I’m an an inexperienced CE Grad. If I cold call CE companies around me asking if they want some free inexperienced labor from a CE Grad as trade for experience/exposure, is that a good plan or a terrible plan..? I didn’t intern but could use some intern level experience on my resume

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Hi, my advice a few years in to engineering is that you should never offer to do anything for free. For one what that does is undercut our profession, and reduce the value of what we do. There is actually a big problem of stagnant wages, and i would definitely not appreciate hearing that ask. If you are going to do that, don't cold call. Ask in your network; generally reach out on LinkedIn to friends and ask for info about the place they are working. As an intern it is expected that you spend most of your time learning and hardly any time contributing, so they are already taking a loss by trying to help someone. Companies don't just decide to do internships out of the blue, it is generally a way for a new/young manager to gain some credibility in learning to manage someone, and that is what they gain from it. For that you'll need to apply to a real role, or know someone already (hence the LinkedIn advice).

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All the ‘entry level’ positions want 3 years experience and all the internships want current students. Is there some alternative I’m not seeing?

In my experience, many smaller companies offer informal internships. You can apply, interview, and express that you would like to move into full-time after ~3 months.
Definitely do not work for free, Diddo SDE 1's comment.
I'd work on your narrative, how you can sell what you Do have (passion, knowledge of local projects & agencies, organization skills, etc...). Go to firms with that, there is need for people at all levels.

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There are a lot of opportunities out there in the civil engineering field. If you can’t find an entry level position or an internship there is a big need for cad techs in my experience and that could be a good way to get your foot in the door. Good luck!

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