engineering,  probation

probation station 2: engineers gone wild

Hello, I’m a second year ece student. I was not able to get a 60% average this semester so I became a PRO2 student. So sadly I cannot continue to 3rd year and I’m supposed to withdraw for 8 months (I can start again in the winter term). So I lose a year. My question is what would be the most beneficial path to take?

I filed a petition so uft would let me take those electives required by my faculty. I started looking for jobs and I applied to IBM. My cgpa is really low 1.77 so I doubt I’ll get in. What do you suggest I do? I don’t have any real work experience. I’m gonna list the options that I see right now and you can add to them or alter them.

1) If the petition is granted, I can take the elective courses and make 3rd year and 4th year a bit easier.

2) Work in an engineering company to get the 600 hours done (the problem with this choice is I’m not sure if its realistic, If I can use the 3 summer months to gain enough experience or to do beneficial things to make this choice possible, then I would do it, Sub questions: is it possible for me to get an engineering job? What would be a better alternative? What other ways can I finish my 600 hours without losing more time? I was planning to do a pey year but now I don’t want to because my degree will?take (4 + 1 repeated year + pey year = 6 total years) instead of (4 + pey year = 5 total years). If i can finish my 600 hours I can still finish my degree in a total of 5 years. Does it have to be an engineering job to receive hours? Where can I find work in this area (I looked at some
websites that uft provide, any more you know of, other options etc)?

3) Work in a retail/fast food to gain work experience

4) Take training courses so i can be a better candidate for engineering jobs

Any advice is appreciated, there are many choices and I don’t know which one to focus on and which one is realistic.

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hey there,

1) if your petition is granted, then yeah, it would be nice to take some electives and make things a bit easier on yourself. on the other hand, if you fail to get a above a 60% average in the next term, you won’t be invited for readmission. meaning that the next term you take is going to be absolutely crucial.

i’d strongly consider talking to your registrar’s office for advice before you make a decision – about your petition, about jobs, about school in general. they can help you figure out your next steps.

that might include visiting the academic success centre, or CAPS, or any of a myriad of other resources available on campus. however, i cannot overstate how important an academic advisor is in helping you plan those next steps.

all in all, you want to work on making your situation as optimal as possible for when you come back to school. your registrar can help you do that.

2)/3) from what i can tell, it looks like the 600 hours do not have to be in a job specific to engineering. in all the descriptions i’ve read, they’re very careful about remaining vague about the type of job that’s allowed.

as long as the job “contain[s] a good measure of responsibility (e.g., management of programs, systems, equipment, personnel or finances), sound judgment and effective communication,” it should be fine. that’s an exceptionally vague description, so i’m sure lots of non-engineering jobs qualify. the site even specifies that “[w]ork in many facets of industry, government or public service would be acceptable for this requirement.

so there are probably some non-engineering jobs that will qualify – though i’m sure not all of them will. you may want to double check any likely candidates with the engineering career centre.

as for where to look: CLN’s job board is pretty good – so is its engineering counterpart. linkedin is another great resource. then you’ve got your general job posting sites like indeed, monster, etc. if there are any specific companies you’re interested in, you may want to keep a tab on their careers page in case anything comes up.

i can’t tell you which jobs you should be applying for – i’m afraid i just don’t know enough about the field. however, this is another thing that would be great to bring up at a meeting with your registrar. they can take a look at your transcript and discuss what would be feasible/beneficial for you right now.

4) maybe, but i have no idea what courses would actually be useful. the way i see it, your academics are the most important thing right now, and planning out a road map with – you guessed it – your registrar, is the absolute best next step.

best of luck with all this. i know how tough this must be; engineering is no walk in the park, regardless of your GPA. don’t lose hope, though. you’ll get through it, and you’ll end up with a solution that you’re happy with and excited about.

all the best,

aska

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