What would you recommend a college student do to prepare for working in the real world?
I'm going into college and want to make the most of my time. #engineering
4 answers
Simon’s Answer
Manage your time well (prioritize and time management) and take any opportunity to get experience in the field you are interested in.....co-op or internship. Once you have a scholastic base one needs to put it into practice to be noticed. Good luck.
Peter’s Answer
Yashna:
To prepare for the "Real World" while attending college, one of the best things you can do is to work at a part-time job or full-time summer job. This will give you valuable experience on what it is like to work for a living. It also has the great side benefit of helping to pay your college expenses. Even more effective, try to land a summer internship with an engineering consulting firm. This work experience allows you to see what its like work in the engineering field and may give you an advantage at getting a permanent job right out of collete
Good luck, Pete Sturtevant. PE
Nicole’s Answer
So my answer may seem a bit elementary...but here goes ;). Do your best to put yourself in positions where you train yourself to become an excellent listener. You would be amazed at how easy/difficult it becomes to complete a project in the "real world" when team members do/don't listen to each other or when employees who are tasked with building something for their clients do/don't meet what the client has asked for.
For sure building excellent listening skills can be gained by taking on summer jobs, research tasks and/or volunteer activities.
Best of luck to you!
Rich Woynicz
Rich’s Answer
Consider getting involved in the university's Cooperative Education Program (CO-OP). It gives you realworld experience which you can use when evaluating your career and also helps get a job after college. It also gives you a little more money in your pocket than working at a fast food place over the summers. It typically extends your college by one year.
Alternatively - get good interships to get real world experience.