Engineering Degree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

How poor was your GPA if you don't mind sharing? This is my concern with DD who is a current sophomore in engineering. She has a 3.0, but seems to be really struggling. Wondering if I should suggest she look at other majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but how many actually come out w/ engg degree?

Not too many. I actually am an engineer (Aero undergrad and EE masters) and I can tell you that TONS of people dropped out when I was in school. I'm old, so was often the only woman. That was....interesting.

I guess you thought you were Cindy Crawford at some point?

I asked a female friend what it was like to be at CalTech with all those guys, and she said something to the effect of "They won't leave me alone!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

My D started out as an engineering major. Changed her mind after realizing it's not for her even with high gpa. Switched to CS based on the few CS classes required for the engineering degree. Graduated with a CS degree within the engineering school (BS) with a high gpa. Now working with high hitters in silicon valley.

[Anonymous]

Getting an engineering degree literally tests every aspect of your brain. Kudos to all the kids who are powering through it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people don't realize how much harder an Engg degree is compared to other strong degrees (science, econ/finance etc)

My DC engineering student has almost double the amount of class hours (class, discussion, labs) as non-engineering friends. It is more difficult than most kids realize and many drop out.

This is an underrated difficulty of engineering programs. I needed 140 credits to graduate with a BSCE eons ago. Most of it was very scripted and left only 9 hrs for electives (essentially just 3 classes) over fours years. There was little to no room for error or taking less than the 17-18 hrs per semester and you often don’t even get “credit” for the many required labs.

We also had to take one “basic” engineering class in a different E discipline (which, at the time boiled down to Circuits/EE or Thermo/ME) and that one darn near killed me. But I loved all my CE classes (except Steel Structures, which, last I checked, isn’t even undergrad work now) and spent 10 years in that career before transitioning to another STEM field.

It is hard. It’s not for everyone.

lol come on thermo was fun!!

-ME

Major, puns intended I suppose, props to you. I couldn't have done the full ride down that path. At least in Statics, everything had to equal zero!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

How poor was your GPA if you don't mind sharing? This is my concern with DD who is a current sophomore in engineering. She has a 3.0, but seems to be really struggling. Wondering if I should suggest she look at other majors

I think she should stick it out. It will not be easy, but focus and diligence will pay off.

Many E Schools curve to a 3.0, meaning that the middle student’s (median) GPA at those schools would be a 3.0. This is quite different from many non-engineering degrees which have grades are curved to a 3.3 or higher. As an employer, I would have no concerns about hiring someone with an ECE degree, appropriate upper level ECE electives, and a 2.7 or higher GPA.

For Federal civil service, they will hire someone with 3.0 GPA overall usually at GS-7 level — and with an overall GPA below that civil service will still hire but usually at the GS-5 level. Once hired, promotions in civil service can be fairly rapid up to GS-11 level, provided one works hard. ECE salaries (GS 854/855 series) usually are slightly higher (3 steps) than non-engineering salaries for the same grade+step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

My D started out as an engineering major. Changed her mind after realizing it's not for her even with high gpa. Switched to CS based on the few CS classes required for the engineering degree. Graduated with a CS degree within the engineering school (BS) with a high gpa. Now working with high hitters in silicon valley.

Majoring in CS while getting a minor in some related area (e.g., statistics, computer engineering, math) also can be a good option for some.

[Anonymous]

Logic designers (knowledge of VHDL or Verilog) are in a huge shortage globally, especially within the US. Anyone with that skill set will easily find a high paying job. That skill set plus US citizenship can get top pay from defense electronics firms. This usually is taught in an ECE curriculum, but a CS person or Math major with the skills would be equally desirable…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

How poor was your GPA if you don't mind sharing? This is my concern with DD who is a current sophomore in engineering. She has a 3.0, but seems to be really struggling. Wondering if I should suggest she look at other majors

Thank you for this! I will share with her. She absolutely loves her classes, but her confidence has really taken a hit.

I think she should stick it out. It will not be easy, but focus and diligence will pay off.

Many E Schools curve to a 3.0, meaning that the middle student’s (median) GPA at those schools would be a 3.0. This is quite different from many non-engineering degrees which have grades are curved to a 3.3 or higher. As an employer, I would have no concerns about hiring someone with an ECE degree, appropriate upper level ECE electives, and a 2.7 or higher GPA.

For Federal civil service, they will hire someone with 3.0 GPA overall usually at GS-7 level — and with an overall GPA below that civil service will still hire but usually at the GS-5 level. Once hired, promotions in civil service can be fairly rapid up to GS-11 level, provided one works hard. ECE salaries (GS 854/855 series) usually are slightly higher (3 steps) than non-engineering salaries for the same grade+step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Female with an EE undergrad. Most classes were so hard for me, but I powered through and graduated with a poor GPA. As a result, internships and first jobs were hard to get. I eventually found my footing and I’m now a successful software engineer (thanks to the CS classes required for the EE degree).

My D started out as an engineering major. Changed her mind after realizing it's not for her even with high gpa. Switched to CS based on the few CS classes required for the engineering degree. Graduated with a CS degree within the engineering school (BS) with a high gpa. Now working with high hitters in silicon valley.

Majoring in CS while getting a minor in some related area (e.g., statistics, computer engineering, math) also can be a good option for some.

+1

CS is known as being easier than engineering, and offers a good option. Women in STEM are a big deal re: current admissions.

[Anonymous]

My DC is a Junior and has a 2.7 which has not been a deterrent in interest from potential internships. The first two years are weed out classes at DC's university and tough to get high grades in (even for the kids DC considers the really smart ones). Very few at DC's school have 3.5 or above in any of the engineering focus areas (ME, CE, EE, ChemE, etc). Agree with PP that kids going into this as a potential major need to understand that enjoying Math won't get them through all of the coursework. They need to enjoy a broader spectrum of what engineering encompasses, depending on the discipline (eg like the PP re waste water mentioned).

[Anonymous]

It’s very competitive to get into engineering programs. Much more than it was when I went. The kids that get in are much more likely to stick it out in the major.

What people don’t realize is that by so many kids going into engineering and stem, we are driving down the stability of the career. Simple supply and demand. I know soooooo many kids going into engineering right now. I wonder how all of them will get jobs coming out of school.

[Anonymous]

How are the job opportunities for EE or Chem E, for example?

CS I get it - but other 'traditional' engineering degrees?

I am not challenging..just asking, as I dont know. I guess companies like Dow, GE or Raytheon would hire Chem/EE engineers, but are there sufficient jobs for all the graduating engineers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s very competitive to get into engineering programs. Much more than it was when I went. The kids that get in are much more likely to stick it out in the major.

What people don’t realize is that by so many kids going into engineering and stem, we are driving down the stability of the career. Simple supply and demand. I know soooooo many kids going into engineering right now. I wonder how all of them will get jobs coming out of school.

Not all will come out as engineers though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s very competitive to get into engineering programs. Much more than it was when I went. The kids that get in are much more likely to stick it out in the major.

What people don’t realize is that by so many kids going into engineering and stem, we are driving down the stability of the career. Simple supply and demand. I know soooooo many kids going into engineering right now. I wonder how all of them will get jobs coming out of school.

Yes it seems like many of my son’s friends are engineering majors (he’s not). The appeal of 4 years and done is strong.