The recruiter and I made eye contact. He took my resume, nodded as I talked as much as I could about my summer internships and work, asked a few questions, and finally addressed the topic we both knew I desperately wanted to hear. 

“You’ve got a great resume, but you’ll have to fill out an application online. Good luck!”

Yesterday I joined the thousands of engineers who flocked to the Engineering Career Fair, and I suddenly realized that I’m (relatively) old. The “Great Perhaps” of graduation and a 9-to-5 workweek is no longer obscured by Fuego at 3 a.m. and FLO recruitment banners. I’m a senior. There is no more “next year” — this is it. 

Don’t get me wrong — I am excited. I’ve spent three years enduring the academic apocalypse that is the engineering undergraduate experience. My freshman aerospace engineering seminar had over 300 students in my class year — there’s maybe 70 of us left. You learn so much about how the physical world around you works without ever leaving the confines of pen and paper, and I’m ready to finally put all that arcane knowledge to use. 

I first went to a career fair my freshmen year, and I was blown away. My young eyes took in the hundreds of recruiters, the slick banners and the suits. Every company booth promised an internship that might yield a high-paying job, and every handshake seemed to send the secret message that I was “in” — all I had to do graduate.

This excitement vanishes the moment Career Fair actually begins to matter. I can’t stay in college forever. Four years might be stretched to five, even six if I nosedive my GPA, but at some point, I have to accept my diploma and ride into the sunset. Whether or not that sunset includes a great job and steady income or my parents’ house might very well depend on how much I can impress a recruiter with three minutes of their time. 

Luckily I’m not completely unqualified. My resume has four small letters that spell “NASA,” and that still means something in my field. And if my dreams come true, Congress and the next president will remember America’s most accomplished administration and fund it at a level where it can actually achieve the impossible again. New hires are expensive however, and there’s always the small but dark chance a job offer just won’t be possible.

So here I am, hoping for job or internship offers and staring in dismay at the calendar. Graduation may be months away, but suddenly the clock is ticking faster. 

John Rangel is an aerospace engineering senior and science & technology editor for The Battalion.