Robert Chapin
Composition
Period One
Monday, January 4, 1999
Career
Research
My career interest is in computer
engineering. It is a career that is
challenging, requires intense problem solving skills, applies math and
sciences, and would allow me to play with computers. A computer engineer solves technical problems by designing
hardware and software. (6) This is a
hands-on mission, one at which I could be very talented and would likely
enjoy. Compared to other computer and
engineering related occupations, such as computer programming, computer
engineering is more of what I am looking for.
"Computer scientists, computer
engineers, and systems analysts are expected to be the three fastest growing
occupations through the year 2006." (6)
With a master's degree in computer engineering, one can expect to start
making $50,486 a year. (8) The average
beginning salary last year was $44,734, and $63,367 for those with a Ph.D.
(6) The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology claims that its starting Masters of Engineering (M.Eng) graduates
are averaging $58,000. (7) What
wouldn't I do for that much money? The
only drawbacks to this career are the need for constant continuing education,
and the risks of repetitive strain injuries. (6)
Selecting this career was challenging. I am not bound to the choice, and I might
change my mind in the next year or two.
It is difficult for me to pick an occupation because I don’t know
exactly what I want to do, and there are endless aspects of computers waiting
to be studied. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook contains a very cut-and-dried diction
of computer fields. Computer
scientists, computer engineers, systems analysts, computer hardware engineers,
software engineers, software developers, database administrators, and computer
support specialists, oh my! Although
the definitions of these terms are no less confusing, I find that a computer
engineer is most like my ideal career choice.
My interviewee was able to clarify the distinction between my interests
in computer engineering and his in computer science, “It sounds like you’re
going to be a little more involved with the hardware design... Which ever one you do, it’s good to have
some of the other. You usually have to
take both.” (15)
U.S. News Online has ranked colleges in
categories as specific as computer engineering. (5) Within the top ten I eliminated the schools in California so that
I could stay on the East coast. The
first five choices then were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Carnegie Mellon University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cornell
University, and University of Michigan.
MIT was an obvious choice for its reputation, and U of M was an obvious
choice because I lived in Ann Arbor for seven years. The third, the University of Illinois, I chose (arbitrarily)
because it has a DJ club. (13) The application
deadlines have all passed, so there seemed no use in seriously considering a
third college. (1, 2, 9)
The University of Michigan is a bigger
school, and has all of the numbers to show it.
The classes are larger, you are less likely to graduate, and the tuition
is significantly less. I would assume
that the large percentage of students living off campus reflects upon the
quality of available accommodations. In
that case, the cost of attending U of M may be significantly more than
shown. On the other hand, there is a
slim chance that I could establish residency beginning the winter term because
we are moving to Michigan. (10)
My favorite of the two schools is MIT. It’s new age style propaganda worked on
me. Deep down inside I know that it was
really the DJ club that did it for me.
The Dance Mix Coalition, or MITDMC, would be the best place in the world
for me to stimulate my mind outside of class. (11) I love the school’s first-class, yet nerdy reputation... they
aren’t afraid to contradict themselves.
Being accepted to that school would be such an ego trip that I don’t
think I could resist.
On the nitty-gritty side of things, well, MIT
isn’t nitty-gritty. They don’t have
admissions guidelines carved in stone.
The centerpiece of their admissions process is the application. Other than that, it is just a matter of
getting the standardized tests done and over with. (12) There was a required interview that I wasn’t
required to do, but now I’m trying to get one scheduled this month.
Each part of this assignment is progressively
less relevant to me. I’ll quit while
I’m ahead by saying that I can’t wait until I get out of Iowa. It’s only 9 days away... but it seems like
forever. Change is good. Sometimes.
This time it is very good. It’s
back to reality for me. I hope I grow
up to be the best computer engineer that there ever was, and make tons of money
doing it. I wouldn’t mind working my
butt off at MIT to accomplish that goal, especially now that it is forty
degrees warmer there. (3)
Works Cited
1. Admission Application. Carnegie Mellon University
2. Admissions: Undergraduate
Applicants. 22 Apr. 1998. University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. 3 Jan. 1999
<http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/admissions/undergrad/undergrad.html>.
3. Cambridge, Massachusetts
Forecast. 4 Jan. 1999. The Weather Underground, Inc. 4 Jan. 1999
<http://www.wunderground.com/US/MA/Cambridge.html>.
4. College Comparison Work Sheet. 1998.
U.S. News & World Report, Inc.
3 Jan. 1999
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/coworks.htm>.
5. “Computer Engineering.” 1998 Graduate School Rankings. 1998.
U.S. News & World Report, Inc.
8 Dec. 1998
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/gradrank/gbengsp5.htm>.
6. “Computer Scientists, Computer
Engineers, and Systems Analysts.” 1998-99
Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Carolyn Veneri. 15 Jan.
1998. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8 Dec. 1998
<http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos042.htm>.
7. EECS at MIT: A Primer for
Potential Students. 12 Aug.
1998. MIT Department of Electrical
Engineering & Computer Science. 15
Dec. 1998 <http://www-eecs.mit.edu/ug/primer.html>.
8. “Engineering.” Career Planner. 1998.
U.S. News & World Report, Inc.
8 Dec. 1998
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/grad/gbgrid11.htm>.
9. Freshman Application for
Admission. Cornell University.
10. “Information on Residency
Classification for Admission and Tuition Purposes.” Application for Undergraduate Admission. 1998:
r1-r2
11. MITDMC. 1998.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dance Mix Coalition. 10 Dec. 1998 <http://web.mit.edu/mitdmc/www/>.
12. MIT Freshman Admissions. 2 Oct. 1998. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 4 Jan. 1999
<http://web.mit.edu/admissions/www/frosh/frosh.html>.
13. Millennium. 17 Nov. 1998. Dance 2XS. 15 Dec.
1998
<http://www.uiuc.edu/ro/Dance2XS/main.html>.
14. MLA Style. 9 July 1998. The Modern Language Association of America. 3 Jan. 1999
<http://www.mla.org/set_stl.htm>.
15. Weiselberg, Larry. 18 Dec. 1998 [Interview].