Your Future
From wsuwiki
Graduation is bittersweet
By: Jason Hillstrand
When I graduate I will have completed what seems like an unrepeatable journey. I look back at the five years of college I have been through, and if I had to do it again I don't think I could. This was the question I asked myself when I thought about graduate school. Although I am not going to graduate school right now, this does not mean I will never go. My most paramount concern is my lack of experience in the industry, which is why I decided to get a job. I don't just want to get my master's because it looks good on a resume. Instead, I want to go to graduate school when I have figured out something unique that could be researched. Also, I feel that I have sacrificed a lot of my personal time through the last five years and I want to work on some projects that I have always wanted to. I know that graduate school will always be there, that is why I am not worried about it, if I decide to go back to school.
It has a great sound to it when you say,"I make 50 something thousand a year and I have my own place." However, the bubble of protection that we have lived in our whole life through schooling is now gone, and we are cast out into world of working adults. Even though there is no more homework, you would be surprised how tired a person can get after a 8 to 10 hour shift of engineering. Its sad, but you could find yourself sleeping early like your parents. I guess the scariest part about graduation is the fear of getting old, because college has been the most exciting time of my life to date. Another thing that is always in my mind is the disbelief that I have finally reached graduation. I don't know if others feel this way too but when I was 18, graduation seemed so far way. Yet as I look back its amazing how fast time has gone. Wazzu has been a great experience, it'll always be in my heart, but it is time; time for me to make something of myself. Now actually having money, I feel like the flood gates have been opened and I have been inundated with thousands of ideas on how to spend my money. So I think the greatest struggle besides adjusting to work is trying to resist being frivolous with money. Thus, this is not the end of learning for me, rather this is only the beginning.
One last summer vacation
By: Jeff Rasor
So, you’re heading into your last semester of your undergraduate education. You’ve already received a great job offer. Your perspective boss asks you when you’ll be able to start. As soon as possible right? After all, you have to pay off student loans and get a car of your own. However, before you agree to start the week after graduation, take a moment to consider what you might be missing.
The summer before my senior year at WSU I took an internship at Boeing. I was fortunate enough to have the internship end in a job offer. No terms were laid out at that point, but I was assured the job was mine for the taking upon receiving my degree. I told the people I was working with that I was planning on returning. At that point, I had no idea when I would start. However, I remember one of the best pieces of advice I got during that internship could be summed up in one word, “August.” This advice came from Mark Hmailian, my mentor during the internship, and he was referring to my start date.
His advice made me realize that I would never have a summer vacation again. I have the rest of my life to work, so why not have one last great vacation. After all, graduating college is a major milestone as well. What I decided to do was use a portion of the money I earned to take a graduation trip to Europe with my friend. It will hopefully be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I’ve told my boss that I will probably start mid July. The details will be worked out later, but he was completely okay with it. You only graduate once and have the rest of your life to work, so why not have some kind of experience to remember?
Decisions after School
By: Stuart Rudolph
We all have to make those inevitable decisions in those hasty months before graduation. Should I go to graduate school? Should I just get a job? Where should I get a job? What do I even want to do? Or should I just be a bum for a year and travel the world? I am currently being faced with those decisions and they are not easily decided. I’ve already ruled out being a bum because of my impending debt that needs to be paid off and besides the last few years of undergraduate school it seemed like I already was one.
Graduate school does seem like an option for me though, but not for a few years. It’s time for the working world and getting an MBA after a few years of experience would be more beneficial to me. Then there is the biggest and hardest question, where do I live? I like the lazy little town that I grew up in, where I could go hiking when I pleased, the summers are warm and the winters full of snow, but the opportunities limited. How does someone make a decision that could affect the rest of their working career and even life? It is easy to move now, but what about in a few years when I am more grounded?
As crucial as a decision it is, I have made it and decided to take the journey of traveling to southern California and getting a job. No more security of living near home. I’ve decided to do something that not everyone does and try something new. In making the decisions of what to do after college, I do not think there is one way to do it. I helped myself make it the same way I’ve done in traveling to other countries, by buying the plane ticket. Now I have no choice but to go. Even though I’m still not sure what type of job I am going to start my career with or even what I am getting into, I hope that I have inspired at least one person to make that decision that is more adventurous than most make.
The transition between college and the working world
By: Alex Dansie
Three years of college went by so quickly. As you’re sitting in lecture trying not to fall asleep (because you stayed up all night studying) it hits you. You have less than a year before you’re out in the REAL WORLD! This is the situation I ran into about 6 months ago, before I got serious about looking for a career. There are a few choices on how to play out your senior year. One way or another everything will work out in the end. This is the time during your college career when you need to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.
As I began my job search I was determined to find the job of my dreams. This meant that I went to career fairs, researched companies, found out what various employers wanted, and I signing up for a lot of interviews. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find the company that you want right away. Some companies probably won’t be as appealing as you thought they might be. By this I mean the pay might not be as good, there could be a lot of traveling involved, or the benefits package might be lacking in a few areas.
My experience has been that you need to go to a lot of interviews in order to find out what type of company it is that you want to work for. Some companies are very friendly and actually care about you as a person, while other companies just hope that you will have the technical know-how to make them a lot of money. As I went from interview to interview I noticed that every company operated a little differently and they want different attributes from their prospective employees. Some cared that you could whip out complicated formulas right off the top of your head, while others were more concerned that you had the communication skills to interact with a wide range of people. I disliked the way some interviewers tried to make me nervous by giving me near-impossible brain teasers, or by asking me detailed engineering questions. That kind of questioning is unfair because some people might have just taken a class that was relevant to that question, while for others it may have been a year or two since they discussed that subject.
One company that I had a second interview with (that I will not name) seemed like they were out of touch with students that were in college. I flew to their headquarters and interviewed with five different supervisors. They talked down to me, asked me ridiculous questions, and made me feel inferior. I interviewed with a lead engineer who kept asking me if I had any internships and he made me feel bad that I never had. It’s not like I didn’t want an internship, but between taking summer classes and working, there was no way to fit it into my schedule. Some employers expect students to have a 4.0 GPA, have multiple internships, and have several letters of recommendation. I believe that this is unrealistic and that employers should look more for work ethic, determination, and good communication skills.
Through all of this grief and false hopes I thought I would never get a job. Finally, I got a call from a company that I really liked and they told me that they wanted to fly me half way across the country to their headquarters. When I met with the employers they were very nice and I felt that they wanted to sit down and get to know me. They took another candidate and I out to lunch and they discussed the type of work they do. This made me feel very relaxed and it made me feel like this was the type of company that I wanted to be a part of. After lunch I was interviewed by three supervisors who not only asked me questions, but they let me ask questions about them and the type of projects they were working on. I found this interviewing experience to be enjoyable as well as informative.
Just a couple weeks after my site visit, I received a job offer from the company that I liked. After discussing the job offer with my friends and family I decided to accept the offer. The job requires me to move around the country every three to five years, but at this point in my life I don’t mind relocating. I feel it is important to see different parts of the country, especially while I am young.
If you are thinking “I will just wait until I graduate to get a job” or “it will be easy to find a career” I think you better reconsider. Finding a career requires you to put in a lot of time and effort, and most of that hard work won’t even result in a job offer. It is a good idea to start early, create a nice looking resume, and be prepared to answer some tough questions.
To work or not to work?
By: Kristen Lemieux
The Guy in Charge (GC) recently asked me to complete a project and I agreed to do it. Now I’m thinking that I agreed too soon. GC has certain ways that he wants to do things. He has a special process for brainstorming and a process for evaluating designs. Before progressing to the next step GC always wants to review my work in order to provide his professional opinion and to make sure I keep the specifications in mind.
When I had finished my part of the brainstorming process, I was ready to move on to the design evaluation process. Unfortunately, GC chose this same time to become unavailable. I sent repeated requests for his attention, but there was no response. I learned from a different source that GC was ill. While this knowledge certainly explained why he hadn’t called, it did not help me to keep my project deadlines.
So… should I begin work on the next phase without consulting him, or wait until he can give me feedback. I then made a decision that I hoped I wouldn’t regret later. I started the next phase of my project without consulting him. There have definitely been some drawbacks. I have now learned that I made some bad assumptions regarding what GC actually wanted me to do. If I had waited for GC to contact me before going ahead there would have been fewer complications with the design. But if I had waited for him, I know that he would have been upset that I was behind on the deadlines and require me to submit a plan on how I was going to catch up. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I decided to work ahead and got things wrong, I am now behind anyway. So to everyone else working for GC, keep in mind that communication is a necessity and that being patient may be beneficial.
Should You Go to Graduate School?
By: Vitaliy Chernev
I've planned on attending graduate school, but with graduation just around the corner, I found myself doubting the decision I made earlier. In this article I provide some of the questions that I needed answers for and that might guide one in his or her decision. The questions like following were hunting me for a while. Are you ready for another three to eight years of graduate education? Should you take time off before graduate study? This is a personal decision and there's no definitive right or wrong answer. However, if you have any doubts about your educational and career aspirations take your time and rethink your goals. What are your reasons for taking time off before attending graduate school?
I've spent 16 or more years in school. Am I tired? Can I rejuvenate within the two or three months I’ve got off before grad school starts? After all, depending on the program and degree, the graduate school takes anywhere from three to eight or more years to complete. If I am certain that graduate school is in my future, perhaps I shouldn't wait. Here I’ll try to summarize the questions that I needed to answer to make the decision. Perhaps they may be helpful to the students thinking about going to a graduate school.
Why do I want to go to graduate school? Is it for the right reasons?
Students choose graduate school for many reasons, including intellectual curiosity and professional advancement. Some choose grad school because they aren't sure what to do or don't feel ready for a job. These aren't good reasons. Graduate school requires an intense commitment of time and money. If you're not sure that you're ready, then it's best to wait. What are my career goals? Will graduate school assist me in meeting my career goals? Some careers, such as those in medicine, dentistry, and law, require education beyond the bachelor’s degree. A job as a college professor, researcher, or psychologist also requires an advanced degree.
What will I specialize in? What are my interests?
Whereas an undergraduate major is a broad introduction to a given field, graduate school is very narrow and specialized. Decide early because your choice determines the programs to which you'll apply. Consider your interests. What courses did you especially like? On what topics have you written papers? Seek advice from professors about the differences among the various specialties in a given field. Inquire about existing employment opportunities for each specialization.
Do I have the motivation for another two to seven years of school?
Graduate school is different from undergraduate school because it requires a higher level of academic commitment. Speak with professors and graduate students to get a better idea of what's involved in graduate study. Seek a first-year graduate student's impression of graduate school. Do I have the academic and personal qualities to succeed? Generally, it is expected that students will maintain at least a 3.0 average during graduate school. Some programs deny funding to students with less than a 3.33 average. Can you juggle multiple tasks, projects, and papers at once? Can you manage time effectively?
Making the decision of going or not to a graduate school is going affect the rest of my life. There were both pros and cons to continuing my education. Seeking information from multiple sources including the career-counseling center, my family, graduate students, and professors helped me to make the right decision for me. The most important lesson learned was not to rush. Take your time with it. Most importantly, trust your judgment and have faith that you'll make the choice that's best for you.
Getting it Done in the Professional World:
By: Mathew Raggio
A group of students converged to work as a team on a real world project for their much respected professor Dr. Dude. They all started into the project with positive attitudes. Shortly into the project some conflicts arose within the group’s personalities and backgrounds. There also grew some cooperation conflicts between the team and third parties involved. The specifics of this situation are not the point here, but rather the fact that disruptive situations within professional settings can arise. These situations can of course stunt the group’s ability to complete the project work, and effective communication, work delegation, and overall cooperation are needed to be successful. This information is provided based on personal interaction between team members, customers, and third parties involved in various projects, jobs, and transactions that I have been involved in one way or another.
Within the professional world there are many possible sources of conflict. Simple things within the team such as; culture, background, speech, sex, personal beliefs, and other potentially sensitive subjects can affect a team’s productivity. Depending on the team’s project material, some of these conflict sources can be more prevalent than others. All things considered in this type of situation, a concentration on work material and how each individual in the team can participate with their expertise is particularly effective in avoiding conflict with in the team.
The possibility of these conflicts is not limited to the team either. As I mention before conflicts can also arise among customers and third parties involved such as product distributors. Every one has heard the saying, “the customer is always right,” but I know for a fact that a customer might not only be wrong but they might be stubborn enough to not allow another possible solution or approach to a problem. If this is the case, they are the ones with the money, so humor them and let them fail but CYA. Regardless of conflict or not always justify what you have done, are doing, or will do to the customer/s involved.
The third party contacts can be frustrating and misleading to the group when this type of conflict arises. Reaching a quality technical support person on the phone can be one of the most helpful sources encountered when researching product information. On the other hand reaching a recent high school graduate at a technical support number can be frustrating and misleading. In this situation one can deduce that the person they are talking to either; has no idea and reads you the same information off the web that you already have, has some idea and BS’s the rest, or has some idea and spends a lot of time saying “Um, uh, hmm,” and tries to figure out what you want to know. It’s a hair rippin’ out thing to experience. For this you need patience.
I hope this is not a deterrent to anyone involved in such situations, but rather a possible priming for what might be involved as part of your future professional world.
Make Money Traveling
by Shan Belew
Traveling is something we experience only a few times a year. When we do it’s usually the long, unpleasant, straight, I-90 route from Pullman to the “west side”. The road not only wants to make you drive your car into a bridge embankment but the money you are spending for petrol leaves you wondering how many “thirty bombs” you could have purchased instead. However, I have a cure for these traveling blues. Few fortunate individuals such as myself get the opportunity to travel, make money, and have fun doing it.
Here is the setup, go to a career fair and get as many as possible employers to become interested enough in you to receive site visits, regardless of your level of interest in them. This can even be done if you already have a job. Also keep in mind the locations of these companies, you can pick and choose where and when you want to travel. In addition have your buddies do the same thing and plan site visits the same days.
I recently had three site visits, two within Washington and the third over in Missouri. The trip to Missouri started out great, usually on a site visit each day you are allowed a set per diem but not with this company, everything would be reimbursed all I needed was receipts! The flight to Missouri had an hour connection through Denver Airport. This means I headed straight to the “Mile High” bar and ate the biggest burger and drank double bourbon seven. Of course it was Makers Mark. I dropped about 30 dollars, and yes I left a 20% tip. This is a round trip site visit!
I get back on the plane; finally I arrive at KCI airport. Usually, on trips like these you travel the city alone. Not on this trip, my buddy heeded to my advice and his plane touched down at KCI just after mine. Together we got our rental car and headed to our hotel. We are at the hotel just enough to get directions to Kansas cities downtown bars n clubs. Drinks, Drinks, Drinks, Food, and receipts.
The next day, the site visit can be a drag. Make sure to set up the visit for the afternoon if you can. I just told them I don’t deal with hangovers to well; I mean “jet lag”. After or during the site visit the employers will take you out for lunch/dinner. Make sure you’re that guy that says “I’ll have a Sam Adams”, this is vacation right? Again, I always order the most expensive and delicious item on the menu. Don’t feel bad it’s not your money.
The site visit is over and now it’s time to head home. TBC
Kingston,WA
Okay, I really wanted to go watch the NFC Championship game, Seahawks vs. Panthers. But how many of us have girlfriend’s dads who would give up those tickets? None. Trust me I tried. So I figured the next best thing would to at least be sitting at Tiki Bobs (Pioneer Square) watching the game. hmmmmm lets schedule our site visit with our ME416 sponsor the same weekend. Well, fortunately for us we followed the simple instruction to plan site visits around other events. Keep in mind we received perdium for the days we were in Seattle so yes another night of fun on somebody else. Story short I was one of the fortunate people who was sending off the Seahawks to the Super Bowl! Now who can say that!
Bremerton, WA
This will be quick and easy. If you ever get the chance to drive your own vehicle to a site visit do it! You will make tons of money. I drove from Pullman, Wa to Bremerton and back and received like .90 per mile. That is like 600 dollars and I only spent 60 dollars in gas. Yah, it is worth it!
Heed to my advice you will make money traveling and have a great time(s) too!
A Case Study in the Decision of a Career Path
By: Robert Lauderdale
In 1994 Joe was young with the world at his feet. Arriving at his dorm, he found a completely new world, one in which he was in “complete” control. Joe had high hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist, but had not completely researched what that exactly entailed.
When the semester began, Joe went to his classes with dedication, but as the semester drew on, Joe found himself cutting more and more corners to appease his social needs. “I didn’t think this was going to be so hard” said Joe. The next semester Joe switched his major to Psychology. Joe thought this major would be more conducive to his college lifestyle, yet still allow Joe to help other people.
Joe finished his degree and graduated. After returning home, Joe began his search for the perfect job. After weeks of searching, Joe found the job market was not quite what he expected. “Man, I wish I would have done my homework” exclaimed Joe, “These jobs are nothing like what I expected”.
After working within his field for a year, Joe decided to find another job outside of the psychology world. He found a job as a sales rep for a large company where he found no satisfaction in what he was doing, if anything, Joe despised the sales trade. “I went to school to help people, not to rob them”. Shortly later, Joe found himself looking for more ethical work, but the market was tight and Joe was having serious doubts.
While taking a long vacation, Joe found that he had a knack for engineering. Joe’s father is an engineer, and Joe loved to question him about his work. When Joe returned home he began to research engineering programs and how entailed they were. Joe felt he had the drive and determination to go back to college and obtain a degree in mechanical engineering.
When Joe returned back to college he found things had changed drastically since the last time he was in college. Joe was older than most everyone in his classes, and therefore felt he had nothing in common with his peers. In the mean time Joe was always questioning the validity of his decision. Joe felt isolated from his peers for a short period of time, but after deep soul searching, Joe decided “this is all worth it, I have seen the real world, I know what to expect, and I know I can’t get through this program by myself.” Joe made some friends and contacts, and got through his first two years. By the third year, Joe was enjoying his course work and life.
By the end of Joe’s fourth year, he had started his job hunt, this time knowing what to expect and how to get his perfect job. Joe also did his homework so he knew how to interview, how to write a proper resume and all of the other essential tools to obtaining a job.
The moral of this story is to do your homework. Get a feel for what you are good at and what interests you. Ask around and find people willing to talk to you, there are plenty of willing people who will give more than enough information. Ask companies if you can visit their site and possibly talk with professionals in your prospective field. Look on the internet for job listing in your prospective field, and ask yourself if you can see yourself doing this.
Trying to get into a BIG company
By Matthew Cox
I was looking for an internship with one of the bigger sized engineering companies. I met a few of their representatives at the career fair. We talked and I hit it off with one of the representatives. I thought that an interview was all but mine. At the part in the conversation were they offer me an interview, the rep told me to go online and apply for a position. Oooh Burn. It seemed that all of the headway that I had made towards the recruiter getting to know me personally was all lost, as they probably weren’t going to be reading the online applications.
That is the sad news about how some big companies work. You have to be working the online angle. Some companies post their openings online and that means frequent visits to their website. In search of an internship, I must have applied for over 100 positions before I heard anything. I was really disappointed that it took so many job listings before the company would even contact me.
Part of the “big company” atmosphere is that there is a huge bureaucratic maze to find your way through. Everything happens slowly. Very slowly. Then Halleluiah! I received a computer generated email that said I am being considered for an interview. That’s a foot in the door I guess. I waited for the confirmation email and then later, a phone call to arrange an interview. First one day, then another went by, and then a third. Two weeks later I went and found the name and number of my interviewer/future manager. I left a ‘tricky’ message that said something along the lines of “Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you, I think that I missed your call.” That wasn’t true; I was just tired of waiting and wanted to get the ball rolling, so to speak. The next day I received a phone call from the manager (booya) and we conducted the interview. He said that I had earned the internship position (double booya) and that he would send the information along to Human Resources. Six weeks later I was able to go to my first day of work. Since I had learned that I was being considered for the position to when I actually sat at my desk was a total of 10 weeks. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. Now I have my foot in the door for a future full-time job. Because the company is so huge, there are jobs available in almost any area of engineering! Take Heed! Big companies are big and operate slowly. Keep Going! Apply for anything and everything that you are remotely qualified for. Once you are in the “system,” you have your choice of anything the company offers.
Vendor Troubles
By: Sean Diener
Each senior design group will, or has already dealt with vendors. Vendors can have a wide range of attitudes towards student design projects. Some vendors are helpful. They might be genuinely interested in your project and are willing to help you out. Others might only care about selling their product. Still others will not want to deal with you. They will try their hardest to pass you onto the next person. They won’t get back to you when you contact them.
My groups’ experience with vendors is most accurately characterized by the last vendor description. To be fair to the vendor, you must first understand their situation. The vendor for which we are working with pioneered the technology with which it sells. Information about their product is difficult to get a hold of because they fear competition. Many companies have sprung up based on the ideas and technology they founded. While we could choose a different vendor, the vendor in question makes the most products for our project and our project sponsor has a good relationship with the company.
Our project sponsor gave us some contact information at the vendor. This contact is the regional manager for the company. After ignoring our calls and emails for five days, he promptly passed us on to the technical service department. The techs wanted to help us, but they couldn’t answer any of our design/application concerns. We had to start over. Then, we were directed to another customer service manager. This contact was more helpful. He passed us on to two other employees in the advanced application department. Again, one of these employees transferred us to another specialist. This specialist is actually helping our project. But we still have a lot of questions that have yet to be answered.
We have basically transversed through the structure of the company in a period of two and a half weeks. It is not known if we can get the necessary information, but it looks promising. It’s important for us as students to not get frustrated and remain patient, although only up to a certain point.
Being Indecisive Is Okay
By: Andrew Chancellor
When deciding what to make of your future, it’s always ok to be indecisive. If you’ve got you’re whole life planned ahead of you to a “T” then life really isn’t going to be any fun or have any surprises. Most seniors aren’t really sure what they want to do for the rest of their lives or even what kind of job they want to look for, but this is fine because if you start doing something where in five years you realize that this isn’t quite what you want to do, you can always change it and fine something new. It takes more than just 5 years of college and a few jobs to define who you are. One of the best things that a person can do is to go out and try as many different things as possible; take on as many opportunities that come knocking on your door as you can handle and if you have to pass one up, don’t worry because there will always be another one. People always say life is short, you should live everyday like it is your last; but who knows when that actually will be. So when it’s coming close to graduation and you aren’t quite sure what direction you’re going to take, don’t sweat it! There will always be plenty of opportunities that will come your way, you just have to answer the door when it comes knocking.
It's Never Too Early
By: Mike Yang
For five years now I have made the journey back and forth countless times from my hometown of Vancouver, WA to the hills of the palouse. Finally, this spring I will be graduating and hopefully I will be able to convince potential employers of my worthiness to their company. What of the most important things I have learned over the course of my final year here at WSU is that it is never too early to start researching and looking for a job. The important aspect of a job search is that YOU have to take the initiative and you can’t wait for someone to do it for you.
I’m sure we’ve all been in a position where you’re talking with a representative from a company and you really have no interest in the company whatsoever. So, you’re standing there, not really paying attention and your mind is just racing about how you are going to tell this person in a nice way that you are not interested. However, my advice to anyone regardless of your level of interest in a company is, there is something to learn in every job interview or social interaction. One of the hardest aspects that I had trouble adjusting to was being able to talk (and in a way, brag) about myself and to relate how my personal experiences are a perfect fit for the type of applicant they are looking for. Every opportunity you get to talk to a representative from a company should at the very minimum be looked at as practice for a future interaction with someone you really want to get a job from.
Another scenario is when you are talking with an individual from a company that you really want to get a job from. If you’re like me, it’s harder to interview for a company that you really want a job from because you stress yourself out to have a perfect interview. In this case, I believe that it is much easier to interview if you have had prior interview experience with a company that you were not very interested in. You get a feel for being relaxed and you are able to remember that feeling when you talk.
Finally, the most important preparation technique for interview is to research the type of employee the company is looking for, get a list of potential questions from employers (available at career services), and make an outline of all your accomplishments. These tools will make you more familiar with your credentials and they will also help you explain why your credentials are a perfect match for them.
I am still currently in the process of interviewing for companies and I can tell you that this systematic approach and mindset has allowed me to be more confident and relaxed during my interviews. I also have no doubt that my latest interview has also been the best interview I’ve ever had. So, work hard and go get a job!
Your Decisions
By: Dan Ciesielski
A few summers ago I was looking for a job and landed one with the county, working as a road and sewer inspector. Yeah I know it was CE work but I wasn’t being picky and it paid well. I was put on a project where we were improving intersections, installing culverts and blasting rock outcroppings to make the road straight.
On this job there was one other inspector who had worked for the county for 20 plus years, and then me, who knew little about making roads. Since it being the summer naturally my fellow inspector had two weeks of vacation time planned. So I rapidly found myself being the only inspector on the project. So as you can guess all of the little tricks that the company had for cutting corners was coming out.
This is how everything went down. The entire road had rocks sticking out everywhere and was extremely bumpy, thus making it hard to prep it for sub-baseing. There was about 250,000 cubic yards of material that had to be moved off site because there wasn’t any room for it. A large portion was sand, and the construction company desperately wanted to use this to smooth the road. This is because they could kill to birds with one stone, get rid of the material and smooth the road. The project engineers on the other hand were against it because they said it would create a slip plane being smashed between different materials where their average size was larger than the sand. Long story short my on site boss is on vacation and they start dumping sand on the road, about a half foot thick. So I call up the project engineer and tell him what is going on, he says shut em’ down. So I throw the red flag out and the crew boss comes over and starts yelling and screaming at me telling me I don’t know what I am doing. We wait for the engineer to come down and sort things out. He arrives at the site looks at the road, looks at the sand then turns to me and says this is okay. For whatever reason he changed his mind on the spot. Either he didn’t want to deal with the crew boss or he was wrong in the first place, in any case he made me look like a complete idiot.
So the moral of the story is make decisions that you are going to stand by and have valid reasons for them, in other words make competent decisions. I had little respect for the engineer after he spontaneously changed his mind. In some cases, if you embarrass co-workers or people below you, they will try and work against you. If you don’t know the answer to the question, go research it and ask other people their opinion. If you stay in the same field, chances are that you will be faced with same question again. Over all it is always a good idea to tread lightly on peoples feelings and save then from embarrassment.
Graduate School Visits
By J.P. Winterstein
After you have been accepted to a graduate school it is typical for schools to offer to fly you out to the university to show you their program and try to convince you to come to their school. A standard trip involves meeting with graduate students and faculty, laboratory tours, seeing the sights in the surrounding area and lots of free meals and drinks (one school I visited had a keg in their lobby for the prospective students).
The concept of being recruited was rather new to me and I was a little overwhelmed with everything going on when I visited. Because of this I forgot to ask some important questions, and I later regretted not doing so. If you plan on going to graduate school keep in mind that they are recruiting you and you should be prepared to ask questions and figure out if the school is what you want. These visits are different from a job interview where the company is attempting to find out if they want to offer you a job; you’re trying to decide if you want to offer the school your research abilities.
You can get a lot of information from the current graduate students when you spend time with them even if you don’t ask questions and they are just talking. Graduate students don’t seem to mind telling you the truth, even when it’s bad. They are not as concerned as the faculty with recruiting you. In the two visits I made I heard a lot about bad professors or horrible classes, late nights in the lab, last-minute paper writing, etc. from students. Students also liked to talk about night life and bars in the cities as well as good places to find apartments. While students liked to talk about social things, I should have asked more questions about research and working with research advisors.
These visits are very important for helping prospective students make their decisions. If you go to graduate school take advantage of these opportunities. My choice of school might be unexpected, but the decision was clear after visiting both schools and I wouldn’t have made the choice I did without visiting. Several people advised me, “You should go with your gut feeling,” which definitely requires a visit.
Graduate School (cont.)
By David Frisbie
During an undergraduate education, many students find themselves asking the question ‘should I attend graduate school’. The decision to attend graduate school is one that should come with reason. Some students choose to attend based on their interest in professional advancement, while others have a curiosity for a higher learning. No matter the personal reasoning, the only reason that will end in graduate school failure is one involving an insecurity of applying or having a job. When contemplating graduate school, it is important for one to consider their future goals.
Applying to graduate school without having an idea of a future career path may not be the best way to start a postgraduate career. It is important to research career fields before applying to graduate schools, as it will provide more confidence in your career decision. The research and focus of study in graduate school should link to the career field of interest. Another decision a possible postgraduate student may come across is whether or not they should attend right after graduation. Some programs require related professional work experience before attending, whereas for other programs it may be more valuable to attend right after undergraduate school. This decision may depend heavily on the field of study. Regardless, once the decision to apply and attend graduate school has been made, there are many things to consider.
The first thing to realize is that the process of applying to graduate school takes just as much, if not more, time and energy as the process of looking for a fulltime job. The next step is finding a school that is right for you. The main factor involved is searching for a school with a program focus that supports and incorporates your decided career path. Within these schools there are many aspects to consider as well. Such aspects may include quality and reputation, location, and graduation requirements involved with the institution. After choosing a school that has the ability to facilitate your graduate education, the application process can begin.
First and foremost, knowing what needs to be included in the application and the submittal deadline will get you ahead of the game. Aside from the actual application, there are many other application components, including application fees, transcripts from all undergraduate institutions, exams, personal statements, resumes, and letters of recommendations. It is important to set a timeline to obtain these parts of the application well in advance of the deadline. Transcripts are an additional application cost and take around five business days to get after ordering. Most graduate schools have admission requirements for scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The personal statement is one part of the application which should be written early and reviewed by peers and faculty members. Most graduate schools require letters of recommendation to be written by three faculty members from your undergraduate institution. These additional application components are important to take care of well before the application deadline.
From my personal experience, I knew I wanted to attend graduate school fairly early in my undergraduate education. I was intrigued to acquire additional information after taking heat transfer. I began researching deeper into the topic of fluid sciences coupled with my interest of the automobile industry. I then found myself researching mechanical engineering programs which have a focus in thermal sciences along with research funding from the automobile industry. I found five schools in the United States that I thought would be able to facilitate my graduate educational focus. Among these schools, my top two choices had admission requirements for undergraduate GPA and GRE scores that I did not meet. However, I chose to apply anyway. To date, I have been accepted to my top two program choices and am waiting for more offers to come. I am currently planning to visit both schools to get more insight into the university, graduate program, and the community.
Failure Isn’t Always the End
By Adam Clark
As a freshman, I believed college would be a breeze. High school consisted of taking the AP classes, acing nearly every test, and every homework assignment. I was a member of the National Honor Society and volunteered my time after school to help with athletic events. What I didn’t know is that compared to college, it might as well have been kindergarten. My aspirations as a freshman were sky high, a career in robotics or theoretical physics was as good as mine. I even had the dream of becoming an officer for the U.S. Navy through the ROTC program at WSU/UI, and devoted much of my time to these pursuits. Then as I progressed through my classes, reality took hold of my dreams and brought them tumbling down. I’m not saying that aiming high is a bad thing, or that the higher you dream the farther those dreams have to fall. What I am saying is that after I realized robotics involved far more programming than I ever felt I’d be comfortable with, physics made my mind bend in ways it wasn’t meant, and the Navy wasn’t too fond of my struggle to maintain a decent GPA, it wasn’t the end.
With my hopes of becoming a robotics engineer or a theoretical physicist dashed, and my future no longer bright with the prospect of a career in the Navy, I did not despair too much. For with all of these massive changes to my life, it was not over. I took a look back at my choices, and realized maybe I shouldn’t have flipped a coin to decide if I should pursue engineering or physics, maybe I should have looked into the Navy a little more before diving in head first.
With these new insights, I began to look into other things to do. With a physics major no longer a desirable prospect and a massive amount of free time with no more Navy events or responsibilities, I decided to take my life in a different direction. With my first pick at a major behind me, I went to my fallback choice, and started in the MME program. Not wanting to sit around all day with my new found free time, I decided to try out a PE class, beginning karate. Now, 4 years later, I’m about to graduate, with career choices I’d never imagined I’d have the opportunity to apply for, not to mention I stuck with the karate class, joined the club, and worked my way up to first degree black belt.
Life may not agree with your way of doing things initially, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to go, with any failure comes the opportunity to set out again and accomplish yourself in other areas. Who knows, after you’ve walked down the new path, old paths may open anew for you.
Future Options
By Tim Lam
This semester is my last semester in WSU. I detect that time is past so fast. I will graduate in May. I’m happy about I get an Engineering degree. But I start to worry about my future. Should I go to the graduate school or should I go to a job? It is a big question for in my life time.
For the graduate school, I think it is a good plan for the future. I can keep study in engineering field and learn more about the technology. I need to solve my financial problem; I don’t want to spend my parent’s money. So I decide to apply the Teaching Assistantship or Research Assistantship to supply my school fee.
For the job, I’m the international student. It is hard to find a job in U.S because our vise problem and a lot of companies want to hire a native. Although it is hard to find a job, I will keep search it.
I’m not sure I will go to graduate school or a job. But I will work hard and prepare for the future.
Get Into The Real World
By Jongwoo Kim
After many years in mechanical engineering study, most of all students are looking for a job, especially job into a big company. For last few months, I have gone through the process of making an employment portfolio. I had two classes which are ME 416, and Engl 403. Through the classes, I have learned about the process. The usual employment portfolio consists of resumes, dossiers about your future companies, interview questions, introducing yourself and so on. The most important one is resume. The resume should contain the history of your background: school information, employment background, your skill, and so on. The resume should not be long, and contents of the resume should be listed with some format. For example, in my one-page resume, there is a writing order, which is the history of school background first. In the school background, you have to be specific about what your strong point for the future company is. Also, the resume should emphasize some strong points what your future company want. Next things what I have following school background are employment related experiences, skills, language competencies, and references. In my case, I am interested in automobile industries, so I emphasized my knowledge about designing and manufacturing cars. In addition, nowadays, every company is getting into global industrial. Therefore, bilingual/biliterate skills are recommended. For me, I have noticed many companies need employees with Korean/English speaking and writing skill. Secondly, well-prepared dossiers for your future company and interview questions are definitely needed. The dossier is a collection of papers containing detailed information about company like history, their management, what kind of products they are making, and who are the powerful people in the company like CEO. Knowing this information will help you prepare for interview questions and even when you work for them. In addition, you should prepare practice interview questions. Your answer MUST be in 45 seconds, with a clear point. There are many helpful websites about interview questions. For example, I had an interview of internship for a company which makes transmissions of automobiles. At that time, I had very few information about the company, and also had not practiced interview questions, so I had very hard time during interview, and I failed to get the job. If I had more information and had prepared the interview questions, I would have the job. In conclusion, making the employment portfolio is the first step for getting into the real world. Well-written resume which show your capabilities and history clearly, good dossier, and practicing interview questions are needed for your future life.
Three Options After The May 5th
By: Chun Fan Wong
After spending fourteen hours continuously working on a senior design project before the due date, I could feel how wonderful this world was. In fact, that was the third day I had been working on the project. I started doing that with my group at five o’clock in the afternoon. We finial made it on the next day in the morning at eight o’clock. The process was like walking along a dark tunnel then jumping into a bright world when stepping out from the ETRL building. It was just one hour before the class started. None of us wanted to go to class and turned it in. Instead, we just slid it under the professor’s door. I could say it was a bad idea and “never do that” according to Dr. Prashanta Dutta. This is the kind of experience you must have in WSU. I had a similar situation when I took 305 and 313 class as most ME students do. The suggestion is that plan and do things as early as possible, especially planning your future. Students start thinking about what to do after graduation on the May 5th since the beginning of this semester. There are three ways we can go with: traveling around, getting into the graduate school, or looking for a job. The way I decided to go with is getting a job. It is not because my GPA is not high enough for getting into the graduate school, it is because getting some real experiences in mechanical engineering field is much more interesting. We’ve learnt a lot of things from school. I’m just wondering if the things I learn from school can really be applied on my future job. The fact is that getting a MS degree is my next goal after gaining some experience from the real world.
Go to Graduate School or not?
BY: Chien Shung Lin
Before the graduation, many people have a hard time to decide to continuous their study or not. If people want to find a job, it may be easier for America people. On the other hand, it is very hard to find a job in America for foreign people who come from different countries and their native language is not English. So the graduate school may be the best choice for foreign students. In the graduate school, people can focus on the specific field of their research; moreover, once people have a chance to be a TA or RA, the deportment will wave the tuition and people will get pay each month.