Agreed, I would've guessed an oil and gas company but with the electrical degree I'm going to guess a government contractor in Afghanistan installing cable.
Management Degree from Iowa State
- Thread starter Cycofan1
- Start date
Agreed, I would've guessed an oil and gas company but with the electrical degree I'm going to guess a government contractor in Afghanistan installing cable.
I've recruited for Corp Comp at ISU (Mainly Ag Students) and have children that have grad with Marketing (Daughter) and Mngt (Son) Degree from Business School. Will say with all the young students I've interviewed, it's those who have networked, went after internships (3 min), and made themselves marketable. It's attitude and going after what you want and willing to keep learning no mattler degree.
I've hired Acct & Mngt Degree students for Livestock Meat Sales and Procurement positions while hiring Ag Degree Students who went into Logistics, HR, Operations, etc.
Will accept Medical, Engineering and Science specific degrees are neccisary for thier job placements for the most part along with few others, beyond this its about what you want to do, and what are you willing to do to get there.
I've hired Acct & Mngt Degree students for Livestock Meat Sales and Procurement positions while hiring Ag Degree Students who went into Logistics, HR, Operations, etc.
Will accept Medical, Engineering and Science specific degrees are neccisary for thier job placements for the most part along with few others, beyond this its about what you want to do, and what are you willing to do to get there.
8 months and you're a mid level tech manager? That can't be unless you're not actually managing an engineering team or you work at a startup. Management, especially at tech companies in the engineering fields, requires experience over a lot of other factors. Most good managers I've had, or met from companies have had 10-15 years minimum of experience.
It is actually surprisingly comfortable. They are all a bit older, but are content their positions (just people that want to do their job and go home to families). What I believe really helped me out was the fact that I have a degree (most don't), I have 2 years experience via co-op & 2 internships, and the past boss was a push-over with little to no-electrical knowledge.
Don't get me wrong, at times it can be stressful. However I learn from them, voice their concerns, and tend to work with them more-so than just "manage" them. It is an approach that is respectful to their age and experience.
And no, I don't work for the government, a consulting firm,a contractor, nor in Afghanistan. haha. As stated before, I do project engineering - electrical emphasis and also as a front-line automation, instrumentation, and electrical supervisor.
Last edited:
Again... this ^^^
If you know what you are doing people will respect that. It is what it is. They will.
Of course, the key is knowing what you are talking about and being diplomatic about things, but there is no reason anything has to be uncomfortable unless you make it that way.
I majored in management and minored in entrepreneurial studies. I got a job right away but it is in no way affiliated with a management position. I'm actually in the transportation field and work with many logistics majors who also graduated from Iowa State. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're not necessarily tied directly to what you major in, especially in the college of business.
I graduated with a double major in Accounting and Management. I did this to get my 150 hours because I wanted to go into public accounting. Because I was an accounting major, I only had to take 4 more management classes due to 2 of the accounting classes counting as electives. I actually went with accounting because I was pretty good at math and I wanted a job when I graduated. I enjoyed the management classes because they were a break from the numbers, but accounting is more than just numbers. There is actually quite a bit of theory in accounting. I enjoyed most of my accounting classes and I thought the faculty was pretty good too.
If I had to do it all over again and I wanted to get a business degree, I would not think twice about getting an accounting degree. As far as business majors go, I would say that other than MIS it is a pretty safe bet as fair as a job when you get out of school. The year I graduated was probably one of the worst years for college graduates. I heard a lot of engineers had offers rescinded and it was pretty tough for students to even get interviews and find jobs. Since I did well in my internship, I had a job offer my senior year so I didn't have to worry about finding a job which was a huge relief. I would also add that an internship for an accounting major is a must. These also typically pay pretty well. I know the interns I work with now make $20/hr and they can also work quite a bit of overtime.
When I took MGMT 478 which is required for all business majors, there were probably about 10 students out of 50-60 that had job offers when the semester began. Out of this 10, I think 7 were accountants, 2 were MIS, and 1 was going into the military. I think by the end almost half the class had found something, but I think it was really tough for marketing and management majors.
Hey I did that exact thing in college. Entrepreneurial part was way fun and I learned a ton from it.
Yeah I know exactly what you mean. I work with a lot of clients that are content just to do their jobs and don't care at all about advancement. As long as they get paid and can leave everyday at 5 life is good. A lot of times they usually don't care who is the boss as long as the boss is knowledgeable and easy to get a long with.
Don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like an "engineer-technician" relationship, not an "engineering manager-engineering team" relationship. Lots of engineers are quickly made responsible for the work of a number of technicians but that's not the same as being a manager.
I direct and oversee a number of technicians at work, in addition to young engineers and coops. Yet I still work in the technical realm and am not a manager. In my experience, if you do the techincal work you may be a "team leader" or "project manager" but that's not the same as being part of the administration. Do you conduct performance reviews and make decisions on pay, headcount, etc? Those are distinctly managerial activities.
If you are truly part of the adminstration, then I say congratulations to you as it is exceedingly rare to become a manager of a technical group at a young age. However, I certainly would not tell anyone to go into engineering if they want to manage people.
Thanks for all the comments on my position everyone, just trying to put my 2¢ in on my managerial/supervisor experience to get the point across that you can find yourself in many paths to leadership. I advise that the original poster, take risks, challenges and pursue what really interests you and you will be rewarded. Be it accounting, math, engineering, whatever.
I agree with this sentiment entirely. I have a degree in management only because I couldn't deal with another semester of stats. Bad choice, in retrospect. :wideeyed:
If you are interested in accounting, do that. It is a much more valuable degree.
I do agree with some posters here who are saying you are not tied to what you study. People get way too caught up in their major and the linking between major and career.
I personally think work experience, both over the summer and during the school year, and campus involvement/leadership development are way more important than your actual major/minor and GPA.
I do agree with some posters here who are saying you are not tied to what you study. People get way too caught up in their major and the linking between major and career.
I personally think work experience, both over the summer and during the school year, and campus involvement/leadership development are way more important than your actual major/minor and GPA.
Is this the same Jim McElroy that told some kid that his dog could have pi$$ed on the answer sheet and received a better grade than he did? I actually think that he is an overpaid professor. He was decent, but does not deserve to get paid $150k a year to teach how he teaches.
Last edited:
First of all, McElroy is a ******. Don't get an answer wrong because instead of getting 0/5, you'll get -3/5.
And echoing what others have said, management is a worthless degree by itself. Pair it with accounting/finance/MIS/logistics and you'll be in very good hands. My recommendation would be a different internship each summer. The wealth of knowledge you'll take in will make you valuable wherever you go. If you can help it, have a job in a related field also while you're in school.
I've got 2 interships on my resume with degrees in accounting and finance (1 for the first 3.5 years of school, been where I'm at for a year now) and I didn't have any issues getting job offers. I picked out the right place and they offered me a solid salary to stay around post-grad. Especially in a field like accounting, there will ALWAYS be jobs.
And echoing what others have said, management is a worthless degree by itself. Pair it with accounting/finance/MIS/logistics and you'll be in very good hands. My recommendation would be a different internship each summer. The wealth of knowledge you'll take in will make you valuable wherever you go. If you can help it, have a job in a related field also while you're in school.
I've got 2 interships on my resume with degrees in accounting and finance (1 for the first 3.5 years of school, been where I'm at for a year now) and I didn't have any issues getting job offers. I picked out the right place and they offered me a solid salary to stay around post-grad. Especially in a field like accounting, there will ALWAYS be jobs.
If you're concerned about getting a job with a specific degree, go ask your job placement person. He/she can tell you if one degree has shown higher demand than others. I know it's been a while since I was in college but when I hire things have not changed much.
I look for any work experience, shows you have good work ethic or at least a track record. I had 4 internships in the 4 1/2 years I went to school. Some involvement in activities, shows networking and potential community involvement. More than one year also, that says you want a resume builder.
Unless its technical specific, like accounting, mis, the degree doesn't mean much. It just says you are committed to putting effort out and work towards something.
I look for any work experience, shows you have good work ethic or at least a track record. I had 4 internships in the 4 1/2 years I went to school. Some involvement in activities, shows networking and potential community involvement. More than one year also, that says you want a resume builder.
Unless its technical specific, like accounting, mis, the degree doesn't mean much. It just says you are committed to putting effort out and work towards something.
