There’s a lot that goes into making a Career Fair happen, so today I wanted to take some time to give thanks to all the people who did the necessary things.
First, a big round of applause for Career Services. Organizing one of the largest college career fairs in the country is hard when it takes place in the Upper Peninsula. Convincing enough company representatives to come visit Houghton that they actually sell out the hotels half a year in advance: now that’s success. The whole month of Career Fest events beforehand is just icing on their cake.
Second, let’s thank those company reps. It’s a long drive to Houghton from anywhere, as most of us know. Driving all the way up here just to offer us jobs is a pretty nice how-do-you-do, and I’m grateful. Even if they do just tell us to apply online.
Third big shout-out to all the brave souls that turn the Wood Gym into a corporate feeding ground. Those tables and chairs don’t just appear there, and I want everyone to know how much it means to us, even if we never see their faces.
Finally, a huge thank you to all the companies that are interviewing me today. The paper that comes out on Thursday is written on Tuesday, so I don’t know who you are yet, but rest assured I am very grateful and very talented.
Of course, it makes a lot of sense that so much effort goes into Career Fair: it’s our thing. Michigan Tech has a 29 percent four-year graduation rate and a 94 percent placement rate, and that’s really all you need to know about the school.
For all of Tech’s expansion over the last century broadening into a “university” rather than an engineering school, the fundamental focus of the programs here have so often been on outcomes, placement rates and median mid-career salaries. Those are numbers engineers can wrap their heads around.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing: people like outcomes. It’s the reason a lot of people come to schools like Michigan Tech.
So let’s thank everyone who works so hard to make sure we get hired. They’re doing their jobs very well so that we might get the chance to do the same.
