question for the engineers in the crowd-non fitness related

cardbucfan

Busylady-are masters that important for engineers? (I guess anybody can answer this one!)

Greenrun99

So. How important are rankings when it comes time to get a job? How much does it affect companies coming to recruit or do co-ops? Is Ga Tech's substantially more expensive tuition worth it in the end? Will he earn that much more money to make it cost effective?

I would definitely push him towards Alabama, full tuition, no mounting debt when he gets out of school. As long as he gets a good gpa, doesn't spend more years in college then needed and knows his stuff he will be good. Your school you went to really only matters for that first job and that's if the people hiring even care about the school. Then after that its ALL about experience..
Interview skills, knowledge, experience.. those will get you the job over going to the higher ranked school.

shutupandlift13

Granted I'm a civil engineer who went into construction so its a little different industry....

But anyway, I went to a high ranking school with engineering being its main focus, but it was such a good deal, *cough* Missouri S&T *cough* (also has a stellar reputation with companies like Boeing, Anheuser Busch and General Motors, lots of MechE's and Aeros getting hired from our programs). I went to a cheap but well known school in the engineering world, kicked *kitten* on some amazing internships, ended up graduating with a less than spectacular GPA (2.9) and still had three job offers and am now making a salary that is on the top end for a civil engineer in tunneling and underground construction.

GPA/school rep aren't the deciding factors, my best recommendation is look into the career centers at each school. If the more reasonably priced school has a great career counseling center and he can land some good internships or co-ops then it will be just as good as the degree from the top ranking school.

And like Busylady said, a masters and a PE especially in mechanical engineering will make a huge impact on job opportunities. Even if his program doesn't require it, I HIGHLY recommend taking the FE so that he at least has his EIT if he wants to eventually get his PE. The FE success rate drops drastically after graduation.

coolraul07

Married to an engineer (network) who went to VA Tech and ended up dropping out. Never did get a degree. Succeeded on his on badassedness.

Wow! She's married to my (education) twin! I dropped out of VA Tech's Electrical Engineering program. Fortunately, I got a job in IT before IT become 'the next big thing' in career and have turned it into a successful 20 year (and counting) career (currently Enterprise Design Engineer).

You might want to see if you can find some reviews on the programs at each school. I really don't think prestige amounts to a hill of beans when it comes to hiring time. (With the exception of like attending med school in the carribean or something)
Any student will be most successful if they go somewhere they enjoy and don't feel brow beaten every day by their profs. No one wants to sit through a class that begins every single day with "Look to your left and your right. At least 1 of you won't be here next semester."
Best of luck to your son. The world needs more great engineers

Double wow! She said almost exactly what I was planning to say. Personal opinion/experience is that based on the schools on your short list, their 'ranking' will matter very little, if at all, in a prospective employer's mind. Besides, by the time your son graduates, the rankings may change drastically so I would put that at the low end of my criteria. Based on that logic, GT is 'out' for undergrad based on cost and it's down to UA and UF. If your son's "in love with" UA and they have smaller class sizes, it sounds like the decision is clear! His attitude will play as big a role, if not a bigger role, in his career success than his aptitude.
Good luck to you!

lsmsrbls

Ranking is very important if he wants to go to grad school, especially if he wants to go to a prestigious grad school. If he doesn't want to go to grad school, then it's not as important, though it can affect starting salary and ease of getting a job across the country.

Personally, I think the most important thing at this point is that he goes where he thinks he will be happy for 4 years. If he's miserable, then in addition to having to spend 4 years being miserable (and who wants that?), he's also unlikely to excel as he could otherwise.

In high school, I expected to go to MIT or Georgia Tech, until I went around to visit the schools. I thought Georgia Tech looked miserable (the neighborhood, etc. -- however, my brother went to school there and it was a great fit for him), and I fell in love with Vanderbilt when I visited. Of course Vanderbilt is not known for its engineering schools, but it was still a great fit for me.

Now I work with engineers who went to Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida....so some are from traditional engineering schools, some not, some schools are more prestigious than others....once you get a job, it really doesn't matter. And it looks a lot better to have a resume with a school on there that's maybe not tier but where you did awesome than to have a great name on there but have to explain why your GPA is bad or why you didn't have any relevant clubs, leadership, etc. or worse -- not to graduate at all.

And I know plenty of people who got great educations at Alabama. : )

rybo

Chem Eng here.

I would choose UA or UF depending on which he liked best. I don't feel any school's ranking is worth paying the tuition when you have other schools he can attend far more cheaply. Not having loans when he graduates will FAR outweigh the miniscule chance he might get a better job because he went to a high ranking school.

deksgrl

I'm not an engineer, but I work in a building full of engineers and scientists. School ranking does not factor into the hiring here, personal performance does. He should go where he wants to go, he will do better in a place he is happier.

DrMAvDPhD

I've a mechanical engineer as a sister and another as a husband. I think you should be warned that a good graduate program doesn't always translate into a good undergraduate program. Here at the U of Michigan, we are a top 20 chemistry PhD program but the undergrad program here is a joke.

I think both my sister and husband would say that their REQUIRED 6 month/year co-op was the best and most useful part of their education. Do any of the programs offer a co-op/internship program?

TR0berts

Another engineer here.

I'll give the 1004th recommendation to have your son decide which one he likes best. That said, I'd probably try to steer him towards Alabama, given the research possibilities.

Ultimately, every employer is different with what they're looking for. However, the college/university that has a co-op program (which many do, but not all) is the best, as it a) gets your foot in the door, and b) gives you actual experience in the field. Paper + Experience = Winning Combination to many/most employers.


eta: mavd was typing while I was, apparently.

BlueInkDot

Engineer here (Civil/Structural)...

In the end, here's what it comes down to...

1. The people around you in school, your friends and classmates and professors... they all help to shape you. You want people around you who make you into a better person. Bottom line.

2. Having a degree is basically a piece of paper that says "Hey world, I am self-sufficient and capable and driven! I also know some things about science and math!" Then you go to the interview and that's when the important stuff comes out - Are you an *kitten*? Are you a good listener? How well can you explain your thoughts? How hard are you willing to work? What are your values? Do I like hanging out with you?? You want to go to a college that will not only give you a degree, but will help you develop your people skills and communication skills and not-being-a-jerk skills.

3. The prestige of a school isn't super duper important. If you get a degree from a school that has a well-known name, then it's like "hm! look at that, that's nice" but... it's not a huge deal. It's more important that they're a nice person who smiles a lot and is willing to do the work and asks good questions... all that good stuff.

4. If he gets a job from his degree, he'll be able to pay off his loans someday. If he has less to pay off total, cool, but as long as he gets a job related to the degree, he'll be fine.

IN CONCLUSION:

The most important thing here is to learn how to work with other people. Be respectful. Be a problem solver. Be a good listener. Speak well. Ask the right questions. In order to learn these things, he's gotta feel at home at the college and with the people there.

Take a normal job, for example, it's usually not the job that makes or breaks how good of a job is, it's the people you work with. Same with college.

Obviously he's gotta work hard and get good grades, but that's a lot easier to do when you're surrounded by people who you also feel comfortable with and can talk to.

cardbucfan

Thanks all, these are great tips and pieces of advice (I just LOVE this site!). All of the schools do have co-op programs and both UA and GT are very strong ones. This is one of the questions we need to ask UF because we had never heard of a co-op when we went up there! I would imagine though that they too have a strong co-op program-but you never know and we need to find out how much they help the kids get those jobs. UA has a co-op fair for example.

He's a true math/science geek but because of his education (private day school for elementary and middle and IB for high school) he has a strong foundation in writing and the ability to communicate. He's so excited to go to college and take the classes he WANTS to take and with all his AP and IB credits he will clep out of most of his humanities/liberal arts requirements so he can really focus on the engineering stuff. (personally-the class titles make me shudder!)

I plan to have him read these posts when he gets home but for now I have to go do my work!!