Engineers reach out to students

A group of Mississippi Power and Southern Company Services engineers went back to school in early April to speak with more than 30 Mississippi State University engineering students about considering a career in the electric utility industry.

The six covered a broad range of topics including an overview of Southern Company and the operating companies, the Kemper and Vogtle projects, the emergence of renewable energy sources and the types of careers that are available to graduates.

“We looked at this trip as an early recruiting opportunity,” Engineering Training Supervisor Trey Fox said. “Trips like these are important to increase the number of qualified candidates when we’re recruiting for entry-level engineering positions.”

The students, who are enrolled in an Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering class, were very interested in internships and co-op employment opportunities both at Mississippi Power and across the Southern Company system.

“We spoke about what types of engineering careers are available but more specifically, what types of engineers we are looking for,” Engineering Team Leader Matt Ball said. “Electrical engineering is a very broad major. We want to reach students early to help steer them toward specializing in the power systems field of electrical engineering. They’ll become a more attractive candidate for a job if they do so.”

Fox and Ball said future recruiting visits to Mississippi college campuses are in the planning stage.