<p>Could be that the perceived cr@ppiness of any field work in sewer systems reduces the number of applicants for those jobs.</p>
<p>I thought so too, being a former Civie myself. Turns out a lot of the hiring in such specialties is by municipalities and the like (the guy ended up in a good size city in Colorado somewhere) and thus probably not seen as ‘cool’ as the private sector, never mind the relative job security and benefits… </p>
<p>Other specialties I have seen that may not be ‘obvious’ but seem to have interesting job prospects include Packaging Engineering and Food/Agricultural Engineering… The pharma and food industries use LOTS of both of the above. </p>
<p>May I put a plug for Industrial Engineering also, for those who want to, ehem, take it a little easier and party a bit more… Again, not as sexy as designing nano-bots (yea, we did do the silly stopwatch and clipboard homeworks at fast food places, McD’s has it down to a science) but very applicable to a bunch of different fields.</p>
<p>“I thought so too, being a former Civie myself.” - I started as Civie too (before switching to Mech E, with tech comm concentration). After I switched, my friends teased that I was “not civil anymore”. (They are the same pun-happy friends that teased I was “ruthless”, since sister Ruth was still back in home town).</p>
<p>Turbo - My dad was an industrial engineer (same big corp as me). I think it’s a great area - perhaps DD would have liked it if it had been a choice at CO School of Mines. </p>
<p>I am an engineer. So is my dad and DH and DS. DD tried it - but it was not her cup of tea (long story). I have done lots of research the past few years, and I find that understanding all the various specialties and sub-specialties (shich seem to vary by college) is a duaghnting task. So I stick with my mantra that “engineers are problem solvers”… and leave it to engineering DS to pick the most appropriate path. In some ways he is an “odd duck” that could have been a fine math major too… but I am confident he will find his way once he has the core courses under his belt.</p>
<p>Shrinkwrap - Your son seems to have a wide range of talents. I bet he’ll do well wherever he lands. The real key is to keep traction, either in engineering or another exciting path. He talks with you - that is key!!</p>
<p>akck since 2PathsMom mentioned it, Texas A&M was the school I was referring to that mentioned to 2.8 average GPA for engineering students.</p>
<p>“Shrinkwrap - Your son seems to have a wide range of talents. I bet he’ll do well wherever he lands. The real key is to keep traction, either in engineering or another exciting path. He talks with you - that is key!!”</p>
<p>Duly noted. Thanks! </p>
<p>FWIW, his Godmother is an engineer, and she does not seem to think it fits. I think she thinks his personality is too big, or too social or something. She says MAYBE civil. And he DOES love bridges and freeways and such. </p>
<p>But not like he likes expensive cars. </p>
<p>Sure do wish there was more time.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I’ve worked with engineering students and someone like Shrinkson I would suggest they think about a concentration in construction management. It usually falls under Civil Engineering, but I don’t think his school offers it so he would have to transfer after his first two years.</p>
<p>One of my friends has a son that chose construction mgt - he seemed to really enjoy the program.</p>
<p>Thank you! Any links? I’m finding ITT. Would that be right?</p>
<p>[Accredited</a> Program Search](<a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx]Accredited”>http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx) lists only San Diego State University as having a construction engineering bachelor’s degree program in California. There are only twelve total schools in the US with construction engineering bachelor’s degree programs:</p>
<p>Iowa State University
North Carolina State University
North Dakota State University
Purdue University at West Lafayette
San Diego State University
Southern Polytechnic State University
The University of Alabama
University of Central Florida
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
University of New Mexico
Virginia Polytechnic and State University
Western Michigan University</p>
<p>However, some other schools may offer it as a subspecialty of civil engineering.</p>
<p>Thank you, and Happy New Year!</p>
<p>
Better to look at the uni’s suggested by ucbalumnus or the many schools which offer it as a subspecialty of Civil Engineering. Then your degree is in CE which has a broader applicability regardless of your specialization.</p>
<p>Thats a relief. I’m thinking someones trying to tell me he should be at ITT. So sad I’m on cc at midnight on new years eve.</p>
<p>Happy new year…</p>
<p>Shrinkrap,</p>
<p>ITT Tech is a for-profit entity like the University of Pheonix with questionable accreditation that will charge you a huge amount of money for a degree that has little value. UC and CSU do not even accept transfer credits from schools like that. Please do not send your son to one of these for-profit schools that will overpromise and underdeliver.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap,
Washington State University has a construction management program with a fairly informative website. Interestingly, the program is tied to the School of Architecture.
[Construction</a> Management - Majors - WSU](<a href=“Washington State University | FOS | Admissions | WSU”>Construction Management | FOS | Admissions | WSU)</p>
<p>The University of Denver has an entire school devoted to Construction Management, the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It’s in the business school rather than under engineering. Maybe other schools might have construction management as a submajor of business as well. </p>
<p>Just offering information; I don’t know how well that would work for Shrinkson.</p>
<p>Pratt Institute has a very good program in Construction also… [Pratt</a> Institute | Academics | Architecture | Construction Management](<a href=“http://www.pratt.edu/academics/architecture/construction_management/]Pratt”>http://www.pratt.edu/academics/architecture/construction_management/)</p>
<p>adding to Cardinal Fang’s mention of University of Denver…the construction management program also has an unbelievable placement rate for its grads…the program is one of the best.</p>
<p>another example of Construction Mgt website info
[Department</a> of Construction Management | College of Applied Human Sciences | Colorado State University](<a href=“http://www.cm.cahs.colostate.edu/]Department”>http://www.cm.cahs.colostate.edu/)</p>
<p>It looks like more practical courses, less deep-dive theoretical math/sciences courses vs engineering.</p>
<p>You can study Construction Management as an Architectural Engineering major at the University of Texas at Austin. It’s an excellent program but very hard to get into.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I loved being an engineer and feel strongly about this subject. You have already gotten great advice and I will repeat some of it, no doubt, but I’m going to comment anyway.</p>
<p>First off, your kid starting at precalc isn’t a problem with regards to ultimate success. It just means he won’t finish an engineering degree in 4 years. How did he do in precalc this semester? This to me is the most important question. Assuming that he wants to continue in engineering, and if he only got a C or a low-mid B in precalc, then he should get that book out now and do problems until the beginning of the next semester. He can succeed in Calc I but only if he has a good precalc foundation. He WILL struggle otherwise.</p>
<p>
High schools often offer a ‘regular’ physics and an honors physics, followed by another year of AP physics. If he aced the regular non-honors physics, he’s not anywhere near as well prepared as if he passed an honors level physics in HS. In either case, I would advise taking Calc I, then Physics I a semester later. Physics usually lasts 3 semesters and he’ll lag in math somewhat throughout if he doesn’t finish Calc I first.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It does. Negatively.</p>
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</p>
<p>This is the second most important question. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he’s already behind time-wise, and already has a light semester under his belt with just OK grades. If he really wants engineering, he is going to have to quit those extracurriculars until he knows that he can succeed at engineering coursework. Let me say this differently – clanging alarm bells go off in my mind when I see a list of ECs like that for a beginning engineering student. Maybe he can do one EC, but if it were my kid I would discourage even that much distraction until he finishes out a strong semester. Yes, I know that fun stuff relieves stress, but he can destress during the summer IMO and go back to school in the fall confident in his foundation and abilities.</p>
<p>This is a real problem IMO – engineering students are surrounded by kids who have much less studying to do and it’s really hard to work while others play. It (for me anyway) was disgusting how little work was required to ace an English, psych, etc. class vrs. the far, far greater work required for a C in the tech classes. BUT engineering grows parts of the brain. You leave with a different brain than you entered with. You should expect to struggle while developing new mental abilities.</p>
<p>Your son can succeed at engineering if he’s motivated. The field needs more ADD type kids with their creativity, and I hope he knuckles down and does the hard work necessary for some kids to succeed. There is a lot of bravado thrown with regard to engineering, like ‘if you’re not a natural give it up’, ‘if you don’t get a 3.5 you’re a poor job candidate’, etc. It’s bunk. I once read years ago that 30+ studies showed that there is NO correlation between grades and job success, and I believe it. Get the degree, then interview for the type of job you’ll enjoy, as social or unsocial as you want. The field is broad and there is room for all kinds of students. I hope it all works out for your kid.</p>