I am begging for advice from anyone who knows about the field (electrical engineering). I feel like I’m going insane constantly thinking about this and trying to find a way to make it work.
My background/situation:
In terms of academics, my OVERALL GPA is slightly above a 3.0 (i screwed up big time in community college but got my act together after transferring and have a 3.7 at my university). I am attending an okay state school (Cal Poly Pomona).
In terms of coding languages, I know how to program C, C++, C#, and MATLAB.
In terms of clubs, I am part of SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Math) and I recently joined a Power and Energy Society Club which in which I am helping building a Solar Tracker project on a team of engineers as I am learning how to work Arduino.
I have NO internship/research experience as everyone has rejected me on the basis of my overall GPA and transcripts (like I said, my community college record hurts me).
So overall, I realistically have two options:
Go to Graduate school for engineering (I have researched this route and it greatly concerns me that I won’t have enough experience after graduation to make me employable. Also, it seems that I will not be given a PE license)
Pursue a 2nd bachelor's degree in Electrical engineering. I am mostly concerned about the time I have to invest as at my school, it takes at least 2 1/2 years to complete the curriculum (I will have all the GE requirements completed already). My parents have been pushing me to graduate already and get a job so I don't know how viable this is. However, it provides me with the most versatility as I gain the credentials and the license.
I am wondering if there is a third option where I could possibly work in the industry of electrical/electronics engineering to get my foot in the door and maybe take classes on the side to supplement knowledge. I am well-aware that in my current state, I am unemployable by these electrical engineering firms HOWEVER, I have heard that several non-engineering majors work in electrical engineering firms and are able to start somewhere and eventually move into an engineering position. I am willing to self-study and do my own projects to build up a resume.
Very few EE’s ever get a PE. If you are not planning to work on the electric grid you probably won’t need a PE. I have not read the rules lately, but I believe you can become a PE in CA without an ABET degree. It takes quite a bit more work experience and you still have to be able to pass the test, which is non-trivial. An ABET graduate degree should reduce the work requirement to sit for the PE.
Do you want to be an Electrical Engineer working with circuits etc? Or do you want to work in a career where you need a technical/logical thinking/problem solving background? There are many jobs like that in telecommunications for example.
As noted above, the PE license is primarily for engineers working on infrastructure, like civil engineers. Most EEs do not need a PE license, and do not have one. The primary exception is power systems engineers (who basically work on electrical infrastructure).
So you probably don’t need a PE license. However, you might consider taking the “Fundamentals of Engineering” (FE) exam, which is the first step in the PE licensure process. This is an 6-hour comprehensive exam that is normally taken by engineering students pursuing licensure, typically during the year before or after they graduate. If you can pass the Electrical FE exam, and earn a California “Engineer in Training” (EIT) certificate, then you would have a formal engineering qualification that would demonstrate bachelor’s-level understanding of electrical engineering.
EE employers are typically looking for BSEE graduates, but a BS in Applied Math plus an Engineer-in-Training certificate would likely be considered BSEE-equivalent by at least some employers. It would be better than the applied math degree alone.
Of course, you may or may not be able to pass the Electrical FE exam if your background is in applied math. You might need to spend some time studying science and engineering, depending on how much you’ve had in school. There are review manuals and classes oriented specifically towards the FE exam; they may even have review classes at CPP. https://ppi2pass.com/shop/fe-eit-exam/fe-electrical