I’d like to congratulate you for investigating this site and its content. Over the course of the first 99 blogs, I have assembled some of the most critical, insightful and practical information you will digest as a student.
Your engineering discipline is almost a perfect fit for you. Except that you don’t like calculus. In fact, you may despise it. You force yourself to do the homework and go through the motions just to get calculus over with. Read on if this applies to you. Engineers need calculus like the body needs food.
Your engineering professors are preparing you for your future. Writing is a daily part of most engineering jobs. It is a critical form of communication that should complement your engineering skills. Writing engineering reports is as vital as your technical problem-solving skills.
Your grades are not who you are. They represent just a slice of what you have to offer to an employer. There are other factors that are just as important as your grades. I know you may be thinking, “But grades are what employers care about!” Read on to understand what else employers seek in their candidates.
Maybe you had the most fantastic summer away from school. Or maybe it was just okay. No matter what you did, it is time to get back into the swing of things. Some of you are dreading a new engineering semester. Read on to help get your mind back into an engineering groove so you can create a productive semester.
The sensitive topic of team dynamics was briefly discussed in the last blog (see Post #48). I’d like to expand on this topic a bit more today for two important reasons. One, it is a very common occurrence both in college as well as in the workforce. Two, those of you who may carry more than your fair share of work could end up feeling resentful, stressed or worse. Read on to understand how pulling more weight than your teammates can work in your favor.
Your engineering courses will probably require a significant amount of teamwork. There will be reports, presentations and research to be done together as a group. This can be tricky. How does a group allocate work evenly among each person while satisfying everyone’s desires? And what do you do when others don’t seem to be doing their part? Read on as I will talk about the do’s and don’ts of being an engineering team player.
There is no way around it. Engineering students must give presentations to their classmates and to their professors. I will explain why this is common in so many of your engineering courses. If you are terrified of presenting, I will also provide some helpful hints so you can best prepare yourself.
If you answer is yes, I want to give you a cautionary congratulations. For those of you who obtain A’s in all your courses, be aware that even straight A students can be subject to pitfalls. You would think straight A’s on a transcript will always work in your favor. However, this is not necessarily the case. Read on to discover why employers might be suspicious of straight A’s and how you can prepare yourself.
Do you wonder what your future holds if your engineering grades are average? It may seem that the students with the best GPAs are the ones with multiple internship/job offers. Just because you may be an average engineering student, however, does not mean you cannot shine or stand out. Here are some useful things to keep in mind if your engineering grades are average.