Engineering, computer science students, and graduates named Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. as the most preferred places to work in a national survey by Graduating Engineer and Computer Careers and Bernard Hodes Advertising Inc.
Respondents reported that their decisions were most heavily influenced by news reports, corporate Web sites, job fairs, and experience with company products and services. The top choice among men, who made up 75% of the survey, was Boeing, which came in second overall. IBM Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. ranked highest among female respondents.
Top chemical employers were Du Pont & Co., Procter & Gamble Co., and Dow Chemical Co. Top computer science employers included Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., and Intel Corp.
Students reported that the nature of the work, a company's technical reputation, and its reputation as a good place to work were the most important factors in deciding where they want to work. The survey had 336 respondents from more than 170 universities.
