Careers

Programs within the School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology provide many exciting career opportunities. Those opportunities exist throughout the region and include some of Maine’s largest and most established companies as well as startup ventures that are part of a new and emerging economy in the state.

“I’ve hired some of the best programmers I’ve ever worked with right out of the University of Southern Maine (USM)… "

-Jerry King, president and chief operating officer of Intelligent Spatial Technologies

(Saturley, Michell, (2006, August). Maine High-Tech Regional Profile: Connecting the connectors [Online]. Available: http://www.interfacemediagroup.com [2006, Sept 8].

"The current demand for technology professionals began to escalate during the last quarter of 2004. At any given time since then, more than 300 job listings could be found."

- Joe Kumiszcza, Executive Director, MESDA

Kumiszcza, Joe. Software And IT Jobs Still Plentiful. [Online]. Available:  http://www.mesda.com/news_newsletter_archive.aspx [2006, Sept 8].

Several of the top 25 occupations requiring a four-year degree reported by the U.S. Department of Labor , Employment & Training Administration relate directly to programs offered by the School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology. 

• General and Operations Managers
• Computer software engineers, applications
• Computer systems analysts
• Computer software engineers, systems software
• Teachers and Instructors
• Network systems and data communications analysts
• Network and computer systems administrators
• Computer and information systems managers
• Construction managers
• Computer programmers
  

U.S. Department of Labor , Employment & Training Administration. Hot Careers – That Require a 4-Year Degree. [Online]. Available: http://www.careervoyages.gov/hotcareers-main.cfm. [2006, Sept 8].

“The highest salaries offered to the class of 2005-06 were for jobs requiring significant quantitative prowess, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) Summer 2006 Salary Survey… Across the board, engineering grads fared well on the salary front. Civil engineering grads' starting salaries averaged about $46,000, while electrical engineering majors were offered nearly $54,000 and mechanical engineering grads were offered $52,000. Engineering disciplines also accounted for four of the 10 most in-demand majors among employers.”

-Laura Morsch,  CareerBuilder.com.

Morsch, Laura. They're Earning What? America's Highest Starting Salaries. [Online]. Available:  http://jobs.aol.com/article/_a/theyre-earning-what-americas-highest/20060822125209990010 [2006, Sept 9.].

Internships and Cooperative Education

Many of the programs within the School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology encourages students to participate in cooperative education and internship experiences.  Both options provide students valuable experiences that exceed those provided in a traditional classroom setting.  Internships are sponsored by individual departments and require an academic advisor, variable credits are awarded. Co-op assignments are productive work experiences and are paid positions. They are typically full time for a semester or six months.

During the spring and summer of 2006….

• School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology students at various points in their academic program participated in co-op and internships with over 25 different companies and organizations throughout the region.
  
• Of the 52 students working during the spring and summer of 2006, the average pay was $14.50 per hour.
  
• Fifteen of those participating in co-op or internships this year have already graduated in their respective degree program. Of the 15 graduates, 13 (87%) are now working for the same company in which they undertook the co-op or internship experience.
  
• The average starting salary of the 13 co-op and intern students that graduated and were eventually hired by the same company was $47,600.