Mech/Civ Engineering Showdown: Tech vs UT vs aTm

[topduarte]

Longhorn alumni here and Texas P. E. Here. They are all good schools.

What I dont understand is the saying "ags hire ags".

I hire the person who is competent and can do the job in timely manner.

My EIT under is an aggie and she is one of the best E.I.T.'s I ever had.

Has nothing to do with the school imo.

[Fmjag64]

All depends on the specialty. For Petroleum Engineering all 3 of them are ranked in the Top 10 in the country. And the thought that only alumni will hire you is insane. Your merit gets you way further. I'd hire the best man for the job, not a degree.

[Hoggslayer]

Longhorn alumni here and Texas P. E. Here. They are all good schools.

What I dont understand is the saying "ags hire ags".

I hire the person who is competent and can do the job in timely manner.

My EIT under is an aggie and she is one of the best E.I.T.'s I ever had.

Has nothing to do with the school imo.

I think most people are just saying what we've seen first hand in the industry. I work at NASA and we have M.E. from everywhere. My boss is from Purdue, His is from UofH. We have some from A&M and if they are in a position that hires they tend to have a few alum on the short list of applicants. In Oil and gas it was the same way. Bottom line is, your personality is going to get you the job in the end anyway.

[Balcones_Walker]

The differences between the experience of going to school at College Station vs. Austin are much larger than the quality of the degree differences.

[twright]

I am a TTU grad (not engineering), but my middle son is a TAMU civil grad. He had 3 offers before his last semester. That being said, he works hard, can carry a mature conversation on many topics, and is a "do the right thing" , "you are only as good as your word" kind of person. He works for one of the best firms in the state. He was hired by and works for a TTU grad. Has excelled in his short career because... he can communicate well, works 80+ hours a week, shoots straight, no BS, is honest and understands he is not entitled to anything. He has commented that his employer owes him nothing....instead, he is blessed to receive good compensation only after he puts in the work. Of course...I am a proud dad.

[Devin]

I didn't realize at the time, but looking back at what TTU gave me experience wise would be hard to beat.

Undergrad years:
Worked 4 years at the USDA Ag Experiment Station in New Deal working with various forms of groundwater irrigation systems.

Lake Alan Henry was being constructed during my time there and we got to see it built from the clay slurry cut-off wall below the dam through its final completion.

Our CE department worked with PSC and the City of Lubbock doing NPDES MS4 monitoring at numerous playa lakes. We collected water samples via boats at various playa lakes after 1/2" or > rain events.

Grad years:
Our CE department monitored the playa lakes at the PANTEX nuclear armament/disarmament facility in Pampa. I maintained and collected monitoring data twice a month at the facility. That was an intimidating place. Don't mud/do donuts in a TTU vehicle there, even if you think they can't see you. They can.

I worked for the USGS out of their Reston Virginia office and monitored groundwater wells as well as maintain a dry lake bed weather station at the Tahoka Double Lakes. Furthermore, my thesis was creating a 3D model that simulated the groundwater movement beneath these double lakes.

[GigEm'15]

I went to A&M and graduated with a BSME. I can't speak to the other schools mentioned, but there might be some insight in my experience.

I started in Civil, had an internship the first summer, and quickly figured out that wasn't a field I wanted to spend my career in. Came back the next semester as a ChemE - took some intro courses... That wasn't it either. Moved to ME the next semester, and continued with internships every summer.

Most of my internships were set up through talking to professors and alumni. I worked for cheap... I had a job lined up and offer signed in the fall before I graduated, working for a Lamar grad, and haven't had the opportunity to work for an Aggie yet, although some are working for me.

All that to say the A&M network can "sometimes" get you in the door, but I'm not convinced it is the driving force for Ags hiring Ags. There's just a lot of us that stay in Texas after graduation. I think A&M does provide an excellent opportunity to really build your resume through internships, setting you up to be able to choose your first job from multiple offers.

Again, I can't say that the t-sip or raider experience is better or worse. I didn't go there.