<p>Hey everybody. I'm an incoming freshmen at NCSU (lol, nobody's probably ever heard of it) and plan to major in EE. I've always wanted to be an engineer and really feel like this is the major for me. I've been taking things apart and trying to put them back together since I can remember. Also, if you say anything about the energy crisis, you've got my full attention lol. I love Physics (well at least Physics I and II in hs, strong B student) and math is fun sometimes. No interest in chem (will that be a problem?) or humanities. My ultimate goal is to get a MSEE, work and get licensed eventually, get into management (hopefully) with an MBA and make 100k before i'm old :D (pray for me) </p>
<p>Anyway, I was wondering if anybody has any tips for incoming freshmen like me to be help get the most out of school, be competitive, secure admission to a good grad school, and then a well paying job when leaving (etc). For example, getting good grades and doing co-op/internship are fairly obvious, but what else do you suggest? </p>
<p>This is pretty simple but perhaps one of the most overlooked aspect for an engineer. I'm not talking about studying 4-5 hours a day but instead to strive to understand the concepts rather than memorize specific problems and then match them to exams/hw. This is especially important during your frosh classes since the lower division classes will set the foundation for your future classes.While as an UG, I found that many students would rely on solution guides--while solutions guides are a good tool, DON'T use them as a crutch. </p>
<ol>
<li>Time Management</li>
</ol>
<p>You don't need to study 4-5 hours every day. If you can establish an effective yet flexible schedule you'll find that you can study a little bit every day, instead of having to cram 8-9 hours before a major exam. Just re-reading your notes each day or skimming the text book can be enough. As usual, DON'T procrastinate--slowly etch away at homework sets and labs so that if you do have questions, you won't bombard the prof/TA a day before it is due. Now I know stuff will come up and you'll get behind/have to skip class, but try to maintain some sort of schedule and trust me, you'll have plenty of time to party and have fun.</p>
<ol>
<li>Get help if you need it</li>
</ol>
<p>If you are struggling or have questions, go talk to the prof/TA. Engineering is hard but your school should have the resources to help you ease through it.</p>
<ol>
<li>Have fun!</li>
</ol>
<p>Remember, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy!</p>
<p>Also, all work and no play and the girls will think you are gay.</p>
<p>Seriously, nshah9617 summed it up. I'm entering my third year in chemical engineering and my freshman year was good but should have been way better. This past year was just abysmal. I realized that I don't study at all. So now I'm at a point where I will probably forgo much fun this year so that I can bring my GPA up to a great number. I just decided I want to go to Law School so I have to work extra hard and my classes are only getting more difficult. It is much better to strive for A+'s in your lower level classes which will help balance your upper level coursework.</p>
<p>As a bullet point to nshah's Time Management: Never, ever, ever fall behind in a class. Engineering classes typically build on top of knowledge from one class to the next, from one week to the next, and even through one class to the next. If you don't understand something, ask for help now and don't wait a year until you're completely lost in a later class to say, "Yeah, so, what exactly is a crystal?" and have the whole class (professor included) facepalm.</p>
<p>you need a reality check if you think you'll ever make anywhere near 100k. Better chose another career if you ant that kind of salary. I posted this link so many times, but here you go!</p>
<p>Keep in mind that ele902's numbers are dragged down by the many new engineers fresh out of college and that many engineers will transfer out into management as they become more experienced. In all of the fields, the mean of the entire workforce is about $12k higher than the average of those fresh out of college, so it should be somewhat reasonable to expect the bottom 50% of wage-earners within engineering to be recent graduates and, over time, you should progress to the higher side of the distribution (so long as you don't transfer into management or another field).</p>
<p>I'm not too sure why, since I didn't spend too much time on the site, but the summary tables listed on that page are lower than the figures stated in their individual pages. Example, $88,470 is the median for computer engineers but the page for computer engineers, Computer</a> Hardware Engineers, lists $91,860.</p>
<p>If you look at the industry-specific incomes, it gets even higher (more than half over $100k), albeit means being cited instead of median, so a minor bit of apples to oranges. Regardless, I don't think it's unrealistic to hit $100k in engineering; it just depends on the degree, specialty and industry you enter.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that engineering is not where you want to go for "easy" money. It will involve a lot of hard work and hard hours put in to earn the honest wage; it might not be AS laid back as other careers where income is more passive.</p>
<p>My choice of majoring in engineering was not a decision based solely on how much money I will make (even though from what I'm seeing, the money honestly isn't bad). I've just always had an interest in it, and since I liked physics and the introductory engineering courses that I took in high school, I'm going to try engineering school.</p>
<p>One more question since I'm here. Is it worth it to pursue a minor in business as well? Some people I know say it's a waste of time and energy, while many others say that it is a good investment for your future. Is an engineering major so hard to the point where going for any minor would do more hard (to grades, time, etc.) than good? Any opinions would be appreciated.</p>
<p>
[quote]
One more question since I'm here. Is it worth it to pursue a minor in business as well? Some people I know say it's a waste of time and energy, while many others say that it is a good investment for your future. Is an engineering major so hard to the point where going for any minor would do more hard (to grades, time, etc.) than good? Any opinions would be appreciated.
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</p>
<p>I don't think a business minor will give you an edge in recruiting but I feel that all engineers should have some innate business/finance knowledge--though you don't need a formal class to learn these skills If you can earn a business minor without too much stress, go ahead but keep in mind that you can later on get an MBA.</p>
<p>As for the 100k salary point, most engineers will make over 100k but very few will make over 200k.</p>