Near the beginning of this semester, one of my LinkedIn contacts informed me that she would be attending a career fair at USF and hoped she would meet me there. She sent me the event information, and I excitedly added the event to my calendar, assuring her I would be there. The event information was for USF’s Engineering and Computing fair, an event hosted by USF’s Center for Career and Professional Development for students looking for full-time employment and internships in Information Technology, Engineering of all kinds, Data Science, and other technical fields. On paper, this event sounded like the perfect opportunity to network with companies in my field of choice and gain insights on possible career paths after graduation. However, as I will reflect on in this essay, that was unfortunately not the case.

On February 12th, I arrived on campus earlier than usual so I could stop by the fair before heading to my Calculus class. I quickly found my contact, Caron, and was great to finally meet her in person after connecting on LinkedIn for some time. We discussed her company, its work, and potential opportunities; however, she unfortunately had some disappointing news. She had initially believed they were looking for a security analyst intern, a role she thought might align with my interests, but she had just learned that morning that the IT department no longer needed an intern. Moreover, the remaining intern positions at her company were all in cybersecurity and information assurance, which is unfortunately outside my skillset.

Regardless, I told Caron it was wonderful just being able to finally meet her in person and thanked her for all the advice she’s given me in the last couple of weeks. While I was unable to secure a position through this relationship, I still appreciated that Caron was able to give me as much insight as she did and had been looking out for me, even if it ended up for naught. I then had to go to class, but I did return to the career fair two hours later with the intention of talking to other companies who were looking for interns or employees.

However, I quickly realized that while the event was marketed as an Engineering and Computing Fair, the focus heavily leaned toward engineering. Nearly every company I approached was looking for more physical engineering candidates, such as mechanical or civil engineering, with only occasional openings in things like computer engineering. Whenever I mentioned I was studying data science, I was met with a polite apology, and that was not what they were looking for at the moment.

Overall, it was, unfortunately, a disappointing event to attend. That said, I still found value in the experience. Speaking with employers, even those without relevant opportunities, helped me practice networking; something my dad has always emphasized as a crucial part of the job search process. While I wish I had found more promising leads, I recognize that not every event will yield the results you hope for.  I plan on continuing to be on the lookout for future job fairs and hope that next time I can attend one with a more central focus on computing and analytics, while maintaining my online search for job opportunities and open applications.

Event I attended:
The Engineering and Computing Fair (Feb 12^th, 2025)
(https://bullsconnect.usf.edu/web/rsvp_boot?id=1975530)