Engineering Management vs Computer Engineering/MBA

[beefytwinkie]

That description sounds great and a lot of fun. The thing is that job requires a lot of experience. I hope you're not thinking you'll get a job like that straight out of school. You can graduate with a 4.0 from the best school in the country but without the experience, you won't even be considered for that position.

If I was you, look at entry level positions and what they require and their functions to get an idea as to what you wish to study. As Ricshoe mentioned earlier, you have to "pay your dues" so to speak and those entry-level positions will weed out those who are not as productive. Who knows? Maybe you'll hate the entry level positions required to make it to a position like the one you mentioned. Like you said, go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while "flowing."

Edit: Forgot to mention: Lockheed Martin is a defense contractor. I'm sure they do other stuff as well but I think security and defense is big on their list.

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by beefytwinkie

That description sounds great and a lot of fun. The thing is that job requires a lot of experience. I hope you're not thinking you'll get a job like that straight out of school. You can graduate with a 4.0 from the best school in the country but without the experience, you won't even be considered for that position.
Yeah, yeah I know. Much of them want around 6-8 years experience. Which isn't too bad. Which makes the point of why I don't get why school even exists? I'm talking college since the experience is needed anywho? What happened to the old days of apprentenciship?
If I was you, look at entry level positions and what they require and their functions to get an idea as to what you wish to study. As Ricshoe mentioned earlier, you have to "pay your dues" so to speak and those entry-level positions will weed out those who are not as productive. Who knows? Maybe you'll hate the entry level positions required to make it to a position like the one you mentioned. Like you said, go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while "flowing."

Question, would it be legal to sleep my way to the top? That'll make everything easier. We just need more. I think I really need to do some internships to flap mah wings.
Edit: Forgot to mention: Lockheed Martin is a defense contractor. I'm sure they do other stuff as well but I think security and defense is big on their list.

Uh oh

[kefrank]

Get the computer engineering degree in undergrad. Get a job with a company that will pay for your MBA. Get the MBA for free while gaining valuable engineering experience at said company. Pursue your dream position once you're finished with the MBA.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by linkgx1

Yeah, yeah I know. Much of them want around 6-8 years experience. Which isn't too bad. Which makes the point of why I don't get why school even exists? I'm talking college since the experience is needed anywho? What happened to the old days of apprentenciship?

I think I really need to do some internships to flap mah wings.

Not sure what you mean by apprenticeships, as those are more common in the trade fields (electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc.). Many Engineering schools have co-op programs, which are similar, and really help transition you from student to engineer. If you are looking at an engineering program, I would never consider one without a co-op program. It will probably extend your degree from 4 years to 5, but it's worth every extra year and then some. You graduate with a degree and, depending on the program, up to 1.5 years of practical work experience. I was in a program like that, and the company ended-up hiring me right out of school. Because of my previous experience, I was offered a higher starting salary and was able to hit the ground running.

Some other fields have unpaid internship programs. For these, you need to look at the job as "free education" and not "unpaid work", because that's really what it is. Personally, I'd take a paid co-op position any time!

Regardless of what type of co-op or internship program you may participate in, neither are going to give you the experience, knowledge and understanding of actually working full-time in your degreed field, which is why all non-entry-level positions require it. As Beefy said, "go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while flowing." There are no free rides in the workforce, particularly in today's high unemployment environment. In general, new graduates will find themselves working longer in lower level positions, simply due to the larger number of more experience people available to fill the higher level positions.

I think kefrank above has clearly and succinctly summed-up everything mentioned in this thread (and the other). Good advice.

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Not sure what you mean by apprenticeships, as those are more common in the trade fields (electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc.). Many Engineering schools have co-op programs, which are similar, and really help transition you from student to engineer. If you are looking at an engineering program, I would never consider one without a co-op program. It will probably extend your degree from 4 years to 5, but it's worth every extra year and then some. You graduate with a degree and, depending on the program, up to 1.5 years of practical work experience. I was in a program like that, and the company ended-up hiring me right out of school. Because of my previous experience, I was offered a higher starting salary and was able to hit the ground running.

Some other fields have unpaid internship programs. For these, you need to look at the job as "free education" and not "unpaid work", because that's really what it is. Personally, I'd take a paid co-op position any time!

Regardless of what type of co-op or internship program you may participate in, neither are going to give you the experience, knowledge and understanding of actually working full-time in your degreed field, which is why all non-entry-level positions require it. As Beefy said, "go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while flowing." There are no free rides in the workforce, particularly in today's high unemployment environment. In general, new graduates will find themselves working longer in lower level positions, simply due to the larger number of more experience people available to fill the higher level positions.

I think kefrank above has clearly and succinctly summed-up everything mentioned in this thread (and the other). Good advice.

The bold is so true.

Link if you don't mind my asking, how old are you? You do seem to be quite anxious about all of this; I'm siding with the "go with the flow" crowd.

Also, I've seen you mention MIT a few times. I think it's cool that you have lofty goals, but don't get hung up too much on one school cause there are also schools out there like Michigan, GT, Penn State, your favorite California school, etc. Are there any engineering schools in your state? Are you like a valedictorian-type?

[beefytwinkie]

I also noticed you mentioned MIT a few times. Just curious and I'd like to ask: Are you in high school now? Are you in college? What are your grades like? SAT scores? ACT?

I only know two people who attend(ed) MIT and they both tell me getting in there is no joke. Not only do you have to have the grades you need to stand out from the crowd (i.e. - extracurricular activities.) From their site, they indicate an application population of about 16,600 applicants, they only admitted less than 1,700. Roughly ten percent. If you're set on MIT, I hope you have your crap in order.

But as wilky61 said, there are many other schools to consider. And I don't want to put words in Ricshoe's mouth but he's got as many years of experience working as I have been alive so I bet he can really point you in the right direction and give you really good advice. I'm sure there are many others on this site who can help you as well. You just have to ask the right questions.

That's why I love this site. So many people from different walks of life helping each other not only in HT! And most are cool to boot.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by beefytwinkie

And I don't want to put words in Ricshoe's mouth but he's got as many years of experience working as I have been alive so I bet he can really point you in the right direction and give you really good advice.

Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute there, sonny! Old.gif

LOL. One thing that really helped me while in school was all of the first-hand knowledge, experience and advice I received from the 'seasoned' engineers I worked with while co-op'ing.

[AreaUnderTheCurve]

Get the BS in engineering. A BA is essentially worthless in the current economic climate in the States. This is anecdotal, but all of my old high school friends who chose these types of majors are doing anything with them ( lol at the art majors). I saw one working at Chick-Fil-A and he has a degree in marketing. What possessed him to waste time and thousands of dollars on that is beyond me. Earning a BS in computer engineering is the safest bet for job opportunities straight out of graduation.

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by wilky61

The bold is so true.

Link if you don't mind my asking, how old are you? You do seem to be quite anxious about all of this; I'm siding with the "go with the flow" crowd.

Also, I've seen you mention MIT a few times. I think it's cool that you have lofty goals, but don't get hung up too much on one school cause there are also schools out there like Michigan, GT, Penn State, your favorite California school, etc. Are there any engineering schools in your state? Are you like a valedictorian-type?

Sorry for the long response. I'm 21 and live in Missouri. The engineering school I'm planning on going to is Missour University of Science & Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla). I'm not valedictorian. Well, I could be if I stopped procrastinating (I had a 3.7 in GPA in HS). I am looking at other schools, most notably in Southern Ill.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by linkgx1

Sorry for the long response. I'm 21 and live in Missouri. The engineering school I'm planning on going to is Missour University of Science & Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla). I'm not valedictorian. Well, I could be if I stopped procrastinating (I had a 3.7 in GPA in HS). I am looking at other schools, most notably in Southern Ill.

For the undergrad degree, give some consideration to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. It's only 3 hours from St. Louis and there's absolutely nothing to do there, so it's easy to focus. And you'll need to focus, because it's pretty rigorous. It's consistently rated among the top undergrad engineering programs in the country. It's expensive though, so you'll probably need some serious financial aid.

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by kefrank

For the undergrad degree, give some consideration to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. It's only 3 hours from St. Louis and there's absolutely nothing to do there, so it's easy to focus. And you'll need to focus, because it's pretty rigorous. It's consistently rated among the top undergrad engineering programs in the country. It's expensive though, so you'll probably need some serious financial aid.

Okay, thanks. I was actually in Indiana a few weeks ago travleing to Marland/D.C..

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Not sure what you mean by apprenticeships, as those are more common in the trade fields (electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc.). Many Engineering schools have co-op programs, which are similar, and really help transition you from student to engineer. If you are looking at an engineering program, I would never consider one without a co-op program. It will probably extend your degree from 4 years to 5, but it's worth every extra year and then some. You graduate with a degree and, depending on the program, up to 1.5 years of practical work experience. I was in a program like that, and the company ended-up hiring me right out of school. Because of my previous experience, I was offered a higher starting salary and was able to hit the ground running.

Some other fields have unpaid internship programs. For these, you need to look at the job as "free education" and not "unpaid work", because that's really what it is. Personally, I'd take a paid co-op position any time!

Regardless of what type of co-op or internship program you may participate in, neither are going to give you the experience, knowledge and understanding of actually working full-time in your degreed field, which is why all non-entry-level positions require it. As Beefy said, "go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while flowing." There are no free rides in the workforce, particularly in today's high unemployment environment. In general, new graduates will find themselves working longer in lower level positions, simply due to the larger number of more experience people available to fill the higher level positions.

I think kefrank above has clearly and succinctly summed-up everything mentioned in this thread (and the other). Good advice.

Well that's a good tip. I never actually thought about co-ops. I belive my shcool does offer it.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Not sure what you mean by apprenticeships, as those are more common in the trade fields (electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc.). Many Engineering schools have co-op programs, which are similar, and really help transition you from student to engineer. If you are looking at an engineering program, I would never consider one without a co-op program. It will probably extend your degree from 4 years to 5, but it's worth every extra year and then some. You graduate with a degree and, depending on the program, up to 1.5 years of practical work experience. I was in a program like that, and the company ended-up hiring me right out of school. Because of my previous experience, I was offered a higher starting salary and was able to hit the ground running.

Some other fields have unpaid internship programs. For these, you need to look at the job as "free education" and not "unpaid work", because that's really what it is. Personally, I'd take a paid co-op position any time!

Regardless of what type of co-op or internship program you may participate in, neither are going to give you the experience, knowledge and understanding of actually working full-time in your degreed field, which is why all non-entry-level positions require it. As Beefy said, "go with the flow but you gotta do a whole lot of work while flowing." There are no free rides in the workforce, particularly in today's high unemployment environment. In general, new graduates will find themselves working longer in lower level positions, simply due to the larger number of more experience people available to fill the higher level positions.

I think kefrank above has clearly and succinctly summed-up everything mentioned in this thread (and the other). Good advice.

I hired an Intern in May. The competition is tight out there so you must stand above the pack. Out of the 28 that applied, 6 were pulled in for interviews on the phone and 3 for face to face. There are really no free rides, it's all about your work ethic and your ability to get the job done accurately in a timely manner.

Having more degrees doesn't mean you'll be handed a job either.

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by Deadset

I hired an Intern in May. The competition is tight out there so you must stand above the pack. Out of the 28 that applied, 6 were pulled in for interviews on the phone and 3 for face to face. There are really no free rides, it's all about your work ethic and your ability to get the job done accurately in a timely manner.

Having more degrees doesn't mean you'll be handed a job either.

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of engineer are you?

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by linkgx1

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of engineer are you?

Electrical, is there really any other?

[linkgx1]

Originally Posted by Deadset

Electrical, is there really any other?

Isn't that like super close to computer engineering? What do you design. I'd love to design a plasma or at least some of the tech (AMOLED).

Could you briefly tell me what the work entails. I've been researching, but I'm still not entirely clear on what I would potentially be doing. Schools focus more on theory.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by Deadset

Electrical, is there really any other?

Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Biomedical,

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Deadset

Electrical, is there really any other?

At UC, that's where folks transferred when they couldn't handle Metallurgical...

As for U of M Rolla, I've found over the years they must have some classes that all engineers are required to take that completely removes any sort of personality they may have once had. Good engineers, for the most part, but socially retarded like you wouldn't believe (at least the ones I've interacted with)! Not a dig on the school, just a funny observation.