Hi all! I'm a mechatronics engineering major, CS minor with 1 year of college left. My past internships are in the fields of machinery diagnostics, design validation, test engineering, QA & calibration. I've just started looking for full-time opportunities, and to my surprise, there are very few companies that offer new grad hardware engineering jobs. Most descriptions say 3+ or 5+ years of XXX. It is perhaps because I am an international student and hence I've been looking at established companies with the ability to sponsor for my visa. My questions are: Where should I be looking for hardware jobs for new grads? What should my expectations be going into full-time recruiting in 2-3 months? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions - since most of my friends are in SWE, my ignorance has been leading me to Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, when I know they are mostly software based. Thanks everyone! It's because of you guys that it made our job search just a little bit less stressed :)
You have CS minor. Why not go for SWE like your friends?
We hire lots of college grads and love hardware engineers. Check Keysight. We were Agilent and before that spinoff the original Hewlett Packard. We design and make the stuff that companies like Apple use to engineer their phones, SpaceX uses for their rockets, and Verizon used for 5g. Plus, the North Bay is so much nicer than SV. I live in the heart of wine country.
Let me know if you need a referral to a particular job. I have gotten several people hired. Oh wait. Never mind. The visa sponsorship is the problem. Plenty on engineering grads that are residents to choose from.
Silicon labs
Get a masters
Financial reasons prevent me from doing so - am trying to work for 2-3 years before going to grad school. Thanks for your suggestion though!