Our Engineering Career Fair was last week and I gave out my application to a good amount of companies. No interviews yet, but most places said they didn't start the intern interviewing process until at least the middle of February. I'm not worrying too much right now about finding a job for the summer.
I'm more worried about what the hell I'm doing after college. Yes, I still have over a year left, but most engineers plan WAY further ahead than that (even if they don't admit it). If you asked most engineering grads how long they wanted to be an engineer, I'd say over 80% would say since their soph year in HS. That's a long time without changing your mind. For me, since 6th grade. I didn't even know what engineering was in 6th grade, but I did know I wanted to be one. That has been my goal ever since, but now I'm wondering if it's one I should even try for.
All of this was brought on by my interview with a Madison area company last spring. I stumbled upon my review and was a little surprised by the comments. I interviewed with the VP HR and her only complaint was that she thought I need to find my area of focus and that I'd be great at doing it, but that this focus probably isn't engineering. She thought I would be really good at doing her job.
As I've also realized since coming to Madison is that engineers of the past are not engineers of today or the future. What I will be expected to do is completely different than what my parents' generation of engineers has done. The field has changed a lot. I grew up knowing a lot of engineers and wanting to do the things they were doing. Now most engineers sit at a desk staring at a computer screen all day and see if they can somehow make a little dot jump up and down (or something like that). I love computers and working on them, but I still need the field work. I CAN do this today, but I would have to settle for a small company in a small city in the middle of nowhere. That I can't do.
Most fellow AIESECers dream of changing the world by taking non-profit positions and helping out the poor. I don't think this way. I will change the world by being the big guy and changing it from the top. Engineers can change societies. I want to be that engineer and I feel the only way I can be that engineer is if I'm working for a company that has a large say of what products are made, how they're made, and who's making them. This means big company, big city, big goals. THIS is why I have always wanted to be an engineer. I guess the steps to get there are seeming a lot harder than I thought, especially the ones through school. I thought those would be the easiest, but they are turning out to be the hardest.
I only feel good when I'm doing other things, like running, lifting, playing guitar, databasing, SHOK, AIESEC, everything, but my core classes. To get the job I want after college, I will take my current path, but the classes don't seem to have any relevance to that job. I swear engineering is math and intuition, that's it. These classes are teaching me crap I will probably never use again and they aren't helping my math or intuition. Both have suffered since coming to college. My mind is not as sharp as it used to be in math. I struggle with even simple logic problems now.
I envy those who enjoy their classes. I don't think I will ever feel like that. But, I know what I want after this is done, so I am going to keep going through the motions. I will reach the big one. (I guess this means I'm going to be an engineer afterall.)
I'm more worried about what the hell I'm doing after college. Yes, I still have over a year left, but most engineers plan WAY further ahead than that (even if they don't admit it). If you asked most engineering grads how long they wanted to be an engineer, I'd say over 80% would say since their soph year in HS. That's a long time without changing your mind. For me, since 6th grade. I didn't even know what engineering was in 6th grade, but I did know I wanted to be one. That has been my goal ever since, but now I'm wondering if it's one I should even try for.
All of this was brought on by my interview with a Madison area company last spring. I stumbled upon my review and was a little surprised by the comments. I interviewed with the VP HR and her only complaint was that she thought I need to find my area of focus and that I'd be great at doing it, but that this focus probably isn't engineering. She thought I would be really good at doing her job.
As I've also realized since coming to Madison is that engineers of the past are not engineers of today or the future. What I will be expected to do is completely different than what my parents' generation of engineers has done. The field has changed a lot. I grew up knowing a lot of engineers and wanting to do the things they were doing. Now most engineers sit at a desk staring at a computer screen all day and see if they can somehow make a little dot jump up and down (or something like that). I love computers and working on them, but I still need the field work. I CAN do this today, but I would have to settle for a small company in a small city in the middle of nowhere. That I can't do.
Most fellow AIESECers dream of changing the world by taking non-profit positions and helping out the poor. I don't think this way. I will change the world by being the big guy and changing it from the top. Engineers can change societies. I want to be that engineer and I feel the only way I can be that engineer is if I'm working for a company that has a large say of what products are made, how they're made, and who's making them. This means big company, big city, big goals. THIS is why I have always wanted to be an engineer. I guess the steps to get there are seeming a lot harder than I thought, especially the ones through school. I thought those would be the easiest, but they are turning out to be the hardest.
I only feel good when I'm doing other things, like running, lifting, playing guitar, databasing, SHOK, AIESEC, everything, but my core classes. To get the job I want after college, I will take my current path, but the classes don't seem to have any relevance to that job. I swear engineering is math and intuition, that's it. These classes are teaching me crap I will probably never use again and they aren't helping my math or intuition. Both have suffered since coming to college. My mind is not as sharp as it used to be in math. I struggle with even simple logic problems now.
I envy those who enjoy their classes. I don't think I will ever feel like that. But, I know what I want after this is done, so I am going to keep going through the motions. I will reach the big one. (I guess this means I'm going to be an engineer afterall.)
posted by Bruhaha at 9:02 PM
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