On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 19 engineering students and companies packed the New Balance Recreation and Fitness Center at the University of Maine for the university’s annual Engineering Job Fair. This year there were 115 organizations present ranging from companies in the industries of manufacturing, energy and utilities, construction, technology and various types of engineering, including civil, chemical, electrical, environmental and mechanical.
The doors opened for the fair at 10 a.m. and hundreds of students, dressed professionally in suits, resumes in hand, streamed into the Recreation Center eager to talk to companies.
“I went to the Engineering Job Fair to make connections with possible employers, discuss summer internship possibilities and meet with a foster center for student innovation rep. I spoke with many companies including The Fitch Company, Ransom and TRC solutions. We discussed their areas of concentration, what they are looking for in employees and possible work opportunities moving forward,” Ben Thompson, a third-year engineering physics student said.
He added that the Engineering Job Fair is definitely worth going to and that he would “highly recommend it, even for freshmen as it provides an unparalleled chance to network in the field of engineering.”
Sponsoring the fair was underwriter General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and the supporters were Kepware, Procter and Gamble and Tyler Technologies.
Third-year civil engineering student Andrew Kurmin attended the fair for the third year in a row. “I’m here because the goal of college is to gain a career. I want to do structural engineering, build action sports parks, preserve the environment, couple different things — I haven’t decided which,” Kurmin said.
Companies at the fair included American Plant Maintenance, Cianbro Corporation, Enercon Technologies, Maine Department of Labor, Texas Instruments and Unum.
Employers at the fair were looking for a range of majors, including all types of engineering and technology, physics, mathematics and information systems. Positions available included internships over the fall, spring, or summer, as well as full-time and part-time positions throughout the year.