Help me figure out my potential (tech?) career...

[Actaeon]

Alright, right now, I'm 17, a senior in HS, and I have no idea what I want to do as a career. Obviously a big interest of mine is computers, and I know that field has been going downhill lately. Thats pretty much about the only thing I'm good at. So, I have no big plans right now, and everything is extremely flexable.

I'm not exactly sure what I want to do, but I guess a "dream" of mine is to work for some PC hardware company. Intel, AMD, or Nvidia (Hold the Nvidia jokes for now, and ATi is in canada, and I'm not going to move up there). I'm sure SiS, VIA, and those other companys would work be just as good. But these are just examples.

After searching Job oppertunities at Intel and Nvidia's webpage, they specificly look for Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science degrees. Would it be wise, while earning my degree, take a Paid Internship at Intel/Nvidia/AMD, and hopefully get a job later along the lines? I'd really like to be involved in design and manufacturing of the chips/chipsets/etc etc.

Here are a few things thats conflicting "my dream".

1.) My HS GPA is HORRIBLE. My freshmen year, I was taking an advanced engineering course, and I was under alot of stress (alot of crap going on was going on in my life at the time), and I managed to fail that horribly. So the moved me back to regular classes, and I've been doing "pretty" well since. Though my Freshmen year totally killed my GPA. I know I'll definatly graduate between a 2.0-2.5 because of that.

2.) I have yet to take any standardized tests (SATs), other than the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test). I totally killed that test, got above grade level in everything, and I didn't even study for it. I'm hoping I can do even better in the SATs.

3.) I live in Florida. All these companies are located in Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/California.

So...

I need help on these few things...

1.) What Univeristy/School will accept me even though I have such a crappy GPA? I think I'm a pretty smart kid, just really screwed up my freshmen year. Would a good score on the SATs sorta knock off the bad image from the GPA?

2.) School in Florida, where I'm close to home, and currently live. Or school in California for a possible Internship with one of these companies?

3.) Recommendation on what type, and which school? Tech School? State University? Etc etc....


I realize a job at Intel/AMD/Nvidia may be to far out of reach, but my general conflicts and questions do reflect any career I'm wishing to apply in. I realize even with a degree in EE/CE/CS, I still may not get a job there, or even an Internship. But I know it'll get me a job somewhere else.

I know this is very long, but would really appreciate any help regarding this topic. At this rate, I'm going absolutely no where in my life, and I really wish to change that. I realize many people on this forum have jobs of this type, and I'm just curious to see what you would do in my situation.

Thanks
Jonathan

 

[SagaLore]

The field isn't going downhill at all, it's still growing very strongly - a lot of the weak jobs like helpdesk support may be getting outsourced, but we still need a lot of the focused consultants for routers, security, wan engineering, programming, etc.

Start out simple. Just get a basic Information Technology associates degree. Take some parttime tech jobs somewhere, figure out what you want to specialize in, then go back and start finishing your Bachelor's degree. Study up on some certifications while you're doing that.

 

[jaydee]

Originally posted by: Actaeon


After searching Job oppertunities at Intel and Nvidia's webpage, they specificly look for Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science degrees. Would it be wise, while earning my degree, take a Paid Internship at Intel/Nvidia/AMD, and hopefully get a job later along the lines? I'd really like to be involved in design and manufacturing of the chips/chipsets/etc etc.

You would be a very lucky man to obtain a paid internship at any of the above. I'm a Soph. EE 3.6 GPA and have been looking for a co-op for 6 months and I'll probably end up at some private Enviromental Engineering consulting firm.

 

[jaydee]

BTW, aren't SiS and VIA operations located in Taiwan?

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: jaydee
BTW, aren't SiS and VIA operations located in Taiwan?

Yea, Actaeon you might want to sign up on Monster.com and create an agent for United States - Information Systems. Just so you can see all the I.S. jobs out there. There are a lot, and most of those companies you never would have heard of. Although it's nice to set a goal as high as possible, such as becoming head IT guy for Microsoft, it will take you decades of experience and many resume building credentials before you can even consider something like that. So start out small - just get a simple job now and get some education. Start with Circuit City, Staples, Walmart electronics, etc...

 

[Actaeon]

Thanks for the help. I realize I probally couldn't get a job at either of those companies until I get a degree and several years of work experience.

So does this sound like a good idea to you?

Take an EE/CE/CS course in some Florida Tech School/College/University. While taking that course, look for a job thats "related" to the field. PC Repair, or something along those lines. Then when I'm done getting my BS Degree, go ahead and find a job that manufactures some sort of chips for some electronics? Lucent Technologies is the only company I can think of in FL.

Then, depending on my job, job oppertunites and experience, either get a Masters, or relocate to one of my "dream" jobs? Or even do both if I can?

Few questions...

What looks better on paper? Tech Schools or Universities? Anything specific certain companies look for?

What about my low GPA and such, what do you guys suggest I do about that? Would I even be accepted in such schools in the first place?

Thanks again!
Jonathan

 

[Soybomb]

DO NOT waste your time on an associates degree! Feel free to take general education courses that will count for your BS at a community college, but the associates is a waste of time and money. I think its very unlikely that a technical school could get you into what you want to do. If I were you and you don't mind being in FL I'd take gened courses at a community college there so you can get cheap schooling and help boost your GPA. Then when you've taken all of them transfer for a university and get your BS in CE or whatever you want. An internship then would be quite nice too, you may want to move, maybe not.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Soybomb
DO NOT waste your time on an associates degree! Feel free to take general education courses that will count for your BS at a community college, but the associates is a waste of time and money. I think its very unlikely that a technical school could get you into what you want to do. If I were you and you don't mind being in FL I'd take gened courses at a community college there so you can get cheap schooling and help boost your GPA. Then when you've taken all of them transfer for a university and get your BS in CE or whatever you want. An internship then would be quite nice too, you may want to move, maybe not.

A Bachelor's degree is just another 2 years after an Associates degree. Getting an "associates" is not a waste of time, but simply one step of many steps towards a final goal. But I would agree not to get an Associates degree somewhere that didn't offer the extend Bachelors program as well.

 

[VictorLazlo]

Please, get a real 4-year bachelors degree from an accredited univeristy. (FIT will take any GPA, if you show the green.)

Go for an EE or CS degree. CE is the bastard child of EE and CS. I thought it would qualify me for both, but instead it qualifies me for neither!

Once you get to college, start looking for internships IMMIDIATELY. Go to every job fair, even your freshman year to get a feel for it. Don't wait until your senior year to start thinking about a job because it will be too late.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Actaeon
Thanks for the help. I realize I probally couldn't get a job at either of those companies until I get a degree and several years of work experience.

So does this sound like a good idea to you?

Take an EE/CE/CS course in some Florida Tech School/College/University. While taking that course, look for a job thats "related" to the field. PC Repair, or something along those lines. Then when I'm done getting my BS Degree, go ahead and find a job that manufactures some sort of chips for some electronics? Lucent Technologies is the only company I can think of in FL.

Then, depending on my job, job oppertunites and experience, either get a Masters, or relocate to one of my "dream" jobs? Or even do both if I can?

Few questions...

What looks better on paper? Tech Schools or Universities? Anything specific certain companies look for?

What about my low GPA and such, what do you guys suggest I do about that? Would I even be accepted in such schools in the first place?

Thanks again!
Jonathan

You need to decide if Electronics/Engineering is what you want to do, Telecommunications is what you want to do, or Information Technology is what you want to do. Because beyond the initial classes they head in complete different directions, there is hardly any parallel to them.

And then each one has even more branches,

Electronics/Engineering - processor designed, embedded systems, router/switch technology, etc.
Telecommunications - Fiber optics, phone systems, broadband communications, etc.
Information Technology - programming, networking, management, computer support, etc.

 

[Soybomb]

A Bachelor's degree is just another 2 years after an Associates degree. Getting an "associates" is not a waste of time, but simply one step of many steps towards a final goal. But I would agree not to get an Associates degree somewhere that didn't offer the extend Bachelors program as well.

Not necessarily, I blindly got the associates degree when the community college said everything would transfer for my BS under the "illinois articulation agreement." Heres the thing though, an associates degree was 64 hours. Pretty much the only classes that applied to my BS were gened classes. Gen-ed classes make up 40 hours of my BS. And then a few core requirements for my program were not satisfied so I still had to take 2 other gen-ed classes. In the end a 64 hour degree was worth about 34 hours toward my BS. So yes its a step, but its taking the scenic route and gets you a degree with (at least to me) no value. Fwiw

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Soybomb

A Bachelor's degree is just another 2 years after an Associates degree. Getting an "associates" is not a waste of time, but simply one step of many steps towards a final goal. But I would agree not to get an Associates degree somewhere that didn't offer the extend Bachelors program as well.

Not necessarily, I blindly got the associates degree when the community college said everything would transfer for my BS under the "illinois articulation agreement." Heres the thing though, an associates degree was 64 hours. Pretty much the only classes that applied to my BS were gened classes. Gen-ed classes make up 40 hours of my BS. And then a few core requirements for my program were not satisfied so I still had to take 2 other gen-ed classes. In the end a 64 hour degree was worth about 34 hours toward my BS. So yes its a step, but its taking the scenic route and gets you a degree with (at least to me) no value. Fwiw

Ugh, that sounds awful. Thankfully my college will do a full apples-to-apples transfer of credits. They'll even let me get another bachelor's degree in the other focus, and many of the classes follow a parallel curriculum.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Actaeon
Thanks for the help. I realize I probally couldn't get a job at either of those companies until I get a degree and several years of work experience.

So does this sound like a good idea to you?

Take an EE/CE/CS course in some Florida Tech School/College/University. While taking that course, look for a job thats "related" to the field. PC Repair, or something along those lines. Then when I'm done getting my BS Degree, go ahead and find a job that manufactures some sort of chips for some electronics? Lucent Technologies is the only company I can think of in FL.

Then, depending on my job, job oppertunites and experience, either get a Masters, or relocate to one of my "dream" jobs? Or even do both if I can?

Few questions...

What looks better on paper? Tech Schools or Universities? Anything specific certain companies look for?

What about my low GPA and such, what do you guys suggest I do about that? Would I even be accepted in such schools in the first place?

Thanks again!
Jonathan

You need to decide if Electronics/Engineering is what you want to do, Telecommunications is what you want to do, or Information Technology is what you want to do. Because beyond the initial classes they head in complete different directions, there is hardly any parallel to them.

And then each one has even more branches,

Electronics/Engineering - processor designed, embedded systems, router/switch technology, etc.
Telecommunications - Fiber optics, phone systems, broadband communications, etc.
Information Technology - programming, networking, management, computer support, etc.

I'm not sure if by electronics/engineering you mean electrical engineering... some of those things you listed are jobs that an EE can do, but they're not branches or fields of study. The fields of study vary from institution to institution, but they are fields like signal processing and communications, control systems, electromagnetics, photonics (fiber optics, etc.), solid-state devices and materials, etc. Computer engineers have computer hardware/architecture, computer communications/networks, software, etc. Of course there's some overlap, too.

You should just go to college and see if you can handle engineering first. People dream that electrical or computer or whatever engineering will be fun and exciting and give them the ability to design new things right out of college. It may be fun and exciting to some, but it's very hard work and you'll most probably graduate feeling like you know nothing Most people don't even realize that EE contains all this signal processing, controls, etc. So, you should just go to college and see what it's like first before setting your life goals in concrete!

 

[DT4K]

First of all, don't worry about your HS GPA.
Go to community college first.
You will save yourself money and get a chance to make up for your poor GPA.
Most decent universities will not accept you with a GPA in the 2.* range.
But if you spend two years at a community college and get good grades, the universities won't give a crap what your HS GPA was or what your SAT's were and you will be able to go to a good school to get your bachelors degree.

Take any internship or part-time job you can get in a computer related field whether it is paid or not.
I got a bachelors degree in general science with a 2.4 GPA. I fvcked around for 8 years going off and on, part time, etc before I got that degree. It ended up being a useless degree so I went to another university to get a second bachelors in computer science. After a year and a half there with a 3.7 GPA and with NO work experience, I got an interview with Intel for a software developer job. Unfortunately, they put a freeze on all hiring 2 weeks after I had my interview. This was in January 2001.

I'm now a software engineer with Kodak.
The point I'm trying to make is that it is never too late to fix your poor academic record. Schools and companies are much more interested in how you have performed in the last year or two.

EDIT: on second thought, for technical fields like engineering or computer science, you may want to spend just ONE year at a community college. Those fields tend to have a lot of core requirements and be very sequential. If you spend two years at CC, you may find that it will take you another 3 years at university to fulfill all the requirements. Depends on the program you are interested in.

 

[RabidMongoose]

If you're worried about your GPA, just try to get into University of Florida. Do well there and then apply to a good graduate schoo.

 

[Actaeon]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it really is appreciated.

I guess I'll stop by the counciler tomorrow, and perhaps she/he'll sorta lead me in the right direction.

I suppose my future plans is to take 1-2 years at a community/local college, then move to a 4 year State University getting a BS in Electrical Engineering (of course, this may change, as I'm interested in CS/CE as well, though Victor did advise me against CE).

Couple more questions...

Am I allowed to take an Internship even at the community college level, before I move on to a 4 year university?

Victor, is FIT an accredited school?

Which one of these schools do you think is best for me? I'm not sure if thats the complete list of EE courses available in FL, I do not see UCF, or FSU in there.

Thanks everyone for the help, it really is appreciated!

 

[RabidMongoose]

UF is the best school in FL, right? So I'd say that would be the best choice for you. I really wouldn't look at UNDERGRADUATE rankings for an individual program.

 

[CanOWorms]

I would go to UF. It's a decent school for undergrad (I believe its graduate-level is excellent). All the others are probably a level or two below UF.

You shouldn't disregard CE just because of the opinion of one person. Find out the facts for yourself Individual engineering programs can vary drastically from one institution to the other. At one university CE may be considered useless, but CE at another university might actually have different topics and courses. EE is a very broad field and some of its fields crosslist into some CompE programs.

 

[Actaeon]

Alright, thanks for all the advice guys, I think I got it all figured out now...

I need to talk to my counciler, and they'll probally help me schedule things out.

Thanks again guys
Jonathan

 

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I would go to UF. It's a decent school for undergrad (I believe its graduate-level is excellent). All the others are probably a level or two below UF.

You shouldn't disregard CE just because of the opinion of one person. Find out the facts for yourself Individual engineering programs can vary drastically from one institution to the other. At one university CE may be considered useless, but CE at another university might actually have different topics and courses. EE is a very broad field and some of its fields crosslist into some CompE programs.

Fun school if you don't mind living in the sticks, way better campus than FSU IMO....
FIT in Melbourne is a great school but $$$ it will cost you...

 

[Actaeon]

Originally posted by: Phocas

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I would go to UF. It's a decent school for undergrad (I believe its graduate-level is excellent). All the others are probably a level or two below UF.

You shouldn't disregard CE just because of the opinion of one person. Find out the facts for yourself Individual engineering programs can vary drastically from one institution to the other. At one university CE may be considered useless, but CE at another university might actually have different topics and courses. EE is a very broad field and some of its fields crosslist into some CompE programs.

Fun school if you don't mind living in the sticks, way better campus than FSU IMO....
FIT in Melbourne is a great school but $$$ it will cost you...

Do you think UF or FIT is a better school? I always thought State Universities were more prestigous and highly regarded than any tech school.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Actaeon

Originally posted by: Phocas

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I would go to UF. It's a decent school for undergrad (I believe its graduate-level is excellent). All the others are probably a level or two below UF.

You shouldn't disregard CE just because of the opinion of one person. Find out the facts for yourself Individual engineering programs can vary drastically from one institution to the other. At one university CE may be considered useless, but CE at another university might actually have different topics and courses. EE is a very broad field and some of its fields crosslist into some CompE programs.

Fun school if you don't mind living in the sticks, way better campus than FSU IMO....
FIT in Melbourne is a great school but $$$ it will cost you...

Do you think UF or FIT is a better school? I always thought State Universities were more prestigous and highly regarded than any tech school.

Every answer you will get is someone's opinion... In my opinion UF is a lot better than FIT. I have never even heard of FIT.

As for state universities & tech schools... that's not true. Georgia Tech is a lot more highly regarded than any other school in Georgia for engineering.