Ohio felon and engineering student. Advice for gaining employment.
I am a 32 year old father of four from Ohio. I have a felony on my record for carrying a concealed weapon, in my car, in 2003. I also have 3 DUI's, discharging a firearm while intoxicated and criminal damaging. All of which was in and around 2003. I also have petty theft and attempted petty theft in 2007-2008. I will save you the stories and excuses and cut to the chase, it is what it is at this point. In Ohio, as far as I am aware, I cannot get my record sealed or expunged because I have multiple crimes on my record. I am also currently a college student with 60+ credits completed and have a GPA of 3.93. I am at the point I am ready to start my courses for my major, mechanical engineering (most likely), and need some advice.
I am very concerned about finding employment after graduating from college. I am honestly concerned about finding employment while in college because obtaining a "co-op" is highly stressed by the school. In a "co-op" you are paid. If I cannot get a paid co-op because of my record I assume there could possibly be unpaid internships to gain experience in the field, but I am not positive at the moment.
Am I wasting my time in the sense that after spending the next several years studying engineering I will not be able to gain employment? I checked with the local licensing board and it is possible to be a licensed engineer, how likely I am unsure. To be a licensed engineer you must pass a test after having several years of engineering work experience.
My questions is whether engineering is a "felon friendly" career? I am concerned to take loans to get a degree that is highly unlikely to obtain a job. I haven't worked full-time for several years, while in college. The only work I can find is side work in the construction field. I have put my application in various companies for various jobs and rarely get an interview. The only company that hired me was Family Dollar because they only asked for two years prior criminal record. I answered honestly and got the job. I was working there for several weeks. They did a background check and the crimes that were more than two years ago show up, of course, and I was fired immediately. This happened when I first started college and I have not worked steadily since. I do work construction jobs on the side as necessary. I am feeling pessimistic about finding a career. Is it possible to become an engineer with a criminal record?
If you do not know answers to any of these questions, I ask you this. Are there careers that are "felon friendly?" What is your advice to me before starting a specific major, taking probably $30k in loans, and spending massive amounts of time studying? At this point I could switch majors very easily if I had to. Should I target careers that have more job openings than most other careers? That would seem logical. I would like some outside advice. I apologize for my first post in this community to be such a long one. It is weighing on my mind heavily.