With an engineering degree in their pocket, career opportunities are endless, students are often told. And for companies, it is brisk angling to bring in a promising young potential. Nothing new in what we are saying here.
Downside of the coin
Start anyway new graduates are not always confident in their job search. Or, once started, they discover that the jobs are more varied than they were prepared for. Or conversely, that first job is not as technically interesting as expected. So there are plenty of reasons why a career kick-start might sputter.
Companies had better learn from this and make smart use of it. After all, a starting engineer who gets it right the first time will be happy to stick around with his first employer for a while.
Findings of start-ups
How graduates look back on their first steps in the labour market was therefore the starting point of the Start Job Survey launched by ie-net, the engineering association, among engineering graduates from the last three graduation years.
Look beyond wages
What turns out? That pay is not the most important motivator in a job. What do you better double down on, though?