I graduated with an EE degree in 2023. I have 3.5 experience and only make 72k. I’m starting to push myself to apply though I’m curious how competitive it can be. I only really have GitHub, matlab/simulink, and minimal c code experience . It’s worth a try I suppose
Graduated with an EE degree and ended up working as a contractor in aerospace. I actually enjoy a lot about the job — I get to work with real engine/system logic, the flexibility is great, and overall the work itself is interesting.
My concern is more about long-term growth and compensation. I started here during college and stayed after graduating. The starting pay out of school was decent, but raises since then have been pretty small, and after a recent company acquisition there’s a lot of uncertainty around future raises and career progression.
Part of me feels like I should stay because I’ve learned a lot here and I’m comfortable with the systems/processes. Another part of me worries I’m staying too long at my first engineering job and limiting my earning potential or growth.
For engineers who stayed at one company early in their career vs moved elsewhere after 2–4 years, what ended up working out better for you?