Graduating in May with a low GPA in Nuclear Engineering, need advice

[duceyer]

I'm finishing my bachelors and I project my GPA to be around 2.6-2.7 when I graduate. Obviously I'm working hard now to bring it up, but I'm seeing that most entry level positions require a 3.0 or above and I haven't gotten any interviews or interest at all yet, while others in my class already have offers. What are my options here? I can't afford graduate school and I will have loan repayments due soon after I graduate. Please help.

[Higgs]

NLO.

Justin

[thenuttyneutron]

Don't let the low GPA get you down.  When you have that degree in your hand, you will have gone through a tough program and have finished it.  How many people started before giving up and changing to something easier?  Would a 4.0 in an easy field of study give you more pride and satisfaction? 

Be proud that you started a very difficult degree plan and have almost finished!

Where are you graduating from?

[cheme09]

I tend to agree with Nutty Neutron, but the fact of the matter is that your GPA is low.  I graduated from engineering school with just a slightly higher GPA and found it very difficult (but not impossible) to get a job offer.  I ended up going to grad school to get into the nuke field.

3.0 is generally the cutoff for most entry level engineering positions, but that doesn't mean you can't get hired.  The key for you would be to fill out as many applications as possible and/or send resumes.  Your GPA doesn't provide you much leverage so you can't be picky and must take every interview you get.  In those interviews, you have to convince that employer that you're the right person regardless of your GPA and hopefully you'll get an offer somewhere.

If you have prior internship experience tapping into resources/connections at those companies would be a good starting point.  But like I said, you can't be picky - look at utilities, contract companies, vendors, etc.

Justin also has good advice in going the Ops route.

Lastly, as a heads up there are entry level engineering positions currently posted for North Anna and Surry.  Surry is also hiring for operators; I think that may be for prior navy nuke or people with prior ops experience only, but doesn't hurt to apply.

Good luck.

[93-383]

I'm finishing my bachelors and I project my GPA to be around 2.6-2.7 when I graduate. Obviously I'm working hard now to bring it up, but I'm seeing that most entry level positions require a 3.0 or above and I haven't gotten any interviews or interest at all yet, while others in my class already have offers. What are my options here? I can't afford graduate school and I will have loan repayments due soon after I graduate. Please help.

I don't mean to sound like a prick but with less than a 3.0 you probably couldn't get into grad school. Most programs I looked at and the one I applied for required between a 3.0-3.2 to get accepted and a 3.5+ to be competitive.

[cheme09]

I graduated from engineering school with just a slightly higher GPA and found it very difficult (but not impossible) to get a job offer.  I ended up going to grad school to get into the nuke field.

[Nichole]

I'm having a tough time finding a job with a GPA of about a 3.4 and a second major. I don't know if it will help, but a good score on the EIT exam might be something you can use on your resume. So, study for it and do your best. If you are doing better in your final two years of school than you did in the first two years, some government jobs will consider that. They have something called "superior academic achievement" that will allow you to be hired on at the GS-7 pay grade if you have a GPA of 3.5 or greater for the final two years. Good luck!

[SmallTownNuke]

Do you have any co-op/internship experience?  I don't know about all companies, but most I talked to before graduation would prefer grad with a 2.8 gpa and co-op experience to a 3.5 gpa with no useful experience.

One thing that could give you an advantage in the interview would be to read AND understand 10CFR50.  Good luck!

[ski2313]

GPA isn't everything. It might be how you're measured in college, but in the real world there are far more important things. Your ability to persuade and resolve conflict/issues, your attitude, your character, being able to think on your feet, and day in and day out hard work and dedication are far more important. Your challenge (if you possess those qualities) is how to convey them to an interviewer. A degree is just a single mark on a long checklist.

[cheme09]

Do you have any co-op/internship experience?  I don't know about all companies, but most I talked to before graduation would prefer grad with a 2.8 gpa and co-op experience to a 3.5 gpa with no useful experience.

That was my experience as well.  The small caveat, though, was finding a company that would hire interns with a sub-3.0 gpa.  They tend to be the smaller companies, but it's still internship experience.