I'm an engineer with GM in Ypsi (Transmission New Products and Technical Specialists Group).

 

Hey guys, I'm bumping this thread from a few months ago. Wondering if any of the companies you work for (or know of) are hiring entry level mechanical/automotive engineers. I'm starting to send out resumes and have been on a few interviews now, and wanted to see if you guys knew of any opportunities in Michigan. I've been browsing monster and careerbuilder, as well as craigslist and my school's career services site. I've been to a few engineering job fairs, and have applied to several companies online as well. That being said, it's easy to overlook a lot of the companies out there (especially some of the smaller ones), so if you guys know of any companies that are looking to higher recent college grads, shoot me a message!

 

It is very tough for entry level engineers now I believe. That's because there are so many experienced engineers who are looking for work.

Do what you can while you're still in college to get experience so your resume will stand out. The only college grad engineers I've seen hired in my area of GM are ones from things like Challenge X, etc. They had a job offer a year before they graduated.

 

What group are you in? Here in Ypsi we have probably hired 40 new people in the last year alone.

 

I work in Milford. We hire new people for sure, but college grads with no experience are few and far between. Same goes for Romulus in the dyno area. I assume you work in manufacturing?

 

No manufacturing for me although they aren't very far from my desk.

I'm in the Transmission New Products and Technical Specialists Group. HR4

A large majority of our new hires were right out of school including myself and 7-8 other guys in my group alone.

 

Maybe there aren't that many unemployed transmission specialists then.

 

Or the ones that are unemployed want too much money and they'd rather pay us new guys peanuts and build a strong foundation. That combined with the fact that we just have so much damn work ahead of us keeps the new blood rushing in at a steady pace. That's how I see it anyways.

Transmission Engineering has actually hired quite a few experienced guys as well and they've all been real sharp as well.

I'll respond back to your PM later tonight Koz.

 

Thread bump. LT1Homer PM me, maybe we might have crossed paths, I am on the engine side of GMPT in Pontiac... your soon to be new home..

For all you college guys, it's been posted on this thread already, but get involved in co-op as early as possible. I graduated from Kettering (when it was still GMI) and had a lot of engineering experience before I even graduated. I was there in the mid-late 90's when the market was soft, but just before the big upswing in the late 90's.

Another huge enabler was the SAE competitions. I did FSAE for 3 years, and also worked on our SAE Hybrid competition (Saturn years) a little bit, as well as Formula Lightning a little bit. Mostly hard core FSAE though. That experience is gold. I never got a direct job from it though Ford was recruiting me pretty hard and I got an interview setup while at the FSAE competition. I didn't take the job (didn't want to work at a big company back then, though I work for the General now)

Once I had the degree, I couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a good paying job, but the good-to-have jobs still were hard to get. I credit my co-op and extra-curricular activities with getting me the jobs I have had over the last 10 years. My GPA was never spectacular, I spent too much time in the project garage, it wasn't my dashing looks (), so I can only think the extra activities worked. I regret none of them, and have been mostly having a blast.

 

Good info! I regret not getting more involved with SAE at my school. It has always been something that interestested me, but the opportunity was never really there due to class or work or family obligations. I have an interview with GM Powertrain on Friday though, so hopefully I can leave them with a good impression

 

Just as an update...I had a lot of trouble finding some sort of internship, but managed to land a research position working with one of my professors. It wasn't particularly interesting, but it kept me busy for a little while.

On the other hand, I didn't have too much trouble finding a real engineering job for when I graduate. Go figure! I should be joining the GM powertrain ranks in Milford in around a month and a half.

 

Koz, PM me, and I'll give you my GM contact info. I've been at Milford since last summer.

What area will you be working in?

 

Roush is a hell hole, Nuff said.

 

I haven't heard of anyone that works for Roush that likes it. That being said, I applied for a calibration engineer position there. I figured driving around Roush cars couldn't be that bad.

Also, I heard that other companies like to hire people who have worked for Roush.

 

I know more people that used to work for Roush than I know people who currently do. Lots of fabricators I know got started there, the good ones go on to better paying jobs, both on the OEM side of Roush, and the racing side. They do not seem to know how to retain talent. I know a few guys on here, and others on the MM site are current and former Roush employees.

Glad you took the GM job, stay in touch, and drop me an email when you get your work email set up. Enjoy the country club out in the Milf..it's almost bad you got a job out there first, you will be spoiled.... until you have to jump start a development car out in the blowing snow because somebody left the instrumentation on and killed the battery... nope don't miss that.