Two Degrees vs Grades

[deliveryguy]

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. As of right now, I'm a declared computer engineering major. I would like to be able to concentrate on a single major and keep the grades up, but I would also like to stand out from the "crowd" come time for graduation. I'm interested in software as well as hardware, so I was considering doing a double major in engineering as well as computer science. My grades probably wouldn't be as good, but I would have two degrees.

I'm assuming that employers can't actually see the grades that you received in specific courses unless they require your transcript...is this a common practice? Thanks ahead of time for any advice.

[sonza68]

I don't know what common practice is, but Boeing did require me to submit a transcript.

[work_in_progress]

I can't say about the job thing, but I'd say if you're able to graduate with some kind of honors VS two degrees, I'd personally go with honors. Me personally, I'd look at that as flashier on a resume.

/end 2 cents

[diddy]

most people I have talked to don't care about grades. but it would also depend what kind of job you are wanting to get into. some sort of higher up gov't job might bare more on grades, but if you are just lookin to do IT/computer engineering stuff with a typical company, then grades won't really matter much at all.

[bensenvill]

ok coming from a dual degreed computer engineering, it really wont make a difference as far as opening doors or "standing out". It WILL give you a bit of exposure to actually useful skills like walking yourself through a linux box or with networking concepts.

how much extra do you have to do to get your comp sci? [we got one by default if you just take one extra philinthropicish class].

Grades do matter for competitive jobs right out of school. I am not ashamed to say I finished college with a flat 2.0. For some companies ZOMG was that a deal killer. For others, my extra curricular work was what made me a golden child in their eyes.

[diddy]

if you can get good experience by getting an internship, or doing actual software/hardware work with your school, do that, because that will look 10x better than any grade

[frenchblueC2]

As some have said already experience > grades
Your grades probably won't suffer too terribly from the dual degrees, so go for it.
Just try to make time to get some work experience in.

[bensenvill]

Originally Posted by bdiddy

if you can get good experience by getting an internship, or doing actual software/hardware work with your school, do that, because that will look 10x better than any grade

+1!!!

and the other thing you should do is start looking at the classifieds and find what entry level positions interest you. Taking one special interest class instead of another makes a WORLD of difference on what opportunities you will have later. Be familur in the skill sets these companies are looking for.

[mosoblkcougar]

Originally Posted by bdiddy

if you can get good experience by getting an internship, or doing actual software/hardware work with your school, do that, because that will look 10x better than any grade

Exactly. I'm doing an internship for a programming company right now, they didn't ask to see my transcript at all, they gave me a test during my interview to assess my programming knowledge and skills. Grades don't really matter, they just represent how hard you worked in that particular class, but taking an entrance test for a job will show how much you actually know.

An internship will look great on a resume, not to mention it almost always leads into a job offer (mine is ), which is nice. Most of the older programmers don't even have a college degree, so two my not impress the company as much as you'd think it would.

Nathan

[carajo]

Depends on where you are applying.

Some of the big well known places (Boeing perhaps?) have minimum GPA requirements. And they are high - I'm talking 3.7 ish.