Best Colleges for Skiing?

congratulations Sno!

If engineering grads average 62k a year why not live simple for one year and pay your loans off that same year. That makes more sense to me than paying all of that interest for 10 years.  And, congrats dude!

Sno,
Here's quick low down on Civil eng internships..
After my daughter's sophomore year she was paid 12hr, junior year 14 hr. She graduates this May and her summer internship is paying 27 hr..
She is going to grad school in the fall..

Congrats on your acceptance..I'm sure you will do great things...

Thanks for the encouragement.  Very excited to go.

As for skiing I'd do a SKI3 Pass and ski Whiteface most often (maybe I'll meet Z).  My dad can do a long day trip to Gore, so I'd be able to meet him there on occasion.  According to students, even with the "famous Clarkson workload", you have plenty of time to do other things.  

Plenty of Clarkson School kids ski.  One of their "senior trips" is to Smugglers Notch.  Sounded like it would be a lot of fun.  They do this and 2 other big trips because most students who go miss their senior trip.

While the primary focus is obviously academics, there are many other activities to do as well.  I just like the look of the entire experience there.

If you're lucky maybe ScottyJack will give you some tips on picking up chicks. He's obviously really good at it.

snoloco wrote

Plenty of Clarkson School kids ski.  One of their "senior trips" is to Smugglers Notch.  Sounded like it would be a lot of fun.  They do this and 2 other big trips because most students who go miss their senior trip.

Smuggler's Notch = no snowmaking, two slow doubles to the top (18minutes a ride), old lodge. Are you being punished for something if you go?

campgottagopee wrote

If you're lucky maybe ScottyJack will give you some tips on picking up chicks. He's obviously really good at it.

It's Clarkson, there are no chicks.

JohnIrvingwrestles wrote

campgottagopee wrote

If you're lucky maybe ScottyJack will give you some tips on picking up chicks. He's obviously really good at it.

It's Clarkson, there are no chicks.

Point taken

Uh John there are chickitas BUT very limited amounts BUT remember if technoweenie chicks, ain't yer thang THEREis a veritable GOLD mine 5 minutes away .. POTSDAM STATE Baby !! Beaucoup opportunity there 😎😎😎😎😎😎

ml242 wrote

snoloco wrote

Plenty of Clarkson School kids ski.  One of their "senior trips" is to Smugglers Notch.  Sounded like it would be a lot of fun.  They do this and 2 other big trips because most students who go miss their senior trip.

Smuggler's Notch = no snowmaking, two slow doubles to the top (18minutes a ride), old lodge. Are you being punished for something if you go?

No, I don't really think so.  It's free (included in BIG! tuition bill), and a new mountain.  A couple years ago they got a powder day on that trip.  Sometimes my normal ski preferences can be overlooked.

raisingarizona wrote

If engineering grads average 62k a year why not live simple for one year and pay your loans off that same year. That makes more sense to me than paying all of that interest for 10 years.  And, congrats dude!

62k is weak for a mechanical engineer IMO.  That's an average.  Lots of CAD operators with the title of mechanical engineer (with degrees) making 40k a year bring that down.

You might start around there right out of school, maybe a little better if you have a masters depending on the industry.

Honestly should be making 80s to 90s within a couple years if you are any good.  Don't expect that to go anywhere though.  Engineers start higher, raises are typically just inflation based.  Merit raises are low.  Even going from Jr to Sr engineer is not much.  Typically won't see much over 100k unless you get into management or have your doctorate and are a tech lead running a department.

If you work for a small shop doing CAD work, don't expect much.  You have to do real engineering to make the money.  That means either being a production bitch and having no life or being smart enough to do design/modelling.  Aim high.  

Be good at everything.

A good engineer is a damn good theoretician, but also a competent technician.  If you don't know what I mean by that, figure it out quick.  Basically means you can unravel problems with your mind but also execute them with your hands.  If you can't solve difficult problems but are hands on you'll only ever be a technician.  If you can solve lots of ideal, academic problems but can't gain respect of technicians or complete them yourself, you'll only ever be a professor.

Congrats on Clarkson.  It's a great school and will teach you all the basics you need to know to be successful.  The other stuff you'll learn in your career.  Keep active with technical projects out of class and kill your theory in classes.  A lot of engineering schools assume you'll pick up the technical skills on your own and will focus mainly on theory.

Stick to that and you'll go as far as you want in engineering.  It's not a hard career to figure out.  If you mix in the business aspect things will change.  You'll be less a engineer and more a project manager.  Potential to make more is there but stress is high and actual engineering is low.

Good luck!

Well, other than the academic schooling hopefully you will get a good ski schooling....and develop new ski preferences!  The ones you've got have to go!!!!

Basically I want to do something I like and make a lot of money in the process.  I pretty much know I'm going into engineering.  I'll have to visit the career center early and find out what sounds best to achieve that.  Sounds like the engineering and management major could be a good choice, combining business and engineering.

Combining business and engineering is kind of like the ultimate niche degree option out there. Penn state actually offers a business, and engineering degree, but let me tell you, it's hard. Its a 170 credit hour program. I think it will take at least 5 years, unless you study all day and never go skiing. I'm in my third semester, and I didn't really know what I was doing at first, so it will take me close to 5 years to complete my degree. Because I am taking longer than usual, I am able to fit in some business classes into my schedule. 12 credits in a specific concentration is enough to declare a minor. You could do the same. It may help you get into a management position. I am doing it mainly for my own personal interest, but it could have career benefits as well.

snoloco wrote

Basically I want to do something I like and make a lot of money in the process.

I think that's pretty much everyone's goal.

Congrats on your acceptance

snoloco wrote

Basically I want to do something I like and make a lot of money in the process.  I pretty much know I'm going into engineering.  I'll have to visit the career center early and find out what sounds best to achieve that.  Sounds like the engineering and management major could be a good choice, combining business and engineering.

Everyone wants to make a lot of money, but I'll tell you what, it isn't everything.  You'll see when you start working but I'm trying to warn you now.  More responsibility with a salaried job means working long hours and having less time to do what you are passionate about.

You may get lucky and get a job in an industry you are passionate about - I did, but I'll tell you it still wears on you after 10 years and my passions have changed since I was 17.  You've barely done anything for that length of time, so it's hard to think about it at your age.  I had no concept.  And likely if you are intelligent and curious your interests will change with time.  It's nice to be able to do something that will grow with you.

My goal has always been this, and this is just a suggestion:

Make enough money to be comfortable and do the things you want to do and still have some free time to do them.  It's a hard goal to achieve but you can easily make (based on current inflation) 80-90k as an engineer.  Trust me, you won't be starving.  You won't be rich but you'll have plenty of money to do the things you love outside of work.  If you live somewhere where the cost of living isn't outrageous life will be easy.  80-90k in a big city isn't much, especially if you buy a house, but that's another story... and a lot of big city dwellers make more... but it doesn't scale linearly.  I live where I live due to convenience but the salary to cost of living ratio is very high, and I don't have kids, so I have lots of expendable income... this is really what you mean when you say you want to make a lot of money.  It's a relative term, capiche?

Time is the other big thing.  Having a lot of money and no time is no good IMO.  Mix business with engineering and that's often what you get.  Work 60-70 hours a week to make an extra 20k?  Fuck that.  Per hour I make more than those guys.  I rarely work more than 45hrs a week, usually right around 41-42 and I can get everything done I need and still have time to talk to you now.

So you need to decide, do you want to kill yourself at work to make an extra couple bucks or do you want to make enough to be comfortable and be able to enjoy the things you love outside of work?  I vote for the latter.  If you are smart and good at engineering you can do this.  If you want to deal with people and herding cats, good luck... it's a giant time suck.

warp daddy wrote

Uh John there are chickitas BUT very limited amounts BUT remember if technoweenie chicks, ain't yer thang THEREis a veritable GOLD mine 5 minutes away .. POTSDAM STATE Baby !! Beaucoup opportunity there 😎😎😎😎😎😎

This ^^^ reminds me of one of my fave jokes I got from my Grandfather ----

An old bull and young bull were standing on top of a hill looking down over a herd of cows. Young bull looks at the old bull and says, "Let's run down there and screw one of those cows". The old bull says, "Nah, let's walk down and screw em all"

^^^^^^^^
Oh yeah Campy that ole saw has been told for generations ..... The difference between enthusiasm and WISDOM. My man


 Ys know the " sanitized family "version is patience is a virtue. Hahahahahaor haste makes waste

Just another thing from a guy that would potentially be someone that would be interviewing you or looking at your resume:

This is a ways off for you but masters in science will go a lot farther than an MBA for an engineer.  Just my opinion based on what I see.

Many, many, many of the chief engineers I work with have a Phd or MS.  Hardly any have MBAs.

I said this before but I see it as a BS (and I don't mean bachelors in science) degree over an engineering degree.  The business aspect of things in so simple compared to the level of academics for engineering it seems silly to me.

It might look good if you want to work in sales or manage mutual funds, but if you want to design shit or run a group of engineers, IMO the MS or Phd will get you way further.  Technical knowledge is a far greater asset than accounting.  If you are an engineering manager you'll be responsible for budgets and forecasting but from what I see where I work it's no great mystery.  You could take a couple classes as a minor/concentration to get familiar with the terms, but it's not the same.

If you wanted to try to run your own business or run a small business, that might be different.  But if you plan to work in engineering for a corporation you won't be hired as manager of a group of engineers just because you have an MBA.  Anywhere I know of you'll have to work as an engineer first, probably at least 5 years, before you have a chance to take a job like that.  Having a MBA will make you a more likely candidate, but having a MS or Phd will give you the same chances from everything I see in industry.

Got a big envelope in the mail from The Clarkson School today.  Got a very good deal.  I have now decided that I am definitely going.  Can't wait!!  Any Whiteface skiers, I'll ski you on the hill too.

Very nice!

 My only negative comment now that I think about it is that my last 3 months of my Senior year in HS was spent partying. I had my acceptance to MIT and my scholarships were all lined up, it was time to pull out the stops and party because it would be a long time before I could do that again (turned out to be almost 12 years before I had that kind of freedom again). So I know you are anxious to go and it will help accelerate you into college, but it will come at a cost and as long as you are signed up for it - go for it.