57: From 0 Internships to 6-Figure Salary: How to Land Your Dream MSE Job (ft. Bennett Smith)

The job search process can be a taxing time, as you have to balance networking, resume building, submitting applications, and preparing for interviews with your existing class workload. It is especially important to us because we’re covering a significant challenge many MSE students and early-career professionals face: discovering what they are truly passionate about and landing a job at a company they love in a role that they truly enjoy. 

 

Check out our MSE Company Database and free professional development guide for materials scientists and engineers!

 

In today’s episode, we are excited to bring on Bennett Smith, an MSE student at the University of Florida and an active member of our MSE Academy program. He recently completed his job search process and accepted an offer at Carbon 3D, so while his experiences are still fresh, we wanted to give him a chance to share his experiences and learnings with other MSEs.

 

In this conversation, we discuss:

 

🔹️Bennett’s job search process and his current career. 

🔹️His first steps to navigate his chosen field and the strategies he found most effective.

🔹️Insights to determine the right path and gain a blueprint for success.

🔹️Ways to improve resumes and applications and making it specific to each job description. 

🔹️Companies he ended up interviewing at, what that process was like, and how he prepared for these interviews at each round.

🔹️How he went about working with companies to be malleable to his timeline, and what ultimately helped him arrive at his decision.

🔹️Advice for MSEs who are navigating their own career path and want to find and land their dream role.

 

Learn more about our MSE Career Development Online Course, which includes more industry-specific information and advice.

 

Join our Discord community! You can meet other passionate materials scientists and engineers from around the world, discuss the latest breakthroughs in MSE, share materials-related memes, and get career advice from experts in the field. 

 

Also, check out our MSE-themed merchandise if you want to support us or simply show off your love of materials science!

 

For shorter segments and full video podcasts, subscribe to our channel on YouTube. For bloopers, audiograms, and interesting materials science articles, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Feel free to message us on our social media platforms if you have any feedback or recommendations for future episodes, or email us directly at itsamaterialworldpodcast@gmail.com. Finally, reach out to David Yeh and Punith Upadhya on LinkedIn if you'd like to chat about the latest breakthroughs in MSE!

 

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed by either guests or hosts in this show are their own, and do not represent the opinions of the companies or organizations for which they are affiliated.