Electrical engineering degree bound

[SparkyNo.7]

  Hello, I am looking into a career in EE.  Still have a ways to go in school though.  I'm curious about the better EE university programs offered in California, as well as possible career paths i could chase down.  I have a special interest in aerospace and sustainable technologies.  Any pointers would be appreciated.

[GKIII]

What level of schooling are you at now?

[SparkyNo.7]

Community college

[blacknighterrant]

Do aerospace or civil engineering if that is your interest, not electrical. All programs in California worth going to are basically top 20 in engineering. UCB is the third highest ranked school in the country, Stanford the second, USC and UCLA somewhere between 10-13, UCSD at 15. UCM,UCSB,UCD, etc are slightly easier to get into and ranked lower, but honestly because they are in cali they are harder to get into than better programs elsewhere. Carnegie Mellon also has a campus in Silicon Valley. For a chance at getting into one of these schools transferring to a top undergrad engineering school would be useful, aim for a gpa of at least 3.5 and quant gre of at least 163 for a moderate chance of getting into one of the masters programs at one of these schools. Aim for at least a 3.75 and 167 with at least 1.5 years of research with an authored paper to have a decent shot at a PhD program. Being a Cali resident helps with the UCs. Do research on the schools because you apply for a specific research focus under the subcategory of electrical engineering, some schools may be highly regarded but not for the type of ee you would be interested in, the closer the research you do is to the program you apply for the more weight it will be given for admissions decisions. Grad school applications are sometimes like pure lottery, some years a professor may not want any students for a specific program regardless of how perfect they are for it so it is best to prepare for rejections. LOR should be obtained from faculty that it is likely professors at the schools you are applying to will know if it is possible to do so. If your stats aren't where you want them to be after college, you can apply to a masters program and try to get into a better PhD program or go direct PhD for lower ranked schools. In fact, some schools allow students to transfer to their PhD program after masters by simply taking qualifying exams which is often easier than reapplying, pay attention to continuation procedures for the schools you apply to if you chose to pursue a masters first.

[SparkyNo.7]

  Wow, lotta info.  Thx Black.  How's the job market with just a bachelor's degree?