Career Development Center

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The Career Development Center (CDC) at WPI serves all degree seeking undergraduate and graduate students in the development of life-long skills related to careers, the internship/co-op and job search process, and the pursuit of graduate studies. The CDC serves all undergraduate and graduate students in addition to offering free lifetime alumni services. 

The Career Development Center (CDC) provides a variety of services to students including the following:

  1. INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENTS – Students can easily schedule one-on-one appointments with a CDC Staff Member online through their Handshake account in order to get help on a wide variety of topics. Students can choose to discuss topics ranging from major selection, exploring career options, searching for internships/co-ops/jobs, interviewing, applying to graduate school, and evaluating and negotiating job offers. 
  2. DROP-IN HOURS – Students can also be seen by a CDC Staff Member during advertised drop-in hours. During these times, an appointment is not required and students can get help on a first-come, first-served basis with their resume/cv, cover letter, interviewing skills, job offer evaluation and negotiation, and other quick 15 minute questions.  
  3. HANDSHAKE – All students are provided with an account for the CDC’s web-based system called Handshake. Handshake contains internship, co-op, part-time, and full-time job opportunities posted by employers for WPI students. Handshake also contains a company directory and information about upcoming events and career fairs hosted by the CDC. In addition, Handshake’s resources section has special subscription resources (free of charge) that the CDC provides for students. 
  4. SUBSCRIPTION RESOURCES – The CDC maintains a subscription to several resources to assist students in their career development and job search process, which are housed in Handshake. Among the many resources the CDC offers to students are: MyPlan (self-assessments, majors and careers database, graduate school search), CareerShift (internship/job, company, and contacts search), GoingGlobal (country/state-specific career resources and H-1B visa company database, interviewstream (interview practice and feedback), Vault (Career, Industry and company exploration) and Versatile PhD (Industry career options for PhDs). These are free for students to use. 
  5. CAREER OUTLOOK PAGES – The CDC has put together a webpage with short descriptions of what can be expected from different WPI majors and careers, including average salaries, companies that have hired WPI graduates in a particular field, sample job titles, professional associations and clubs, popular industries, and more. 
  6. CAREER FAIRS – Each year the CDC organizes career fairs for students to network with employers and obtain information on full-time, summer internship and co-op opportunities. The CDC hosts 2 in person events and many more events virtually.
  7. CAREER WORKSHOPS – Throughout the year, the CDC delivers frequent workshops for students on a wide variety of career development topics. Common workshop topics include: resumes/cover letters, internship/co-op/job search strategies, networking, interview skills, job offers and negotiation, and applying to graduate school, among others.
  8. NETWORKING NIGHTS and CAREER EXPOS – The CDC hosts networking nights and career expos throughout the year to give students an opportunity to network with alumni, fellow students, and industry professionals.
  9. COMPANY INFORMATION SESSIONS – Companies host events on-campus to present on their organization, culture, and technology while networking and sharing opportunities with students. Check your WPI Handshake account for upcoming events.
  10. JOB OPPORTUNITIES – Job Postings are presented to WPI students and alumni exclusively by employers who want to hire WPI talent within the CDC Handshake system. Review and apply to Cooperative Education, Internships and Job positions to develop work experience.
  11. ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS – Each year over 1,000 interviews are held on campus with a variety of private, non-profit, and government organizations. Employers interview students for full-time, summer internship, and co-op opportunities. For a list of companies actively seeking candidates for interviews, please utilize your Handshake account
  12. RESUME DATABASE – Students and recent alumni may elect to make their resume viewable to employers through Handshake. If available, employers can access your “public” resume and may result in an interview request leading to a future opportunity.
  13. GRADUATE STUDIES – The Career Development Center (CDC) and the graduate coordinators in each department can help students search for graduate programs at WPI (BS/MS, MS, MEng, PhD) or elsewhere and assist with preparing for and applying to graduate school.
  14. ALUMNI ASSISTANCE – WPI alumni have free lifetime access to the CDC’s services, whether they are seeking new employment or making a career change. 

Location

The Career Development Center is located in the lower level of the Project Center. The CDC can be contacted by phone at 508-831-5260 or by email at cdc@wpi.edu. The website is www.wpi.edu/+CDC