Bro, Not tying to flex lol but in engineering U of I is a very reputable and well known school in engineering and has strong connection where big companies attend for career fair etc. if you compare this to someone who attended a side college down the street or a school that is not well known in the field of engineering or not so known amongst employers that makes a huge difference getting hired or not. Actually I used a wrong word “famous” but it is one of the top 15 engineering schools. I have had friends who went to other institution for engineering that are not in top schools, they are able to find work but it takes a while. Chemical engineering is not like CS where people get hired on skills. The most criteria for such engineering disciplines at entry level jobs is gpa, school and previous internships. That’s all! Gosh so much hatred. Like wtf is wrong with ppl but I was just trynna help the OP with why he might have been unemployed. First if he attended a state public university like UTA, Texas A&M etc it would have been easier to find connections versus attending a university like Oakland Univeristy. I’m not trynna look down upon anyone but employers look out for these things. These are bitter facts of life