[mcinturff]

Awesome advice all around, thanks to all who have replied so far.

I had a feeling that I would hear things like "you'd be lucky to be designing a cup holder". Had no idea that the industry was as cut-throat as it is. I like the idea of working for a small company, I'll look more into that. My ideal job would have enough diversity of work to keep it interesting.
Unfortunately the job market is flooded with engineers laid off from oil and gas, a lot of whom went to Texas A&M which has one of the best alumni networks out there (the one at my school is a joke). I'm considering finding a local shop to work for while I search if nothing more than to show that I have relative experience other than my school's Formula SAE team.

I like the idea of going back for my PhD and doing research, but student loans don't pay themselves off and interest is brutal.