Graduation day can come with a harsh reality: You’ve got to find a job. If you’re smart, you’re reading this before that fateful day comes. Even if you are reading this after the fact, this simple advice will help you turn the corner from academia to business.

Today’s job market is thirsty for technical people, so don’t get downtrodden if the first few applications you submit don’t yield an offer. If you need some inspiration for new ways to get exposure to potential job opportunities, try a few of these ideas.

Project management in engineering is as vital as it is potentially misunderstood. Like it or not, many project managers have had to learn the hard way that their job is less about frontline engineering work and more about taking a mindful, deliberate, top-down approach to directing projects of all kinds and sizes.

If it sounds like a dusty office job, it’s anything but. Like a project engineer, project managers oftentimes find themselves on jobsites or in the coding trenches if their work has taken them into IT or software development. For the most part, though, project managers have to understand human nature and know how to apply it to the process of solving a problem or getting a product to market. This includes developing some of the internal processes being used, ensuring clients’ needs are top-of-mind and generally making sure all the moving pieces work well together.