[Edwood]

Jason.

Apply for the job, man.

At the very least, it will be your first stepping stone in your career. The best way to advance is to jump from company to company.

That and it will be hilarious to see your title branded with "[size=medium]M[/size]ember of the Trade: BOSE."

-Ed

 

[strohmie]

Thought I'd give this thread a bump. I'm still in the hunt right now after a hiccup through August (family problems and a mishap with my getting my degree verified). Needless to say I applied to but have not heard back from Bose -- I've spoken to an EE friend of mine who claims that the company prefers to hire "ridiculously qualified 40 year olds" for all their positions.

The basic problem I'm finding is that there's no such thing as an entry level audio engineering position...or at least, if they're is, it's very uncommon. Most positions require some experience beyond what I have -- those "3+ years experience" ads are starting to bug me, since an MSEE counts as two years. So basically I'll have to start off by getting an entry level EE position that won't be directly related, possibly at an audio electronics company, possibly not. Preferably the company I work for will at least be a consumer electronics based, which is what I'm going for outside audio, but I won't stop to apply for a position I think is up my alley outside of that (government contracting, eg.).

The funny thing is, despite leaving Illinois after grad school I very well might get sucked back into the state again -- by far the most promising leads I have right now are in the Chicago suburbs. The contacts I have both work for companies in the area, and furthermore having received my grad degree in Illinois helps with the local companies. Networking, she is beautiful.

So no Member of the Trade: BOSE in my future. Though I'd still like to work in the Boston area... <<goes off to do yet another search>>

 

[archosman]

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by strohmie Plus, it's certainly a nice area.

You like Framingham? Kinda gave me a 'Northern Exposure' vibe when I had to visit a few years ago to service a client, incidentally, right across the street from their headquarters.

I wouldn't be too bothered. OTOH, I'd love to work/live in Boston...

 

[strohmie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobeau You like Framingham? Kinda gave me a 'Northern Exposure' vibe when I had to visit a few years ago to service a client, incidentally, right across the street from their headquarters. I wouldn't be too bothered. OTOH, I'd love to work/live in Boston...

Wasn't in reference to Framingham specifically, just the Boston area in general.

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by strohmie Wasn't in reference to Framingham specifically, just the Boston area in general.

Huh, I thought it was like a 2 hour drive though? I didn't actually make the drive, just what the folks there told me.

EDIT: Just looked at a map and it looks no further than 30 miles away. Maybe they said that cause it was snowing pretty bad

 

[LFF]

Here is how to impress them at Bose and the consequences of success.

1) Buy new Ipod
2) Get Ipod buds and paint them black.
3) Give them to Boss and say they are prototypes for BOSE In-ear pro grade monitors.
4) Rejoice as Bose introduces them as thier new high end product.
5) Everyone starts buying them.
6) Get banned at headfi.org

 

[braillediver]

Working for a successful company isn’t all bad. While some might not have the highest esteem for that company there’s still a lot to learn from them. Getting your feet wet and getting some experience is the most important factor. Learning and moving up in the industry is what counts.

Read the FAQ about Eva Manley from Manley labs. She worked in every aspect of audio engineering, assembly, shipping etc. She learned the business from the ground up and is now successful.

One approach is to get a job \ any job at a company you want to work at then work your way up. Most places list job openings internally before posting them to the general public. Knowing all aspects of a manufacturing business is a real plus.

Case in point- it’s near impossible to get a job at Microsoft with out being a temp first. Even that is limited. I know a programmer that set up cubes, office space and networks for Microsoft for almost 2 years. In the process he met people, learned things, made contacts and earned peoples respect. He’s now a highly paid successful programmer for Microsoft. He did what it took to get his foot in the door. He knows more about the inside workings of Microsoft than most people do and he benefits from his experience.


Mitch

 

[strohmie]

Epiphany of the month -- a Master's degree is less important than a co-op. This goes along with what braillediver just said above about Microsoft and their temps. Someone should have told me this before so I could have saved a year and a half of learning.

Basically, I'm finding the MSEE will do me more favors a decade down the line than it is right now. None of what I've done, assistantships or otherwise, seems to be counted as job experience, whereas if I had a co-op for even one semester I'd be seen as a step past where I am now. Oy vey, man.

 

[Jahn]

try to get a post-grad internship where you work for peanuts or even free. best is an internship-to-perm position or program. just get your foot in the door, show everyone you're not a freak, and someone will find a place for you!

 

[strohmie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn try to get a post-grad internship where you work for peanuts or even free. best is an internship-to-perm position or program. just get your foot in the door, show everyone you're not a freak, and someone will find a place for you!

That's a possibility. The problem is I'd need to find one at a company I'd actually want to work for in the long term. Some part of me thinks that it's ridiculous that I'm having this much trouble finding a position in one of the hotter fields out there. The other part just wants to start getting paid.

 

[stevesurf]

"Change in a company starts from within."

Best of luck with the new position!

 

[Tuberoller]

I know three engineers who found jobs by pimping themselves at CES. One is my cousin who now works for Google making great money. He worked for a very popular PC hardware company and turned down two better offers from smaller companies,one of them Koss.

My advice is to get to CES and all the Hardware and Software trade shows and make yourself known. Do not hang around,wait or use only one source to find a job. I would also suggest that you nuture your own projects (if you have them) and never give up on doing your own thing. You seem like a highly organized,hard-working and determined guy. I gathered that just from communicating with you a few times,others will too.


Take the job at Bose and use the experience and "Prestige" (if that applies here) to land the job you really want.

 

[strohmie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuberoller I know three engineers who found jobs by pimping themselves at CES. One is my cousin who now works for Google making great money. He worked for a very popular PC hardware company and turned down two better offers from smaller companies,one of them Koss. My advice is to get to CES and all the Hardware and Software trade shows and make yourself known. Do not hang around,wait or use only one source to find a job. I would also suggest that you nuture your own projects (if you have them) and never give up on doing your own thing. You seem like a highly organized,hard-working and determined guy. I gathered that just from communicating with you a few times,others will too. Take the job at Bose and use the experience and "Prestige" (if that applies here) to land the job you really want.

I thought to attend the Audio Engineering Society national convention a couple weeks ago, and in hindsight it probably was a bad decision to miss it. Meanwhile, <<points at CD player>>, if you had attended the central Illinois meet earlier this year you could have heard it yourself.

And at this point there's no position to actually take -- I have yet to hear back from anywhere I've applied. That's the problem. I started this thread just out of amusement at the thought of working for Bose given their reputation around here, but I certainly didn't hesitate to apply there. Again, never heard back. Back to the search...

 

[ajt976]

Strohmie,

First of all, a big congrats on your masters. That's a really huge accomplishment and I hope to make it there someday as well. I don't know if you had said this before hand but in your grad work, what was your area of emphasis? I was just curious.

Anyways, I'm probably in no position to give you advice, but I plan on taking the best (or pretty much any

) job offer's that get thrown my way. I think I'll just be happy getting a salary instead of an hourly wage!

I say go for it, see where it takes you and at the very least you will be getting real world experience.

Not to stray any further from the original topic, but are there any suggestions you'd give to a young sophmore ECE student?!

You know, other than stay on top of your class work and to actually do the suggested problems in my math classes?

Again congrats,

Andrew