<p>Looking through my gen-ed requirements…what does FSC - HAN mean? I need two of these.</p>
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<p>i stopped reading right there :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Hey guys. Has anyone taken these classes with the same professors? Do they require the current edition of the textbook for homework?</p>
<p>EE10 - Abidi (Bookstore says optional. Might get older edition for reference.)
EE101 - Ozcan (Bookstore says required and it comes with a CD. Do I need the CD and should I get a new one just for that?)
EE102 - Lee, JH (Required. Getting intl ed. online.)</p>
<p>Is there a Software Engineering major at UCLA?</p>
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<p>Nope, the only related ones are Computer Science, Computer Science and Engineering, and Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering option.</p>
<p>^CSE is CS with a little EE mixed in. EECE is EE with a little CS mixed in. (speaking very roughly)</p>
<p>Towards the very beginning of this thread, you can see flopsy’s remark that at a CS town hall (back in his day), “someone quipped that CSE is essentially CS with circuit classes thrown in.”</p>
<p>Last week, I checked my status on M51A class, and I’m 3/16 wailisting position. Today, I checked it again and it showed 7/8. Does anyone know what happen ?</p>
<p>Given the poor job market, I am worried that it will be very difficult to secure an entry level position after graduation. I am a mechanical engineering student and know that mechEs are not as in demand as CS/EE majors. I am entering senior year with a decent gpa (3.5) but no internship. I was wondering if anyone knows how mechanical engineers generally fare job placement wise. Cal offers placement statistics and even lists the companies that students got hired at, but I can’t find similar information for UCLA. Thanks.</p>
<p>It’s not very difficult to secure an entry level position - if you are actively searching, I think within 6 months at most (with your GPA) you should end up with a few interviews and eventually a full time offer. The difficulty you are speaking of is getting the position in a certain company that you really want and ones which matches your mechanical engineering background. There are some companies out there who will hire fresh graduates to do some “engineering work”, just as long as you have the 3.5GPA, but you won’t be using any solid mechanics, heat transfer, etc. theory, let alone deal with this kind of stuff you’ve learned.</p>
<p>A few of the mechanical engineers graduates who received offers ended up at Northrop and Raytheon. Most of them had previous summer internships there. Within aerospace, a lot of graduates end up as system engineers and within mechanical, I think a lot end up in design & analysis. I believe previous internships (especially during your junior year summer) are the key to landing an offer before you graduate. Even if they don’t relate to your field, still take any offers. I’ve seen people who do things remotely related to engineering (since they couldn’t get an engineering internship) and that paved the way to an engineering internship/co-op senior year or even a full time offer (although some connections were involved …)</p>
<p>A few graduates I know of had offers from consulting companies. Their skills were more fit for business/technical consulting rather than engineering. To the best of my knowledge, nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of the ME students are going to graduate school this year (within engineering or law). Within those pursuing graduate school in engineering, most seem to be just doing the course-option. It is actually very easy to get into ME graduate schools in the area. Speaking for the M.S level and just the course-option, you can get into UCLA with a GPA as low as 3.2, 3.3 (with good recs). For USC, you can get in even with just a 3.1 (and some sort of student project involvement). This is totally different story if you are applying for a PhD program or M.S thesis option though.</p>
<p>With your high GPA (3.5), your best shot now in finding a job is through having & establishing connections. In the meantime, you can enhance your engineering skills by doing undergraduate research (your high GPA should get you admitted into most ME labs, as long as you have interest) or joining student clubs. Participating in a student club and working on their projects where you make something can be critical in your job search. Not only does it show up on your resume, but the merit is having a story to share in interviews, and potentially impressing the hiring manager since you have proven your skills through taking on a mechanical engineering project.</p>
<p>Hope this tells you more.</p>
<p>Thanks Boelter that helped a lot. I took classes and participated in a research position for a professor and did not do an internship this summer. Now I figure it is too late to get one. Based on what you said it seems like a pretty big handicap not to have one and I was just wondering in your experience did you know anyone without an internship who got hired? Thanks again.</p>
<p>well-said insights, BH. Is MechE your own major?</p>
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I don’t know anyone who had no prior internship experiences (who graduated in 2010) and now has a full time engineering job. There are a few international students going back to their country to do engineering sales, but I won’t count them in. </p>
<p>I know a few students who couldn’t find summer internships but after some persistence in searching, ended up taking a co-op during the school year. Another student I know got an offer to work part-time at a small local company while taking a full senior year load. It soudns stressful but that may be your best opportunity now - find a part time or co-op position for the year - you’ll have a good chance of landing a full time offer there once you graduate (as long as the company has the funding and work for you to do). </p>
<p>Doing research is great too - you have something to talk about. Very possible that your project is more high profile and extensive than what students accomplish in a summer internship. </p>
<p>Which companies are you looking to apply to? A few will give you an on campus interview if you just have a 3.6 or higher. I don’t know how far that will take you since you don’t have previous experience, but as long as you show that you are a match for the position (and hope that other students who applied aren’t as qualified as you), you might end up with another interview and eventually the job …</p>
<p>I’d really like to work for Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne as far as mechE is concerned, but I am really open to anything. I def would not mind working in consulting either. Do you know what companies offer co-ops around UCLA?</p>
<p>Look on Bruinview if you haven’t already, you’ll find plenty of postions (including co-ops for Fall/Winter) there. Usually the co-ops are for small companies. Sounds like you’re also interested in the aerospace sector. You can look into NASA USRP which is a paid undergraduate research position stationed at one of the NASA research centers. Terms are for Fall/Winter/Spring. I received an offer for that and have similar stats to you.</p>
<p>I think participation in this program is just as great as an engineering summer internship, if not more rewarding.</p>
<p>Guess I’ll add my 2 cents</p>
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<p>I’ve got contacts in many of the major defense contractors (boeing, northrop, pratt & whiteney, lockheed, etc). What they all have in common is that they are downsizing and this is based on their presence in the socal and norcal area. I must say that getting info from a friend that works inside is totally different than talking to a recruiter at a fair or info session, who were probably grabbed at the last minute to attend. Well not all of them were useless. There were a few that truly went out of their way to help me get a job in the company.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count too much on rocketdyne. Mostly all the people that I know that got a job there in last 2-3 years had prior internship experience. The one person that didn’t… well it’s questionable onto how the person got the job. Actually out of all the companies I talked to last year at the career fair, Pratt and whitey had the only rep that didn’t try to bs me on how they are doing and the status of their hiring.</p>
<p>Also it’s good to see that you are considering other opportunities other than defense contractors. I still remember that guest speaker in ethics, who was killed in a car accident a few years ago. During a lecture, he said, “well i don’t see what else engineers can do other than defense.” I really thought that was the dumbest comment ever.</p>
<p>Research what’s out there and don’t limit yourself to one particular industry and specific job skill. I believe there is career fair in october, so that should be a good event to attend.</p>
<p>About the lab research experience. I have it listed on my resume and maybe only had a few hiring mangers and HR actually ask a question regarding it. However it really depends on the job you are being interview for.</p>
<p>The NASA paid research positions says 40 hours a week, isn’t that crazy on top of classes? Do they work around your schedule for that or do you work around theirs?</p>
<p>NASA USRP will be a co-op. You won’t be taking at classes at UCLA, instead you will be stationed at the research center (most out of state). I think it is worth taking a quarter off to get this experience - you will have the rough opportunity to select your project.</p>
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I think I know who this person is :rolleyes: and I would agree with you</p>
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<p>You know the internship experience is not what made me think about it. After discovering how many people i knew that worked there, it was interesting what 1-2 things they all had in common. 
However, I won’t get into that here.</p>
<p>Okay, I suck at physics. Anyways, how much of 1A and 1B do I have to remember to do 1C?</p>
<p>1C if I remember correctly covers Maxwell’s Equations, Complex impedance, EM Waves, Physical/Geometric Optics, and Special Relativity. 1A stuff doesn’t really apply at all here, but you should be familiar with some content from 1B. In 1B you should have been exposed to some of Maxwell’s Equations in integral form (Gauss, Ampere). In 1C you’ll finish Maxwell’s Equations in both integral and differential form. Also, you should know the basic circuit stuff from 1B as more complex circuits will be introduced in 1C. Optics is a new topic so you don’t need to know anything from previous classes and the same thing goes for special relativity. So basically just review circuit concepts and Maxwell’s Eq.</p>