Struggling to land an engineering job? Learn why taking related work, building new skills, exploring detours, or starting a side business can help. 

When Your Engineering Job Search Isn’t Working:  What To Do Next?

By Maxwell R. Carter, PE

August 23, 2025

Have you or someone you know gone through a long engineering job search process and are ready for it to be over with? Currently I have a family friend who graduated with a degree in computer science in May of 2024 (17 months ago now) and he has yet to land a computer science job. A close friend of mine graduated with a computer science degree and it took him 12 months to get his first computer science job out of college. That’s a frustrating process.

Many companies are bureaucratic and can spend months on collecting applications for a position before they even start interviewing. They may never give you an interview and it might be six months later when they notify you that the position is closed. If you don’t have professional experience with that role then you may have a hard time landing interviews and you will need to apply to many places. Always be grateful for any opportunities.

The Engineering Resource has links to over 100 engineering focused job boards. We also have free training and software you can learn.

Why Working Matters

Some may disagree with this thinking, but I think it is easier to get a job when you are already working. Don’t limit yourself to this particular job if you don’t have a job now. It is better to have income and something on your resume while you are applying. A part-time job could be a good fit especially if you can find something related to what you want to do. Maybe you can find a job that will support graduate school in the area that you want to focus on. You may be able to move up to the position that you want to be in. Keep applying while you work in this temporary position.

You can find over 20 general job boards on ER.O. Snagajob specializes in part time positions but also has full-time positions.

Developing A Unique Skillset While You Find Your Way

Working outside your field of study is not ideal, but it is also not a bad thing; at least for the short term. Developing skills in sales, media, marketing, software development, training people and developing training programs and manufacturing are all skills that can help you in your industry.

Detour Success Stories

I was recently at a conference and one of the presenters talked about having a hard time getting a job in his field when he graduated from college. He studied geology, and after he graduated, he ended up working in computers. I don’t think there were degree programs related to computers at the time. That industry was growing. This speaker started working in computers. Then he went back to graduate school for his field. The faculty asked him to develop software programs for them. Now he develops software programs used by environmental engineers. If he did not have that experience with computers his career would not have worked out the way it did.

From Lawn Care To Heavy Civil Construction

You can also have a part time job related or unrelated to what you do and try to work for yourself. One of my friends started his own lawn care business two years before he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. By the time he graduated he had two lawn crews working full-time while he was sitting in class. People asked him to pour concrete patios and sidewalks and install drains. He got asked to regrade a yard and put down sod. He started doing that for home builders. Then he started a construction company. Now he is 28 years old and has 100 people working for his construction company building subdivisions and commercial site projects. He still owns his lawn care company but has hired a general manager to run it for him while he focuses on construction and being a dad.

The Engineering Resource – Born From Previous Failures

My first entrepreneurial experience was a disaster. It would have taken me years to make it successful, and it was not my calling. I wanted to start a sports media company that was scalable and then try to sell it. At the time I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a PhD in water resources engineering. That business never made a penny, and I spent a lot of money on it without income. After eight months I needed to go back to work. From that experience I developed a love for filming, and I also learned how to make websites.

Now I am growing The Engineering Resource while I work full-time as a civil engineer. This website is not commercialized right now, and it is not a mainstream website. It has been great to watch it grow on Google.

My friend with the construction company told me that he never spent money on something until he had the work to pay for it. My uncle has started successful construction companies that have done major projects across the US, and he told me to start a business while you work for someone else. That is what he did. I have only spent $20 on this website. You should not start a business that can’t pay its own bills. Unless you have serious, experienced angel investors that will help give it the support and resources it needs to be successful.

Conclusion

Whatever you decide to do, do it well and be frugal. Always keep chasing your dreams unless your dreams change. My mentor has told me to pick something and stick with it for stability.

Keep applying while working. Build transferable skills. Stay open to career detours. Consider entrepreneurship carefully.

Access my resources for entrepreneurship if you are interested in starting something.

Below is a graph of The Engineering Resource's Google search performance between December 8, 2024 and August 22, 2025 and a list of backlinks to The Engineering Resource shown by Google as of today. See our current backlinks on the Locations page.