Transcript of Questions:
Q (1): How important is choice of undergraduate major to your career field?
A: “My major in college was mechanical engineering, but I currently work as an Environmental Engineer …[so]…other than it being Engineering, it didn’t really matter currently.”; “My boss told me that [even though you don’t have experience in Environmental Engineering] once you’re an engineer, it doesn’t matter it’s the way you think.”
Q (2):What do you think is the most important skill for someone in your career?
A: “I would say probably the ability to write and communicate… we write a lot of reports for companies and they have to be both technically sound but make sense…If you can’t communicate well people won’t hire you.”
Q (3):If you could go back and do it again, would you choose the same major? Why or why not?
A: “I definitely think I would, I have always wanted to be an Engineer since the time I was little…I have always been interested in how things work.”
Q (4): What was your first job after college, and how did it relate to your major?
A: “My first job was with General Motors, their approving ground in Milford, MI…I CO-OPed with [GM] the whole time I was in school, so I basically was offered a job in the department that I liked the best after graduation.”
Q (5): Describe the process by which you arrived at your undergraduate major.
A: “When I was little I always used to take things apart, I just wanted to find out how they worked. When I was in High School I went to a college fair, and I [told them my interests] and they described engineering to me and that’s how I decided the major I wanted.”
I interviewed Kori, a friend’s mother, for my informational interview. She works in an environmental engineering consulting firm, and because the general principles of environmental engineering interested me, I decided to ask her some questions. Although I was not surprised by many of her answers, the fact that she said that once you have a degree in engineering, one is more free to more around within fields surprised me. I was previously under the impression that most engineers got pigeon-holed into whatever their degree specified in. Ultimately after talking to Kori, I think it has further made me realize that while I do share many similar interests, I do have some desire to have a design aspect of my job and therefore am thinking of other career paths such as landscape architecture. My feelings are not concrete however, and i do still feel like I need to learn about the landscape architecture certification process. I plan to utilize the ability to meet with advisors throughout this year, but so far I have found the personality interest survey very beneficial actually. Looking up my corresponding code in the exploration booklet connected with many different majors of interest.