Career Specialist Vanessa Rubinfeld says the students she counsels at the College of Engineering & Computer Science (ECS) are the hardest working students she’s ever met. They are also “more than prepared” upon graduation to pursue careers in many of the most in-demand fields.
Students with good academic performance and the right development of their career trajectories – through experiences in internships, course and personal projects, and overall career preparation – stand out to hiring managers.
“Many top companies are actively pursuing CSUF students and alumni,” Rubinfeld says. “Through career counseling, I help students understand the differences between various fields within each of the majors and highlight opportunities in up-and-coming fields like artificial intelligence (AI).”
Rubinfeld and her colleagues also help students understand the technical and soft skills that employers are looking for so that they can be strategic in their internship and job searches, based on research that includes conversations with top employers like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, and many others.
“We partner with such companies to hold job fairs and workshops covering topics like technical interviewing, whiteboarding techniques, and understanding the hiring process at top companies, among others,” Rubinfeld says. “I encourage the students I counsel to pursue internship and career opportunities as early as possible in their college careers and to take advantage of workshops the Career Center provides focused on interviewing, networking, LinkedIn, and more; resume and cover letter labs; career fairs – offered both virtually and in person starting again this spring; on-campus interviews; and employer information and networking sessions.”
Rubinfeld and Career Center staff can advise which students should pursue advanced degrees based on their desired career trajectory, but she says many ECS graduates can enter their field of choice with a bachelor’s.
“The need for CSUF alumni is increasing, and we try to meet students and alumni where they are at and connect them to the resources that are best suited for their career development needs,” she says. “Our ECS students are already highly motivated and are hungry for internship and full-time opportunities in top companies upon graduation.”
