<p>Hello All!</p>
<p>I'm a current CCC student majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I'm doing pretty well in school so far with a GPA close to a 4.0. I'm very motivated about becoming an Engineer (and hopefully astronaut one day) and will never look back. At first I was set on going to Berkeley but they don't have an Aerospace program. Next on my list was UCLA, which isn't bad at all, until my counselor recommended Cal Poly Pomona. At first I didn't think much of it until then he mentioned how good the recruitment is and how they teach with a hands on style. That's a huge plus for me. If you don't have hands on experience then you're of no real benefit to a company, especially when compared to someone who has a lot of experience. </p>
<p>I'm actually surprised at how highly people talk about the program at CPP. Sure, you'll have people who automatically look down upon it because its not a UC. Complain all you want, but if I can get a job faster than a UC graduate then who's doing the laughing now?</p>
<p>Is this the right choice? Is giving up a fantastic social life (mainly girls) and a better looking campus worth it for strong job recruitment? I pretty much answered my own question, of course it is! I also want to continue my education and get a Ph.D, but if I get a job right away and have a chance to grow within the field I may be able to put that off for a while. Social life is important to me, especially with CCC being lackluster. CPP may not be much better at all (maybe it is?) but I would probably meet better women when I'm actually out in the professional world. Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>Couple of things – your counselor is correct. Cal Poly Pomona is a great choice for all the reasons that your counselor mentioned. My son, also in engineering, chose Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) over UCLA for many of those reasons. Pomona is a good choice and far cheaper than a UC ever will be. Also, the Cal Poly’s both have a great reputation among employers. You will be able to compete with graduates from any UC. However, I suggest that you look at Cal Poly SLO for a couple of reasons. First, your GPA at the CCC is definitely good enough to get in as a transfer student. Second, Cal Poly SLO is considered one of the best places in the country to study Aerospace Engineering. Here is an excerpt:</p>
<p>Cal Poly is No. 1 Spot for Aero Recruiting:</p>
<p>Aviation Week & Space Technology recently named Cal Poly the best place in the nation to recruit for employees. Cal Poly tops Georgia Tech, Penn State, Virginia Tech and MIT.</p>
<p>Here is the link: [Cal</a> Poly First In Nation for Aerospace and Defense Worker Recruitment](<a href=“http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2010/August/Recruit.html]Cal”>http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2010/August/Recruit.html)</p>
<p>At Cal Poly SLO all the other things that you want will be there too. SLO has a great social life and all the attractive coeds you could possibly wish for. More importantly, it also offers a masters program with an extra year at school. Pomona is also a great school and will be cheaper if you can commute. We really liked Pomona and would have chosen it over UCLA as well. By the way, many Pomona grads go on to master’s or PhD degrees at USC. It seems that is what many do according to the faculty at Pomona. I had some pretty serious discussions with them as we were considering them. So, you may what to look at USC’s reputation for PhD’s in Aero to assist you in your decision.</p>
<p>Of the two Cal Polys, SLO seems to have a higher profile and reputation than Pomona, though Pomona is not bad by any means. SLO’s career center does have career survey results available to see: [Graduate</a> Status Report 08-09 - Career Services - Cal Poly](<a href=“http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/students/career_planning/gsr.htm]Graduate”>http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/students/career_planning/gsr.htm)</p>
<p>For strictly aerospace engineering, your choices among California publics are CPP, CPSLO, CSULB, SDSU, SJSU, UCI, UCLA, and UCSD, according to [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) . UCD has an aerospace science and engineering major. All of these are ABET accredited, according to [ABET</a> | Accrediting College Programs in Applied Science, Computing, Engineering and Technology](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) .</p>
<p>Note that aerospace engineering is often a subarea of mechanical engineering in schools which do not have it as a separate department. For mechanical engineering, the choices of schools are more numerous.</p>
<p>Both CP are good for Aerospace engineering. CPP is closer to the Aerospace industry which is in LA while CPSLBP is near Silicon Valley. But before you major in this field please do a research as to what kind of jobs out there. D1’s friend also majors in this field and has not been able to find a summer internship job. The industry is downsizing especially with the winding down of the space shuttle program.</p>
<p>Do you guys think CPP would be better for job recruitment?</p>
<p>There are no jobs in Aerospace Industry. All the companies are having massive layoffs, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grunman. I only heard Raytheon is hiring.</p>
<p>That wasn’t my question.</p>
<p>I think it’s kind of related to your question in #5. If the industry is not hiring, it does not matter if CPP does a better job recruitment. It makes no difference. There are no jobs therefore there are no job recruitment.</p>
<p>Companies are always hiring in order to replace a retiring work force even during recessions, though this last one may be an exception. Boeing is backordered for many years and is now expanding it’s operations. I don’t know about lockheed. One should not make a college decision based on the current job market since conditions would likely change in the next 4 to 5 years. Besides, you would not want to pick a career that you’re not going to like since you’ll likely be doing this for the rest of your life… If you like aero, stick with it regardless. Besides, most industries get affected by recessions. Who’s to say that software engineers will not be laying off in 20 years? </p>
<p>CPP does offer the advantage of being physically close to industry for summer or part time internships during the school year. There are some aerospace start ups at the NASA office complex on campus, though not sure how busy they are.</p>
<p>[CTTi</a> - NASA Commercialization Center](<a href=“http://www.ctti.innovationvillage.org/ncc/nasa.asp]CTTi”>http://www.ctti.innovationvillage.org/ncc/nasa.asp)</p>
<p>Boeing is laying off in South Cal which is where CPP is located.
[One</a> Day After Securing A Huge Deal With China, Boeing Lays Off 1000 American Workers](<a href=“http://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-layoffs-orange-county-2011-1]One”>One Day After Securing a Huge Deal With China, Boeing Lays Off 1000 American Workers)</p>
<p>SLO has better general recognition in the engineering field. It is harder to get into than CPP, and the hiring folks in industry aren’t idiots; they know that if the entrance bar is higher the school can teach to a somewhat higher level and is starting with students that are a bit stronger. That said, neither choice is bad. You can do quite well with a degree from CPP.</p>
<p>However I would recommend SLO for a reason that hasn’t been mentioned. They have a 5-year MS program so that after 4 years you get your BS but some of your classes count towards the MS too, and in 1 more year you get the MS. It is valuable to have a MS, and it will take extra time (and time costs around $60K/year in lost salary, even if the college was free) if you don’t go to a school offering a 5-year plan.</p>
<p>Also I think your counselor is misinformed about the value of a UCLA degree. I know a person, in fact, who is doing their undergrad at CPP and their top choice for the MS is UCLA.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle,</p>
<p>Maybe it would be a good idea to move up to Washington State.</p>
<p>[Snohomish</a> County Business Journal: Aerospace training center to double student capacity](<a href=“http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110714/SCBJ02/307149999/1005/BIZ]Snohomish”>Biz Bits | HeraldNet.com)</p>
<p>[Boeing</a> has added thousands of jobs in Washington this year - Seattle News - MyNorthwest.com](<a href=“MyNorthwest.com - MyNorthwest.com”>MyNorthwest.com - MyNorthwest.com)</p>
<p>in which case, it wouldn’t matter which Cal Poly. But like I said, one should not make a college major selection based on current hiring trends but rather on passion for the field. If anyone is driven enough, they’ll find the work or be satisfied pursuing it regardless of the business climate. After all no profession is immune from business cycles and layoffs. </p>
<p>@mikemac,</p>
<p>SLO being harder to get into doesn’t necessarily make for better graduates. In my chosen field of architecture, SLO is also harder to get into, but you still need a 3.9 and a 1300 to get into Pomona. I chose Pomona because of the design philisophy which I thought was lacking at SLO. I don’t think architecture employers make the assumption that SLO graduates will make for better workers. They’ll make that judgement after talking and reviewing portfolios.</p>
<p>I would suggest that anyone interested in SLO or Pomona visit the campuses and talk to people to see what the differences in philosophies are and then decide.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys.</p>
<p>Here are some other things to think about regarding the SLO or CPP choice. For us, my son has mild asthma. CPP, as great a school as it is, unfortunately has some of the dirtiest air in Southern California being located in Pomona. SLO is by the ocean and up the coast and therefore the area is pristine. So that actually had a lot to do with our choice. CPP is much closer to home and family. SLO is a long 3.5 hour haul up north. Yet, we still felt that due to the environment, SLO would be better for us. For others, not sure.</p>
<p>Additionally, CPP has a really good honors program. The Kellogg honors program. The kids have special access to smaller classes, a special meeting/study room, lots of perks and privileges. SLO also has an honors program, but we did not even apply for it as it really does not give you any advantages. </p>
<p>So, here are a couple of other things to think about.</p>
<p>SLO also has a detailed graduate career survey available:
[Graduate</a> Status Survey index - Career Services - Cal Poly](<a href=“http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/gradsurvey/]Graduate”>http://www.careerservices.calpoly.edu/gradsurvey/)</p>
<p>Interestingly, not many schools make such data readily available. Of the other public universities in California, only Berkeley provides comparable detail. San Jose State has some much less detailed survey information available.</p>