1. Success in Engineering
ELEC 104 Fall 2010

2. Introduction Engineering is hard!
But each of you can get your BSEE degree in four years
The Citadel EE program has many very successful EE alumni that had poor HS grades and low SATs
Other departments also have many ex-EE students with excellent math and science backgrounds that would have made outstanding engineers

3. Some Case Studies Let’s look at some example transcripts…
Get into five groups
Study the transcript
Look at: SAT, Math performance, ECE performance, Overall GPA, Summer School
What can you tell about this student?

4. How to succeed What is success? Success is the achievement of goals!
Money?
Happiness?
Stuff?
Feeling of Accomplishment?
Success is the achievement of goals!

5. Set Goals Goals give you direction Write your goals down Ask:
Why do I want to achieve this goal?
How can I ensure success at meeting this goal?

6. Set Goals
Divide goals into primary and secondary, long term (>1 year) and short term
Make graduating in EE a primary long-term goal
Don’t let hardship deter you from your goals – it WILL get tough!

7. Set Goals In your group, make a list of goals in each quadrant Primary
Short Term
Long Term
Secondary

8. Work Hard Ability vs. Effort What is effort? Effort is 99% of the game
There will always be someone with more ability than you
What is effort?
Using mental power to get something done
Requires time and energy
With good time management, it is totally in YOUR control!

9. Work Smart
Recognize what is important to achieving your goal and what is not
Becoming an expert at anything:
You must study the theory and practice
Examples?
Chess
Musical Instrument
Sports

10. Think Positively
Be aware of negative attitudes that can create failure
Weak commitment to EE
Becoming a “victim”
Failure to seek help
Procrastination
Avoiding weaknesses
Negative view of authority figures

11. Use the tools What tools are available to students? Other students
Faculty
Computer
School Resources – LOTS!
Textbook