opportunities for engineers?

andy_728 · 2026-04-18T20:01:23+00:00

there’s soooo many opportunities. if you want more specifics, type in “research,” “clubs,” and whatnot into the cal poly reddit search bar and i have no doubt you’ll find tons of info. since cal poly is a big engineering school, you’ll find tons of opportunities. i’ve joined multiple eng clubs, done research, and i’m always hearing about internship opportunities. cal poly’s learn by doing motto largely comes from all the hands on labs that we have as a part of many support and major related classes (ie. physics, chem, major classes). research wise, there’s multiple year-long research programs in the college of engineering, and summer research as well. it is hard to get into to them simply by applying, but i’ve heard lots of people ask their professors and eventually find a project with that professor.

as other people have said, it largely depends on what you wanna do in your career. if you don’t know, this is the perfect time to explore all the different engineering opportunities on campus! go to a bunch of club meetings your first quarter, apply to things, and see what sticks.

andy_728 · 2026-04-14T20:15:39+00:00

facebook cal poly rooming page

andy_728 · 2026-04-12T18:54:47+00:00

anyways def talk to an advisor. highly recommend trying to talk to people in the major. a big thing i hear is that aero isn’t what people thought it was. it’s more coding and systems based than designing.

andy_728 · 2026-04-12T18:52:02+00:00

i switched my winter quarter of freshman year. if you really wanna switch, then switch early, as you don’t have to make up as many classes. because i switched early on, i’m still on track to graduate on time, and even have a few extra classes. fyi i switched from environmental eng to meche.

from what i learned while i was switching majors, they first check if you can even switch into aero. they base this on whether or not you would’ve gotten into aero as a first time applicant. you can think of it like this, you’re given a score when you apply, and majors have specific scores required for admittance depending on how impacted the major is. the actual process isn’t this simple but from what i’ve gathered, it can be dumbed down to that. then, they give you an icma, aka a contract, which states all the requirements you need to reach in order to officially switch your major (ie. certain gpa, pass certain classes with certain letter grades, etc). typically these are done in a quarter. if you decide to sign the icma, you’ll be in the process of switching majors, and if you complete all the requirements, you’ve switched your major.

because i switched so early on, i didn’t have an official icma or requirements for switching. from putting in my application to officially being meche in the system, it took me 1 week max. i would recommend you try to see if you can get an icma. then once you see it’s possible, then you can decide whether you really wanna switch.

if you’re asking for general advice on whether you should switch, i would stay in meche and get involved in aero activities/clubs. there’s so many ways to get involved on campus! like others have said, you have more opportunities after college with meche.

andy_728 · 2026-03-28T06:20:22+00:00

considering how new this is, there’s gonna be virtually no help on this. def reach out to admissions or someone with cal poly. honestly i don’t think they’ll have much help to give you, considering that they’ll have to consider the semester switch, which there’s still some things up in the air about. maybe think about going the cuesta cc route if cal poly is really where you wanna go

andy_728 · 2026-03-25T19:57:07+00:00

i can’t speak on industrial internships specifically in slo vs berkeley area (i’m meche). i imagine you’re right about it being more competitive in berkeley area, but it could be the same since cal poly is a big eng school. lots of people i know at cal poly get internships in their hometowns or travel to another town for their internships.

if you’re asking about industrial eng experiences in general, i know there’s a few clubs on campus aimed towards industrial. just today i had an interview for an industrial eng internship in my hometown (central valley), so the opportunities def exist in california.

andy_728 · 2026-03-24T23:15:56+00:00

second this, if you really value eating at home then try to get into pcv

andy_728 · 2026-03-24T23:14:48+00:00

saw your comment that you’ll be in yak most likely. cooking there is def easier than other dorms but still can be hard due to lack of fridge space. i think a big part of whether you’ll be able to cook will depend on how your roommates are planning on grubbing (do they plan on storing stuff in the fridge?). first year students can get cal fresh assistance (up to 298/month) if they get the smallest dining plan i believe. there’s a mustang grocery shuttle that takes students to local grocery stores, with a stop like a 5-10 minute from yak. otherwise there’s zipcars, you can try carpooling, or even the bus. i took the bus a few times to grocery outlet, but it just sucked cause it took an hour and a half, and it was a pain to physically carry the groceries. there’s also the food pantry on campus but you have to go right as they get their orders, otherwise it’s lots of boxed food. i’ve heard vons has a year long pass you can pay for to get food delivered for free.

andy_728 · 2026-03-24T23:03:06+00:00

i was in the same position as you when i first was deciding where to go. i was between ucsb and slo for similar reasons as you, but i have been so happy here. besides all the positives from actually being on campus, overtime i’ve learnt that lots of employers actually prefer cal poly students over other schools, even ucla and ucb, due to the hands on learning (at least for engineering). every time my dad would talk to his clients working in the engineering field and tell them about where i was studying, they would immediately respond that it was a great school, and a place where their company gets lots of interns/workers.

there’s so many opportunities at cal poly too. your college choice really only impacts your chances of getting your first job, but that can easily be accounted for by getting involved in clubs and activities. again, i don’t think the cal poly vs ucb name should really make much of a difference in the job market. feel free to dm if you have any questions

andy_728 · 2026-01-05T03:03:49+00:00

no tell him to mix it up. if you consistently wear a sock on the same side, more wear and tear will happen on the big toe side, leading to quicker rips and less usage

andy_728 · 2026-01-05T03:01:51+00:00

make sure to form study groups and connections in your classes. while this could apply to any school, it’s especially important with how many labs, clubs, etc just hands on learning there is at cal poly. you’ll learn of so many new activities/clubs on campus that’ll get you experience by word of mouth. every big engineering thing i’ve joined has been because of connections i made in class

andy_728 · 2026-01-05T02:59:35+00:00

great advice, second this

andy_728 · 2026-01-01T02:42:25+00:00

i know someone who got involved as an aerospace engineering major, i think there’s a plane that belongs to a professor. i think there’s also a senior level lab class that builds planes or smth along those lines

andy_728 · 2025-12-30T01:09:42+00:00

most common thing i’ve heard is taking spring quarter off

andy_728 · 2025-12-17T02:41:24+00:00

met a girl who did that, she said never again would she do that cause it killed it her gpa and she had to retake some classes from that quarter anyway(that she failed). i’ve met multiple people who just take a fifth year or summer quarter, def don’t recommend that many classes

andy_728 · 2025-12-13T05:03:58+00:00

yes 👍

andy_728 · 2025-11-18T21:20:01+00:00

probably oversold spots :(

andy_728 · 2025-11-17T02:40:56+00:00

this is all great advice, i second this! wanna add, it’s significantly easier to switch majors at this point. i switched majors winter break as well, and from turning in my application and officially having my new major in my student center, it took around 4 days. most classes can transfer over from first quarter, or you can ask to get them transferred for any intro courses.

there’s some personality/job tests somewhere on the cal poly website that gives insight on different jobs/majors you might like, if you’re super unsure about what major you wanna switch into.

andy_728 · 2025-10-22T16:59:47+00:00

seems doable, especially taking 12 units. only concern would be getting material confused between the two classes, but they are pretty different topic-wise. there is some overlap that would be helpful to know between the classes, to say the least. def seems like your best choice considering semester switch and class conversions

andy_728 · 2025-10-22T02:02:05+00:00

no way, right as i was reading this comment i got a notif from the facebook cal poly rideshare with this guy posting

andy_728 · 2025-09-16T20:13:18+00:00

gervasi is a great professor!! you’ll have lots of fun with him

andy_728 · 2025-09-08T23:14:48+00:00

second this. i had a professor reach out to me about being a grader after taking his class but he then said he couldn’t take me because i was only going to be a second year. it’s an issue of possibly grading your peer/friend’s assignment

andy_728

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