What are possible undergraduate opportunities?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around potential undergraduate opportunities for electrical engineering (EE) students that can enhance their resumes and career prospects, aside from traditional internships. Participants explore various job experiences and strategies that could provide practical skills and insights into the field.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests obtaining a technician job to gain real-life experience, emphasizing the value of hands-on learning over theoretical knowledge.
  • Another participant agrees, recommending part-time technician positions to acquire practical skills while continuing education. They advocate for researching local companies and networking with current engineers to find suitable opportunities.
  • A different viewpoint proposes that assembly-line work can also be beneficial, as it helps engineers understand the practical aspects of their industry.
  • Participants share personal anecdotes about how early job experiences shaped their careers and passions in engineering.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of gaining practical experience through technician jobs or similar roles, but there are varying opinions on the specific types of jobs that may be most beneficial.

Contextual Notes

Some suggestions depend on local job markets and the availability of positions, and there may be differing views on the effectiveness of various job types in preparing students for their careers.

Who May Find This Useful

Undergraduate students in electrical engineering or related fields seeking practical experience and guidance on enhancing their resumes.

CordWilliams
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I am a second year EE student and I want to know what are some possible things I can get into that will be beneficial to my future career and looks good on a resume, besides internships; like how pre-med students can shadow doctors, what can EE students do?
 
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One way is to try to get a technician joke and gain some experience and go to school part time for a year. This will give you real life experience that you can never learn from school. Try looking for jobs that work in the lab, not the production or test technician. You learn a lot more as engineering tech. That's how I got started. Particular I worked for a very incompetent engineer that I had to fix his design. That's how I got notice and promoted to become an engineer in 1980. But don't be to bow now, don't want you to get into trouble! I was really hungry and I got nothing to loss those days.

Also you get first hand on what you are getting into and test whether this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. That's how I found out EE was and still is my passion of my life and still can't get enough after a full career of almost 30 years and still hanging around here and study.
 
CordWilliams, I agree with yungman above: get a technician job; part time is best. That way you can gain real-world experience. Search out all companies in your area for those who employ EEs. Investigate all of them, find out what they do. Talk to Electronic Engineers who already are working to get their ideas and suggestions, too. Then YOU SELECT which company works in the area you like. Then contact them and propose a work-study program. This way you do both-continue onwards towards your degree and get hands-on experience (plus a small paycheck). I have seen this scheme work extremely well here in the US. One UCLA sophomore came to my engineering group for two consecutive summers. When he graduated he was hired in a flash...he had already shown us that he had the "right stuff" to contribute. In Europe they use a "journeyman" scheme which is similar. Good luck!
 
i'd say try to get some assembly-line work under your belt.

the best engineers understand and respect the tool-carrying side of their industry.
 

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