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What are some colleges I should look into for engineering in GA?

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Ken’s Answer

It does not matter where you go to school, what really matters is how well you do to get the best grades and how well you do at networking in your intended career field to confirm your choice and develop contacts that could lead to job leads.


Many successful engineering candidates get their start at the local community college as the classes are smaller, the cost is more reasonable, and they have internship and coop opportunities that will help you earn as you learn and develop a knowledge of the inside of the career area. As good step would be to visit and talk to the Director of Alumni Relations at your local community college to arrange to meet and talk to engineering graduates to see what they are doing, how they got there, and what advice they have.


You will find the following video very helpful as it is presented by a person who worked for Stanford University and relates to the choice of college: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education

Ken recommends the following next steps:

Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
However, it is very important early on to get to know yourself to confirm your choice of career. Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .
Here are some links that will allow you to become more familiar with the various areas of engineering: ## https://www.engineergirl.org/ ## ## http://www.futureengineers.org/ ## ## https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVcmTJSKM ## ## http://stemtosteam.org/ ## ## https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/undergraduate-students/engineering-still-needs-more-women ##
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Trinity M. Thanks so much for your question. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you is still helpful.

I attending and graduated from a university with an engineering degree. Before I chose the school from which I graduated, I did visit quite a few universities, including one in Georgia. I will share that it is much more important that students who are looking for engineering schools, regardless of physical location, start with identifying what curricula or types of engineering they may be interested in. I also acknowledge that sometimes, knowing that before starting college, can be difficult.

If a clear focus on what type of engineering discipline is an unknown, then I recommend researching schools based on their proximity to home (some students/parents want to stay close while others want to try branching out), their cost, their graduation rates and their qualifications for admission. Local libraries, are a free and excellent source for researching schools based on potential desired disciplines, for example.

If it is at all possible, I strongly recommend paying a visit to the school. Many schools, with structured programs, allow campus visits. Getting a chance to visit a college campus helps to put what the college life is like at that particular institution. Sometimes visitors can get a chance to talk to faculty and staff as well which is also incredibly helpful.

There is also the possibility that the school you "visit" only offers online programs, as online degrees are becoming more popular.

The good news is you have more options than you may realize. Good luck!
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