Unethical GPA?

HPuck35
Mon, 30 Apr 2018 05:05:07 +0000

For what I consider an applied class one would use a subset of the materials learned in the prerequisites but possibly go into much further depth in the selected area(s). One would also combine the technical knowledge with some design and maybe even manufacturing and/or testing. It would also involve individual work as well as group work. I would expect one’s grade in the applied class to be similar to those obtained in the prerequisites. If it was much higher then I could see two possible reasons; 1) the student went back and learned what they should have in the prior classes (at least in the area of the subject in the applied class) or 2) the grade was more reflective of the group work and the student had a good group. It is hard for me to judge which is the correct reason. If I was interviewing an applicant with such a grade history, then I would definitely be probing how the grade in the applied class was arrived at.

The issue would still be how much of the material of the prerequisite does the applicant know given the poor grade. The job I would be offering would involve many different subject areas.

A college grad right out of school has learned the basics of engineering. For many (most) engineering jobs a lot of on the job training will have to occur before that individual becomes a true functioning engineer, meaning they can perform a variety of tasks with little or no constant supervision. I want to know that all the time and money that the company (and the people in my group) will put into that individual will produce that functioning engineer. This isn’t the stock market and past performance is indicative of future performance. I believe that one of the most important skills learned in college is how to learn. When you stop learning in your career, its time to move on. With that idea and the available pool of applicants, I would be selecting the best prepared person to fill the job I am offering. That person is rarely the one with poor grades.

As I have said before, my perspective is from a large company that made very high value hardware. Mistakes could get ultra expensive. The work was challenging and the pay was quite good. Smaller companies won’t always have such strict education requirements and expected performance (some will). But every company will strive to have the best educated, best performing staff they can.

If one is truly excited to have a career in engineering, they will put the effort into their classes to learn the material well. College is 4 years, your career is 40. The worst thing I can think of is to have a life doing something you aren’t excited about. It makes those 40 years seem like a prison sentence.