Lol everyone loves Maggard just as much as he loves all the hot girls he lets into the department right?

He is everything an advisor shouldn't be. After transferring out the MEEN advisors are so much better for everything it's actually kind of sad for him.

quote:

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I'm sure a certain PETE academic advisor just loves you.

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I'm not sure if I understood this right, but if this is what I'm thinking... Uhhh.. I don't think so... lol

In fact, the last time I went up for an advice, I felt that I was given a hint on what I should do using the words: "there are other easier majors out there... there... there..." lol


[This message has been edited by espii10 (edited 8/5/2012 3:51p).]

Just graduated with a 2.6.
I got two competitive offers the monday after graduation, with three other second interviews lined up. You don't have to work for a major. I'd say stick with it.
I contemplated switching to id or cosc before i got in upper level and i'm glad i didn't.
Once you get in upper it doesn't necessarily get easier, it's just more interesting/relevant.

That being said you have to do what you feel is best for you.

Upper level is far more interesting and they give out very few Ds and Fs.

FWIW, sophomore year of engineering was the hardest for me. Junior and senior level were more complicated (and interesting) subjects, but sophomore level was more weed out classes that poured on a ton of homework.

If your like me and the workload is harder than the material, stick it out. If you're having a harder time with the material than the workload, you might want to drop out.

Absolutely do not change your major. That would be the biggest regret of your life. Getting a PETE dregree is well worth a 5th or 6th year in school. If you just stick it out and get your 2.5, you will not have any trouble finding a well paying job.

Stop looking for the easy way out! Set some goals and stick to them.

Espii10: It has been 25 years since I received my PETE degree so take my advice with a grain of salt. However...

If you truly want to be involved in the Oil & Gas industry, don't give up. Nothing that has happened so far from a GPA standpoint is going to keep you from getting hired if you are willing to put in the hard work and are stubborn enough. I speak from personal experience.

I failed my first semester honor's Calculus course before taking it the following semester and acing it. I received a D in an ME class and multiple Cs in other classes. Problem was that I had never been challenged in High School and didn't really know how to study. Fortunately, as I got past some of the intro classes and more into the core PETE classes, my grades picked up due to more interest on my part and better study skills as well. But because of some of my earlier problem classes I only graduated with ~2.7 (Don't even remember exactly because after that first job, no one will ever ask again).

When I got out in 1987, the oil industry was on its knees with $12/bbl oil and massive layoffs throughout the industry. Unless you had that perfect 4.0 job offers were few and far between. So I ended up working as rig hand on a well service rig for a couple of years. First six months was tough as pay was minimum wage, work was physically demanding, and I was working alongside guys that didn't even have a high school diploma. But eventually a spot opened up as a special services technician and, while I was still working out in the field, I was beginning to develop expertise in certain technologies and also had more opportunities to interact with the various operating companies and their engineers. Those couple of years were some of the worst in my life from a financial, emotional, and physical standpoint and I don't ever want to do it again. But although it was a different kind of lesson from my A&M classes, I learned as much or more about myself and about the oilfield during that time than I ever did while at A&M! Eventually, one of the contacts I developed while in that job helped me get a job as a Production Engineer with a local independent and I was on my way.

There is a huge gap in Engineers in this industry with way too many over the age of 50 and not nearly enough under the age of 30. If you want to work in O&G, you can as long as you are willing to put in the work. The path might not always be straight but this industry has huge ups and downs and you have to be prepared to deal with both. The stresses aren't going to end the day you get that diploma!

Everyone focuses on grades while in school because that is the primary evaluation tool when considering someone for that first job. But after a year or two of working, it won't be GPR but rather your dedication and efforts at your job that are going to determine where your career ends up. Yeah GPR is important to begin with but what you really need to focus on isn't the difference between a final 2.5 versus 3.5 but rather, whether you actually ENJOY the type of work that a Petroleum Engineer does? Are the problems that you have had due to poor study skills? Or is it because the material doesn't capture your interest adequately? Only you can answer that question.

[This message has been edited by PetroAg87 (edited 8/7/2012 12:10p).]

Great post Petro

Yeah, I was being sarcastic if ya'll couldn't catch it.

And Ocean Eng. is the easiest out there.

My point: stick with it. And junior year PETE classes 1st semester are pretty brutal. After that it really isn't anything unmanageable.

[This message has been edited by TheMasterplan (edited 8/9/2012 8:56p).]

To everyone who posted in this thread. I truly thank you for your helpfulness. It encouraged me to push myself more farther since I've always wanted my current major, but had second thoughts because of the difficulties that I have faced. I finished my summer classes with passing grades, and all of you gave me a renewed(also a stronger)motivation and reason to be persistent in pursuing this degree. Yes, I will continue to struggle, but I will resist backing down.

OEagg11, thank you for sharing. I wish you the best on your job, maybe someday we could run into each other as colleagues, and I am looking forward to it.

Motis B Totis, your words were an eye-opener. You are probably nailed it when you said stop looking for an easy way out.

PetroAg87, Thank you for sharing your experience. From now on, your story will be a constant reminder of how hard work, dedication, persistence and being stubborn(<--which i really think i am) has paid off. I have a great respect on what you've been through.

To everyone else that replied, sorry if I couldn't call out everyone of you on this post (i'm trying not to be overly dramatic lol), but please know that all of you who responded here have been a great help in this big dillemma I was in.

Very Big thanks!

Glad your sticking it out. Good decision. Work hard this semester. Even the dumb guys like me made it through by making friends and putting in the hours. Put in the hours. Find peers that are putting in the hours. It will pay off - financially and from a personal satisfaction perspective.

One of my buds went to law school because he didn't think engineering was the right field for him. He did great in law school because of the work ethic he developed in engineering at TAMU.

Disclaimer: don't cheat your way through. You will learn so much more doing it yourself and everyone remembers the bad cheaters. Not guys I'll feel comfortable making deals with or hiring in the future.

Tech degrees are not engineering degrees. Some companies will disqualify a resume because they are not an engineer.

Stick with the engineering degree even if you get a 2.2 GPA. In the long run no one will care about the GPA and they will only look at the A&M engineering degree.

FWIW, both of my brothers are ID grads, and they're both in oil. They just don't engineer the wells, they operate them.

espii10,

I know this thread is dated, and it sounds like you've already made your decision to stick it out, which I congratulate you on. That being said, you may find my experiences helpful if this question arises again in the future.

I started off in engineering, and like you, had trouble out the gate and questioned whether all the stress was really worth it. I also decided to stick it out. By far, the best decision of my life (well, other than asking the woman of my dreams to marry me).

Anywho, I graduated with a job. My employer has hired literally hundreds of out-the-gate college graduates the past two years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. A lot of my peers hold ID or MMET degrees and are making the EXACT amount I am. While in school, it seemed like we engineers always looked down on the ETech degrees as inferior. My experiences have shown that way of thinking to be erroneous.

Granted, a lot of that is industry specific. Whereas a MechE degree's application is very broad, an MMET may limit you to manufacturing for example, but within that comes other opportunities e.g. manufacturing to sales.

You also have to think a lot about how you learn. Maybe you're just not cut out for the "theoretical" work, which there's nothing wrong with. I know the ID and MMET course work revolves around hands on lab time. We as humans learn best by application, so this automatically makes you an asset to any company.

Long message I know. What I'm getting at is this: You just have to get your foot in the door. You do that by holding a degree from a reputable university. A good company will teach you what they want/need you to know and from there, it's all about your experience.

Thanks for your input bigcoop411.

Yes it has been a while since I've posted this, but I still look at it to check for any new replies that it may have or whenever I get too worried that I may not make it despite all the stubborness and the effort I've been putting into my studies. So it is true that ETID graduates have salaries comparable to Engineering grads in the long run?

One thing I know for sure is that though it seems that I may be able to tough it out in my theoretical classes to get an Engineering degree, I am stronger in "hands-on" rather than theory. My clever side comes out when I practically do hands-on stuff and it seems to shy away whenever I need it the most with theories.

I am sticking it out, hoping that I would be able to make it out with a decent comeback from a low gpa. I'm still greatly worried though.

Congrats on your success as an engineer and for getting that sweet "yes!" from your destined other half! Best wishes on your career and personal life! Thanks again. I appreciate every input that everyone has given in this thread.

[This message has been edited by espii10 (edited 11/16/2012 11:35a).]

stick it through. Your hands/practical mindset will turn into $$$$ once you get a job.

Engineers with practical way of thinking go far!

I just graduated from the MEEN department. I am not sure how much this advice translates or is helpful to you, but I think it is at least worth mentioning.

My best friends in engineering were all extremely smart, my 3 or 4 closest friends all had 3.85 gpas or above. I graduated with a 3.3 (reference for choosing to listen to my advice). To be successful in engineering it obviously takes a lot of work and dedication, but my friends with the great gpas all had one thing in common.

They all played the system incredibly well. They would spend many hours in the lab planning out their schedules and trying to talk to everyone and get first hand knowledge of what profs were like. If they weren't morning people they would make sure to do everything they could to avoid morning classes. If they had problems with motivation to go to class they would schedule all of their classes together so that they wouldn't have any time or excuse to miss class. The biggest thing was that they would not take classes from notoriously hard/bad professors. If they couldn't get the teacher they wanted for a class they would simply not take the class and rework their schedules to change around the order they took classes. This would involve going to the counselors to discuss what they could do or ask to be forced into classes.

I know all of that has limits, but I think that had a lot to do with why they had great grades (aside from being good students). I didn't want to mess with that stuff and I would always just follow the schedule of classes in the degree plan and it really did hurt me. We would take the same class from different profs and I would work 10 hours a week on a class to get a B that they would spend 1 hour a week and not have hw to get an A.

They would play the system in every way. I got a lot of 88 and 89 as my final class grades. I would just accept this and try to work harder next semester. My same friends would never accept that and would be in the profs office constantly trying to get bumped. For me it wasn't worth the fight and for them it was and the end result was they were all cum lade and I wasn't.

Its already hard so play the system and try to put yourself in the best spot possible. Good luck!

This ^^^

I do all of the above in MechE and have a 3.9 right now. Never went and asked for a bump though. I just only take good professors/good electives etc.

Agree with DTX...that's why I hate why companies use GPA as a measure of merit.

Maybe, that extra initiative of "camping out" at the professor's office and lobbying for a "bump" is factored into the reasoning for a company to want to hire a high GPA.

Let's face it, when you graduate college at 22 years old, you don't really know much. A company will hire you based on potential. An engineering degree from Texas A&M requires intelligence and dedication. Period.

The extra bit of effort to get the extra high GPA (scouting classes, researching professors, spending time with the professors and lobbying for the best possible outcome) reflects initiative and a desire to excel. Those are traits that companies value.

quote:

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I didn't want to mess with that stuff....

I got a lot of 88 and 89 as my final class grades. I would just accept this....

My same friends would never accept that....

For me it wasn't worth the fight and for them it was and the end result was they were all cum lade and I wasn't....

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The quotes from the poster above may provide some insight to the thinking of a recruiter or hiring manager. Just a thought...

[This message has been edited by BTHOB (edited 11/21/2012 8:37a).]

Agree with all or at least the majority of the PETE comments, Rex Daddy (Maggard) is a POS adviser, and if you want to do ENGR stick it out, and work your ass off. I didn't do well my first semester and bucked down after first semester of my second year and came out with multiple offers for jobs, but it took me proving that I had problems and was willing to work hard to solve them.