<p>Do you go straight to work or do you go immediately to grad school?
How long do you stay in your first job?
What has your career path been / what will it be? What is the typical career path? How much freedom do you have?</p>
<p>I am choosing between a school with a GREAT co-op program and another without one. The coop program offers great opportunities, but I must remember that some of those come because it also takes an extra year of your life. So what could I do the year after graduating college as an engineer, especially if I don't care about making much money immediately?</p>
<p>Right now, more and more people are going to grad school to wait out the bad economy. Usually, this isn’t the case, since almost everyone wants to work immediately instead of going to grad school. The notable exceptions are those who majored in engineering but really wanted to become a doctor, lawyer, pharmacist, or go into any other profession that requires further schooling. No matter how good the economy is, they’ll have to go to law school or med school right after they finish undergrad.</p>
<p>The time engineers stay in their first job varies quite a lot. Usually, it’s around 3-5 years, and after that, they typically get promoted, switch to a better employer, or go back to school for an MBA or a masters in engineering. Others change careers and pretty much leave the engineering field for the rest of their lives.</p>
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Get a job offer as soon as possible, but negotiate to have your starting date pushed back a few weeks or months. Use that time before starting work to have fun. Once again, make sure you get a job offer before taking time off for vacation, because employers don’t like to see resume gaps.</p>