The Transfer Experience

The Transfer Experience Robert Curry, EIT Chabot College, ENGR10 Aug. 26, 2009

Presentation Outline • Who I am • Your time at Chabot • Transferring • Your time at a 4 year university • Internships/Resume • Activities

Education • Graduated from James Logan High School in 1992 • Attended Chabot College from Fall 1992 to Spring 1995 • Continued at Chabot from Spring 2004 to Spring 2007 • Received Associate in Arts in Spring 2004 • Transferred to California State University, Sacramento in Fall 2007 • Will graduate from Sac State in December 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering • Chabot GPA 3.42 • Sac State GPA 3.952

Work Experience • Summer 1993: Vector Marketing, Bay Area • Jan 1996 to Jun 2004: Norton Packaging, Hayward, CA • Jan 1996 to June 1997: Machine operator • June 1997 to July 2000: Shipping Lead • July 2000 to June 2004: Quality Control Manager • October 2007 to present: Hollywood Video, Sacramento, CA • Free Movies

Internships • Summer 2005: San Francisco Bay Water Quality Control Board, Industrial Storm Water Program, Oakland, CA • Student Assistant • Filed storm water annual reports • Assisted engineers with site inspections, reports, presentations and correspondence • Summer 2008 to present: California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Sacramento, CA • Student Assistant • Performed design drafting and calculations for multi-million dollar civil works project • Researched engineering materials, methods and standards • Completed calculations and drawings

Computer Skills • Microstation XM • Visual Basic (VBA) for Microstation • AutoCAD • Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) • Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

Activities • Member ASCE, Sep. 2007 to present • Secretary, Sac State ASCE Student Chapter, Jan. 2008 to Dec. 2009 • Member Sac State ASCE Steel Bridge Team • History Channel’s City of the Future Student Engineer Competition, Winners, March 2008

While at Chabot

While at Chabot • Determine which schools you could reasonably transfer to.

While at Chabot • Get a list of the courses required for the degree you seek from your choice of transfer schools • This allows you to get as many undergrad GE requirements done at Chabot as possible • It’s cheaper to do it at Chabot

While at Chabot • Map out a schedule of classes for your time at Chabot and transfer university • This will allow you to plan for how long it will take to complete your degree • Plan finances • This a preliminary schedule that will evolve based on class offerings, schedule conflicts, and enrollment

While at Chabot • Take advantage of the opportunities and resources at Chabot • Price • Instructors • Counselors – Make an appointment to speak with a counselor to make sure that the classes you are taking meet the necessary requirements

While at Chabot • Instructors • Knowledgeable – More than just in academics • Ask questions • Utilize office hours • Have a desire to help students succeed

While at Chabot • Get ready to transfer • Apply to the schools you want to transfer to • Remember it costs money to apply • Check application deadlines • Check your transcripts • Make sure you’ve done everything you can at Chabot

While at Chabot Work Hard! Nothing beats a good GPA!

Transferring • Get to know your new school • Campus tours • New student orientation • Academic advising • Get familiar with the area around the campus

Transferring • Transcripts • Find out exactly how many copies you need and where they need to go • Order them early • GE Certification • Do this early, but after you’ve been admitted

Transferring • Chabot Transfer Center, transfer checklist • http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Counseling/transfer/TransferChecklist.asp

Making the most of your time at your transfer institution

While at your new school • Get to know your classmates • You will see these people for at least the next two years • These will be your colleagues in the professional world • They can help when you are having trouble in a class

While at your new school • Get to know the faculty, major advisor • Look for opportunities to interact with them • They can help guide you through the curriculum • They can help in obtaining scholarships and internships

While at your new school • Get to know the department admin staff • These are the people that can help you get into your classes • They have insight into what is being offered and when • They know how the system works

While at your new school • Get involved • Looks good on a resume • Great way to meet people • Student Professional Societies • ASCE • ASME • IEEE

While at your new school • Get involved • Engineering honor societies • Ex. • Student Government • Clubs • Sports (Intramural or Collegiate)

While at your new school • Fundamentals Exam for the Engineer in Training certificate, aka. EIT • Plan on taking this at the end of your junior year or beginning of senior year

The Internship Experience

Internships • Great way to get experience • Show them what you can do • Make contacts in industry • Make some money at the same time

Internships • Has almost become an industry requirement in order to land a full time job • Some companies and agencies use the internship experience as a trial period to see if they want to hire you • Also allows them to get inexpensive on the job training

Internships • Where do you find out about internship opportunities? • Engineering career fairs • Engineering department career websites • Company websites under student or campus relations or the like • “Evening with Industry” type events • Chabot ENGR 10 guest speakers

Internships • Once I find a position how do I get the job? • Apply • Follow up • Have a great cover letter • Have a great resume • Use effective interviewing techniques • Follow up

Cover Letter/Resume

Internships • Sac State ECS Career Services Website • http://www.ecs.csus.edu/career/

Activities For the well rounded student

ASCE

ASCE • Walk for a cure

ASCE • RPM Racing

General Meetings ASCE

Steel Bridge • Fabrication

Steel Bridge • Competition

The Transfer Experience