Thanks. So, I’m thinking, if it turned out to be possible, REU at random state U would beat returning to summer fast food job, would be lucky to have it, not important to hunt for prestige, at least at this early stage. Seems internships are likewise not super realistic for rising sophomores.
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Yes to all of that!
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My D is considering masters degree as well but she is so early into the process, she/we (parents) can’t even be sure she will like engineering. I think I’ll wait another year until she is in some of the upper level courses to see if she still feels that way.
I hear ya. D is working for the Chair of the ECE dept and is quite impressionable. Will see how she feels once she has some heavy EE classes under her belt.
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There goes the rest of my day looking into these. Sounds very interesting.
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It has been a while since I’ve been in the academic engr world and I may only see things thru my company’s lens. Is a masters required?
My company employs a lot of engr (not a ton of computer engr or aeronautical, but pretty much all the other specialties) and I don’t know a ton with anything more than BS. I know in consulting they prefer kids to have a PE after a couple years of working. People go back to take a class here or there but they tend to develop their specialization thru work and certifications. It may be different in academia where I’m guessing they need a much higher degree than BS. If she wants to work outside of academia, she may not need a masters. Most masters I see from our engr group is MBAs. With MBAs, a lot of retailers will pay full or partial tuition.
I’m not familiar with the world of engineering but this is exactly what my husband and I are thinking! First, need to see if she continues to enjoy engineering and then have her find out from internships/research advisors about the different paths and whether masters is necessary for what she wants to do. We have discussed this with her and that is why I’m not rushing into learning about masters programs. Thank you for your insightful post.
The key is to get some sort of EC/leadership role (can she join society of women in engr?) so then she can go for an internship. Likely summer after 2nd year if she hustles. I did that and I’ll tell you the real world of engr is sooo much different from school world and that convinced me about engineering. I’m hoping she will get the same experience. If not, the pre engr classes she’s taken or will be taking will prepare her for any career. I promise!!
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Thanks! She was in women in engineering last year as a full time dual enrollment student at another college and this year is in a different engineering organization, I think. She should have the equivalent of sophomore credits by the end of this year, hoping to graduate in 3, so has been searching for internships. She is also getting involved in research on campus. I thought these were all good steps for her to take before getting too concerned about a masters degree. I appreciate hearing from someone who knows about engineering.
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The one thing about engineering is if she doesn’t like R&D, she can do industry. If she doesn’t like working industry, she can do project management, etc. That’s the magic of engr. She doesn’t have to be locked in so if she isn’t sure because she doesn’t like what she’s exposed to but actually enjoys the classes, there’s a whole world out there and new applications show up all the time with innovation. If she’s a mechanical engr or electrical engr, that even has more doors opened than chem engr (my specialty). There’s always patent law. Not many women in that field and it’s only available to hard STEM like engr. PM me. I’m more than happy to talk to another potential woman engr.
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I’m sorry. I just found out that my son’s college doesn’t require it beyond the first year and I was ecstatic. I feel your pain.
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My D started out in engineering thinking she’d do a MS/PHD track. One summer doing R&D for a company was enough for her to know that wasn’t the right path for her. She’s going to be doing an ELDP (engineering leadership development program) with her co-op company after graduation and down the road, she’ll get her MBA.
IMO, the best thing your D can do is to get different experiences under her belt so she knows what she’s getting into.
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I’m curious what you mean by random state u. Do you mean a school that isn’t selective? There are plenty of private schools that aren’t selective, and plenty of state schools that are quite selective. Just wondering.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause confusion or imply anything. Perhaps less-selective would be the term (school has overall 80% accept rate). It is a large state university in another state, so I’m not very familiar with it, though all of you would have heard the name before. There are state universities in several other nearby states at similar levels of selectivity, thus “random.”
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Thank you @MommaLue and @momofboiler1 for your advice in engineering!
What are REUs?
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Research experiences for undergrads.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who had no clue. I’m nearly 100% certain neither of my kids ever heard the term either.
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Might be school specific? Never heard of it.
REUs aren’t school specific. They’re sponsored by National Science Foundation, so the program is only for STEM students. However, some schools have their own programs so they don’t participate. For example, MIT has UROP, which are open to only MIT and Wellesley students, and Caltech has SURF, which are technically open to all students (but Caltech students have significant advantages).
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