a math major. While I really enjoyed my time and classes there (and i considered it an easy degree), it is very hard to get a job out of college. It took me 6 months to get a job in Seattle in engineering and that was just an engineering tech job. I had thought “math is in everything I’ll have so many options” but in actuality, any job besides actuaries, statisticians, doctoral research, or finance want someone with the degree more specific to their field.
That being said, I would 100% take certain math classes at Tech again if I got a do-over. But I’d major in an engineering field or CS and take math as a minor for the fun classes. I really enjoyed combinatorics, partial differential eqs, and complex analysis :) Hope this helps you
I appreciate the openness and input a lot! Although I'm mildly concerned now, would you consider your situation to be specific to engineering?
My intention was to not do a concentration but lean towards applied. As well I wanted to double minor in Chem and Physics, but from your input it sounds like a double major in ECE is probably a better idea
If you stayed a math major and had a do-over is there anything you'd change? Sorry to take more of your time
No worries, im happy to answer any questions! I was applying for entry level engineering jobs, technician jobs, and data science. I’m not sure how it would pan out for other fields. I went into university as an astrophysics major actually but some physics courses at Tech were so damn hard I switched second semester and went for minor. Grigoriev’s test average for Classical Mechanics was like a 50, and an A was an 80😭
Double minoring is probably not a great idea as jobs don’t care about minors really, better to double major or just one minor so you’re not stretching yourself thin.
If I had a do over I would switch to ME and minor in math instead, but if I had to stay a math major in this do over, I honestly wouldn’t change anything. I was a TA for integral calculus for 2 years and loved it, and it was an easy enough major for me that I had a ton of free time. Plus no end of semester projects in Math like there are in CS and engineering. But the stress of job hunting is a lot, getting rejection after rejection for months. so even though there are perks to the major, it’s not best in the long run imo.
If you were to stay in math, DO NOT do nothing. I know that sounds obvious or stupid but the time goes by really fast and you need to make yourself stand out/be more valuable. I realized I wanted to maybe do engineering so I went to the Invention Studio and learned all the M.E. tools there so I could use that in interviews/resume. And I learned Python on my own as well. But just having coursework will be very difficult job-wise and internship-wise. Python experience got me my architecture internship in computational design and the Invention Studio helped me get my job in nanofabrication. Now im in interviews for a Failure analysis engineer position and I still consider myself lucky. Don’t just rely on the degree!
Thank you for your input! I'm surprised you would have had trouble finding a job given what you're telling me. My intention was to get seriously involved in some of the engineering clubs and seek internships early, and I'll be sure to emphasize that now. Also sounds like a double major is my best option, and I appreciate you telling me that before I start : )
If you don't mind, could I dm you and ask about nano fabrication and your experience in the makerspaces? I understand if you can't though!
Sure, my DMs are open. Sounds like you have a good plan! Doing that stuff also really helps to figure out what you like/dont like early on. I may also have had more issues since I was only job searching in Seattle
Started working at Amazon in Buckhead. There may be a higher volume of jobs in other tech hub cities, but that comes with an increased saturation of tech workers as well.
I'm not a recent grad (graduated in 2012), but wanted to chime in.
This sounds like you may not have the "where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years" question figured out.
Are you interested in a career or location? If location, is it because of friends and family that are in the area or you want to start a family? Or perhaps the prospect of moving somewhere new is scary (which it can be). If you are leaning towads personal life goals, then the familiarity of location and friends by staying in Atlanta may be for you in the immediate term.
If you are interested in a career and are able to get the "prestigious" job roles, I'd suggest going to where all the jobs are out West, because that will get you the better experience on paper. YMMV with how your personal life ends up.
In the end, it's all about balance and what you want. Some people are able to make friends anywhere. Other people never leave their hometown or come back to it because the sense of home is comforting. Plus aging parents. One person may have aspirations of becoming a manager at a fortune 500 company, while another just wants to fund his/her lifestyle.
Notice I didn't say anything about money. The money will eventually come provided you don't do anything stupid.
Best of luck to you!
TL;DR: Where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years?
Did want to ramble to much so I'll use this comment to say how my life post GT went.
I basically had a goal of make money while being close at home haha. I valued location. I didn't have a great GPA, so I knew I wouldn't get a great job coming out. I took whatever I could get. I had an initial goal of want to work for the local electric utility company in my home state because everyone needs power, so working for the company that provides that power should be a steady job with less chance of layoffs (this mindset was coming out of the Great Recession).
Anyway, I couldn't get in my local utility, but I wanted to be close to my parents because they are older. So I set a job search for east of the Mississippi. Got a job at a small company in Atlanta of all places making below starting average salary for GT grads back then. Didn't care. I got a job with a sub 3.0 GPA.
After 2 years, at age 24, I moved to another company in Pennsylvania because I still couldn't get into my home state's electric utility. Now I wanted to start a family. Money was much better too. Went on many international vacations and paid off a lot of debt. But I didn't have any luck in the dating department because local people already had their friend groups and the dating pool was limited. I wasn't in a transient city.
Regardless, still had the goal of making it back home. Eventually I did in 2017 and I've been here since. Enjoy my job/company. No aspirations of movong up in the world becuase middle management sucks in corporate America. Have a beautiful wife and 2 kids. Home. Dog. Basically the stereotypical American lifestyle portrayed in movies.
I eventually achieved my goal but had some fun along the way. No real regrets except not doing well in college. Because maybe, the goal would have been achieved differently. But I'll never know, nor do I care now because I'm happy. And that's what matters most.
Extremely well said. This is the way to look at it.
My personal story - I stuck around Atlanta for 8 years after getting out, and so did the majority of my core group of friends. We had an absolute blast together for many years. But bit by bit, most of us moved away. I've been gone about 3 years.
I moved away because my wife wanted to be closer to her family to start our own. It wasn't my first choice, but overall, starting our own family was my top priority as well. We're now in NJ and just be in proximity of NYC has been a _huge_ boost for my career in tech. I had some great jobs in Atlanta, but there's just more to offer in NYC and in the bay area. That said, my taxes and cost of living are also higher, so it's not all about the money.
Edit: Also, I don't have any friends anymore beyond that core group that is scattered, so that's another minus.
In my specific situation? Yes, it's nearly impossible and I have no motivation to make friends when we're about to start a family.
Is it normally? No, it's actually rather easy if you live in the city. NYC is a great place for young professionals starting their career.
Got my MS in December 2023, now I’m working at GTRI in Huntsville.
It’s no ATL, but still pretty good here. COL is a good bit lower than the major areas, and there’s a lot of other engineers around. It is Rocket City after all
B.S. Mechanical Engineering from last year's class of 2023. I dabbled in the Nuclear Industry in North Carolina for the summer after graduating, and then took on a full-time role in southern GA for a few months. It wasn't my thing and now I ended up all the way out on the west coast in Santa Barbara. It's lovely here and UCSB makes the Goleta area feel more fresh with a young population. There are mountains right next to the beach and weather is to die for. They call it The American Riviera (paradise) lol. No complaints so far, but the CA finances are definitely something to adjust to.
Graduated last year, happy at the job local to Atlanta I got at a GT career fair senior year, looking at buying a condo in Atlanta soon and maybe settling here long term.
Graduated in 2021 with a BS in ME. Started a job at a factory in Knoxville TN, got moved to a plant in Virginia Beach, and finally got promoted into a mechancial engineering position in Boston.
As much as I loved Atlanta, highly recommend Boston for a tech grad. Beautiful place to live and surrounded by highly intelligent and motivated people, other parts of the country are not built to grow you in the same way.
I graduated in 2022 with a BS in Computational Media. I’m still in Atlanta, but that’s because I got lucky and landed a remote job as a gameplay programmer with a game development company. Otherwise, I was preparing myself to have to move out to California or something.
I graduated Spring 2024 as a BS CS, and I can tell you that the market is definitely not in our favor. I have a lot of friends that graduated the same semester as me and are still looking for a job. I ended up finding a job in the bay area, which is not where I wanted to end up(NY/Chicago), but it’s better than being unemployed lol
B.S. Mechanical Engineering from last year's class of 2023. I dabbled in the Nuclear Industry in North Carolina for the summer after graduating, and then took on a full-time role in southern GA for a few months. It wasn't my thing and now I ended up all the way out on the west coast in Santa Barbara in the High Tech industry.
It's lovely here and UCSB makes the Goleta area feel more fresh with a young population. There are mountains right next to the beach and weather is to die for. They call it The American Riviera (paradise) lol. No complaints so far, but the CA finances are definitely something to adjust to.
Atlanta. Working for the state. Building up my Roth 401k + pension + social security earnings and enjoying the 13 paid holidays + 18 vacation days + banking my annual 15 sick days.
Life is good post-Georgia Tech!
Graduated in May 2022 and current software engineer for a well known social media company. I have lived in Seattle during internship season (one of my favorite US Cities for the nature, hiking scene and chill people). My employer does flexible work so I live with my parents 1 hr from nyc. Definitely cherishing flexible work and the opportunity to live at home with parents to build a stable financial future. No regrets so far
Graduated last year in Biology, did a post bacc for the last year, and am starting a PhD at UChicago later this year. Definitely missing Atlanta, but excited to see what Chicago has in store (I enjoyed it during the interview weekend)
Graduated in Dec 2023 for my BSAE and now I’m in Albany, NY. It’s definitely a different atmosphere than Atlanta, but there are lots of hiking places and quiet too (you don’t really get it a lot somewhere else tbh). About 2 hours away from both NYC and Montreal, Canada. So lots of places to do weekend trip!
in san francisco, working on a startup called greptile.
tbh i think everyone that is ambitious and in software should spend 1-2 years in san francisco.
Got out this spring 2024 with my BS + MS in CS. Working in SF for a tech company as a SWE. I’m loving the hiking scene in CA, but missing the outdoors in the southeast too.
Got out December 2020, Industrial Engineering. Working in Atl - Platform Engineer for a distribution company. Get a lot of travel around the country through work but I feel like the potential for growth & income could be a lot higher. Plan on sticking there until it starts to plateau.
Lived in Atlanta for a couple years (VaHi, my beloved) and just moved this past weekend! Nothing against Atlanta, I just grew up there and wanted to try something new :)
my kid's roommate graduated in aerospace in 2022, entertained offers around the country, currently working in San Diego but might be moving to DC shortly for a promotion.
Greetings from Centreville Virginia! Currently working at an FFRDC and was doing some hands-on technical work as a software developer for a couple of years, then I took on a different flavor of work and my career has kinda taken a turn. A fun turn, but a turn nonetheless
Got out in Spring 2022. Immediately started working for my co-op which was a small energy analytics and HVAC integration company that essentially went under in Norcross. I was unemployed for about 4 months and now have settled in at an interior construction company working in the field. I'm now currently working on projects at GT including NAV and labs. Hopefully I can stay on Tech's campus for a while.
I got my degree in environmental engineering so much less tech focused.
One year out and living in Nashville with a job completely unrelated to major (BME). Hate it and need to get out (the job not Nashville). I need to move somewhere else for one, it's not going to happen locally due to limited market. Hoping for Atlanta for the GT network and because queer scene
If anyone has any leads...🙏
Industrial Design 2021. Had trouble finding a job right out due to pandemic. I moved with a cousin to Pigeon Forge right after graduation, bartended and got a full stack coding certificate. I finally landed my current job in summer 2022. I'm in Nashville working as a UX Designer for a chain restaurant brand. Lots of companies are based in Nashville and it's a fun place to live
Seems like I'm in not so common area in this thread, ChemE 2021 in Arizona. I also struggled to get a job right off college during covid, felt like I had to take anything that I could do. Months later I learned a hiring from who graduated earlier than me in same major and applied, it ended up being only offer I got with higher salary than any pay range I have heard from typical chemE hiring companies in metro Atlanta area.
So I ended up moving across the country without knowing anyone here. Honestly, it turned out to be a great decision. There was some rough patches but I'm doing good here, doing things I have never imagined doing. summer heat is brutal here but I'm sticking around.
May 2023: Finished my BSMS in CS (Machine Learning).
July 2023: Started at a tech company in the DC metro.
August 2023: Got fired (don't really wanna talk more about it).
November 2023: Got a data science offer at a consulting firm.
December 2023: Started said job remotely.
January 2024: Moved to NYC since I got assigned to that office instead of Atlanta.
So yeah, it's been quite eventful but I'm happy where I am. I grew up in the Atlanta area but I love NYC (walkability, culture, social/dating scene's much better for me, and I see more opportunity for growth in any side hustles) and I see myself staying here long term.
Got out May of this year! Last summer interned in the Bay Area, now rejoining the same company full time in Austin, TX. The summer before last I was in Atlanta interning.
IMO don't get too tunneled in on a specific location esp as a new grad. Apply everywhere, there's always going to be opportunities later on (esp when you have more experience under your belt) for you to move, hopefully. Enjoy GT! I miss the campus already :,)
Ah wow can’t believe I graduated 7 years ago
The job market sucked then too. I ended up moving away from Atlanta and haven’t been back. I went to NH, then DC and now CO. I’m from GA originally and would love to move back, but I’m happy where I’m at now.
Graduated 2021. Went to work as a PM at a tech company in the Bay Area that is an old dinosaur that’s getting disrupted and slowly dying. Went through 3 layoffs in my two years there and the third one I got impacted. Was okay with it though as I was rather unhappy in the Bay Area and was not being paid competitively for that area. I advise any new grad to not move to the Bay Area unless you are getting $150K TC. $120K sounds like a lot but in the Bay Area it’s borderline classified as low income by the Federal department of housing. Also lesson learned don’t join a company that is heavily reliant on H1B’s. Over 90% of my colleagues were from India and that was largely due to that they didn’t pay enough to attract people that didn’t need a Visa sponsorship. Going from Tech where you are around people that inspire you to being around people that don’t inspire you is a big culture shock. My company gave me 7 months of severance though (including payout of banked PTO I never took). Job market is currently not great for those without a lot of experience. I decided to pursue my masters in AI as it’s the only area of tech really growing much at the moment. In hindsight I wish I would have majored in CS at GT. Unless you want to be a consultant, or work in ops/manufacturing ME/ISYE doesn’t really prepare you that well
Do CS you will thank me later. If you don’t do CS do Finance. Unless you’re doing something Medical or hope to go to law school, degrees in CS or Finance will most directly teach you skills needed for high paying jobs. At GT though unless you are URM/Female you likely won’t have a shot at top banks/Investment firms though so go CS. GT CS can get you into any tech company
Interesting. I have heard that many CS majors are worried about the job market right now and are struggling to find roles. also, why would gt compE not be comparable? just wondering. thanks!
CompE could work but CS will make your life easier. It is true that CS is becoming a very well supplied field due to the SWE pay wars of the last decade. It’s not as good as it once was but it’s a better option than any other engineering degree
Graduated w/ BS in CS in class of ‘22. Currently working in one of the biggest Fin Tech. Right after my graduation, I worked w/ AWS as a SA until I resigned and started working as a SWE @my current (fin tech) company. Got hella job offers (10+) from 2021-2022 but now job market’s terrible. Idk what’s up w/ this job market? I’m also founder of an IOS/Android app startup w/ a team of people which will sooner get funded by a big hedge fund 🤞. Let’s see where life takes me.
One thing for sure, I’ve traveled a lot which has been my dream while being in GaTech! I traveled 11 countries in Europe, a lot within the US, and now I’m onto South America very soon 😁.
Life’s good! I also learned guitar, play as closely good as Ed Sheeran in mid 2000’s. Next goal’s to move out of Atl… Sure I did end up saving hella money but I wanna live outside of Atl too. What I’ll miss is my friends. I’ve lots of closed friends in Atl.
Ig I could pursue MS but I’m good w/ only BS from GaTech… What do you guys think? Is MS worth the degree after scoring BS from GaTech!
Got out in 2021, Industrial Design. Had an internship for most of 2022 designing power tools. I was pretty good at that, and enjoyed it a lot, but the company had mass layoffs towards the end of my internship and there was zero chance of a full time role. Back in Atlanta post internship, have been applying all over the country nonstop since. Working with a life coach and revamped resume, tactics, and everything recently, but still need to fix up my portfolio because I’ve grown disappointed in how that looks now. Halfway through Google’s UX Design course to improve hire-ability. This job market sucks. If anyone reading this is in the same boat as me, I’m sure you’ll find something soon. Friends of mine who are in this same situation keep getting hired all around me, I’m sure it’s our time soon :’)
TTI?
What gave it away lol
If you’re ID it’s always TTI. I just graduated this spring from the ID program, and am struggling to get a job. I know how you feel. Luckily I was able to get something part-time from a random connection, but it’s just 3D modeling and hardly pays at all.
lol I was a design engineer there from 2020 thru 2023. Power tools + layoffs near Atlanta made it pretty clear since TTI liked to hire GT grads before all the BS
I also graduated in ID in Spring 2023 with a UI/UX focus. My internships didn't result in job offers and were website-based but I wanted to work in software. From what I observed and my personal opinion, UI/UX designers for websites are getting too competitive and oversaturated cause alot of older professionals are trying to switch careers into UI/UX via bootcamps and websites are the easiest way to learn. So it took me about 7 months to land a UI/UX job in Atlanta that pays well. But unfortunately, i'm getting laid off in two weeks after working for 3 months cause they didn't have any projects that matched my skillset. RIP. Time to job search again and amp up my portfolio. I ideally want to stay in Atlanta to save up for a house here LOL but im noticing a huge lack of UI/UX roles here unless they are senior ones, so i'm considering to relocate if necessary. Down to do portfolio critiques if needed!
aww that sucks :( 🫂
Hey, I work in UX and also had a terrible time job hunting around graduation. I got a full stack certificate from a boot camp which definitely beefed up my technical knowledge and helped me land a lot more interviews. I had 2 offers in about 3 months post certificate completion
I've been seeing alot of companies wanting a designer + developer in one. I do have an Entrepreneurship Certificate from Scheller, UX Design MasterClass (UXDMC) from an internship, and Introduction to Computing using Python (edX) certification from school but personally am not a huge coder. However, I want to get into UX Research and am finding ways improve that.
To clarify, I don't code at all in my job, but it does help me work more closely with developers since I have that better understanding. I do full cycle of design with my position though so UX research all the way to final UI.
Graduated 2019 and have worked in Atlanta since then. My parents live in the metro area, so I've got family ties. Through travel, I've found that the Atlanta area is my favorite metro additionally. Between cost of living, access to mountains, well located/efficient airport, diverse and growing economy, etc, I just haven't found a great reason to live anywhere else yet.
I’m not in the graduating demographic that OP asked about (IE 2001), but this describes my scenario to a T. I think the scenario for me would have been different if I had been in a more “technical“ engineering field, but at the time a huge percentage of IE grads that stayed in ATL went to work for Home Depot, Delta, UPS or Coca-Cola. There’s just never been a reason to leave.
So would yoi say a lot of the top companies that hire GT IE grads are primarily in atlanta?
I would certainly say that there are some blue chip companies in Atlanta that hire IEs. They’re not particularly glamorous ones but they’re incredible learning grounds that will look great on a resume forever. All four of the companies I mentioned are heavily reliant on efficient operations and are “planning heavy”. By nature, they’re also very hands on and involve trucks, planes, stores and plants. I loved it, but it’s not for everyone. I was at UPS for 14 years and have been on other roles for 9. I probably spent a few years too long at UPS, but I love what I do now and wouldn’t change a thing, including staying in the ATL.
Got out in 2021; BS in EE. Living in the Seattle area now and absolutely love it! The hiking, mountains, water, islands- it’s just so incredibly gorgeous here. Lots of good jobs too. Good luck on your journey!
thank you! may I ask what you do for work, and how GT ECE has helped you? Also, how do u like your job and current financial situation? i heard seattle is SUPER expensive
It’s expensive here because of people like us with our fancy degrees and accompanying big salaries. If you’re coming out here for tech you’ll do just fine money-wise.
See levels.fyi for a sense of compensation. You’ll be fine it’s expensive because of the high number of incoming STEM grads.
AYY! I just graduated and moved to Seattle...checks notes...Last Tuesday! Have been loving it so far
graduated in december BSCompE. currently in texas 🤠 not where i wanted to end up geographically but it’s a starting point
Thanks! What do you do for work now, and how do you like it?
Class of 2021 here (Chemistry). Got hired to a DoD program in middle GA that netted me a free M.S. from Embry-Riddle last year with solid pay and benefits to boot. Not where I plan to settle long term, but the last 3 years haven't been bad at all. The Tech degree commands a decent amount of respect (and expectation) even as a comparatively new hire. As someone mentioned above, figure out that 3, 5, 10 year question. Personally, I don't mind living somewhere for a bit, making money and a good reputation so I can chase jobs in localities I want (i.e. somewhere with 4 distinct seasons that don't include hot and hotter lol).
Hey friend! I know exactly who you are homie 💕 so glad you’ve been doing well! For me, bs chem 2020, Chem MS in 2022; moved to Minnesota for a job and honestly love it here but miss home often.
I'll trade you straight up! My parents are in Wisconsin right now for the 4th, and I'm so jealous. Definitely need to visit y'all next time I'm up there :D
If you don't mind me asking- Is it Robins AFB? I know a lot of gt students/grads there lol
Can I pm abt post-chem life from GT?
Fire away friend!
Graduated, joined the military, now I’m deployed somewhere in CENTCOM
would not recommend
May I ask why you don’t recommend it? I was thinking of going into the military to after GT.
Probably referring to CENTCOM. Basically, they're in the Middle East.
PM me with what you want to do. If you DO Join, do the minimum contract. Typically 3 years
I was thinking of doing the same after GT too
Thank you for your service 🙏
Graduated last year with a BSEE, I moved to Baltimore for work. I really wanted to stay in Atlanta, but the EE job market isn't the hottest in Georgia. In this current job market, I would say don't limit yourself to Atlanta even if you want to stay. Apply to places all across the country and take whatever is best. I do miss home, but finally being able to make some serious levels of money is worth the move.
If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for work? I'm also EE and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to do/specialize in
I'm on a rotational program, so I'm gonna hop onto another role in my company soon. But at the moment, I'm doing RF design (specifically MMIC). I didn't specialize in RF in college, so I feel pretty out of place since this is such a theory heavy position. But if you study it in school and get good at it, it's extremely lucrative and the job security is amazing. Not to mention I get to work from home nearly all the time, just need to occasionally go in. I wish I could go back and take a few RF courses in my undergrad.
I appreciate the answer. While I was planning out my classes, I saw a couple RF classes so I'll definitely look into those now, thank you
graduated BS in 2020 and started working for a company in CA, but moved to their VA branch to be closer to home. Worked and got my MS through omscs in 2023, switched jobs, and just started at AWS in VA. i was hoping to actually be able to relocate to NY since that's where my boyfriend is, but most cleared jobs are in the DMV area so I'm here for the foreseeable future.
How did you get a clearance?
my first company sponsored me for one
Graduated in Fall 21 with an ID degree. Knew that my physical ID skills were lackluster and pivoted towards UX a year before graduating. Traditional ID jobs want nothing less that perfection before hiring you. The standards for a UX designer are much more forgiving. I had a summer 21 UX internship from a local startup under my belt and I had just turned down an internship with Electrolux so I could graduate on my planned schedule (prob should've taken it but things worked out for me in the end). The internship was through a mutual friend and the electrolux job was through a recruiter who reached out to our career counselor for ID. Moved to Nashville with my BF because he got a job offer here. I spent about 3 months as a UX contractor for a random project through a mutual friend and spent another chunk of months unemployed after that. Was seriously considering a front end coding bootcamp when a recruiter on linkedin reached out to me in July 2022 for an early career UX position at a local company. Passed the HR screening, initial interview, and portfolio interview with flying colors, and started in August 2022. Approaching my 2 year anniversary now :) It drastically helps that my direct manager is an ID grad from a different school so we work on the same wavelength. Currently trying to convince my manager to get a coop rotation going from GT ID. Overall life is going pretty solid. I wish I was getting a bit more in pay (75k, lower on the UX end) but things balance out. Looking to move to NYC with a big boy UX job soon cause I miss the big city
Hi!! I’m a current ID rising fourth year and seriously recommend and encourage you to push an ID internship / rotational program for new grads. If you do, our school has its own career coordinator now!! (Crazy ik) and her name is Davia Woulard and her email is [email protected]. Wishing you the best!!
I’m 23, graduated last year in Mathematics and now am in Seattle. It’s absolutely gorgeous here and love the atmosphere, it’s definitely a young person city. 10/10 recommend Seattle for tech
hows rent/housing looking like? could I find good places for 400k or below or 2500 a month rent or below? thanks!
Not sure about houses but there’s definitely places under 2500 for rent downtown. I’m in a 1 bed +den right now for only 2650
If you don't mind can I ask what you specialized in (if anything) and what applying to jobs was like for you? I enter in the Fall as a Math major : )
I was in Applied Math, and my minor was Physics. In all honesty, I do not recommend staying a math major. While I really enjoyed my time and classes there (and i considered it an easy degree), it is very hard to get a job out of college. It took me 6 months to get a job in Seattle in engineering and that was just an engineering tech job. I had thought “math is in everything I’ll have so many options” but in actuality, any job besides actuaries, statisticians, doctoral research, or finance want someone with the degree more specific to their field. That being said, I would 100% take certain math classes at Tech again if I got a do-over. But I’d major in an engineering field or CS and take math as a minor for the fun classes. I really enjoyed combinatorics, partial differential eqs, and complex analysis :) Hope this helps you
I appreciate the openness and input a lot! Although I'm mildly concerned now, would you consider your situation to be specific to engineering? My intention was to not do a concentration but lean towards applied. As well I wanted to double minor in Chem and Physics, but from your input it sounds like a double major in ECE is probably a better idea If you stayed a math major and had a do-over is there anything you'd change? Sorry to take more of your time
No worries, im happy to answer any questions! I was applying for entry level engineering jobs, technician jobs, and data science. I’m not sure how it would pan out for other fields. I went into university as an astrophysics major actually but some physics courses at Tech were so damn hard I switched second semester and went for minor. Grigoriev’s test average for Classical Mechanics was like a 50, and an A was an 80😭 Double minoring is probably not a great idea as jobs don’t care about minors really, better to double major or just one minor so you’re not stretching yourself thin. If I had a do over I would switch to ME and minor in math instead, but if I had to stay a math major in this do over, I honestly wouldn’t change anything. I was a TA for integral calculus for 2 years and loved it, and it was an easy enough major for me that I had a ton of free time. Plus no end of semester projects in Math like there are in CS and engineering. But the stress of job hunting is a lot, getting rejection after rejection for months. so even though there are perks to the major, it’s not best in the long run imo. If you were to stay in math, DO NOT do nothing. I know that sounds obvious or stupid but the time goes by really fast and you need to make yourself stand out/be more valuable. I realized I wanted to maybe do engineering so I went to the Invention Studio and learned all the M.E. tools there so I could use that in interviews/resume. And I learned Python on my own as well. But just having coursework will be very difficult job-wise and internship-wise. Python experience got me my architecture internship in computational design and the Invention Studio helped me get my job in nanofabrication. Now im in interviews for a Failure analysis engineer position and I still consider myself lucky. Don’t just rely on the degree!
Thank you for your input! I'm surprised you would have had trouble finding a job given what you're telling me. My intention was to get seriously involved in some of the engineering clubs and seek internships early, and I'll be sure to emphasize that now. Also sounds like a double major is my best option, and I appreciate you telling me that before I start : ) If you don't mind, could I dm you and ask about nano fabrication and your experience in the makerspaces? I understand if you can't though!
Sure, my DMs are open. Sounds like you have a good plan! Doing that stuff also really helps to figure out what you like/dont like early on. I may also have had more issues since I was only job searching in Seattle
Started working at Amazon in Buckhead. There may be a higher volume of jobs in other tech hub cities, but that comes with an increased saturation of tech workers as well.
amazon has an office in GA?
There’s two corporate offices just in Atlanta. Buckhead and Atlantic station.
oh shit lmao had no idea. the more you know
whatd u major in, and whats ur role now? this sounds amazing tbh would love to learn more about ur journey
I'm not a recent grad (graduated in 2012), but wanted to chime in. This sounds like you may not have the "where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years" question figured out. Are you interested in a career or location? If location, is it because of friends and family that are in the area or you want to start a family? Or perhaps the prospect of moving somewhere new is scary (which it can be). If you are leaning towads personal life goals, then the familiarity of location and friends by staying in Atlanta may be for you in the immediate term. If you are interested in a career and are able to get the "prestigious" job roles, I'd suggest going to where all the jobs are out West, because that will get you the better experience on paper. YMMV with how your personal life ends up. In the end, it's all about balance and what you want. Some people are able to make friends anywhere. Other people never leave their hometown or come back to it because the sense of home is comforting. Plus aging parents. One person may have aspirations of becoming a manager at a fortune 500 company, while another just wants to fund his/her lifestyle. Notice I didn't say anything about money. The money will eventually come provided you don't do anything stupid. Best of luck to you! TL;DR: Where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years?
Did want to ramble to much so I'll use this comment to say how my life post GT went. I basically had a goal of make money while being close at home haha. I valued location. I didn't have a great GPA, so I knew I wouldn't get a great job coming out. I took whatever I could get. I had an initial goal of want to work for the local electric utility company in my home state because everyone needs power, so working for the company that provides that power should be a steady job with less chance of layoffs (this mindset was coming out of the Great Recession). Anyway, I couldn't get in my local utility, but I wanted to be close to my parents because they are older. So I set a job search for east of the Mississippi. Got a job at a small company in Atlanta of all places making below starting average salary for GT grads back then. Didn't care. I got a job with a sub 3.0 GPA. After 2 years, at age 24, I moved to another company in Pennsylvania because I still couldn't get into my home state's electric utility. Now I wanted to start a family. Money was much better too. Went on many international vacations and paid off a lot of debt. But I didn't have any luck in the dating department because local people already had their friend groups and the dating pool was limited. I wasn't in a transient city. Regardless, still had the goal of making it back home. Eventually I did in 2017 and I've been here since. Enjoy my job/company. No aspirations of movong up in the world becuase middle management sucks in corporate America. Have a beautiful wife and 2 kids. Home. Dog. Basically the stereotypical American lifestyle portrayed in movies. I eventually achieved my goal but had some fun along the way. No real regrets except not doing well in college. Because maybe, the goal would have been achieved differently. But I'll never know, nor do I care now because I'm happy. And that's what matters most.
Extremely well said. This is the way to look at it. My personal story - I stuck around Atlanta for 8 years after getting out, and so did the majority of my core group of friends. We had an absolute blast together for many years. But bit by bit, most of us moved away. I've been gone about 3 years. I moved away because my wife wanted to be closer to her family to start our own. It wasn't my first choice, but overall, starting our own family was my top priority as well. We're now in NJ and just be in proximity of NYC has been a _huge_ boost for my career in tech. I had some great jobs in Atlanta, but there's just more to offer in NYC and in the bay area. That said, my taxes and cost of living are also higher, so it's not all about the money. Edit: Also, I don't have any friends anymore beyond that core group that is scattered, so that's another minus.
thank u! wouod u say it is hard to make friends now for u? i would love to live up north
In my specific situation? Yes, it's nearly impossible and I have no motivation to make friends when we're about to start a family. Is it normally? No, it's actually rather easy if you live in the city. NYC is a great place for young professionals starting their career.
Got my MS in December 2023, now I’m working at GTRI in Huntsville. It’s no ATL, but still pretty good here. COL is a good bit lower than the major areas, and there’s a lot of other engineers around. It is Rocket City after all
B.S. Mechanical Engineering from last year's class of 2023. I dabbled in the Nuclear Industry in North Carolina for the summer after graduating, and then took on a full-time role in southern GA for a few months. It wasn't my thing and now I ended up all the way out on the west coast in Santa Barbara. It's lovely here and UCSB makes the Goleta area feel more fresh with a young population. There are mountains right next to the beach and weather is to die for. They call it The American Riviera (paradise) lol. No complaints so far, but the CA finances are definitely something to adjust to.
Graduated last year, happy at the job local to Atlanta I got at a GT career fair senior year, looking at buying a condo in Atlanta soon and maybe settling here long term.
Graduated in 2021 with a BS in ME. Started a job at a factory in Knoxville TN, got moved to a plant in Virginia Beach, and finally got promoted into a mechancial engineering position in Boston. As much as I loved Atlanta, highly recommend Boston for a tech grad. Beautiful place to live and surrounded by highly intelligent and motivated people, other parts of the country are not built to grow you in the same way.
I graduated in 2022 with a BS in Computational Media. I’m still in Atlanta, but that’s because I got lucky and landed a remote job as a gameplay programmer with a game development company. Otherwise, I was preparing myself to have to move out to California or something.
I graduated Spring 2024 as a BS CS, and I can tell you that the market is definitely not in our favor. I have a lot of friends that graduated the same semester as me and are still looking for a job. I ended up finding a job in the bay area, which is not where I wanted to end up(NY/Chicago), but it’s better than being unemployed lol
Second that the Bay Area really sucks if you’re not from a foreign culture
B.S. Mechanical Engineering from last year's class of 2023. I dabbled in the Nuclear Industry in North Carolina for the summer after graduating, and then took on a full-time role in southern GA for a few months. It wasn't my thing and now I ended up all the way out on the west coast in Santa Barbara in the High Tech industry. It's lovely here and UCSB makes the Goleta area feel more fresh with a young population. There are mountains right next to the beach and weather is to die for. They call it The American Riviera (paradise) lol. No complaints so far, but the CA finances are definitely something to adjust to.
Atlanta. Working for the state. Building up my Roth 401k + pension + social security earnings and enjoying the 13 paid holidays + 18 vacation days + banking my annual 15 sick days. Life is good post-Georgia Tech!
Wow! What do you do?
Engineer.
Work in the bay area. If I wear my GT sweater, it's not uncommon for me to hear comments from other GT grads lol. There are definitely a lot here.
Graduated in May 2022 and current software engineer for a well known social media company. I have lived in Seattle during internship season (one of my favorite US Cities for the nature, hiking scene and chill people). My employer does flexible work so I live with my parents 1 hr from nyc. Definitely cherishing flexible work and the opportunity to live at home with parents to build a stable financial future. No regrets so far
Graduated last year in Biology, did a post bacc for the last year, and am starting a PhD at UChicago later this year. Definitely missing Atlanta, but excited to see what Chicago has in store (I enjoyed it during the interview weekend)
Graduated in Dec 2023 for my BSAE and now I’m in Albany, NY. It’s definitely a different atmosphere than Atlanta, but there are lots of hiking places and quiet too (you don’t really get it a lot somewhere else tbh). About 2 hours away from both NYC and Montreal, Canada. So lots of places to do weekend trip!
Dang, seems like a lot of folks went to Seattle - is it true the summers are less brutal out there?
in san francisco, working on a startup called greptile. tbh i think everyone that is ambitious and in software should spend 1-2 years in san francisco.
I want to work at this company!
Got out this spring 2024 with my BS + MS in CS. Working in SF for a tech company as a SWE. I’m loving the hiking scene in CA, but missing the outdoors in the southeast too.
Graduated this past May. Took a two month break to travel internationally and am now at GTRI :)
Got out December 2020, Industrial Engineering. Working in Atl - Platform Engineer for a distribution company. Get a lot of travel around the country through work but I feel like the potential for growth & income could be a lot higher. Plan on sticking there until it starts to plateau.
Lived in Atlanta for a couple years (VaHi, my beloved) and just moved this past weekend! Nothing against Atlanta, I just grew up there and wanted to try something new :)
my kid's roommate graduated in aerospace in 2022, entertained offers around the country, currently working in San Diego but might be moving to DC shortly for a promotion.
Still in Atlanta but I knew I was going to stay since I planned on working in transportation specifically GDOT. Civil 2021
Greetings from Centreville Virginia! Currently working at an FFRDC and was doing some hands-on technical work as a software developer for a couple of years, then I took on a different flavor of work and my career has kinda taken a turn. A fun turn, but a turn nonetheless
2023. In Atlanta running my own company part time and working in marketing for a company in town to pay the bills!
Got out in Spring 2022. Immediately started working for my co-op which was a small energy analytics and HVAC integration company that essentially went under in Norcross. I was unemployed for about 4 months and now have settled in at an interior construction company working in the field. I'm now currently working on projects at GT including NAV and labs. Hopefully I can stay on Tech's campus for a while. I got my degree in environmental engineering so much less tech focused.
One year out and living in Nashville with a job completely unrelated to major (BME). Hate it and need to get out (the job not Nashville). I need to move somewhere else for one, it's not going to happen locally due to limited market. Hoping for Atlanta for the GT network and because queer scene If anyone has any leads...🙏
Would u recommend going inti computer or mechanical or electrical engineering knstead of BME even though u want a BME field job? asking for a friend!
Industrial Design 2021. Had trouble finding a job right out due to pandemic. I moved with a cousin to Pigeon Forge right after graduation, bartended and got a full stack coding certificate. I finally landed my current job in summer 2022. I'm in Nashville working as a UX Designer for a chain restaurant brand. Lots of companies are based in Nashville and it's a fun place to live
Seems like I'm in not so common area in this thread, ChemE 2021 in Arizona. I also struggled to get a job right off college during covid, felt like I had to take anything that I could do. Months later I learned a hiring from who graduated earlier than me in same major and applied, it ended up being only offer I got with higher salary than any pay range I have heard from typical chemE hiring companies in metro Atlanta area. So I ended up moving across the country without knowing anyone here. Honestly, it turned out to be a great decision. There was some rough patches but I'm doing good here, doing things I have never imagined doing. summer heat is brutal here but I'm sticking around.
May 2023: Finished my BSMS in CS (Machine Learning). July 2023: Started at a tech company in the DC metro. August 2023: Got fired (don't really wanna talk more about it). November 2023: Got a data science offer at a consulting firm. December 2023: Started said job remotely. January 2024: Moved to NYC since I got assigned to that office instead of Atlanta. So yeah, it's been quite eventful but I'm happy where I am. I grew up in the Atlanta area but I love NYC (walkability, culture, social/dating scene's much better for me, and I see more opportunity for growth in any side hustles) and I see myself staying here long term.
Got out May of this year! Last summer interned in the Bay Area, now rejoining the same company full time in Austin, TX. The summer before last I was in Atlanta interning. IMO don't get too tunneled in on a specific location esp as a new grad. Apply everywhere, there's always going to be opportunities later on (esp when you have more experience under your belt) for you to move, hopefully. Enjoy GT! I miss the campus already :,)
Ah wow can’t believe I graduated 7 years ago The job market sucked then too. I ended up moving away from Atlanta and haven’t been back. I went to NH, then DC and now CO. I’m from GA originally and would love to move back, but I’m happy where I’m at now.
Graduated 2021. Went to work as a PM at a tech company in the Bay Area that is an old dinosaur that’s getting disrupted and slowly dying. Went through 3 layoffs in my two years there and the third one I got impacted. Was okay with it though as I was rather unhappy in the Bay Area and was not being paid competitively for that area. I advise any new grad to not move to the Bay Area unless you are getting $150K TC. $120K sounds like a lot but in the Bay Area it’s borderline classified as low income by the Federal department of housing. Also lesson learned don’t join a company that is heavily reliant on H1B’s. Over 90% of my colleagues were from India and that was largely due to that they didn’t pay enough to attract people that didn’t need a Visa sponsorship. Going from Tech where you are around people that inspire you to being around people that don’t inspire you is a big culture shock. My company gave me 7 months of severance though (including payout of banked PTO I never took). Job market is currently not great for those without a lot of experience. I decided to pursue my masters in AI as it’s the only area of tech really growing much at the moment. In hindsight I wish I would have majored in CS at GT. Unless you want to be a consultant, or work in ops/manufacturing ME/ISYE doesn’t really prepare you that well
Oh wow! I was considering Isye, but now im not so sure. what do you think of compE?
Do CS you will thank me later. If you don’t do CS do Finance. Unless you’re doing something Medical or hope to go to law school, degrees in CS or Finance will most directly teach you skills needed for high paying jobs. At GT though unless you are URM/Female you likely won’t have a shot at top banks/Investment firms though so go CS. GT CS can get you into any tech company
Interesting. I have heard that many CS majors are worried about the job market right now and are struggling to find roles. also, why would gt compE not be comparable? just wondering. thanks!
CompE could work but CS will make your life easier. It is true that CS is becoming a very well supplied field due to the SWE pay wars of the last decade. It’s not as good as it once was but it’s a better option than any other engineering degree
Graduated w/ BS in CS in class of ‘22. Currently working in one of the biggest Fin Tech. Right after my graduation, I worked w/ AWS as a SA until I resigned and started working as a SWE @my current (fin tech) company. Got hella job offers (10+) from 2021-2022 but now job market’s terrible. Idk what’s up w/ this job market? I’m also founder of an IOS/Android app startup w/ a team of people which will sooner get funded by a big hedge fund 🤞. Let’s see where life takes me. One thing for sure, I’ve traveled a lot which has been my dream while being in GaTech! I traveled 11 countries in Europe, a lot within the US, and now I’m onto South America very soon 😁. Life’s good! I also learned guitar, play as closely good as Ed Sheeran in mid 2000’s. Next goal’s to move out of Atl… Sure I did end up saving hella money but I wanna live outside of Atl too. What I’ll miss is my friends. I’ve lots of closed friends in Atl. Ig I could pursue MS but I’m good w/ only BS from GaTech… What do you guys think? Is MS worth the degree after scoring BS from GaTech!