Wed 21 Sep 2005
I gotta go turn in my rock star card and get fat and old with you.
Posted by Jeff under Jeff's Thoughts[3] Comments
I’m settled in Windsor now, and I’ve checked out the city a bit. Work isn’t going so bad; there’s lots of variety in my work and I am learning alot. At least I don’t have a job that I do exactly the same thing everyday, the usual mindless co-op labour (like laminating..heh). Overall I am not minding this term too much, and I’m doing okay I think. Just three months left and back to school.
Co-op is part of my education, and it has a dual purpose. First to teach me workplace skills that I can use in my future, and second to help me decide my future career path. As many students will agree, I believe I learn more (things that I actually should be learning) during my co-op term than while I’m at school. So far my most useful class that I took in university was MTE 100, Introduction to Engineering and Mechatronics. There we had a drafting class that helped me learn skills I use and also writing reports and general day to day engineering work. My other classes are filled with material I have yet to use.
People lately have been telling me to think about my future. So I have. Generally I have accepted that I am going (to try) to finish my undergrad at Waterloo in Mechatronics Engineering. There is talk within my class as to what to take (or even if to take) an option. Most of them don’t appeal to me, but if I am allowed to I am considering taking theWelding Specialization. I think that it would be a very interesting option to take and will be very beneficial to future work that I may get involved in.
Generally I believe that an undergrad isn’t enough education for me. I want to go to grad school where I can learn some more advanced topics and specialize in a field a little more. I have two paths I may follow. One, grad studies in mechanical engineering, and two, law school in patent law or law and technology. I’ll briefly discuss the two and the possible options I have to pick from.
First, and more expected of me, is the grad studies in mechanical engineering. I think I would most likely take it at Waterloo, though there is the possibility of going elsewhere, like Ottawa or Montreal for it. I guess it depends on the time and how good my marks are (and if I can even afford it). At Waterloo there are two options, theMaster of Applied Science and the Master of Engineering . I think the Master of Engineering suits me better because it is more lecture based as opposed to research based. I would like to do it with co-op as well, but I’ll have to see if I’m able to get that to work.
The second option is law school. Political science and law has always been an interest of mine. I really considered taking Poli Sci over engineering for a while. I know that there is a very needed field of well qualified people in the field of technology, patent and corporate law. With an engineering undergrad, I will have an advantage of understanding technical terms and ability to read schematics over other students with general arts degrees or pre law undergrads. I have been thinking of either uOttawa, McGill or Western for law school, either of which would be acceptable in my mind. I think that the deciding factor would be (though usually I’d consider a horrible reason to pick a school) where some of my friends are. Lyle might be in Western and Natalie, Kyle and Kas might be in Ottawa. Just something to consider when I’m trying to decide on a school to go to.
So if I make it that far, these are the things I’m considering. I welcome feedback and suggestions for these thoughts.
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Currently Listening to: Mad Season – Matchbox Twenty
Well, kudos to you if you can handle grad school. But you know me– as soon as I’m done this degree, I’ll be working for sure.
Will it be in web, robotics, management, teaching? Who knows… but I’ll definitely be educated enough and broke enough to move on at that point.
Well, I haven’t heard you talk much about mechanical engineering, but I have definately heard you talk alot about political science and law. From what I’ve heard, that seems to be your stronger interest, so, in my opinion, I think law school would be an excellent choice for you. As far as which school to go to, while your friends are one factor, I think the most important factors to look into are the quality of the education, the costs, and the campus/city life. You want to live somewhere that you are going to enjoy.
But you still have plenty of time to decide on these things, so I wish you the best of luck! I know whichever choice you make, it will be a good one.
I definitely don’t want to tell you what to do with your life, but I’ve always known that you would be an exceptional lawyer – your strong debating ability, combined with your passion for, and knowledge on, politics and current events would make it easy for you. In fact, I was surprised when you announced that you were going to Waterloo for engineering, because I personally thought you would be greatly suited for a career in law or politics. No matter what section of law there is, you would thrive because of your perseverence and broad abilities.
On the other hand, you also have a passion for your current course – mechatronics engineering. I do find that this field suits you – you have an ability to make sense of mind-boggling (at least for me) mathematics. A mechatronics engineer is not as common as a lawyer, so it would be more socially interesting, say at parties.
But whatever you decide to do, I know you’ll be great at it, because you’re *JEFF* and you’re super smart.