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Question to all you engineering grads

O

OOBradm

Golden Member
Im currently a 2nd year student in school for CE.

Im wondering, how IMPORTANT is your GPA. In the short run? in the long run? is someone with a 3.75 largely better off than someone with a 3.1? Im just looking to gauge losing all social life to studying, and its good to know if im working towards a good GPA, that it will in fact have a largely positive impact on my job opportunities upon graduation.

I attend RIT, fyi....
 
a higher gpa may help you land your first job easier, but in the long run, refer to SampSon's post.

Originally posted by: SampSon
In the long run your GPA means nothing.
Click to expand...

 
It may not matter in the long run, but lots of employers (especially the larger ones that are more likely to take entry-level talent) REQUIRE a 3.0. Anything below that and you're probably setting yourself back a few years in terms of job progress.

I mean clearly a 3.75 is preferred for grad school, and anything above 3.5 is still considered 'tier one' for entry-level jobs, but anything between 3.5 and 3.0 is probably of the same class.

Don't go below 3.0 though.
 
Don't ever, ever slack off, its easier to maintain a higher GPA then to screw up, and then try to raise it. its a real PITA.
 
Unless you have above 3.5, don't expect to be able to sit back and watch the job offers come rolling in. You should start thinking about what sort of work you want to do, and do some research to try and figure out how tough it will be to land the jobs. Join some student groups to start networking, read the IEEE publications. Another thing that can give you an advantage is to get an internship. Work experience generally trumps grades (as long as you don't have less than 3.0 GPA)
 
Originally posted by: flawlssdistortn
Unless you have above 3.5, don't expect to be able to sit back and watch the job offers come rolling in. You should start thinking about what sort of work you want to do, and do some research to try and figure out how tough it will be to land the jobs. Join some student groups to start networking, read the IEEE publications. Another thing that can give you an advantage is to get an internship. Work experience generally trumps grades (as long as you don't have less than 3.0 GPA)
Click to expand...

well considering i go to RIT we have a built in co-op system that allows us to graduate with 2 years of on job experience.... so im in good shape there.

And im not asking this for reason to slack off, im just wondering if pushing myself really hard to get that extra .2 on my GPA will pay off, since for my it is much harder to get a 3.5 than a 3.3
 
My first Engineering job I landed out of University I was asked for my transcript, which I kindly provided (3.58 GPA). The second job I landed as an Engineer I had already had a few years experience, thus it was about the experience not the grades at that stage.
 
Yeah but aren't employers more concerned about your major GPA than your overall? At least when I entered grad school..thats all they seemed to care about.
 
Originally posted by: SilentZero
Yeah but aren't employers more concerned about your major GPA than your overall? At least when I entered grad school..thats all they seemed to care about.
Click to expand...


Grad school is all about the GPA. That alone fvcks me over🙁 looks like it music is going to be my part time affair now......
 
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: SilentZero
Yeah but aren't employers more concerned about your major GPA than your overall? At least when I entered grad school..thats all they seemed to care about.
Click to expand...


Grad school is all about the GPA. That alone fvcks me over🙁 looks like it music is going to be my part time affair now......
Click to expand...

Depends. I was accepted to LSU's Grad School (in Civil Engr) and my undergrad GPA was awful. I'm sure an elite school would laugh at me if I applied.
 
Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: SilentZero
Yeah but aren't employers more concerned about your major GPA than your overall? At least when I entered grad school..thats all they seemed to care about.
Click to expand...


Grad school is all about the GPA. That alone fvcks me over🙁 looks like it music is going to be my part time affair now......
Click to expand...

Depends. I was accepted to LSU's Grad School (in Civil Engr) and my undergrad GPA was awful. I'm sure an elite school would laugh at me if I applied.
Click to expand...

How bad was your GPA?
 
Originally posted by: monk3y

How bad was your GPA?
Click to expand...

around a 2.7

I'll be the first to admit that I totally screwed myself. I missed a lot of class and didn't study like I should've. My grades look like a big bell curve. I was so burnt out that I almost dropped out of school.

I pulled myself out of the gutter and made excellent grades my last 2 years. The professors were dumbfounded that I made "A's" in their hardest classes but "C's" in the easiest ones...

Also, I only applied for one position after graduation and I got it.
 
Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Originally posted by: monk3y

How bad was your GPA?
Click to expand...

around a 2.7

I'll be the first to admit that I totally screwed myself. I missed a lot of class and didn't study like I should've. My grades look like a big bell curve. I was so burnt out that I almost dropped out of school.

I pulled myself out of the gutter and made excellent grades my last 2 years. The professors were dumbfounded that I made "A's" in their hardest classes but "C's" in the easiest ones...

Also, I only applied for one position after graduation and I got it.
Click to expand...


so there is hope for me🙂 My GPA is around a 2.78 now....but i hope i can get it close to a 3 by the time i graduate.
 
yea..if you're able to find co-ops...i attended RIT before I transferred to Cornell, and did 1 quarter of co-op. It was a PITA to find a co-op. I had a 3.8 or so GPA, and was actually only able to get 1 interview (which I ended up getting an offer from...but the pay sucked). This was 3 years ago, so maybe it is better now.

It shouldnt be very difficult to pull a 3.5 or higher GPA at RIT. Frankly, its an easy school. The only classes which may be difficult will be your upper level CE classes. The beginning CS/math classes are pretty much a joke. Since they dont discriminate between an A- and an A, all you need to do to get a 3.5 is get 50/50 between As and Bs, which shouldnt be too hard

GPA is really only important for your first job, and job experience is just as important. Just recognize that you will probably be doing all your interviews on-campus going against other RIT students, so your 2 years (though I am pretty sure it is really just 5 quarters, which is actually more like 1 year) of co-op experience is not going to stand out at all since everyone else has the same amount of experience. Who you co-op for and what kind of work you did while on co-op is what will make you stand out among the other people you are competing with

Originally posted by: OOBradm
Originally posted by: flawlssdistortn
Unless you have above 3.5, don't expect to be able to sit back and watch the job offers come rolling in. You should start thinking about what sort of work you want to do, and do some research to try and figure out how tough it will be to land the jobs. Join some student groups to start networking, read the IEEE publications. Another thing that can give you an advantage is to get an internship. Work experience generally trumps grades (as long as you don't have less than 3.0 GPA)
Click to expand...

well considering i go to RIT we have a built in co-op system that allows us to graduate with 2 years of on job experience.... so im in good shape there.

And im not asking this for reason to slack off, im just wondering if pushing myself really hard to get that extra .2 on my GPA will pay off, since for my it is much harder to get a 3.5 than a 3.3
Click to expand...

 
I currently work for a civil engineering firm....If i was you, I would get my foot in the door as an intern.....employers will look the experience from that. Plus the experience you learn from the internship, will make the classwork easier for you to be able to slack off a bit in class, and still be able to substain your grades.
 
i graduated with a civil degree last year, my gpa was not so hot, little above 3.0. I had zero trouble getting a job, I had 4 different job offers. None of these even asked what my gpa was or to see a transcript. I think the big thing that helped was that I interened for a year at a civil firm. My friend who graduated with almost a 4.0, honors all the way, but no experience had the hardest time finding a job. I have a better job than him and im getting paid significantly more....
 
Originally posted by: jaybert
yea..if you're able to find co-ops...i attended RIT before I transferred to Cornell, and did 1 quarter of co-op. It was a PITA to find a co-op. I had a 3.8 or so GPA, and was actually only able to get 1 interview (which I ended up getting an offer from...but the pay sucked). This was 3 years ago, so maybe it is better now.

It shouldnt be very difficult to pull a 3.5 or higher GPA at RIT. Frankly, its an easy school. The only classes which may be difficult will be your upper level CE classes. The beginning CS/math classes are pretty much a joke. Since they dont discriminate between an A- and an A, all you need to do to get a 3.5 is get 50/50 between As and Bs, which shouldnt be too hard

GPA is really only important for your first job, and job experience is just as important. Just recognize that you will probably be doing all your interviews on-campus going against other RIT students, so your 2 years (though I am pretty sure it is really just 5 quarters, which is actually more like 1 year) of co-op experience is not going to stand out at all since everyone else has the same amount of experience. Who you co-op for and what kind of work you did while on co-op is what will make you stand out among the other people you are competing with

Originally posted by: OOBradm
Originally posted by: flawlssdistortn
Unless you have above 3.5, don't expect to be able to sit back and watch the job offers come rolling in. You should start thinking about what sort of work you want to do, and do some research to try and figure out how tough it will be to land the jobs. Join some student groups to start networking, read the IEEE publications. Another thing that can give you an advantage is to get an internship. Work experience generally trumps grades (as long as you don't have less than 3.0 GPA)
Click to expand...

well considering i go to RIT we have a built in co-op system that allows us to graduate with 2 years of on job experience.... so im in good shape there.

And im not asking this for reason to slack off, im just wondering if pushing myself really hard to get that extra .2 on my GPA will pay off, since for my it is much harder to get a 3.5 than a 3.3
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Regarding RIT being an easy school, I know lots of people who would disagree with that as would I, however my point with this post is not to argue about that.

In mentioning that I will be applying for jobs on RITs campus, and against other RIT students, I suppose you are talking about interviews, correct? Once i graduate, I hopefully will not still be interviewing solely against other RIT students and thus my coop will give me an edge.

But, from the rest of the posts, it seems that just like everything else, different people have different views of how much it matters, and i'll just need to decide for myself how much work is worth it and how much isnt. I'll be content with anything about a 3.3, and happy around a 3.5

 
Originally posted by: OOBradm
In mentioning that I will be applying for jobs on RITs campus, and against other RIT students, I suppose you are talking about interviews, correct? Once i graduate, I hopefully will not still be interviewing solely against other RIT students and thus my coop will give me an edge.

But, from the rest of the posts, it seems that just like everything else, different people have different views of how much it matters, and i'll just need to decide for myself how much work is worth it and how much isnt. I'll be content with anything about a 3.3, and happy around a 3.5
Click to expand...

I graduated from RIT as an EE, with about a 3.3 GPA. There were a few employers (IBM and Microsoft are two that come to mind) that wouldn't talk to me because my GPA was below 3.5. Other then that, it wasn't an issue.

I had much better luck looking for jobs and co-ops on my own, as I didn't stand out among RIT students but RIT students stand out from other colleges. I was 1/3 in offers per interview among RIT recruited jobs and 3/3 on my own.
 
i'm just going from my 2 years at RIT, nothing more, nothing less. I had 0 problems maintaining my GPA (3.8) without much studying. thats not meant to brag and me saying that I am smarter...as when I transferred, I was putting much more effort there and getting much worse grades

The majority of your interviews once you graduate will be on-campus through your career services office. So everyone that they are interviewing that visit will all be fellow RIT students. In the grand scheme of things, yes, you will be competing against people from all schools, but the interviewer can only forward so many resumes on. So when she's interviewing 20 people from RIT, she may only be able to give 5 recommendations for second round interviews....so your competition in the first round will all be RIT students. On your second round interviews, that is where your co-op experience may give you an edge over other people who may not have as much experience.



Originally posted by: OOBradm
Originally posted by: jaybert
yea..if you're able to find co-ops...i attended RIT before I transferred to Cornell, and did 1 quarter of co-op. It was a PITA to find a co-op. I had a 3.8 or so GPA, and was actually only able to get 1 interview (which I ended up getting an offer from...but the pay sucked). This was 3 years ago, so maybe it is better now.

It shouldnt be very difficult to pull a 3.5 or higher GPA at RIT. Frankly, its an easy school. The only classes which may be difficult will be your upper level CE classes. The beginning CS/math classes are pretty much a joke. Since they dont discriminate between an A- and an A, all you need to do to get a 3.5 is get 50/50 between As and Bs, which shouldnt be too hard

GPA is really only important for your first job, and job experience is just as important. Just recognize that you will probably be doing all your interviews on-campus going against other RIT students, so your 2 years (though I am pretty sure it is really just 5 quarters, which is actually more like 1 year) of co-op experience is not going to stand out at all since everyone else has the same amount of experience. Who you co-op for and what kind of work you did while on co-op is what will make you stand out among the other people you are competing with

Originally posted by: OOBradm
Originally posted by: flawlssdistortn
Unless you have above 3.5, don't expect to be able to sit back and watch the job offers come rolling in. You should start thinking about what sort of work you want to do, and do some research to try and figure out how tough it will be to land the jobs. Join some student groups to start networking, read the IEEE publications. Another thing that can give you an advantage is to get an internship. Work experience generally trumps grades (as long as you don't have less than 3.0 GPA)
Click to expand...

well considering i go to RIT we have a built in co-op system that allows us to graduate with 2 years of on job experience.... so im in good shape there.

And im not asking this for reason to slack off, im just wondering if pushing myself really hard to get that extra .2 on my GPA will pay off, since for my it is much harder to get a 3.5 than a 3.3
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Regarding RIT being an easy school, I know lots of people who would disagree with that as would I, however my point with this post is not to argue about that.

In mentioning that I will be applying for jobs on RITs campus, and against other RIT students, I suppose you are talking about interviews, correct? Once i graduate, I hopefully will not still be interviewing solely against other RIT students and thus my coop will give me an edge.

But, from the rest of the posts, it seems that just like everything else, different people have different views of how much it matters, and i'll just need to decide for myself how much work is worth it and how much isnt. I'll be content with anything about a 3.3, and happy around a 3.5
Click to expand...

 
hrm...that must be a school-by-school requirement then, as I interviewed w/ both IBM and Microsoft (actually twice...once in 2004 for co-op positions, and again in 2005 for fulltime) and by GPA is below a 3.3. Though when I interviewed w/ IBM they did tell me that my GPA was a little low when I was looking for a co-op. I still got 2 offers from them though, and ended up taking one in the software group in FL.

When doing fulltime recruiting, IBM *may* have had a GPA requirement, but I was probably given special treatment since I co-oped for them so they picked me up for an interview anyways. Again, the interviewer noted that my GPA was a little below what they were looking for. I did get an offer from them, and I firmly believe the main reason I did was because of the high recommendations that my boss for my co-op gave when the recruiter contacted him.

As for microsoft, there was no comment whatsoever regarding my GPA during either interview. None of them went past the first round though...so maybe my GPA did in fact impact my not getting a second round, but I think it probably has something to do with me not being able to answer their questions correctly 🙂

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
Originally posted by: OOBradm
In mentioning that I will be applying for jobs on RITs campus, and against other RIT students, I suppose you are talking about interviews, correct? Once i graduate, I hopefully will not still be interviewing solely against other RIT students and thus my coop will give me an edge.

But, from the rest of the posts, it seems that just like everything else, different people have different views of how much it matters, and i'll just need to decide for myself how much work is worth it and how much isnt. I'll be content with anything about a 3.3, and happy around a 3.5
Click to expand...

I graduated from RIT as an EE, with about a 3.3 GPA. There were a few employers (IBM and Microsoft are two that come to mind) that wouldn't talk to me because my GPA was below 3.5. Other then that, it wasn't an issue.

I had much better luck looking for jobs and co-ops on my own, as I didn't stand out among RIT students but RIT students stand out from other colleges. I was 1/3 in offers per interview among RIT recruited jobs and 3/3 on my own.
Click to expand...

 
hrm...that must be a school-by-school requirement then, as I interviewed w/ both IBM and Microsoft (actually twice...once in 2004 for co-op positions, and again in 2005 for fulltime) and by GPA is below a 3.3. Though when I interviewed w/ IBM they did tell me that my GPA was a little low when I was looking for a co-op. I still got 2 offers from them though, and ended up taking one in the software group in FL.

When doing fulltime recruiting, IBM *may* have had a GPA requirement, but I was probably given special treatment since I co-oped for them so they picked me up for an interview anyways. Again, the interviewer noted that my GPA was a little below what they were looking for. I did get an offer from them, and I firmly believe the main reason I did was because of the high recommendations that my boss for my co-op gave when the recruiter contacted him.

As for microsoft, there was no comment whatsoever regarding my GPA during either interview. None of them went past the first round though...so maybe my GPA did in fact impact my not getting a second round, but I think it probably has something to do with me not being able to answer their questions correctly 🙂

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
Originally posted by: OOBradm
In mentioning that I will be applying for jobs on RITs campus, and against other RIT students, I suppose you are talking about interviews, correct? Once i graduate, I hopefully will not still be interviewing solely against other RIT students and thus my coop will give me an edge.

But, from the rest of the posts, it seems that just like everything else, different people have different views of how much it matters, and i'll just need to decide for myself how much work is worth it and how much isnt. I'll be content with anything about a 3.3, and happy around a 3.5
Click to expand...

I graduated from RIT as an EE, with about a 3.3 GPA. There were a few employers (IBM and Microsoft are two that come to mind) that wouldn't talk to me because my GPA was below 3.5. Other then that, it wasn't an issue.

I had much better luck looking for jobs and co-ops on my own, as I didn't stand out among RIT students but RIT students stand out from other colleges. I was 1/3 in offers per interview among RIT recruited jobs and 3/3 on my own.
Click to expand...

 
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