Hi again,
So, DS accepted into Chico State. We both LOVE it and I am certain he would be happy there.
We also just toured Cal Poly Pomona. They have a lot of construction going on now and a lot of cars zooming around. So, I like the vibe better at Chico. But, he is impressed with the high ranking in engineering at CPP and it seems that engineering graduates from there get jobs in their field. They haven’t sent out acceptances yet and they are impacted anyhow. So, we won’t be sure for now. When we looked at the “US News and World…” rankings, we noticed that Chico is 74 on the list for engineering schools. Now he is afraid he may have a hard time getting a job as a mechanical engineer with a degree from a lower ranked school rather than a higher one such as CPP or SJSU? Any thoughts on this from engineers out there ???
Engineers get recruited from every school, but the difference is in the quality of recruiting. You may get more local, small companies at smaller and lower ranked schools (not necessarily a bad thing), while larger national firms will tend to recruit at the higher ranked schools. Those firms may include consulting, financial services, as well as typical engineering services companies. Internships also vary a lot. I would try to speak with career planning at the schools your student is considering, as well as engineering admissions.
SJSU is well known for Silicon Valley placements. Proximity means a lot.
The other difference is in Alumni networks, which can open a few doors.
That is the least of his concerns regarding his future, or to put it another way if you list the factors involved in him landing a job this difference is somewhere between insignificant and nonexistent.
Because the curriculum is regulated by ABET kids take the same courses for an ME degree anywhere. The rigor may vary by school; nobody is going to say the classes are the same at MIT and Chico. But within broad tiers the schools will be viewed by employers are equivalent. Such as 2 mid-tier CSU schools like these that enroll kids of similar academic ability, have similar class sizes, have similar faculty, and so on.
So what does matter? Factors all under his control. Does he work hard to get good grades? The dropout rate in engineering nationally is over 50%. Some due to kids finding out they aren’t really interested in the field after all, some (maybe a lot) due to kids not wanting to spend 20+ hours doing homework and studying each week when they see their friends in other majors having the time of their life. Does he take part in student projects in engineering? Employers like to see an interest in engineering and hear how a kid solved problems without it being ones all their friends are also working on and channeled within the class subject. Does he get internships? Part of the advantage of being in engineering groups is you find out how the kids ahead of you found internships so you don’t have to figure it all out on your own, plus you get an idea of who is hiring kids from your school. And a kid that does well on her/his internships is pretty much guaranteed a job offer from that company upon graduation since they’re getting a known quantity instead of a kid they have spent a few hours talking with.
The difference between these 2 schools with regards to career prospects is nil IMHO. What is different is the campus environment and type of kids each enrolls.