Engineering study plan - any help appreciated

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Hello,

I am currently finishing up my first year of engineering studies and I will be finishing with a 4.0 this year. Due to UA taking over 50 credit hours of AP/dual enrollment classes, I can potentially graduate in 2 more years of study. I need some help or guidance on what would be the best plan to be prepared to enter the work force by the time I graduate:

  1. Power through the next 4 semesters to graduate by May 2019, taking roughly 15 credit hours every semester to finish. Would leave me only one summer to intern with a company to get experience since I was not able to find one this summer. Basically I will be starting my junior year of studies this fall and will be graduating quicker.
  2. Slow down and spread out my remaining credit hours so that I stay the full 4 years to graduate in May of 2020. This gives the potential to take some extra classes or easier semesters (12-13 credit hours). This gives 2 summers to intern with companies or potentially intern in the school year without a overbearing school load. This delays graduation and possibly making salary sooner, but it could make for a better position to enter the workforce with a job vs. temporary unemployment after college.

Just to clarify I am not interested in study abroad. I am also on a scholarship that pays all my tuition and education expenses so all I pay is living expenses. This is purely about finishing college early or making the most of my 4 years. I am trying to make the right decision with the costs and benefits. Any help would be appreciated.

2

A third option:

Continue taking 15 credits per semester to leave open and defer the choice between graduating in 6, 7, or 8 semesters, depending on whether you want to take additional courses in the 1 or 2 semesters after your sixth semester (you can make the decision after a meaningful summer internship). Also, check if your school/department offers a BS/MS program that is normally completed in 10 semesters but which you can complete in 8 semesters.

3

You should lay out your specific class schedule. Prerequisites and class availabilities add additional complexity to just having to take so many hours per semester to graduate. Also, in the job market you will competing against applicant that have taken those extra classes, so you could be at a disadvantage. A combined BS/MS might be the way to go.

4

@ucbalumnus thanks for your input. I have looked into grad school as a possibility for my last year of scholarship, but I haven’t given it much thought. It will be a consideration.

@HPuck35 thanks for your input. I have laid out all my required courses to graduate and I am running with 15 credit hours each semester till I graduate. So far I have been lucky to get all the classes I need but anything can happen I suppose. What “extra classes” were you referring to exactly? What value does having a masters in engineering provide right out of college?

5

What about taking a Co-op?

6

Regarding an internship, you say “I was not able to find one this summer.” Really? You’ve given up already? If that’s your attitude, you will struggle your whole life to compete for jobs. Go out and find an internship or volunteer position! They still exist. Maybe not your dream internship, but you can find some meaningful relevant work experience this summer.

Also, try to figure out why you haven’t found an internship already, so you can improve your odds of finding a job when you graduate. Did you start applying too late? Summer internships are advertised already starting in August the fall before (and so are many jobs for college graduates). Does your resume need some work? Is there more you can do during the academic year to be more appealing (like take on leadership roles on campus, conduct relevant research for a professor, etc.)? Do you need to work on your interview skills?

Have you looked for a part-time job or research project with an engineering professor on campus for this upcoming school year? You should do that as well. Now’s the time to apply and make such an arrangement. Work experience is valuable not only for the work, but also for the recommendations you can get.

Whether you stay in college longer or graduate as fast as possible, you need to address the issues above. Getting a job (or internship) is a skill in itself.

7

@Jpgranier I have gone through the CO-OP interview process at my school and I am still waiting to hear back from companies. If something pulls through I will go for it.

@mommyrocks What I meant to say is that I am late to the game on this (summer internships), not that it is impossible. I don’t have a car and I have applied to maybe 16 different places since November with not a word back. I just accepted that I would get my old job close to home for this summer and try again early in the fall for summer work the following year. I appreciate your tenacity to help me be more involved.

8

16 places isn’t a whole lot – next year apply to more. Or keep applying to more now, if you want.

9

I strongly suggest you follow @HPuck35’s advice. There might not be an early path through because of the sequential nature of later course sequences. Even if you have junior status, there are classes you can’t take out of order. IF however there is a path, and you choose that route, it’s important to plot it out now so you don’t find out after it’s too late that you should have chosen different course over the one(s) you did.

My son is in your exact shoes (except we have to pay :(( ). He’s been ahead since the get go. The degree path at his school though can’t be shortened due to the prerequisites, even though he started in Calc III, Physics II and skipped chemistry completely. He’ll only have his senior project sequence and two other classes left his 4th year. Fortunately, his school has a 4+1 that he’ll be mostly done with it in 4 years and he’s had the luxury of an occasional 12 or 13 hour quarter. That comes in handy when your courses start getting really challenging in concept, volume, or both.

Since all you’re paying for is room and board anyway, I’d plan on broadening and/or deepening your coursework. It may or may not be work towards an advanced degree. In either case, you’ll stand above the students who didn’t get the extra classes.

Good luck.

10

Note that if you do stay 7 or 8 semesters (assuming that your minimum is 6 semesters to complete all degree requirements), here are some (not mutually exclusive) options that you have for the extra schedule space:

  • "Fifth year" master's program in four years.
  • Additional technical course work that can be useful in broadening or deepening your knowledge of your major, or adding breadth to related technical fields that you may want to work closely to.
  • Additional non-technical course work, some of which can be useful in work and general life (e.g. economics, sociology, psychology, technical/business writing/communication, art, etc.).
  • Any free electives of interest to you.
11

@ucbalumnus I appreciate the advice. If I stay the four years I definitely can look into taking more technical courses to deepen my study. I am not sure about taking a masters degree right out of finishing my bachelors, but I like the idea of taking more classes that interest me.

@eyemgh Thanks for your insight. After a few hours of research back in February, I mapped out my whole curriculum for ME at UA and I found a sequence of study that allows me to finish in 3 academic years. The only way this was possible was that I came in with the right pre-req courses that allowed me to start taking junior level courses this year. If I didn’t come in with all my math, chemistry, English, or humanities done, I wouldn’t have had this option open. Still though, I am feeling a little bit better about staying the full 4 years to get the most out of my degree. I can see now that taking more classes to solidify my education may put me above the pack, versus just trying to rush to the finish line.

12

My son took the opposite route; he needed 5 years to get his BS since he was lacking 1 prerequisite to starting his senior project, which could only be started in the fall. He was into robotics, so took every robotics class there was; way more than the required number of classes. He also worked (for credit not money) for one of the professors doing some robotic research. Might just as well as he was there and paying for it. When he went to look for a job, the potential employers were quite impressed with his background and I believe it helped greatly in finding that first job.

When I was a manager and hiring kids out of college, I was always looking for the most prepared person I could find. Along the same lines as what my son did (but not necessarily 5 years worth).

13

One other consideration is that if you can defer choosing between 6, 7, or 8 semester graduation until later, you can have a better idea of the economic and industry conditions as you approach possible graduation dates. For example, if you are in your 6th semester and the economy or industries you are interested in working in are in a downturn and not hiring, you may want to stay in school and hope the economy or industry is recovering by the time you actually have to graduate (or perhaps consider and prepare for other options like funded graduate study for a few years after if the downturn is long or severe).

14

Let’s talk internships and ultimately jobs. These are competitive, and it’s difficult to get an internship after only 1 year in college. Like any job, employers are looking for experience when considering interns. The first question is almost always “What other internships have you worked?” (What! I’m trying to get my first one, stop asking me that question!!). Then they follow up with questions based on examples of when you worked on a project, overcame an obstacle, blah, blah, blah.

As a freshman, you are still completing basic requirements, and haven’t had a chance to get into your core classes (CS is something of an exception to this, as they can start taking programming classes on day 1).

Your strategy over the next few years, is to build up your resume, one layer at a time. As your resume gets stronger, you’ll start getting more and more request for interviews, and then finally offers.

Co-ops and internships are a bit different. Employers are more willing to accept a co-op who is a sophomore/junior, than an intern. Mainly this is due to the time commitment required for a co-op. Partly this is due to internships often being used as “recruitment” tools, to help employers filter out potential full time employees (which is why juniors/seniors, have a much easier time with internships).

Back to strategy. First, of course, you want to take your classes and do well. GPA does matter. Also, pick classes to take “early” or electives that may help in landing an internship (or co-op). Thermodynamics is important, but it’s that Autocad class that may help land an internship.

Next, look for what you can do, outside of class, that would help your professional (and personal) development. You should join clubs on campus, especially ones related to your major. It’s a great way to network, help with study groups, learn about different employers (and what they may be looking for), and could lead to a leadership position (which looks good on a resume). As a ME, ASME is an obvious choice, but you may find others (SAE?) that are a better fit/more fun.

http://students.eng.ua.edu/organizations/

Try to get involved in undergraduate research and/or a design team. Research can be done at any time, and would be needed if you’re thinking of grad school. It also gives you something to discuss when being interviewed. A great example of a design team is UA’s SAE Formula team. Working on these design teams can be the equivalent to working an internship.

Most colleges (and UA) have several programs aimed at professional development. Look into the Mentor UPP (undergraduate peer partnering) and REU (research experience for undergraduates) programs. UA also offers several others programs.

http://students.eng.ua.edu/programs/

All of these items (including internships and co-ops) build upon each other, like the layers on an onion. They make you a stronger candidate as time goes by (and a better engineer). They also take “time”, so if you’re active in these other areas, you may want to limit your course load to 14 to 15 credits.

Don’t let rejection get you down. It’s all part of the process. My daughter recently got her first internship, but she had to apply to around 90 jobs for about a dozen interviews. She finally got one that was posted in March. After accepting that offer, she got flooded with 4 or 5 interview request in April, so companies do still look for summer interns, into the spring.

Next year, plan on applying to a LOT of internships. The career fair is important (attend!), but start applying online early in the Fall. Don’t forget to use Linkedin, it’s useful for finding internships.

After you complete your 2nd year of college, it’s can still be hard landing that first internship. However, just the process of interviewing, working on your resume, and making contacts is worth the effort. By the time you finish your 3rd year, you’ll be much more competitive.

This all takes us back to your original question about graduation early. It’s not just about the classes you take at UA. The school has much more to offer and you should take advantage of it. Get engaged with campus, join the clubs, do the ECs, participate in the design teams, harass a professor into allow you to join their lab, and have some fun. It’s all important (including the part about having fun)!

Good luck!

15

Haven’t read through all of the comments but based on my S’s experience it was difficult to get an internship before junior year. He was able to twist his precollege job into one relevant to his field when still a sophmore. He however had a very easy time getting involved in research BY just contacting professors. Having gotten the experience of doing both internships and research before graduating he was surprised to discover his passion was with research and is about to start an MS to PhD program in the fall. This is the advantage of allowing time for both. He was also able to learn about things he didn’t want in a job based on his internship experiences. Perhaps if your job search and coop fall through research can be an option for you. In my son’s experience the best road to an internship was through the university job fair which took place early in both fall and spring semesters. If you missed out on this this year be careful not to next year. If you don’t do research over the summer and you have an interest in this you could take fewer hours and devote more time to research during the semester although, again gauging by my son’s experience you can still manage this with 15 hours provided those hours aren’t packed with labs. As for starting your career with a BS vs MS my son felt that he would have better opportunities and more interesting challenges and higher pay if he had an MS. (He felt that way before he decided to do research). Good luck, hope I didn’t repeat the prior comments.