Career Advice

Parents Forum
1

<p>I am an International student</p>

<p>I am attending a lowly ranked engineering school in the Midwest in fall 2010. I had a few questions on what are the possible career directions I can head to and a few other questions :-</p>

<p>1) What would I be doing if I got a JD/MBA after I get a degree in Mechanical Engineering (which is my major) ?.</p>

<p>(i) What would I be working as ?
(ii) What would be the pay like ?</p>

<p>2) Is Law school a possibility after engineering ?</p>

<p>(i) What steps should I be taking to ensure admission in to law school ?
(ii) Are internationals allowed to study law in the United states (in the sense that how hard would it be to get in and would my chances be limited as compared to the American citizens. Also financial aid may or may not be a problem as I don't know whether I will ask my parents to pay, or work for a few years as an engineer and pay, or ask for aid)</p>

<p>3) I am very much interested in the EECS program (Electrical engineering and computer science program) offered by University of California - Berkley.</p>

<p>(i) Does anyone have an idea about which other schools have the same program and which major should I be taking if I plan to transfer in to this program ?.</p>

<p>4) What is the possibility of an international to get in to med school (I did a bit of research and many public's don't even consider international applicants!. )</p>

<p>(i) what should be a possible strategy for an international engineering major student to get in to med school and become a doctor ?</p>

<p>Note - Firstly , I know most these questions are not even related. But I need to know all these answers and I would appreciate it if someone would help me out. I do not have anyone else to help me out. So please.</p>

<p>Also, I have been on CC for a long time and I would like to end this thread by saying I am not a troll and please do not rule this thread out on assumptions.</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

2

<p>1 & 2) You can certainly get a JD or MBA after engineering. Many do. However, most spend time actually working first so that they actually know something to warrant the $150K they expect to earn with one of those advanced degrees.</p>

<p>3) There are too many to list.</p>

<p>4) Some fine schools (RPI and Geo. Washington come to mind) have programs that in 7 years get you an engr and a medical degree. </p>

<p>5) Yes, I’m adding one of my own…you’re all over the place with these questions. I think you need to sit back and think long and hard about what you find interesting and what you want to do, and why you’re asking these questions. Most kids do not stick to the one original path as they mature and their interests change.</p>

3

<p>Law School after engineering opens the doors to patent law. There is a whole thread about patent law on the Law School forum.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/235271-overview-patent-intellectual-property-law.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/235271-overview-patent-intellectual-property-law.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>It’s fine to ask the questions but I hope you’re not stressing about any of them since as ‘osdad’ said, you’re way early in the process and may change your mind about what you want to do as you go along. The first step is to get to college, get started on your major if you’ve chosen one (and you say you have) and see how that goes. You might take a few mechE courses and decide you hate it and want to switch to another major. You might take a few of the higher level math courses that go along with engineering and find that you don’t really do well with higher math and therefore want to switch to something else. </p>

<p>There’s already a question of why you chose mechE when you’re talking about med school or being a lawyer. What is it you really want? Are you even interested in mechE at this point? (rhetorical questions for you to think about later) Keep in mind that most med school students choose an undergrad major where it’s more likely they’ll be able to receive a higher GPA than engineering (most - obviously not all). </p>

<p>The other question is why you’re headed to a college it sounds like you don’t really want to attend since you already want to transfer out and you haven’t even started yet.</p>

5

<p>First of all thank you for all the advice. </p>

<p>I choose MechE because I was planning to specialize automobiles. Also, MechE is one of the most stable engineering degree’. </p>

<p>I do not plan to transfer from the school that I am headed to. Although I would like to consider any options that would be open to me after 2 years. </p>

<p>I am taking engineering (I am interested in engineering) as a backup option as being a doctor (law was just a Q for my friend) is something that I am much more interested in and since I have read many articles in which many students don’t even make it to med school. I don’t want to be left with a Philosophy or a a biology major and earn comparatively less. </p>

<p>EECS - I just found this program very interesting and I would like the possibilty of working with SAP or IBM after my graduation. Is it possible for someone to tell me which all universities provide this course. All I know is that Stanford, MIT and Berkley provide this course.</p>

6

<p>Lots of colleges have a Computer Science and also a Computer Engineering major. They don’t all refer to them as EECS but in many cases they’re equivalent. The EECS at UCB is basically a Computer Engineering degree (CE) or some places will call it a CSE degree - i.e. more electrical engineering and a bit less CS than a CS degree would typically have. Again, many colleges that have an engineering department offer the equivalent. UCLA and UCSD both have it for example.</p>

<p>If you’re interested in a mechE degree then I don’t know why you’re looking at an EECS program. If you’re interested in computer science then you should go for a CS or CE (computer engineering - or EECS) degree rather than mechE. CS/CE and mechE are totally different fields and you’d do completely different things when employed in one versus the other.</p>

<p>Do you understand what I said about the GPA typically being lower for engineering and thus making it a bit more difficult to be accepted to med school? It’s something to consider but some people attain an engineering degree and then go on to med school.</p>

7

<p>Well, I do know that EECS and MechE are totally different paths my preferences are :- </p>

<p>1) Med School - Possibly become a surgeon
2) Mechanical Engineering
3) EECS - This one might actually replace MechE - I did some research on the program and I find is very interesting. I am looking at Electrical engineering (more) and a Bachelor of science degree (computer science) </p>

<p>As far as the GPA is concerned - I do not want to take chances I have always been a straight A student in High School (and I do know that college is totally different), and me being an international student makes the chances of getting in to med school even more difficult. </p>

<p>Thank you all for the help.</p>

8

<p>Perhaps you should look into this program: [RPI</a> Biology: Accelerated Physician-Scientist Program (B.S./M.D.)](<a href=“Academic Programs | Science at Rensselaer”>Academic Programs | Science at Rensselaer) </p>

<p>and your friend can look into this one:
[Pre-Law</a> and Accelerated Law Program - Science and Technology Studies - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)](<a href=“http://www.sts.rpi.edu/pl/pre-law-accelerated-law-program]Pre-Law”>http://www.sts.rpi.edu/pl/pre-law-accelerated-law-program)</p>

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<p>Thank you all a lot. </p>

<p>Any info on EECS ??</p>

10

<p>What info do you want to know about EECS? If you want a description of what it is you can see it on the particular college’s website. </p>

<p>Remember -
EECS == CSE == CE (i.e. they’re different titles for the same thing depending on the college). CS (versus EECS/CSE/CE) is a little different in that it typically has a bit more of the CS component and a bit less of the EE component. One’s not better than the other - just somewhat different.</p>

11

<p>If by “lowly ranked engineering school” you mean UMich, I should throw a rock at you. </p>

<p>^At UMich (where I think he’s going), CSE isn’t the same as CE. CSE is just Computer Science in the Engineering school, not Computer Engineering. CSE, CE, and EE altogether comprise EECS.</p>

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<p>^ Yes - since these terms don’t always mean the same thing one needs to check the majors at the particular college since they might have an entirely different name for the same thing or not offer it at all. I just want to make sure the op isn’t stuck on the “EECS” name.</p>

13

<p>Wantobeabrownie, did your father post on here recently? Because someone was on here very recently describing a son who had been admitted to a “lowly program” in MechE. I believe the father was from India, but I may be mistaken. The son was going to, I want to say, Eastern Michigan or Western Michigan U (I am not sure which). Is this the same family?</p>

<p>In the US, btw, we don’t really refer to schools as “lowly.” We don’t go in for that false modesty.</p>

14

<p>You seem to be making decisions upon what you think are “safe” fields that will pay well. In the US, you don’t have to think that way. What is it that you want to do? What interests you? Law, medicine or engineering?</p>

15

<p>Thank you all for replying. </p>

<p>I am heading to Minnesota State university - Mankato. Also, my dad is not on CC. Please check my last 5 threads as references. </p>

<p>I have done enough research on EECS, I would like to know that which all universities actually offer this combined program and whether a person doing EE at a 4 year (ABET accredited) university can transfer in to an EECS program. I do know that CS is a degree which will be offered in a totally difereent department (In Umich’ case – LSA) </p>

<p>Pizza girl - Thank you for the response. But I am not choosing the most safe majors. Law school is just for a friend. I really want to do this. I was always looking at med school and MechE. EECS is something that I recently liked.</p>

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<p>Again - EECS/CSE/CE (depending on the college) is offered at many colleges and their requirements for transfer will vary. If you want to know the answer to your question you’ll need to simply go to the websites of colleges you think you might be interested in, see if they have the major you want (understanding that rather than EECS they might refer to it as CE or CSE but you need to see the description of the major to see what it really is because CE at one college might be different than CE at another college) and then see if they state the transfer requirements. There are too many colleges that offer it for a poster here to list them for you. Rather than planning on switching out before you’ve even started you might want to see what MSU offers that might fit what you’re looking for.</p>

17

<p>Thanks a lot Sir ^^. So far I have seen UMich, UCLA , UCB, University of kansas, MIT and Stanford (although the last 2 are out of reach as a transfer). Are there any other mid-top tiered universities (such as Wisconsin, Ga tech or UIUC) which offer EECS (Electrical engineering with computer science) program. </p>

<p>I looked at :- </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I am looking at ECE and option III/IV</p>

<p>Bump if there are any other suggestions with the questions that I posted earlier.</p>

<p>The only problem is that I am not able to figure out what are the transfer requirements in to this course and which other universities provide this program (A link would be helpful though) </p>

<p>Thank you</p>

18

<p>At UMich, III would be CE, and IV would be CSE. They don’t have a transfer guide for your school, but I imagine general classes like Calc 1-3, DiffEQ, Linear Algebra, Chemistry, Physics, would all transfer. Email Carrie Berger at <a href=“mailto:caberger@umich.edu”>caberger@umich.edu</a></p>

19

<p>Option IIE: Robotics & Mechatronics 120 Units
Freshman Year Fall Spring
Math 1A, 1B, Calculus 4 4
Chemistry 1A, General Chemistry 4 -
Physics 7A, 7B, Physics for Scientists and Engineers 4 4
CS 61A, Structure and Interpretation of
Computer Programs - 4
Humanities1 4 4
Total 16 16
Sophomore Year
Math 53-54, Multivariable Calculus, 4 4
Linear Alegbra and Differential Equations
Physics 7C, Physics for Scientists and Engineers 4 -
EECS 20N, Structure and - 4
Interpretation of Systems and Signals
CS 61B, Data Structures 4 -
EECS 40, Introduction to Microelectronic Circuits - 4
Humanities1 4 4
Total 16 16
Junior Year
EE 117, Electromagnetic Fields and Waves 4 -
EE 105, Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - 4
EECS 120, Signals and Systems 4 -
EE 145M, Introductory Microcomputer - 3
Interfacing Laboratory
CS 61C, Machine Structures 4 -
CS 150, Components and Design Techniques for - 5
Digital Systems
Engin 190, Technical Communication 3 -
Humanities1 - 4
Total 15 16
Senior Year
EE C125, Robotics 4 -
EE 126, Probability - 4
EE 128, Feedback Control 4 -
CS 188, Artificial Intelligence - 4
EE 145L, Introductory Electronic Transducer 3 -
Laboratory
EE 192, Mechatronic Design Laboratory - 4
Humanities1 3 4
Total 14 14</p>

<p>Option III: Computer Systems 120 Units
Freshman Year Fall Spring
Math 1A, 1B, Calculus 4 4
Science from the approved list in EECS Notes 4 -
Physics 7A, Physics for Scientists and Engineers - 4
CS 61A, Structure and Interpretation of 4 -
Computer Programs
CS 61B, Data Structures - 4
Humanities1 4 4
Total 16 16
Sophomore Year
Math 53-54, Multivariable Calculus, 4 4
Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
Physics 7B, Physics for Scientists and Engineers 4 -
EECS 20N, Structure and - 4
Interpretation of Systems and Signals
CS 61C, Machine Structures 4 -
EECS 40, Introduction to Microelectronic Circuits - 4
Humanities1 3 4
Total 15 16
Junior Year
Math 55, Discrete Mathematics, or CS 70, 4 -
Discrete Mathematics and Probability Theory
EECS 120, Signals and Systems - 4
EE 141, Digital Integrated Circuits - 4
CS 162, Operating Systems and - 4
Computer Programming
CS 150, Components and Design Techniques for 5 -
Digital Systems
Engin 190, Technical Communication - 3
Electives (EECS upper division)2 - 4
Humanities1 3 -
Total 16 15
Senior Year
CS 152, Computer Architecture and 5 -
Engineering Elective
Compsci 164, Programming Lanuage and 4 -
Compilers
Electives (EECS upper division)2 3 11
Humanities1 - 3
Total 12 14</p>

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<p>^^This is what I got from the UC site as the course description. </p>

<p>QwertyKey - Thanks a lot for the help. I will definitely mail the person.</p>