ot; kid studying engineering

[Hobie]

First, congratulate yourselves for motivating him this far. Has he been accepted to a college or will you be in application hell this year?

His professors and experiences now will spark an interest better than whatever is the career du jour listed in Forbes.

Encourage him to intern in various specialties. Meet and talk to folks in field and he will find his interest.

[sdduuuude]

I tell people that my path through college was the right one – go to a big, cheap state school with a half-decent program in your area of interest. If you go to grad school, pay the big bucks and go to a top school. This way only 1/3 of your education is expensive and you still get the big-name school on the resume, and you get the better education when you are more mature and actually interested in learning something.

It didn’t come to my mind right away, but I think SLO is a decent choice. Many large state schools have good engineering programs, though.

There is nothing wrong with general engineering degrees, either. Make sure they can handle at least pre-calculus in high-school. Math should be easy for them. If not, it’s off to business school.

And please, for god’s sake, make your little engineers take economics.

[sdduuuude]

I tell people that my path through college was the right one – go to a big, cheap state school with a half-decent program in your area of interest. If you go to grad school, pay the big bucks and go to a top school. This way only 1/3 of your education is expensive and you still get the big-name school on the resume, and you get the better education when you are more mature and actually interested in learning something.

It didn’t come to my mind right away, but I think SLO is a decent choice. Many large state schools have good engineering programs, though.

There is nothing wrong with general engineering degrees, either. Make sure they can handle at least pre-calculus in high-school. Math should be easy for them. If not, it’s off to business school.

And please, for god’s sake, make your little engineers take economics.

[sdduuuude]

I tell people that my path through college was the right one – go to a big, cheap state school with a half-decent program in your area of interest. If you go to grad school, pay the big bucks and go to a top school. This way only 1/3 of your education is expensive and you still get the big-name school on the resume, and you get the better education when you are more mature and actually interested in learning something.

It didn’t come to my mind right away, but I think SLO is a decent choice. Many large state schools have good engineering programs, though.

There is nothing wrong with general engineering degrees, either. Make sure they can handle at least pre-calculus in high-school. Math should be easy for them. If not, it’s off to business school.

And please, for god’s sake, make your little engineers take economics.

[sdduuuude]

I tell people that my path through college was the right one – go to a big, cheap state school with a half-decent program in your area of interest. If you go to grad school, pay the big bucks and go to a top school. This way only 1/3 of your education is expensive and you still get the big-name school on the resume, and you get the better education when you are more mature and actually interested in learning something.

It didn’t come to my mind right away, but I think SLO is a decent choice. Many large state schools have good engineering programs, though.

There is nothing wrong with general engineering degrees, either. Make sure they can handle at least pre-calculus in high-school. Math should be easy for them. If not, it’s off to business school.

And please, for god’s sake, make your little engineers take economics.

[sdduuuude]

I tell people that my path through college was the right one – go to a big, cheap state school with a half-decent program in your area of interest. If you go to grad school, pay the big bucks and go to a top school. This way only 1/3 of your education is expensive and you still get the big-name school on the resume, and you get the better education when you are more mature and actually interested in learning something.

It didn’t come to my mind right away, but I think SLO is a decent choice. Many large state schools have good engineering programs, though.

There is nothing wrong with general engineering degrees, either. Make sure they can handle at least pre-calculus in high-school. Math should be easy for them. If not, it’s off to business school.

And please, for god’s sake, make your little engineers take economics.

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

[/quote]

me too.

[quote]
Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.
[/quote]

Imho this is going to be lesser of an issue moving forward…With a weakened U.S. dollar and predicted shortages of people not entering this profession in the U.S., the demand will be there, since “outsourcing” isn’t necessarily going to be on cost moving forward.

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

[/quote]

me too.

[quote]
Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.
[/quote]

Imho this is going to be lesser of an issue moving forward…With a weakened U.S. dollar and predicted shortages of people not entering this profession in the U.S., the demand will be there, since “outsourcing” isn’t necessarily going to be on cost moving forward.

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

[/quote]

me too.

[quote]
Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.
[/quote]

Imho this is going to be lesser of an issue moving forward…With a weakened U.S. dollar and predicted shortages of people not entering this profession in the U.S., the demand will be there, since “outsourcing” isn’t necessarily going to be on cost moving forward.

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

[/quote]

me too.

[quote]
Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.
[/quote]

Imho this is going to be lesser of an issue moving forward…With a weakened U.S. dollar and predicted shortages of people not entering this profession in the U.S., the demand will be there, since “outsourcing” isn’t necessarily going to be on cost moving forward.

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal][quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

[/quote]

me too.

[quote]
Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.
[/quote]

Imho this is going to be lesser of an issue moving forward…With a weakened U.S. dollar and predicted shortages of people not entering this profession in the U.S., the demand will be there, since “outsourcing” isn’t necessarily going to be on cost moving forward.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=AN]BTW, you mentioned Chem and Physics but you didn’t mention Calculus/Pre-Calc or Bio. How did he do in those?[/quote]

AN makes an *excellent* point, scaredy. Your kid’s got to have the complete package to get into a good university program in any science or engineering-related major.

If your son does manage to zero in on a field that interests him, check out the HS courses that are required for admission. Don’t know what grade he’s in, but make sure he takes the entire math-science-language curriculum laid out for HS students headed for science/engineering undergrad, following the recommended schedule.

Also, if your kid does get excited about a particular career, have him look at the 4-year undergrad course schedule so that he clearly understands the demands. Many times, students are floored by the type, number, and difficulty of required courses for a particular major (e.g., kids that are “C.S.I.” fans/forensic criminology hopefuls are often shocked to learn of the 4 or 5 required chem courses, along with several others in biology, genetics, physics, and anthropology), and they end up dropping the major, having given no thought to a back-up career choice. All they have to show for their time (and parents’ money) is a permanent transcript sporting an abundance of Ds, Fs, or Ws.

If your child has a genuine interest in science, but doesn’t always appear be the most motivated student, or isn’t earning the excellent grades that some of his “science superhero” classmates are, DON’T assume that he can’t have a career in the sciences or in engineering. As I mentioned earlier, he can attend a good-quality community college for many of his introductory English, mathematics, and science courses and, for 2 years, work on building up his academic record. A good CC will have a reciprocity agreement with your state university system (be sure to check this out ahead prior to enrollment), which pretty much means that the CC’s course is very closely aligned with that of the state university. If he meets the admission requirements for a particular state university degree program, they have to apply his CC credits toward the degree. This scenario will give your kid a chance to develop the discipline required for an academic and professional career in the science/engineering fields, at a fraction of the cost, and definitely increase his chances for success.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=AN]BTW, you mentioned Chem and Physics but you didn’t mention Calculus/Pre-Calc or Bio. How did he do in those?[/quote]

AN makes an *excellent* point, scaredy. Your kid’s got to have the complete package to get into a good university program in any science or engineering-related major.

If your son does manage to zero in on a field that interests him, check out the HS courses that are required for admission. Don’t know what grade he’s in, but make sure he takes the entire math-science-language curriculum laid out for HS students headed for science/engineering undergrad, following the recommended schedule.

Also, if your kid does get excited about a particular career, have him look at the 4-year undergrad course schedule so that he clearly understands the demands. Many times, students are floored by the type, number, and difficulty of required courses for a particular major (e.g., kids that are “C.S.I.” fans/forensic criminology hopefuls are often shocked to learn of the 4 or 5 required chem courses, along with several others in biology, genetics, physics, and anthropology), and they end up dropping the major, having given no thought to a back-up career choice. All they have to show for their time (and parents’ money) is a permanent transcript sporting an abundance of Ds, Fs, or Ws.

If your child has a genuine interest in science, but doesn’t always appear be the most motivated student, or isn’t earning the excellent grades that some of his “science superhero” classmates are, DON’T assume that he can’t have a career in the sciences or in engineering. As I mentioned earlier, he can attend a good-quality community college for many of his introductory English, mathematics, and science courses and, for 2 years, work on building up his academic record. A good CC will have a reciprocity agreement with your state university system (be sure to check this out ahead prior to enrollment), which pretty much means that the CC’s course is very closely aligned with that of the state university. If he meets the admission requirements for a particular state university degree program, they have to apply his CC credits toward the degree. This scenario will give your kid a chance to develop the discipline required for an academic and professional career in the science/engineering fields, at a fraction of the cost, and definitely increase his chances for success.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=AN]BTW, you mentioned Chem and Physics but you didn’t mention Calculus/Pre-Calc or Bio. How did he do in those?[/quote]

AN makes an *excellent* point, scaredy. Your kid’s got to have the complete package to get into a good university program in any science or engineering-related major.

If your son does manage to zero in on a field that interests him, check out the HS courses that are required for admission. Don’t know what grade he’s in, but make sure he takes the entire math-science-language curriculum laid out for HS students headed for science/engineering undergrad, following the recommended schedule.

Also, if your kid does get excited about a particular career, have him look at the 4-year undergrad course schedule so that he clearly understands the demands. Many times, students are floored by the type, number, and difficulty of required courses for a particular major (e.g., kids that are “C.S.I.” fans/forensic criminology hopefuls are often shocked to learn of the 4 or 5 required chem courses, along with several others in biology, genetics, physics, and anthropology), and they end up dropping the major, having given no thought to a back-up career choice. All they have to show for their time (and parents’ money) is a permanent transcript sporting an abundance of Ds, Fs, or Ws.

If your child has a genuine interest in science, but doesn’t always appear be the most motivated student, or isn’t earning the excellent grades that some of his “science superhero” classmates are, DON’T assume that he can’t have a career in the sciences or in engineering. As I mentioned earlier, he can attend a good-quality community college for many of his introductory English, mathematics, and science courses and, for 2 years, work on building up his academic record. A good CC will have a reciprocity agreement with your state university system (be sure to check this out ahead prior to enrollment), which pretty much means that the CC’s course is very closely aligned with that of the state university. If he meets the admission requirements for a particular state university degree program, they have to apply his CC credits toward the degree. This scenario will give your kid a chance to develop the discipline required for an academic and professional career in the science/engineering fields, at a fraction of the cost, and definitely increase his chances for success.

[eavesdropper]

[quote=AN]BTW, you mentioned Chem and Physics but you didn’t mention Calculus/Pre-Calc or Bio. How did he do in those?[/quote]

AN makes an *excellent* point, scaredy. Your kid’s got to have the complete package to get into a good university program in any science or engineering-related major.

If your son does manage to zero in on a field that interests him, check out the HS courses that are required for admission. Don’t know what grade he’s in, but make sure he takes the entire math-science-language curriculum laid out for HS students headed for science/engineering undergrad, following the recommended schedule.

Also, if your kid does get excited about a particular career, have him look at the 4-year undergrad course schedule so that he clearly understands the demands. Many times, students are floored by the type, number, and difficulty of required courses for a particular major (e.g., kids that are “C.S.I.” fans/forensic criminology hopefuls are often shocked to learn of the 4 or 5 required chem courses, along with several others in biology, genetics, physics, and anthropology), and they end up dropping the major, having given no thought to a back-up career choice. All they have to show for their time (and parents’ money) is a permanent transcript sporting an abundance of Ds, Fs, or Ws.

If your child has a genuine interest in science, but doesn’t always appear be the most motivated student, or isn’t earning the excellent grades that some of his “science superhero” classmates are, DON’T assume that he can’t have a career in the sciences or in engineering. As I mentioned earlier, he can attend a good-quality community college for many of his introductory English, mathematics, and science courses and, for 2 years, work on building up his academic record. A good CC will have a reciprocity agreement with your state university system (be sure to check this out ahead prior to enrollment), which pretty much means that the CC’s course is very closely aligned with that of the state university. If he meets the admission requirements for a particular state university degree program, they have to apply his CC credits toward the degree. This scenario will give your kid a chance to develop the discipline required for an academic and professional career in the science/engineering fields, at a fraction of the cost, and definitely increase his chances for success.

[Author]

Posts