VT vs. UVA engineering

VT engineering stresses the science and math while UVA engineering tries to create engineers who can be managers. In other words, UVA has classes like STS (science, technology, and society) that try to teach the philosophies behind engineering, emphasize the ethics needed in the field, and demonstrate the importance of the ability to communicate effectively. We recently had three older engineers come into our STS class to talk about their experiences. While they all started out in technical jobs, they all ended up in managing jobs. One even described it as “managing happens.” If you’re smart enough, someone is going to recognize that and you’ll end up in charge of other people.

Having worked at the Naval Research Lab (NRL), my mentor was the head of his lab and he worked directly with the technical stuff. Sure, he had some more managing roles than the other people there; he had to give presentations about their findings, apply for funding, hire interns, and make sure that everyone in the lab knew what they were working on. But he still had lots of time to do the engineering itself. He tested my project with me and is probably still working on an extension of it. Likewise, many of the other people at the NRL choose to work there because they don’t want to get away from the technical work. They would rather take a slightly lower paid job with the government where they get to do what they love than work as a wealthy manager in a private corporation.

As I’ve spent two summers at the NRL, I want to do an internship in a private company. I want to see how the two differ and get a better sense of what I want to do. Not to mention that a commute that doesn’t involve driving in DC is much preferred. Right now, I like the idea of never moving too far up the managerial ladder to not be doing some technical work. However, I see the use of being able to manage and it can be fun to work with a bigger piece of the puzzle while still understanding the smaller pieces that go into that one (i.e. the jobs of all the people below you). The mix of technical and managerial work that I’ve seen at the NRL seems ideal. The variety allows you to not get bored with either and to experience the benefits of both. Of course, the private sector might very well have some similar positions. Maybe I’ll find out this summer.