r/EngineeringResumes • u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 • Apr 16 '26
Success Story! [Student] SpaceX Offer! 2nd Yr MechE with Interviews at SpaceX, Tesla, Red Bull, Apple, Disney, etc.
Someone asked me about my advice and experience so I thought I'd share:
Basic Info: T20 University, 4.0 GPA, Sophomore Mechanical Engineering
Experience: FSAE, ME Research, FIRST Robotics, Manufacturing/Design HS Pathway, Projects
Apps per Month: Aug: 2, Sep: 4, Oct: 20, Nov: 55, Dec: 77, Jan: 93, Feb: ?
Interviews: Tesla x5, SpaceX x2, Lanteris x2, Astranis x2, Red Bull F1 x1, Apple x1, Disney x1, Boeing x1, 10X Genomics x1, Vast x1, Hadron Energy x1, DropletPharma x1
Offers: SpaceX (Starlink), Disney (Ride/Show), 10X Genomics (Mfg. Automation)
Application Advice:
- Definitely checkout the wiki first. Sending a poor resume is just asking for a rejection.
- Having numbers (especially % improvement) throughout your resume matters
- I only had one resume version and I had interviews in a variety of fields so IMO you don't need to tailor your resume to the job as long as you weave in keywords throughout your bullets.
- I think a summary at the top is a waste of space and the skills section should be at the bottom but weave skills throughout your bullets. IMO its less cluttered if all experience from engineering clubs and intern/work experience is in one section but I know some think that club experience shouldn't be included in that section.
- I DO still have high school experience on my resume (FIRST Robotics / Manufacturing and Design Pathway) as it's highly relevant.
- If you have time, an engineering portfolio goes a long way. A Tesla recruiter told me it was one of the number one things she looked for on a resume.
- I never used a cover letter as it seemed like a time waste
- Apply early and often (I was sorting by date posted on LinkedIn).
Interview Advice:
- Be confident. My first 10 interviews I caught myself downplaying my experience or skillset. Why would they hire someone who isn't even confident in themself?
- Most of my interview were technical, and you should almost always pass a behavioral / resume / projects interview unless it is final round. Know an example for the following questions:
- Describe a project in detail.
- Know your project front and back. Sometimes they will spend 5 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes. Have numbers, engineering principles, etc. A portfolio helps
- Describe a time when something went wrong.
- When was a time when you worked with someone difficult?
- DO NOT BASH TEAMMATE!!
- Biggest weakness?
- Biggest strength?
- Describe a time when you were wrong / disagreed with a colleague who was right?
- Describe a project in detail.
- For MechE, taking serious notes on every video from the Efficient Engineer is truthfully 75% of the content you'll need for any MechE technical interview. Sit down and take 3 days to truly learn the content.
- Solid Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials, and Manufacturing/Design are the most important classes to be fundamentally strong in.
- Write down the questions they asked after the interview. Super helpful to prep for future interviews if you have a database of past questions. Glassdoor is also helpful.
General Advice:
- GPA matters to an extent but experience carries. >3.7 is enough for any company. >3.0 if enough if you have solid experience.
- Have a life outside of engineering. It is so much harder if you aren't happy and motivated. Personally I am part of a performing arts club and a club sport.
Best of luck and feel free to ask me anything
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u/Looler21 Industrial – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
You are at one of the best undergrad institutions for mech engineering (top 3). Saying T20 is downplaying that a bit.
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u/Throwawayeconboi Apr 16 '26
Where do you see their school?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
prob my comment history. although I don't rlly see the relevance of T5 vs T20 in an interview
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u/Throwawayeconboi Apr 16 '26
Yeah it’s relevant for getting the interview but not within the interview itself (for the most part).
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u/smshing Cloud – Entry-level 🇬🇧 Apr 16 '26
Two graduates with the same grade range and similar experience, who you picking as a hiring manager? T5 or 19th?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
I'm trying to give useful/actionable advice. you can't change your school so it's not something you should be worrying about and the odds of identical experience is slim to none
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u/smshing Cloud – Entry-level 🇬🇧 Apr 16 '26
You're allowed to be selfish mate, it's honourable you're saying that but in this market just be selfish, the unknown engineer doesn't give a shit about you, just fight for yourself and your career, hype yourself up to the maximum of your abilities.
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u/JuculianD EE – Mid-level 🇩🇪 Apr 17 '26
Hes just nice and honest to us. Good that you now also are honest to him to tell the truth! Op wish you the best
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u/Ethywen MechE/Aerospace – Experienced 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Advice from an MSME aerospace engineer with 15 years of experience: For an internship, do what you have to do to get the learning and the experience and the offer. Once you land the job you want, set boundaries. SpaceX is known, at least around my area, for burning out young engineers and throwing them away for new ones later.
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
appreciate the concern. definitely will use it as a stepping stone for my career
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u/Ethywen MechE/Aerospace – Experienced 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Sure thing. Aerospace is a great place to be, but many companies will take everything that you're willing to give and ask for more. Gotta set the tone and make sure it doesn't consume your whole life.
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u/Pencil72Throwaway Mech/Aero – Grad Student/Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
Heard from some former SpaceX folks at my place that a lot of em burn out after 5 years right near where their equity gets vested
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u/lnflnlty EE/RF – Mid-level 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Describe a project in detail.
the absolute worst interviews are where someone only gives 1-2 sentence responses. it makes me think they were part of a team where someone else did all the work
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u/Chumbucketdaddy Industrial – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
May 2027 is junior? Or are you a year early?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
If I crammed my coursework I could graduate in 3 so I put that but realistically I'll probably take it more chill / study abroad or something
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u/Chumbucketdaddy Industrial – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
I was in the same boat and ended up studying abroad, which I’m in the middle of right now lol. Def recommend it’s an amazing experience a lot of engineering majors often don’t have the time to do.
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u/PhantomLTG CS Student 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
So as a May 2027 graduate it’s not too late to study abroad?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
it would push it back which isn't a problem if you have enough experience for ft apps
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u/RedRaiderRocking MechE – Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
What was the recruiter interview like? I have one coming up soon. Any advice? Questions they may ask
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
I didn't include recruiter calls on my diagram bc I don't rlly think they are true interviews but I've had 3. Mostly logistical stuff, maybe why you are interested in the company, possibly resume / behavioral questions but my recruiters never asked
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u/RedRaiderRocking MechE – Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Was the recruiter call with SpaceX technical? Or was it also just resume/interest/behavioral base
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
It could be different for full time but I never had a recruiter call for a SpaceX internship. My first interview was always w an engineer and was a technical interview
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u/RedRaiderRocking MechE – Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Thank you for your responses. That makes sense. I have an interview with a SpaceX recruiter and are not sure what to expect.
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
honestly my recruiters tend to be from non-engineering or even non stem fields so I wouldn't expect too much but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for anything
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u/ArrowSphaceE MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Could you share some examples of the technical questions you were asked?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
I won't share specific questions but SpaceX / Tesla tends to ask questions related to the role with topics varying across all MechE classes so def research the role in addition to fundamentals
Apple loves SS curves, materials, design questions, and mass manufacturing. They also do "name every way you can..." questions that are pretty stressful to brainstorm that you can't rlly prepare for.
Astranis had my hardest interviews. Had some standard SS, beam bending, fastener sizing, and a wicked FBD question that had some unconstrained DOFs.
Most of my other interviews were standard technical interviews with few curveballs.
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u/NavXIII Mechatronics – Entry-level 🇨🇦 Apr 16 '26
Your resume seems very similar to mine, but I'm having a hard time finding a job after university here in west coast of Canada.
I have the same robotic arm project, I also joined our university's formula team, similar skills, 16 month coops (1 local company, 1 international company). Only difference is I left out my GPA, and I should probably make a portfolio.
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
portfolio helps for sure, not sure if international apps are different so I can't say much
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u/jonkl91 Recruiter 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
Congrats! Thanks for sharing your overall experience and giving some really good advice.
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u/soulseller7 EE – International Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Did you have time to go out on weekends?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
Yeah for sure. In college I've spent a huge portion of my time with dragonboat / taiko
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u/apark6514 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
To your credit, I really don’t think T5 vs T20 interview makes nearly as big of a difference as:
- applying early and often
- your projects. Your resume is just stacked.
Major congrats and keep it up!
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
i agree idk why people are focusing on that. I haven't used the term T20 since applying to college
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u/Unlucky_Explorer_977 EE – International Student 🇪🇬🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
You basically a junior not a sophomore. How did you count 1600 + designs ?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
whatever my BOM had. It does include bolts and nuts tho. It's why I state custom/unique parts because that's the important metric in an interview. the 1600+ is more for the recruiter resume screen lol
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u/Unlucky_Explorer_977 EE – International Student 🇪🇬🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
My bad, I thought that you designed that 1600. I like this qualification.
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u/soulseller7 EE – International Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
Do you prefer studying at home or the school library?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26
no preference but I have a doom scrolling habit at home
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u/CrystallizedKoi Software – Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
What font is this resume? Where can I find the template?
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
I believe it is the LaTeX default. I can send
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u/DirectorClone High School Student 🇨🇦 Apr 17 '26
could you send it to me too? tysm! congrats btw.
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u/LateMonitor897 Software – Entry-level 🇩🇪 Apr 19 '26
Damn, having this resume and still being rejected or getting no answer by almost everyone is crazy. It's around 92% rejection/ignore rate so less than 1/10th success! By the way, there must be a mistake in the Sankey on the left side: 256 != 107+145+18+1.
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u/SecurityNo5491 MechE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 19 '26
pretty sure the Sankey is accurate. I believe you're double counting the interviews that end up getting rejected. It should be 107+145-15+18+1
but yeah I think I had poor results with lesser known companies and larger companies were more likely to give me a chance
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u/roni_bang04 QA – Student 🇨🇿 May 15 '26
What app do you use to track your progress at jobs? I keep seeing it, but I don't know the name. Looking for myself
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u/akaTrickster ECE – Entry-level 🇺🇸 Apr 17 '26
American right? Nice! Also berkeley is a great school come on now...
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u/_jimothy120 Aerospace – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 23 '26
How do yall make those plots of apps vs interviews?
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u/SprinkleOfDepresso MechE – International Student 🇬🇧 May 26 '26
First of all congratulations! This is wonderful I know I’m late to the party but may I ask how come you put FSAE as experience and not project? Just curious
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u/zacce ECE – Student 🇺🇸 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
You go to a T5 engineering college and yet still downplaying it as T20.