Question for the MSU engineers on the board...

[Fletch F. Fletch.sixpack]

I'm not an engineer but my daughter graduated from MSU with a chemical engineering degree. She got multiple job offers out of college, and I can relay what she said about the education she got at State; "I knew pretty quickly that State had gotten me prepared to be an engineer in the real world".

 

[DirtyDog]

Both Have Good Reputations For Engineering - Give TAMU the edge in Houston

My son has basically narrowed his colleges to TX A&M and MSU. MSU has come through with good scholarship money, but A&M has not (they don't have to). Do the engineers on here feel that MSU Engineering is as marketable as it has been in the past? It would save Dad a lot of money, but I want him to get great opportunities with his degree also. In Houston, A&M engineers are everywhere.

Thanks

We hire a ton of engineers and scientists for our research team in Vicksburg. MSU and TAMU graduates are both considered to be very good, and both are considered to have more practical, work-ready skills than many comparable schools (i.e. Auburn etc.). However, given that your son wants to be in the Texas job market, then give the edge to TAMU. However, if it is more cost effective to send him to MSU than I would because he won't have a problem finding a job if he has a decent GPA. The 2.5 or less students really rely more heavily on the "network". Students with a 2.5 GPA or better in engineering from MSU AND a little job experience will have several offers. One thing that is undervalued by most parents and students is getting them a summer job at an engineering firm...even if it is only one summer and they don't make much money. It is a separator on a resume for a new graduate. Hope this helps. If your son is awesome ;-) then have him apply in the research field for us in Mississippi.

 

[Dawgsnsaints]

I'm not an engineer but my daughter graduated from MSU with a chemical engineering degree. She got multiple job offers out of college, and I can relay what she said about the education she got at State; "I knew pretty quickly that State had gotten me prepared to be an engineer in the real world".

Same here Fletch except my Daughter got her undergraduate and graduate in Aero.

 

[was21]

thx...nephew graduating from La Tech this year

 

[dawgenstein]

I graduated with a BS in EE from MSU. One of my sons graduated from Texas A&M with an engineering degree. Two of my other children have already graduated from MSU (non-engineering). Fourth child is a current student at MSU. So I speak from first-hand experience.

Texas A&M is a machine and only has a leg-up with their “cult” of a network. When my son was a student, he missed his graduation deadline 2 semesters in a row because his part-time/quarter-time “advisor” (by name only) missed a required course he needed from the syllabus to graduate. Cost me another 2 full semesters of tuition money. Student support is piss poor. You are merely a number and cog in a huge machine. My son had major difficulty finding a job interviewing as a student on campus. The day he walked the stage for graduation, he got his only phone call for a job thanks to the huge Aggie network which ultimately came through.

Meanwhile, my two kids who are MSU graduates both had jobs lined up prior to graduation. The finance major works for a huge top-name mutual fund company in Dallas. The communications graduate runs a small 20 person branch of a retail business in the Houston area.

It all comes down to the money. MSU’s scholarships especially for children of alumni cannot be touched by any school in the South. One of my MSU students got $64,000 over 4 years and the other one got $72,000 including the credit for children of alumni waivers. The best offer outside of those was in the $20k-$25k range.

Now for my experience. After 30 years in the professional world there’s no difference in talent or aptitude for graduates of either school. I completed 5 semesters of Co-op engineering work for the nation’s largest defense contractor at the time, located in Dallas/Fort Worth. Their number 1 school for engineering students was Purdue. Have to agree their students were both top-notch academically as well as socially. The top five schools by headcount representation for co-op hires were (1) Purdue, (2) Georgia Tech, (3) University of Texas, (4) Mississippi State (thanks to EE and Aero), and (5) Texas A&M. Yep. I think Florida was the only other southeast school in the Top 10.

I left engineering to go on more of an IT business system path, and can say that MSU was well represented and equal in all aspects. It really comes down to work ethic and personal drive.

It’s interesting, in my professional career I never met a Vanderbilt, Georgia, or Alabama engineering graduate, and only 1 Ole Miss and 1 Auburn engineering graduate in 30 years.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

Thanks for all responses. A little background on myself...I have 2 degrees from MSU in Accounting, and have been in Houston for the past 26 years. I have been an officer in the local Alumni association, and a National Alumni officer in the past. I currently have a son that is a senior at MSU and it appears I will have a FR there this fall. I only say all of that to say that I have loved MSU for a long time. That being said, I know aTm is a highly ranked school, is 90 minutes from home, and his Mom went there. I just wanted to get some hands on experience talk from some of the engineers on the board. There are a lot of MSU people in Houston. At one time, I think it was the largest out of state of MS chapter in the nation.

 

[hdogg]

I'll echo what most others have posted.
I graduated 97 computer engineer, have worked with a LOT of people and my work ethic and my MSU degree have served me well.
I've worked with a lot of good aggies, as well as fancier schools, and seldom been intimidated. MSU has good credibility, maybe not as many people, but good credibility. Of course if most jobs are in Tx, he may have an easier time finding the job, so intern,coop are important.

I will add that Ga Tech seems to have some very smart post grad folks. They are the only ones that stand out to me.

 

[tatedog]

Not an engineer but a couple I know say that all other things being equal the only engineering degree in the South they would prefer over State is GA Tech.

 

[msudawg1200]

My son is graduating in May with a Computer Engineering degree. He accepted a job in Florida back in October and had several other offers. His 3.8 GPA probably didn't hurt.

 

[Ranchdawg]

BS, they will interview with the same companies!

 

[johnson86-1]

This is a good answer.

If dad is willing to put half of what aTm would cost into sons account while going to state, he’ll be a real white privileged situation upon graduation.

I’d take it and feel good abt it a hundred times.

I’ve got an ME degree at state. Could have worked for schlumberger or baker Hughes out of college.

Work for an engineering firm now with 70 plus engineers many of them from Waterloo in Canada. If he has experience, work ethic, a decent gpa and a personality, he’ll be able to find a great job when graduating.

This is a good idea. It's sort of what I've been toying with for private school. I think a time is coming where my kids might be better served by private school. Not because it's better academically, but just because a smaller school may be a better fit. Kind of my gauge of whether it's worth it is whether they would rather go to private school, or get ~$85k in cash when they finish college. $85k in your early twenties would give you a lot of flexibility.

 

[LexSCDOG]

My son and I are both engineering graduates from MSU. Both had no issue getting jobs. For me, I co-op'd in School and because I had experience I got offers from everyone i interview with basically. Make sure he interns or co-ops, no matter where he goes and he will be set.

My son has basically narrowed his colleges to TX A&M and MSU. MSU has come through with good scholarship money, but A&M has not (they don't have to). Do the engineers on here feel that MSU Engineering is as marketable as it has been in the past? It would save Dad a lot of money, but I want him to get great opportunities with his degree also. In Houston, A&M engineers are everywhere.

Thanks