Finding My Career: Student finds success through CEE internship program

By Carlos Gonzalez, CEE 2020

During my time at Rutgers, it has become apparent that the School of Engineering wants their students to succeed. There are so many resources and tools for students to utilize to ensure that they have a successful time during their four years here. 

The School of Engineering and the Civil Engineering Department at Rutgers helped me secure a full-time offer in early November. The Civil Department constantly sent job postings, networking opportunities, career fair reminders, and internship opportunities. 

Through an email that I received from the Civil Department, I was able to secure a unique internship, in construction management. I spent my summer 2019 in New Mexico, at a Navajo Reservation, focusing on more than 10 different construction projects. While in New Mexico I was able to put aside technical knowledge and focus solely on soft skills, people and resource management, scheduling and budgeting, and operational management. 

Two months after I came back from my internship, I attended a career fair, open to all engineering students, organized by the Society of Hispanic Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and the Minority Engineering Educational Task and was able to secure multiple interviews based on my prior internship experience. All of the companies that attended this career fair were actively seeking students for engineering internships and I even know a few freshmen that were able to obtain opportunities this way.

I was also able to tap into classmate resources and feedback from my friends while navigating through the interview and job offer process. I never hesitated to ask friends from Engineers Without Borders or the American Society of Civil Engineers to address some of the concerns or questions I had. Additionally, I tapped into alumni already in the field for extra tips and tricks. 

Without a doubt, Rutgers offered me an expansive network of resources. Through career fairs, professional and departmental help, and a strong classmate and alumni network I was able to secure a full-time job offer in early November as a project engineer.  I'm looking forward to the challenges and experiences after Rutgers and I'm confident I can always reach out to former professors, advisors, and classmates for continued career advice.