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How employable is a 4 year degree in electrical/computer engineering from the university of iowa?
I plan to go to Iowa, and i'm wondering how easy it is to get a job with this major. #engineering #computer #software #electrical-engineering
4 answers
Ollie Jones
Ollie’s Answer
UI has a terrific reputation. Maybe not quite as big a brand name as Carnegie Mellon or MIT, but so what? You'll carry a smaller debt burden.
EECS or E/CE is the elite information tech major.
You don't say what kind of job you're hoping for. If you want to work in software, keep in mind it's a craft and takes lots of practice. Fortunately you don't need a lot of institutional support to practice this craft. A machine or two, freely-downloadable software tools, and a github account will do the trick.
If you want to work in semiconductor design or design-verification, look for those classes, and get the faculty to use their connections to find you internships. That craft does take some institutional support. The same for hardware design.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, take a business class or two on the side. Accounting is always good to know. Ditto for strategic marketing. And, look for leadership roles in your field in school. Lots of young entrepreneurs start out working as teaching assistants and coordinators in the big freshman classes.
Purdue has an Open Ag Data Alliance project openag.io. There might be something similar at UI. Agriculture is underserved by apps and big data compared to urban hipsters in coffee shops.
Skip the frat scene. At any rate don't waste much time on it.
Have a great time in college!
Chrissy Sangalang
Chrissy’s Answer
This type of degree is highly sought after in the tech industry. I work at Dell Technologies as a Program Manager of a training program called the NextGen Presales Academy. We hire summer interns and full time participants straight out of college. We look for people who are passionate about technology, work well in teams, have great communication skills and who are innovative problem solvers. If you are someone who enjoys technical material as well as being able to explain complex topics in easy to understand terms, you should check out more on what Presales is as a career. Computer Science is a perfect major for this career; however any technical degree would give you the foundational skills needed. We teach everything you need to know in the Academy.
Best of luck at school!
Chrissy recommends the following next steps:
Enzo Biasillo
Enzo’s Answer
Tad Niemyjski
Tad’s Answer
We all met two years after high school graduation as part of National Honor Society to talk with seniors in our high school. So we compared notes on the universities we chose.
She liked the education portion but hated that there was very little to do on campus. Many of her campus friends turned to over using alcohol due to boredom. She stated if she were to do it again, she would have chosen a university in a larger city so there would be more options to decompress in evenings and weekends. This coming from someone who had a tremendous scholarship to attend UI. It takes a lot for folks to say "free" wasn't a good deal.
Good luck in your journey. If you can, please visit the campus and talk to students there once the pandemic settles to see how they like living there now.