I'm going to be graduating this May with a BSME. My main areas of interest are fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Love those subjects and want to use them to overcome challenging problems in the real-world. As such, I figure getting into the aerospace industry would be a perfect fit for me. I am also aware that the heat exchanger and electronics cooling "industries" would fit my bill as well.

I'm currently taking a couple non-core electives online to get my degree, and working part-time as an intern (materials-related) while tutoring calculus at the high school I went to.

My life is taking me to the Mid-Atlantic US this June (between Philly and NYC), and I am really stressing about finding a job period. My prospects should be better there than where I currently am (out in the middle of the woods of the great north), but I'm sure the competition will be more fierce.

I don't want to lie to employers and feign interest in subjects/jobs that don't interest me, but I also want to maximize my chances of landing any job whatsoever simply for financial security. Steep student loan debt is an inevitable monster I'll have to face. I also don't believe there's much in the way of aerospace in that area (though, like I said, definitely far more than where I currently am). Also, my GPA is a 2.9 give or take a couple hundredths of a point. I know that's a big hurdle...

I've already been applying to jobs, of course. I've passed the FE, I'm interning part-time, and tutoring in my part-part-time, all while continuing to take classes online. I haven't gotten a single response from any of the online postings I've applied to.

I hope you guys can give me some solid advice from your own personal experiences. I have no intuition as to which methods garner the most success for finding entry-level jobs. I assume I'll have to attend career fairs in my area once I'm out of college.

Thanks in advance for any and all insight on anything I've brought up!