<p>Is it really necessary to go to a school with an engineering program that is ABET accreditted?? Is it emphasized by employers? Many of the "top ranked" schools arent.</p>
<p>Yeah I have the same question. Does ABET accreditation matter alot? </p>
<p>Some school's (suffolk) engineering program arn't accredited by ABET. Would this bite you in the ass later on?</p>
<p>Would going to a school with an accreditated engineering program be better for your career?</p>
<p>In order to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and become a licensed Professional Engineer, you must have a degree from an ABET accredited program. Many graduate programs also require an ABET degree to apply. I'm not aware of any top programs which aren't ABET accredited anyway (Olin is a notable exception but that's only because it hasn't graduated its first class yet).</p>
<p>its not important, however if none of your schools engineering departments are ABET accredited, its not worth going to.</p>
<p>In some schools, some programs like EE and ME are ABET accredited by others like Biomed E and Engineering physics arn't ABET acrcredited. Which ones are better?</p>
<p>Just my opinions about ABET: ABET is a known educational standard within industry. It gives employers a base to understand a school that they might not otherwise be acquainted with. ABET accreditation covers certain topics like: number of students enrolled, length of time the program has been in existence, % of students who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (taken at the end of your senior year), minimum number of humanities classes required (to ensure the student is somewhat well-rounded), a capstone senior project etc. Check the ABET website for details. There are many lower tier schools that still take the time to get ABET accreditation. It does take several years to get accreditation, so a college that is working on it is still better (in my opinion) than one who hasn't bothered. Also, sometimes a college will lose their accreditation (they are re-evaluated every few years). It would be important to understand why they lost it...</p>
<p>In today's difficult economic times, I think it is important to do things that help ensure that you will have a job after college...I think getting a degree from an ABET accredited college can only help. Take a look at the websites of the colleges you are considering...what companies come to their job fairs looking for undergrad engineering students (not business students!)--what is the average starting salary of someone in your specialty? Each college will be different, but in general, the ABET colleges attract more attention from industry. If you do not get a job straight out of college, it will be comforting to know that you can go onto to grad school--non-ABET students often have to take more classes before they are accepted into a grad school program.</p>
<p>So if you arn't planning on going into grad school (except maybe MBA), than would a non ABET accredited school be worth going to?</p>
<p>I'm asking this because a school that I got accepted to (suffolk university) isn't ABET accredited.</p>
<p>BTW, my target is to go into I-banking.</p>
<p>Um, sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not going to get an investment banking job with a degree from Suffolk, ABET or not.</p>
<p>Can I ask why not? </p>
<p>What if I major in business? and get an MBA from somewhere like Wharton?</p>
<p>Because IB's recruit at select universities (think Wharton, Stern, etc). They won't take precious time out of their schedules going to recruit at Suffolk.</p>
<p>IB is all about connections and how well you use them. </p>
<p>Even if you get an MBA from Wharton, you'll be competiting with all the other MBA's from Wharton who have RELEVANT work experience (i.e. slogging as an analyst) rather than you, who has worked as an engineer and don't know the field as well.</p>
<p>If you want to get into IBanking, its best to start early, right after ugrad. And to maxmize your chances of landing that IB job, go to a top school that recruiters think is worth looking at.</p>
<p>Didn't realize that it was that hard to get into IB... Will the IB firms give an engineering major more weight because of its difficulty?</p>
<p>Hope Wharton/IB sees an 3.0 in engineering as at least a 3.5 in other majors because engineering is so much harder compared to other majors like history.</p>
<p>Most IBs have a 3.5 minimum GPA to apply (to go through the interview process, that is). Unless you have great connections, in which case you can have under the minimum GPA and still land a good job.</p>
<p>With engineering, I heard its difficult/impossible to get a good GPA. So will IB give weight to the major?</p>
<p>Well, what do you mean IB will give weight to the major? This is not like college admissions where they look at just your stats. Most IB interviews also tend to look at personality of the applicant (would i want to sit down with this kid for a drink?) Its not just about smarts and GPA. That 3.5 GPA just gets you through the door into an interview room. After that, its your charisma that should shine lol.</p>
<p>Charisma is something your born with, either you have it or you don't.</p>
<p>Its like leadership. You have to learn it on your own I guess.</p>
<p>Well its those intangibles that make a great businessman.</p>
<p>I-banking sound so elite. Does GPA really make a better I-banker?</p>
<p>How would a social studies major with a 3.9 GPA from Harvard make a better businessmen than a engineering major with a 3.0 GPA ?</p>
<p>I heard its at least twice as hard to get a good GPA in engineering than all other majors? Shouldn't that count for anything?</p>
<p>So if the major you go into doesn't matter for a investment banking job, would it still be better to go to an ABET accredited program?</p>
<p>I'm asking because only one of my colleges(wentworth institute of technology) I've been accepted to is ABET accredited. The other two (umass-boston and suffolk university) don't seem to be ABET accredited.</p>
<p>Would going to an non-ABET program harm my chances of going into IB?</p>
<p>BTW, I'm not really sure what IB is... I've just heard people say its one of the best ways to achieve my target income, $1000000.</p>
<p>Are IB the people that work on wall streets doing stocks? Or do they work in an office like morgan stanley with clients?</p>
<p>If you don't care about working in an engineering job, then ABET makes no difference. But like I said, the schools on your list just won't cut it for IB. I suggest going to web sites of firms like Morgan Stanley and reading their bios to get an idea of what a typical background is.</p>
<p>OK a couple of things...I am a professor of Mechancal Engineering and I got my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at a "Top 5" Engineering school and I'd like to comment on ABET.</p>
<p>While ABET is an important accreditation it is not typically necessary that you go to an ABET school if you plan on getting an engineering job after you graduate. The only time I would say that it is crucial is if you are a civil engineer because getting a P.E. licence is typically required in your field. You cannot take the P.E. exam without a degree from an ABET accredited school. Other than that, it's not a big deal. Only a small percentage of engineers have the P.E.</p>
<p>You should know that if you attend a school that is working towards accreditation that you will have an ABET accredited degree if they eventually get accreditation, even if it is after you graduate. The accreditation is retroactive to all graduates that were in the evaluation period.</p>
<p>Lastly, if you want to pursue a career in I-banking or pretty much any other field, don't believe the garbage that you have to go to the RIGHT school. It is typically much better to stand out in a small school that be average at an elite school. If you've got the talent, drive and know-how you can get into any career. Work with your professors at that small school- typically they have lots of contacts and are more willing to help their students than at big schools. It really is a lot more about how you present yourself, who you know and your ability than it is going to the "right" school.</p>
<p>The biggest myth in higher education is that the rankings tell you where you will find the best instruction. Nothing could be futher from the truth! Like I said, I went to a "Top 5" engineering school for my graduate work. I saw what they did to undergrads, classes with 500 taught by a professor that could barely speak english, professors that are pretty much invisible and don't care about undergraduate teaching. Why should they? They are not evaluated on it. It means nothing to their rank or promotion. Schools with high rankings got there because of RESEARCH not teaching.</p>
<p>I'm glad I escaped that mess and found a place to teach were student learning is the focus, not research. It's amazing how good an engineering program can be when students are the focus, not research dollars!</p>