Engineering Disciplines Paper
Engineering is a broad field that offers many disciplines, each with different specializations. Identifying the specific disciplines and specializations you want to pursue is essential in planning your academic and professional career. Does Mechanical Engineering appeal to you? What about Civil, Electrical, or Industrial?
Not required, but it might help to organize your thoughts to create an outline and set everything up in technical format (numbered sections, lists, figures) outlining your life plan.
Section 1: What are your top 3 engineering discipline choices?
Some majors are more competitive than others, if you can't get into your top choice, consider alternative possibilities.
What is more important to you - your major or your university?
If you are flexible on what university to transfer to, you can keep the major you want.
If you are flexible with your major, you can get into the university you want.
Read through and watch the youtubes on:
http://intro1201.blogspot.com/2015/02/engineering-majors.html
Don't just pick something because you happen to be familiar with it! Become familiar with all of the disciplines so you can make an informed choice.
What is the job outlook in your chosen fields like? What are similar occupations?
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Architecture-and-Engineering/home.htm
Section 2: What are your goals in this field? What specializations would you like to go into? Which of the below squares describes what you want to do?
Section 3:
What are the top 3 universities you would like to transfer to?
What classes do you need to take for the program you want into?
What is your plan for paying tuition? What scholarships are you applying for?
Make sure the program is ABET accredited or your degree will not be worth as much!!
Be specific! List which classes you will take which semester, list the specific scholarships you are applying for, look at the department and research group you want to join. What open house events are you planning on attending? Visit the university before you transfer there!
Visit university websites for up-to-date program information:
http://best-engineering-colleges.com/
http://www.supercollege.com/
http://www.finaid.org/
http://www.lonestar.edu/scholarships.htm
Engineering societies also all have good scholarships:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_engineering_societies
Section 4: Where are you sending resumes to for internship opportunities while you are in school? What career fairs do you plan on attending? What are the top 4 companies you would like to work for when you are done, and why?
NSF: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_in_Houston
Start by opening up a google map, and go directly to the websites of the companies near your home!
http://www.lonestar.edu/career-services.htm
http://www.lonestar.edu/career-fairs.htm
Section 1: What are your top 3 engineering discipline choices?
Some majors are more competitive than others, if you can't get into your top choice, consider alternative possibilities.
What is more important to you - your major or your university?
If you are flexible on what university to transfer to, you can keep the major you want.
If you are flexible with your major, you can get into the university you want.
Read through and watch the youtubes on:
http://intro1201.blogspot.com/2015/02/engineering-majors.html
Don't just pick something because you happen to be familiar with it! Become familiar with all of the disciplines so you can make an informed choice.
What is the job outlook in your chosen fields like? What are similar occupations?
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Architecture-and-Engineering/home.htm
Section 2: What are your goals in this field? What specializations would you like to go into? Which of the below squares describes what you want to do?
Section 3:
What are the top 3 universities you would like to transfer to?
What classes do you need to take for the program you want into?
What is your plan for paying tuition? What scholarships are you applying for?
Make sure the program is ABET accredited or your degree will not be worth as much!!
Be specific! List which classes you will take which semester, list the specific scholarships you are applying for, look at the department and research group you want to join. What open house events are you planning on attending? Visit the university before you transfer there!
Visit university websites for up-to-date program information:
http://best-engineering-colleges.com/
http://www.supercollege.com/
http://www.finaid.org/
http://www.lonestar.edu/scholarships.htm
Engineering societies also all have good scholarships:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_engineering_societies
Section 4: Where are you sending resumes to for internship opportunities while you are in school? What career fairs do you plan on attending? What are the top 4 companies you would like to work for when you are done, and why?
NSF: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_in_Houston
Start by opening up a google map, and go directly to the websites of the companies near your home!
http://www.lonestar.edu/career-services.htm
http://www.lonestar.edu/career-fairs.htm
Include references at the end of the paper.
http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_in_Houston
Trouble?
Turn in what are able to get through - and I will send you links, and additional resources for anything you are missing. This is not just an assignment to trudge through - this kind of thoughtful planning will make the difference between reaching your goals or not!
Sorry for the long copy and paste, but you need to know the trends going on right now... consider K-12th grade → you have already been in school for a few years... you can last a few more years!
Stats of incoming college students...
https://www.citylab.com/work/2017/02/why-millions-of-americans-never-finish-college/517713/
How can millions of Americans be out of work or stuck in low-wage jobs, while employers leave millions of jobs unfilled each year? A big reason is the nation’s college completion crisis—something that is just beginning to get the national attention it deserves... In fact, less than half of America’s college students ever graduate. And the numbers are worse at community colleges, (**it's ok not to get your AS degree - just so long as you transfer!!) which are the primary providers of education and training for the 29 million middle-skill jobs that pay middle-class wages.
...
Community colleges serve close to half of all American students, enrolling 10 million students each year, but just under 20 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years....(Ask yourself, do you really want to be going part-time? How long is it going to take you to get through this degree going part time??)
Dismal as these numbers are, they don’t reflect the full extent of the problem, since the statistics exclude students enrolled part-time and those who “stop out”—take a break from school to work or care for family and later return to college. There is anecdotal evidence that completion rates for these students are even lower. (resist the urge to "take a semester off" you will lose your momentum, waste time catching up, and get way behind. Endurance! Just keep plowing through it!!) This means that a large swath of America’s potential workforce isn’t getting the education and training they need to support themselves and their families and climb into the middle class.
There are two central reasons that students don’t complete college:
a.) inadequate preparation (Get a D in something? retake it, get the foundation you need from the start or you will be fighting it the entire time through. That is just fine to take a semester or two to get through leveling courses.)
b.) difficulty navigating college (Talk to Nicole - know what classes you need, and what you do not need. Plan ahead so you can register the first day registration opens - choose a path, and stick with it!)
Fundamental principle in engineering project management:
The earlier a needed change is recognized, the more control you have, and the less costly the change is. As you progress towards the end goal, the cost to change becomes very high, and you lose freedom for making changes. In other words, make up your mind early on what your end goal is and what your path is - then stick to that path or it will cost you! Extra effort early on planning everything out is what makes for a successful project.
Wikinomics.com
http://spacefem.com/quizzes/engineer/
Nicole Foley, Nicole.D.Foley@lonestar.edu
Please set up an appointment and create a degree and transfer plan with Nicole. You will need to bring in your transcript, and know your top choices of what schools you would like to transfer to.
Degree curriculum - link
You will need to decide where you are transferring to, and use university transfer guides - not just the LSC AS curriculum!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_in_Houston
Trouble?
Turn in what are able to get through - and I will send you links, and additional resources for anything you are missing. This is not just an assignment to trudge through - this kind of thoughtful planning will make the difference between reaching your goals or not!
Sorry for the long copy and paste, but you need to know the trends going on right now... consider K-12th grade → you have already been in school for a few years... you can last a few more years!
Stats of incoming college students...
https://www.citylab.com/work/2017/02/why-millions-of-americans-never-finish-college/517713/
How can millions of Americans be out of work or stuck in low-wage jobs, while employers leave millions of jobs unfilled each year? A big reason is the nation’s college completion crisis—something that is just beginning to get the national attention it deserves... In fact, less than half of America’s college students ever graduate. And the numbers are worse at community colleges, (**it's ok not to get your AS degree - just so long as you transfer!!) which are the primary providers of education and training for the 29 million middle-skill jobs that pay middle-class wages.
...
Community colleges serve close to half of all American students, enrolling 10 million students each year, but just under 20 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years....(Ask yourself, do you really want to be going part-time? How long is it going to take you to get through this degree going part time??)
Dismal as these numbers are, they don’t reflect the full extent of the problem, since the statistics exclude students enrolled part-time and those who “stop out”—take a break from school to work or care for family and later return to college. There is anecdotal evidence that completion rates for these students are even lower. (resist the urge to "take a semester off" you will lose your momentum, waste time catching up, and get way behind. Endurance! Just keep plowing through it!!) This means that a large swath of America’s potential workforce isn’t getting the education and training they need to support themselves and their families and climb into the middle class.
There are two central reasons that students don’t complete college:
a.) inadequate preparation (Get a D in something? retake it, get the foundation you need from the start or you will be fighting it the entire time through. That is just fine to take a semester or two to get through leveling courses.)
b.) difficulty navigating college (Talk to Nicole - know what classes you need, and what you do not need. Plan ahead so you can register the first day registration opens - choose a path, and stick with it!)
The second reason students don’t earn a degree is the difficulty of combining college with other commitments or navigating the higher education system. Close to two-thirds of community college students work to support themselves and their families while in school, and they may be facing homelessness and hunger. Many are single parents, and more than a third are the first in their families to attend college—both factors that can pose major obstacles to graduation. (It's just fine to live with your parents, use FAFSA, take advantage of organizations like HAAM - talk to career services about part-time on-campus jobs, carpool, take online classes to minimize your comute)
Fundamental principle in engineering project management:
The earlier a needed change is recognized, the more control you have, and the less costly the change is. As you progress towards the end goal, the cost to change becomes very high, and you lose freedom for making changes. In other words, make up your mind early on what your end goal is and what your path is - then stick to that path or it will cost you! Extra effort early on planning everything out is what makes for a successful project.
Wikinomics.com
| THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE HABIT 2: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND - HTTPS://WWW.STEPHENCOVEY.COM/7HABITS/7HABITS-HABIT2.PHP |
| So, what do you want to be when you grow up? That question may appear a little trite, but think about it for a moment. Are you--right now--who you want to be, what you dreamed you'd be, doing what you always wanted to do? Be honest. Sometimes people find themselves achieving victories that are empty--successes that have come at the expense of things that were far more valuable to them. If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take gets you to the wrong place faster. Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen. One of the best ways to incorporate Habit 2 into your life is to develop a Personal Mission Statement. It focuses on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world. Your mission statement makes you the leader of your own life. You create your own destiny and secure the future you envision. |
http://spacefem.com/quizzes/engineer/
- TryEngineering.org: Become an Engineer
- STAY WITH IT: What is Engineering?
- http://whatisengineering.com/engineering-disciplines/
- http://typesofengineeringdegrees.org/
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Architecture and Engineering Occupations
- Salary.com for Business: Engineering Skills & Competencies
Nicole Foley, Nicole.D.Foley@lonestar.edu
Please set up an appointment and create a degree and transfer plan with Nicole. You will need to bring in your transcript, and know your top choices of what schools you would like to transfer to.
Degree curriculum - link
You will need to decide where you are transferring to, and use university transfer guides - not just the LSC AS curriculum!
