<p>I am heading off to college this fall and I want to make most of what my university is about to offer. So I want to get advice from others on what I should look out for from my college experience.
Apart from the obvious motivation to maintain a high GPA, what are other goals that I should have so that I am on course in graduating as a very good student with a shot at top-notch jobs and graduate schools?
It would also be helpful if the goals are numbered in order of importance. What are all I should be doing during the course of the four years, in terms of research, campus involvement and internships? How sould I be scientifically and non-scientifically involved in school? Are both important? By 'scientifically' I mean things like research and being part of clubs related to your engineering major. Just a doubt, do undergrad students get involved in research by asking professors a part in what they are doing??
In the end of the day, however, I realize that all this is just an 'ideal' situation. During my time, there might as well be other temptations. I'm just getting my gears ready...thanks in advance</p>
<p>Doing research is probably one of the best ways. Internships are also good but generally you’re not going to be doing work that is as involved as with research. If you want to do research under a professor as an undergrad it’s not a problem. I think most people underestimate the need for good students by professors. Some professors will only work with grad students, some only for those going for their doctorate, however, there are plenty of professors who need undergrad students. If you want to get on with a professor first find out what you’re interested in, then find out which professor’s are doing research in that area, next research the work they’re doing (reading a paper they have published would be a good idea), lastly set up a meeting with them. Don’t tell them you’re an undergrad when setting up the meeting, if you’re motivated enough, and they see that, you may have a chance at getting on with a professor who doesn’t normally take undergrads. </p>
<p>Additionally doing undergrad research with a professor will make it easy for you to get strong letters of recommendation for grad school if you decide you want to go.</p>
<p>Internships are more helpful for that job search than research though. If you plan on doing a PhD and working in industry afterwards, it’s probably best to do some research and have some work experience. If you’re going for an MS, you probably don’t need any research at all (I didn’t).</p>
<p>Internships are great for getting your foot in the door. When companies are looking to fill full time positions, they always look to their current and past interns first. Why? Because they will have already trained the interns, and they know what to expect since you’ve already worked for them.</p>
<p>Secondly, for your benefit, having work experience may help you decide what industry or sub-field you may potentially want to work in. Not everyone in the same major will end up doing the same things once they start working. EE, ChE, CE, ME… these are all huge fields. </p>
<p>Third, you get to see what working in the real world is like, because it can be quite different than what you learn in the classroom.</p>
<p>Either way, you should do <em>something</em>, either research or internship or both.</p>
<p>When it comes to the job search, who you know matters. Blindly submitting an application is only one way to get a job (and probably has the lowest success rate). Don’t dismiss your friends as people who can potentially help you land a job/internship, especially if they’re at smaller companies which don’t have a big HR department. Professors might be able to help you out depending on how connected they are to industry. I got some of my internships and jobs through a series of friends and alumni, and I’ve been able to help some of my friends get internships as well. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.</p>
<p>If your plans are to stay in academia though, most of what I said above doesn’t apply. Get involved in research any way you can. If you have an opportunity to be a co-author on a paper for publication, definitely go for it, because that seems to be the most important thing in academia.</p>
<p>Being involved in professional societies (ASCE, ASME, IEEE, etc.) is good, but it’s probably good for your own professional development more than anything else. You’ll learn a lot about your industry, and you’ll also have some fun as well! ASCE/AISC sponsors a steel bridge competition, ASCE - concrete canoe, SAE - Formula 1, AiChe sponsors some sort of race car competition… I forget how it relates to chemE exactly but I think it’s about how the car is powered. </p>
<p>Also, you may be able to get some jobs/internships through your school’s chapter. There were plenty of opportunities available when I was an undergrad at my school.</p>
<p>I think I will do a bit of both because I plan to work before going to graduate school…either for MS or MBA. </p>
<p>Other than asking professors for a hand in their research..what are the other normal ways of getting involved with research? like how do you get UROP’s?</p>
<p>Won’t those professional societies, especially being an office member, build your resumes and hence help you get a better job or better graduate school?
What are other ways to build your resumes?</p>
<p>And finally, is campus involvement, not related engineering, even beneficial and worth the time??</p>
<p>Look to develop yourself; Not what you think what others think you ought to be.</p>
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<p>Jeez, yes!!</p>
<p>Good lord, college is for fun, too. It’s where you become a human being, more than just becoming an engineer.</p>
<p>I got my first internship because my former bosses were <em>huge</em> fans of the Rice band, which I was drum major of at the time. I got my first job because when my former project manager sighed and asked, “I don’t want to hear what you did in school; I probably did the same thing. What ELSE do you do?” I was able to answer that I’m into jazz piano and that I had my own band, and that I’d done ceramics for over a decade. He was relieved that I wasn’t a one-sided engineer who didn’t have a life outside of work.</p>
<p>I also find that being well-rounded also goes really far with our clients. Some of my more one-sidedly-engineery project managers would often step back and let <em>me</em>, a little junior engineer, interact with our clients, simply because I speak a language other than engineering and it makes them feel a lot more comfortable with us if they can relate to us a little bit.</p>
<p>Develop some other interests. It’ll do you far more good than you expect.</p>
<p>I just want to note that if you plan on doing grad school and DON’T plan on staying in academia an internship or two is extremely important. Otherwise you’ll walk out the door overqualified for a lot of positions because of your grad school and under qualified for others due to lack of experience. That’s not to say that there won’t be any jobs, just that you’re going to be pretty handicapped as an engineer with no internship experience, even if you’ve got a grad degree.</p>
<p>Also, please be social. It’s so important.</p>
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<p>It depends on your motivation. aibarr became a drum major because she wanted to. Don’t do anything just to pad your resume as high schoolers often do for college, but don’t avoid doing something just because it won’t help you out professionally. </p>
<p>I think for every interview that I’ve had (with the exception of the one for a government agency), they <em>always</em> asked me a non-academic or non-professional question. And quite often, it’s those that would lead to some of the more interesting discussions.</p>
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<p>Good point… Thanks, Ken. Yeah, should’ve said that you should find something that interests you. No point in doing something extracurricular that you don’t find interesting, but it’d be really goofy to avoid doing other stuff in college because you thought it’d be good for your career.</p>