I am graduating in may and don't have a job yet. I did well at a fairly reputable department, completed an internship, and have some experience programming outside of school. I am interested in systems stuff and machine learning. So far I haven't found any jobs that I both want and am qualified for...any suggestions would be welcome
If you're American, this is a sort of crisis that a lot of grads are facing. You must have read about it, as it is called "underemployment".<p>Kudos to you for knowing how to code and using this place to get some 'leads' to a job. Just make sure you earn enough to live (not exist).
If you are interested in systems programming, Green Hills Software (where I work) is currently hiring new graduates. We develop tools for embedded programming, including our own compiler, real-time operating system, hardware probe, and development environment. There are lots of opportunities here.<p><a href="http://www.ghs.com/jobs_usa.html#sw_eng" rel="nofollow">http://www.ghs.com/jobs_usa.html#sw_eng</a>
Drop me a line, we do sometimes hire folks straight out of school (I'm a software engineer on the data team at Factual), you'd definitely get a great exposure to a large range of technologies here.
Apply for the jobs you want - and then when rejected, ask what jobs you need to work at to be competitive in 2-5 years. HR people suprisingly give really good advice.