<p>Hey everyone, I'm currently entering my second semester at VT. I wish to pursue a degree in Computer Engineering. I'm looking for any sort of advice regarding the Engineering program at tech. It could be any broad advice for a typical Engineering student at VT or something more specific like some good ideas for a minor with an Engineering degree. I would like to hear personal experiences with the Eng majors you guys have studied at VT. For example, does anyone suggest a minor that goes well with Computer Engineering? Or maybe a double major that goes along with it? Thanks everyone, hopefully some graduates or current students in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering will give some good advice.
calcocer is online now</p>
<p>If you don’t think a second major or minor will add a lot of value to your education I wouldn’t get one. Comp Eng is a tough enough major and there’s plenty of employment prospects. </p>
<p>General advice is go to class/office hours, try to get an internship sophomore year (helps you get a better one junior year, and then a really good full-time job), and also develop your social skills. I firmly believe that if you can go into an interview or career fair/event and are comfortable talking to people and communicate well it will help you out a lot more in your career and life than your classes or a high GPA will, especially as an engineer where the stereotype tends to exist that you’re smart, but socially awkward.</p>
<p>hokiefan - that’s great advice. VT has great job fairs that are well attended by both employers and students. You have to have the social skills and confidence to be able to walk up to a booth and make an impression that will lead to an interview and so on. </p>
<p>Even though the OP is a freshmen, he/she should still plan on attending the fairs if for no other reason other than to get some experience in the process and to be ready for the fall job fairs. My DD did just that. I suspect it was pretty nervewracking but it was worth it because she landed a great internship her sophomore year.</p>
<p>You’ve gotten some good advice above. My S is a CPE major and is actually minoring in Computer Science because it is pretty easy to do so. He wants to be able to apply to Microsoft and other companies that usually focus on the Computer Science majors. Getting involved in SEC (student engineering council) is also a good idea. They plan the engineering expo and get to work with the companies coming to recruit students. The engineering expo and the Computer Science expo are important to attend because the companies are really there to recruit students for internships etc. My S is a sophomore and is involved in SEC and is in the process of being pursued by 2 companies for a summer internship. He is pretty outgoing so as the others said it is important to be outgoing and personable. You are in a good school that offers lots of opportunities. I would also suggest getting involved in some kind of research by Junior year. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I’m a junior in CS at Virginia Tech. Most engineering majors don’t do minors unless it is math or CS. As someone said above, CS isn’t a tough minor to do, but you won’t really need it if you are CpE. </p>
<p>You don’t really need a double major in CpE at all really. The person above me mentioned the engineering expo. You can look on their website and see just how many companies are hiring for Computer Engineers. If I were you, I’d focus on maintaining a good GPA in CpE, not burdening myself with extra requirements, and applying for internships and research to boost your application in that field. Once you get to second and third year, you could even apply to be a UTA for some of the freshman/sophomore courses. You have the opportunity the make yourself an extremely desirable engineer with all of the opportunities at VT. You don’t need to double major to land a great job in engineering. </p>