[Partial]

In my quest to better understand where I stand in life, I pose yet another question for you all out there that live, work and have gone through the "trying to find yourself" stage i'm in right now.

I am considering switching from a good engineering school with an average gpa to an average college where I know I can graduate near the top of my class. What do you consider to be more important when applying and trying to get jobs and opportunities after college graduation?

I would be switching from Software Engineering to Computer Science.

[turtle]

My first thought is for you to chase the job you love and that will give you what you want. Then figure out the way to do that. Which job would you rather have?

[Partial]

Originally Posted by turtle2472 My first thought is for you to chase the job you love and that will give you what you want. Then figure out the way to do that. Which job would you rather have?

I suppose I should explain. I'm going to switch to computer science either way. Just won't benefit from ditching the EE classes at my current school in the GPA. I will at the other school.

[JohnnyTheA]

Agree with Turt...

In fact.... Try to get a part-time or summer job in the field you want to work in.. That way, you find out if you really like that line of work (and if you don't SWITCH BABY..) AND if you do, you have actual experience when you graduate. Actual job experience means more to some (not all) employers than a high GPA... I think as long as your GPA is above 3.0 (mine was slightly lower I must admit), then job experience... AND a good positive attitude at an interview can make up the diff....

just my .01

JTA

[JohnnyTheA]

No EE? Hmmm... Without knowing which college's or program you are talking about, I will say that there are some CS programs that are less technical and more IT-related than the standard programs where EE, Calc, etc... are required... "Some" of these programs are not accredited. That doesn't mean alot depending on, again it gets back to, the job you want... If you wanna be a database or application developer or almost any program is good because you have to learn most on the job anyway... For the higher technical jobs (like writing device drivers for new hardware, or making customs real-time applications for time-critical roles) then the job is much close to EE.... If the later type of job is what you want... Take as much EE as you can dude.... If you wanna be a general DB guy (they make the bux too...) then you are probably okay either path...

JTA

[hiltond]

Which school would you be able to learn the most from?

[AWR]

The good school. (imo) Hands down.

A bit a of unsolicited advice: your focus on material success is (imo, again) frequently a cause of an unfulfilling life. A good dose of 'Western Buddhism' reading might do you a lifetime of good.

Check out a work of this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lama_Surya_Das, or

one of his recommended readings: http://www.dzogchen.org/surya/books.htm

[World Leader Pretend]

Originally Posted by AWR The good school. (imo) Hands down. A bit a of unsolicited advice: your focus on material success is (imo, again) frequently a cause of an unfulfilling life. A good dose of 'Western Buddhism' reading might do you a lifetime of good. Check out a work of this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lama_Surya_Das, or one of his recommended readings: http://www.dzogchen.org/surya/books.htm

Wow, my PM fits perfectly into this post. Kansas is the new place to be.

[autodata]

Good school, low GPA. No question.

Considering the number of threads you've been posting trying to get some answers about who you are, you seriously need to take a break from school and travel ... ALONE.

[Moogs]

You're asking the wrong question. The right question is, what do you want to do with your education, and which education is going to better prepare you for that task? A little word of advice to you and anyone still in school: SCREW GPA. Take the classes / go to the school that will best teach you what you need to learn, and work your butt off every week until you truly know and understand (not just memorize) the things you need to know. Sounds to me like you're looking for ways around the fact that you're not doing that well in your current school (which is the better school, right?). Stop looking for excuses and work harder.

Either way, school is not about grades; it's about absorbing as much knowledge as you can, in order that you are able to apply that knowledge in life and work. Believe me, most employers don't care what your GPA is, assuming you're not getting Cs and Ds. They care that you learned from a respectable institution, took the classes you need to be grounded in their line of work, and some indication that you're a hard worker. The rest is BS.

If I'm an employer, I take the kids who demonstrate the strongest depth of knowledge in the interview process, and the strongest character, every time. Not the kids with the highest GPA. GPA is probably the last thing I look at....

[turtle]

There is a saying among many and it is somewhat true in most cases. "A" students teach "B" students who end up working for "C" students.

GPA shouldn't be your focus at all. If you are heading toward your goal and are able to keep the grades up, great. In the end though, you'll have a paper to hang on your wall that doesn't list your GPA. At best it'll have some ...laud on there, though as others have said, most employers don't care. Real world experience is more important to them. Are you going to be useful or can you only quote a book.

[MCQ]

Originally Posted by tensdanny38 I am considering switching from a good engineering school with an average gpa to an average college where I know I can graduate near the top of my class. What do you consider to be more important when applying and trying to get jobs and opportunities after college graduation?

Internships. Relevant work experience. Which you'll probably have more opportunities for at the good engineering school.

[billybobsky]

Let's not forget that for immediate employment after college, transfers reflect badly on the student...

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by Moogs You're asking the wrong question. The right question is, what do you want to do with your education, and which education is going to better prepare you for that task? A little word of advice to you and anyone still in school: SCREW GPA. Take the classes / go to the school that will best teach you what you need to learn, and work your butt off every week until you truly know and understand (not just memorize) the things you need to know. Sounds to me like you're looking for ways around the fact that you're not doing that well in your current school (which is the better school, right?). Stop looking for excuses and work harder. Either way, school is not about grades; it's about absorbing as much knowledge as you can, in order that you are able to apply that knowledge in life and work. Believe me, most employers don't care what your GPA is, assuming you're not getting Cs and Ds. They care that you learned from a respectable institution, took the classes you need to be grounded in their line of work, and some indication that you're a hard worker. The rest is BS. If I'm an employer, I take the kids who demonstrate the strongest depth of knowledge in the interview process, and the strongest character, every time. Not the kids with the highest GPA. GPA is probably the last thing I look at....

I agree with what Moogs said. The actual knowledge you acquire, and the depth of preparation, will be the important things to *you* when you're actually working in your field. You're paying for *an education*. You want to 'get' the best education you can.

The GPA numbers on your resume will be looked at for a split-second. The depth of knowledge you get will be important to you for a lifetime.

Also, maybe I'm wrong, but afaik, only people who are in the top ten in their graduating class would bother putting such info on their resumes. And even 'they' might not, unless they were first or second. This is info you probably wouldn't be putting on your resume, so is definitely not a consideration when making a school choice.

If you really despise the EE stuff, and if you feel you just can't *stand* taking such classes, then I think that will have to factor into your decision. The EE aspects of the field will be something you won't enjoy, and probably won't be good at anyway. That's just one of those facts of life we all have to deal with when picking a career.

Having a higher GPA is *not* the best reason to make a decision.

The better the school, the more you learn, generally speaking.

[Kraetos]

GPA isn't as important as it seems.

I'm holding about a 3.2 right now, but thats mostly because I need to have higher than a 3.0 if I want to design my own major, which I do.

But that brings me to my next point: find what you like to do. Then do it. Everything else is secondary. Having a 3.0+ GPA is imperative for me too accomplish this, but for most people, it probably isn't. It's more important you go to a school, find classes, or find internships that will help you do what you want to do, and as long as your GPA doesn't tank, it doesn't matter.

[LudwigVan]

Just scaning the responses, I hopefully am not repeating that a high GPA is a bigger plus if you plan on an advanced degree. Not to mention tangible experience in and out of school.