As the new school year dawns, students in the College of Engineering are beginning to look at life beyond college.

On Tuesday, as part of Engineering Week, nearly 230 companies crowded Hilton Coliseum to inform and recruit potential employees.

“We’ve found that events like these are really a great way to get in to see the students,” said Ken Kallaher, recruiter from the Aluminum Company of America.

“It’s really a testament to the quality of engineering education available at Iowa State that so many companies are interested in hiring ISU graduates,” he said.

Hundreds of students showed up for the event, which lasted from 1 to 8 p.m.

“I’m here primarily for networking,” said Kyle Wehrning, senior in mechanical engineering.

“I’m looking at full-time employment right now, but I think that it’s wonderful that all these younger students are here,” he said. “It’s really important to get started early.”

Getting started early has been stressed by ISU in recent years.

“I think it’s important to ‘get your foot in the door’,” said Dwight Brown, sophomore in mechanical engineering.

“I came last year to look around and hand out r‚sum‚s, and now I’m noticing that some of the recruiters are remembering me, which I think will help in the long run,” Brown said.

Many returning students have benefited from past years’ events as well.

“I interned with a company that I met here at the Career Fair a few years ago,” said Brent Johnson, senior in chemical engineering. “It was just a very positive experience. [The Career Fair] lets us get to look at a lot of companies, and I think that it’s great that they all showed up.”

John Chesterman, senior in mechanical engineering, said he has worked at two companies since coming to ISU.

“Now I have two roommates that aren’t graduating yet, and I’ve really been pushing them to get their r‚sum‚s done, meet some people and shake some hands,” Chesterman said.

In addition to permanent employment, companies also are looking for students who want to work in co-ops, internships and summer employment.

“We’ve found that [co-ops] are a great way to get to know students,” Kallaher said.

Some attendees expressed satisfaction that the fair has expanded.

“This is awesome. It’s grown so much over the past few years,” Chesterman said. “Imagine trying to contact each of these companies individually — there’s just no way.

“Here there’s a lot of exposure to companies that are looking for engineers to hire,” he said.

Many of the companies will be returning Thursday to talk with liberal arts and sciences majors about career opportunities in their area as part of Business Week.