Right now I'm an engineering major entering the second half of junior year. I'm a senior credits wise thought. I've been struggling through with about a 2.8 cumulative gpa which has been going down as i take the dynamics, thermo, etc. I am wondering if I should get out and maybe change to chem, biochem, or bio. But if I change my major will I even be able to get a job? And if i keep my major will I get a job with my bad gpa? I just want to know the implications career and school wise. I've been wanting to do med school but now with my gpa at what it is I don't know what to do.

1/7/2010 9:44:42 PM

Don't switch to English.

1/7/2010 9:48:03 PM

study more.

1/7/2010 10:58:12 PM

employers don't look at GPA

1/7/2010 11:47:44 PM

^i disagree

1/7/2010 11:49:22 PM

I'm going to assume that you are either in the Mechanical or Biomedical Engineering Programs.

Switching from Engineering to one of the Physical Science degrees will limit the jobs that you will be able to apply for your Senior year. With an Engineering degree you will be opening more doors than someone with a Chemistry/Biochemistry degree. Most people on here would agree with the statement that an Entry Level Engineering position is leaps and bounds better than an Entry Level Lab Tech position - in Salary, Prestige, and future Opportunities.

Regarding your GPA - you need to focus on getting this above a 3.0 by either the start of your Senior year or at the very latest, the start of your second semester Senior year. My reasoning is that regardless if you apply for jobs or apply to Medical schools, both of these will want to see a GPA above 3.0. The amount of doors that will open if you have a 3.0 going into your Senior year vs. a sub-3.0 GPA may amaze you. Since your job and Med school applications will be submitted early on in your Senior year, you need to have your GPA above a 3.0 at this stage. Some Companies only recruit in the Fall and I believe Grad school and Med school applications need to be submitted around the Nov-Jan time frame. Take a few summer humanities courses to help out your GPA.

Understanding that you are struggling in your Engineering courses - I suggest taking full advantage of your TA's office hours and making sure that you are studying with the 'right' study groups. Find the smart kids in your class, let them know that you would like to work on homework problems with them. Make sure that they understand that you want to work 'together' with them and not copy answers. Having the right study group makes all the difference in Engineering courses.

Finally regarding Med school - I would think a kid with a 3.0 in Engineering is pretty comparable to someone with a 3.5-3.7 in the Physical Science degree. I don't know if this is really true or not, you may want to talk to a Med school adviser.

1/7/2010 11:50:02 PM

All this being said, I do encourage changing majors if you find yourself not enjoying what you are studying.

I switched from Aerospace to Materials to Chemical Engineering my Freshman year, and I am glad that I did this. Everything just clicked once I made this change.

[Edited on January 7, 2010 at 11:56 PM. Reason : .]

1/7/2010 11:51:26 PM

if homeboy is having that much trouble in dynamics and thermo, i highly doubt he needs to worry about grad school or med school

also, the "smart" kids in engineering classes don't want someone having trouble in dynamics and thermo in their study groups. i turn down those fuckers all the time.

[Edited on January 7, 2010 at 11:57 PM. Reason : adf]

1/7/2010 11:55:29 PM

Quote :

"All this being said, I do encourage changing majors if you find yourself not enjoying what you are studying. "

I agree with this. If the switch in interest motivated go for it, but if its grade motivated I'd give it more thought.

Also, there is nothing like a few easy summer courses to boost your gpa.

1/8/2010 12:29:47 AM

NeuseRvrRat - stfu

your engineering elitism is tiresome...and im in engineering

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 1:44 AM. Reason : toned it down a bit]

1/8/2010 1:42:57 AM

Quote :

"Most people on here would agree with the statement that an Entry Level Engineering position is leaps and bounds better than an Entry Level Lab Tech position - in Salary, Prestige, and future Opportunities. "

Sure most people on here would say that. Most people on here aren't Engineers w/ 20+ years of experience. Engineers always make a great salary starting out, but the future earnings and prestige are just as good with about any other field/major.

In my grad class yesterday I heard 3 engineers talking about how they wish they did something else because the pay increases just aren't enough in engineering, both of them had masters in engineering too.

1/8/2010 9:15:04 AM

just giving my opinion

1/8/2010 12:35:13 PM

Only you know if you should switch majors but I wouldn't necessarily consider switching solely on the fact that you aren't holding onto a 3.5 gpa or something. To me a 2.8 gpa isn't horrible, not everyone is hell-bent on getting perfect grades. I'm not implying that there is anything wrong with that, it's just that everyone has there own grade:work ratio that they are comfortable with. Your gpa will help you get your foot in the door but it isn't going to get the job (or keep it) for you. I think the questions you should be asking yourself are:

Are you interested in your classes?
While level of interest will correlate with grades, it doesn't always. I also realize that (unless the curriculum has changed drastically) there is a heavy emphasis on the theory side and not so much the practical side of things but once you get out into the real world you will be able to appreciate your foundation in theory whilst you are expected to produce practical results.

Are you getting bad grades despite the fact that you legitimately put in more and more work? Could you work harder? Are you willing to work harder?
I mean nobody wants to work harder but as I said earlier we all have different thresholds for the grade:work ratio. I agree with NRR though in that if you are not willing to put in the extra work for engineering despite the fact you were interested in it to begin with, what makes you think that med school would be any different. On top of that having an engineering degree would probably be better for you getting into med school. My MIL cuts a lady's hair that used to do admissions or something for Wake Forest and she told my wife that it's all about standing out. She has a bio degree which are a dime a dozen in med school app pools.

Despite everything do you not want to be engineer?
I mean this kind of goes back to the interest but you don't necessarily have to envision yourself being an engineer 30 years from now as your role in a company will be completely different than it is starting out. I know times is tuff but an internship or co-op or some real world engineering experience (if you don't have any) may help to remind you why you chose engineering in the first place. Who knows, it could also show you that you do want to change your major. Then does it really matter if you can get a job with another degree if you don't want an engineering job to begin with...

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 4:20 PM. Reason : ]

1/8/2010 4:09:20 PM

no, if worst comes to worst join the military, get your experience, leave then no one will ask about your gpa.

1/8/2010 4:41:21 PM

slumdog, what are your interests in the discipline of mechanical engineering? I graduated with a BSME and with the year of experience that I do have, I have noticed two distinct paths that you can take with the degree, at least here in NC. There is the product design/testing/CAD/FEA route and there is the HVAC/thermal systems route. The former seems to be moving overseas as it is tied to manufacturing. The latter has grown over the past several years with the "green" economy emerging.

I stayed an extra year after I graduated and took organic, biochem, bio, microbio, and anatomy in preparation for a career in medicine of some sort. It is very much a goal that you have to be absolutely focused on or you will lose the motivation to keep going. And it is always good to have a backup plan because there is a good chance you won't get accepted to the program that you are interested in on the first try.

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 6:47 PM. Reason : grammar]

1/8/2010 6:46:12 PM

Make an appointment with the advisers of the major you are trying to switch to. They'll be able to figure out if you are a good "fit" or not.

Quote :

"But if I change my major will I even be able to get a job? "

No major is going to guarantee a job. There are plenty of opportunities available for chem/biochem/bio. Don't think any of them are going to be easy. BCH451, likely required for all three, is one of the toughest courses. Doable, but tough.

Quote :

"And if i keep my major will I get a job with my bad gpa?"

Likely will take more time. More important than "will I get a job" is "will I enjoy my job?". Have you cooped or interned yet? Not required, but STRONGLY recommended.

Quote :

"I've been wanting to do med school but now with my gpa at what it is I don't know what to do."

Want and Know are two different things. Wanting to do med school and knowing its right for you are two different things altogether. If you know med school is right for you, mention this as well when you go to talk with the various advisors.

Quote :

"I just want to know the implications career and school wise."

Go see your advisor. They'll probably look at you a bit odd for realizing this late, but, probably will be willing to help out. Acting late is better than never acting at all. I've met far too many people who wished they could have acted while still undergraduates before they got out and found themselves disappointed.

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 9:31 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2010 9:29:41 PM

If you are still enjoying what you are doing, then I would not switch majors. I almost decided to drop engineering once, then my dad told me to get my head out of my ass. I'm going to assume that you are like most engineering students, meaning you really didn't have to study in high school thus you never really learned how to study (I know I didn't know how). It took me a while to learn how to study, I had to retake statics and dynamics but I busted ass my and I finished with right at a 3.0 and was hired right out of NCSU with my dream job. Nobody said that getting a degree in engineering was going to be easy (unless you are getting that bullshit engineering degree ECU is offering now ) . You are going to have to make some sacrifices.

Like others have said in here, you really need to take advantage of your TAs (I understand that some of them are horrible and some can barely speak English, but they are usually a good resource). Studying in groups is imperative. Classmates are great, because they can explain things on your level. Also, if you know people that have already taken your courses, see if you can get copies of old test, they are really helpful. If you are an ME/AE major then the Progress Energy room is a great place (is MAE still in Broughton or have they moved over to EB3 now?).

Good luck!

[Edited on January 9, 2010 at 4:55 PM. Reason : :]

1/9/2010 4:54:21 PM

Stick it out.

Quote :

"I've been struggling through with about a 2.8 cumulative gpa"

Engineering is difficult. Don't switch, you have too many credits already and you'll regret not following through with it when you see how little your GPA really matters beyond your first job.

However, if you are honestly not understanding the material you're learning, then that is cause for concern. You don't want to graduate with an engineering degree from NC State, get hired by a company that expects you to have retained some of the material you were taught over 4 years here, and then ruin NC State's CoE reputation by being a dimwit employee.

1/9/2010 7:16:11 PM

^^ Lots of truth there.

I say stick it out. I'm graduating ME this spring and I almost dropped out at the very beginning, even before matriculation. I sucked it up and ended up in the top of the class. But, it cost untold amounts of time and a complete readjustment of study habits. Learning to study is basically all you do in college

1/9/2010 11:12:52 PM

Stick it out and, as the others have said, take GPA boosting filler courses during the summer months. Spend another semester here if you have to, spreading out your engineering courses even more, and take more GPA filler classes if your GPA is all that's worrying you.

If you've got a decent grasp of concepts being presented in your major (i.e. you understand stuff related to your field of engineering, but general subjects like thermodynamics and dynamics and material science are a little bit fuzzy for you) then don't bloody worry about switching majors.

I also agree 100% about what people said about bio/biochem. Think about what a major switch might do for you in terms of employment opportunities, even if your GPA would be a 3.2 or something if you switched majors right now. You'll end up getting an entry-level lab technician position that pays rather poorly relative to other jobs you might be able to get with an engineering degree in a similar field. Sure, you won't get the best salary or whatever with a 2.8 GPA, but if you spread out your courseload for an extra semester and add in some filler courses to keep your GPA up and to keep your stress levels down you could probably get that 3.0. Graduating on time is dumb and I wish I had spent an extra year in undergrad to take the classes that I really wanted to take and to boost my GPA so that I could've gotten financial aid in grad school (the cutoff was 3.5, which is why our civil engineering grad program is filled with Indians because very few in civil engineering who met that cutoff were going to stay here at NCSU).

1/10/2010 1:13:52 PM

I was in the same boat during my sophomore year. I went to Joyce hatch, who was the CSC advisor at the time, and she told me to go co-op for a semester and see how I liked the work. If I hated it, she'd help me change majors.

Well, I ended up loving what I was doing after getting a co-op with Cisco in '98. I finished my CSC degree 4 years later (the only way to make the coursework tolerable was co-oping 8 months a year and taking one semester of classes per year) and i'm still with Cisco, and am very glad that I never changed majors.

1/11/2010 9:14:46 AM

also, if you're worried about getting a job if you have a poor GPA:

have you thought about trying a co-op? Its a good chance to earn some money and gain extremely valuable work experience. If you go through a few rotations, you have the beginnings of relevant work experience on your resume, which most employers usually value over GPA. Sure, it isn't true 100% of the time, but I think it could be helpful in your situation.

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 12:25 PM. Reason : hm, missed what BobbyDigital had said, A+]

1/14/2010 12:24:05 PM

Here is my advice and I believe firmly that it is the general rule of Bachelor's Degrees from my experience and from observing the fate of others:

your major should either be Computer Science or Engineering if you plan on getting a decent paying job straight out of college with a 4 year degree. Anything else and you are probably going to get shit on with $30,000-$40,000(max) a year straight out of college. I mean you can earn $30,000 being a damn pharmacy technician in a hospital with 9 months at a piece of shit pharmacy technician college. That is just my example. The highest paying job of any of my friends is $40,000 with a 4 year degree.

This is why i would recommend a major that would permit you to go to grad school if you can handle the schooling. Bachelors degrees just aren't what they used to be. Roger the retard down the street got himself a Bachelors degree and you don't see him doing anything special. So yeah, either get in a major that gears you up for grad school or get into computer science or engineering or else your basically fucked with a shitty salary for a long long time.

1/14/2010 7:03:39 PM

i switched majors and am making straight a's now

1/14/2010 7:14:05 PM

there are a lot of majors that i would say ^ "not impressive" to. Examples being parks and recreation, english, communications

1/14/2010 7:17:23 PM

get through it no matter what it takes. you will be thankful, even if you graduate w/ an 2.0***. If by some chance someone asks what gpa you had in school, you simply reply, "I graduated with a 2.0 in mechanical engineering... partied way to much!" even though its gonna be a lie. because you are probably gonna work you fingers to the bone for that 2.0. you still have vibrations, feedback controls... and by looking at you current 2.8 or what ever, you most likely will get a D+ in both of those. But who gives a fuck.

you will be a fly-by-night engineer... but an engineer none the less.

***do the co-op and work your ass off. that will either get you a job or boost that resumeeaaaaaayyy with relevant/real-world work experience that they didn't teach you in that dynamics class... that you probably made a C- in.

do a co-op, and just get through it. school

1/14/2010 7:37:15 PM

Quote :

"pooljobs All American 3344 Posts user info edit post i switched majors and am making straight a's now 1/14/2010 7:14:05 PM "

1/14/2010 11:28:11 PM

like many above me have stated, stick it out. it seems like we all go through something similar to this throughout our studies, i myself am no different. i entered NCSU as an undeclared aerospace engineering major and after talking to people and learning more about the major i soon realized it wasn't what i wanted. that is when i switched to mechanical engineering (big jump i know). once i started taking relevant engineering classes i wasnt sure if mechanical was the right choice and i really started questioning it thinking maybe i should have gone civil or at worst industrial. looking back now i am so grateful my father talked me out of switching because if i did, he would have kicked my ass just like some other's have stated ITT as well as i'd probably be miserable at whatever job i'd have now, if any job that is. while i understand the GPA thing (mine was worse than your's now when i graduated) it really, truly is not the end-all, screw-you-over thing that many make it out to be. yes it is important but it's not everything that goes into hiring a person for a job. i've been at my company now since may '07 and i graduated in december '06 and my GPA was what it was. yes it caused me to lose a really awesome job at a military R&D facility 10 minutes from where i live but i still managed to get a good job in a field i have lots of interest in.. sometimes things do happen for a reason.

after all that, stick with the engineering and do an internship at least or co-op at best and try to get real, relevant work experience. that will help you more than you know! and dont sweat the GPA; just bust your ass the hardest you can, do what you gotta do and be prepared to get f*cked in the ass with no lube in some of your classes, it's all part of it.

1/15/2010 9:08:14 AM

Quote :

"there are a lot of majors that i would say ^ "not impressive" to. Examples being parks and recreation, english, communications"

I really hope you're just another ignorant asshole like we have in abundance. 90% of our esteemed Engineering majors would fall over and die if they had to take any kind of rigorous English course, let alone take a major course of study in anything even vaguely related.

1/15/2010 3:02:20 PM

Quote :

"rigorous English course"

does not compute

1/15/2010 3:54:27 PM

Quote :

"I really hope you're just another ignorant asshole like we have in abundance. 90% of our esteemed Engineering majors would fall over and die if they had to take any kind of rigorous English course, let alone take a major course of study in anything even vaguely related."

While that may be true, I'm yet to dazzle anyone with a degree in Communication. As a student you have to understand that while it's nice to think that it's just engineers/engineering students who have a certain level of elitism with their degrees, it's even more widespread throughout the working world.

No one's going to think "oh, he's only got a degree in English, he's an idiot", but they are going to realize (and I'd argue correctly) that the guy swinging around the Bachelors of Science probably hung around more complex topics during their undergrad education.

1/15/2010 4:18:46 PM

i switched to another engineering major. was in mechanical, decided i hated it, started working, made some money, grew up, found a field that i liked because it was related to something i did volunteering, switched majors and am making straight a's.

the growing up part might have just as much as the new major, but doing something i enjoy makes everything easier. the thought of having a career as a mechanical engineer was terrifying to me.

1/15/2010 10:11:55 PM

Quote :

"does not compute"

does not compute because there is no 'compute' in a rigorous english course.

take a senior level arcane literature course and most engineering/science majors would end up with a C.

1/17/2010 6:56:05 PM

Experience is a lot more valuable to a potential employer than GPA. If you don't think you'll be able to get your GPA up, get a co-op or an internship and it will help.

1/20/2010 9:36:40 AM

Quote :

"take a senior level arcane literature course and most engineering/science majors would end up with a C."

Due to lack of intelligence or lack of interest? I'm definitely going with the latter.

1/21/2010 4:27:10 PM

I wouldn't use the word intelligence. It's just that an engineering student isn't going to be as familiar/experienced with the subject matter.

1/21/2010 4:54:18 PM

Can we drop the whole "Engineering vs. ____" in this thread and get back to the change major topic? Thanks folks.

1/21/2010 7:41:10 PM

Quote :

"arcane literature"

1/21/2010 8:47:58 PM

Quote :

"take a senior level arcane literature course and most engineering/science majors would end up with a C."

Someone is being way too generous.

1/22/2010 2:38:20 AM

Change your username, too.

1/22/2010 4:16:55 AM

in all seriousness, what exactly does one do with arcane literature?

1/22/2010 7:44:12 AM

i reckon you read it




or use it as kindling

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM. Reason : watch out for smug emissions though]

1/22/2010 12:27:23 PM

So whatever happened here? Find a new major you were interested in? Or stick it out with that one?

12/1/2010 6:14:03 AM

I agree with the sentiment that a typical engineering major couldn't hack it in an advanced English class

then again I was just a math major in a university that didn't offer engineering but still

12/1/2010 11:30:23 AM

i prefer apples to oranges because oranges couldnt hack it in an engineering course.

12/2/2010 4:48:59 PM

Quote :

"no, if worst comes to worst join the military, get your experience, leave then no one will ask about your gpa."

You must mean enlisting because in the Officer programs for most branches a 2.8 isn't going to get you much more than a laugh in the Recruiting Office unless you can back it up with significant aptitude or leadership experience. Officer positions have become extremely competitive in recent years between the economy and the wars.

12/2/2010 4:59:20 PM

Quote :

"i prefer apples to oranges because oranges couldnt hack it in an engineering course."

owned

12/2/2010 7:45:58 PM

Quote :

"take a senior level arcane literature course and most engineering/science majors would end up with a C."

lol, I took medieval art history for a distribution requirement and did ok. I think I would have done better if the TA hadn't hated me because I was taking it for fun and everyone else was an art history major.

12/2/2010 9:35:08 PM