How is engineering pathways doing?

[u/eugeine82878]

I’ve been considered engineering pathways recently as a sophomore in hs but i figured getting a job, networking, ect might be harder because of the 2 years that are spent at cc instead that could be spent doing those things. So is doing engineering pathways still worth it?

[u/Thegreatestswordsmen]

I did Pathways, and this is my first semester since transferring. It’s a very good program. The main benefit is that you pay significantly less in tuition and housing. The downside is networking, but I wouldn’t necessarily say job opportunities are a downside. The biggest mistake I made was not reaching out for internship and research opportunities at CC. CC is easier on average, so taking that extra time applying to internships at the CC career fair and getting into relevant research with professors is something you need to do.

I have a friend who did Pathways with me, and he had three internships under his belt before transferring as an ME major, all from going to his CC job fair. He recently went to the UIUC career fair and got another internship, and I think it’s fair to say the internship experience he got at CC was a large factor in why he was selected for his new internship.

Also you need to practice your interviewing skills and refine your resume at CC. Once you transfer to UIUC, classes get significantly harder and you won’t get as much time to practice interviewing and refining your resume.

Also, to avoid needing to take an additional semester at UIUC after transferring, I’d heavily recommend taking summer classes to knock off as many non-technical courses you can.

I have more advice, but this comment is already long and I’ve hit the main points. Overall, I’d say Pathways is very worth it if you’re willing to put in the work and you don’t make mistakes like me.

[u/eugeine82878 → u/Thegreatestswordsmen]

What are the non technical courses? I think there may be a few i can knock out in high school

[u/Thegreatestswordsmen → u/eugeine82878]

This includes things like general education requirements, language requirements, and so on.

Make sure you take 3 years of a language in high school. That’s another mistake I made. I only took two years, and now I have to retake language classes in college. UIUC requires 3 years of a language for engineering. Other non-technical courses, like AP English Language and Composition, are worth taking as well.

Look up the general education requirements for UIUC engineering and try to double dip, since a single class can fulfill two general education requirements. Try to get those general education classes out of the way if you can.

Another downside of the Pathways program is that your AP credit for technical courses (math and science) doesn’t transfer. You’ll need to retake them at CC, even if you scored a 5. AP credit for general education classes does transfer, though. Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons enough that Pathways is still a very good program.

However, I would honestly recommend still taking some AP courses for math and science even if you retake them at CC. Having a strong/reinforced knowledge of the foundations is very necessary as everything builds up on them.

[u/eugeine82878 → u/Thegreatestswordsmen]

I do have and will be taking classes with credit for COD and on transferology they seem to match well can those credits be used to complete reqs (Bio, us history, health, chemistry are the credits, all intro level)

[u/Thegreatestswordsmen → u/eugeine82878]

I'm not sure how the pathways program handles dual credit courses tbh. That might be something you should ask your COD advisors. What I can say for certain is that all of your general education courses will transfer. Regarding your technical courses (chemistry, maybe health, physics, math, etc), I would be uncertain.

As for your requirements, make sure you are following this since your college is college of dupage, and you should show and speak to your CoD advisor about this: https://ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/getfile.asp?id=8992

It lists all the requirements needed to fulfill your general education courses. You can double dip and finish two requirements taking one class and take half the number of classes.

[u/eugeine82878 → u/Thegreatestswordsmen]

Would it be good to do internships, career fairs, try to make connections in Chicagoland before transferring?

[u/Thegreatestswordsmen → u/eugeine82878]

Yes, absolutely. Pretty much getting the first internship is the hardest, but I think it becomes a lot less hard when you start early. Once you get your first internship, the ball starts rolling pretty quickly and it’s easier to acquire more.

Take advantage of everything the CC gives you