Troy, N.Y. — To help Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students get a head start on planning for future career opportunities, members of the Rensselaer National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) will host the 37th NSBE/SHPE Career Fair Sept. 25-26.

This year, Arjun Sharma ’16, a member of NSBE who is majoring in mechanical engineering, and Patrick Lopez, a member of SHPE who is majoring in mechanical engineering, are serving as the event co-directors. 

The fair had its humble beginnings in 1978 with only 10 companies attending. Thisyear, more than 190 companies will be on the Rensselaer campus to recruit and meet with students to discuss potential career opportunities. The fair will be held in the Alumni Sports & Recreation Center (Armory) from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Participating companies include: Amazon.com, American Airlines, Apprenda, BAE Systems, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Boeing, Cisco Systems, Dell Inc., Etsy, Exxonmobil, FactSet Research Systems Inc., GE, GlobalFoundries, Google, Hasbro, Honda R&D Americas Inc., IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, NBCUniversal, Proctor & Gamble, Sandia National Laboratories, Space Telescope Science Institute, Target, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, United States Marine Corps, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and University of New Hampshire School of Law, among others.

More than 2,000 students in all areas of study—including management, humanities, social sciences, information technology, architecture, science, and engineering—will have an opportunity to meet with various companies during the two-day event. According to the event organizers, the approach broadens the opportunity for recruiters to network with Rensselaer students, and gives students the chance to speak with a vast number of recruiters as well.

The NSBE/SHPE Career Fair is held each fall, giving students the opportunity to interview for internships, co-ops, and full-time employment. NSBE is an organization whose goal is to increase the number of black engineers who can excel academically, and SHPE promotes the development of Hispanic engineers to achieve academically and economically. For more information about the NSBE/SHPE Career Fair, and to see a complete list of participating companies, visit their website at http://careerfair.rpi.edu/

Students will have another opportunity to connect with employers during the spring semester. The Rensselaer Center for Career and Professional Development will host its annual Spring Career Fair on February 10, 2016.