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From: kmd@sdcsmb.UUCP (Karen M. Davis)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Topics #3, question 4
Message-ID: <409@sdcsmb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-May-87 11:44:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcsmb.409
Posted: Wed May 13 11:44:29 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 16-May-87 08:12:43 EDT
References: <1166@super.upenn.edu.upenn.edu> <1380@arthur.cs.purdue.edu> <486@herman.UUCP>
Reply-To: kmd@sdcsmb.UUCP (Karen M. Davis)
Organization: System Development Corporation, Santa Monica CA
Lines: 30

In article <486@herman.UUCP> det@herman.UUCP (Derek Terveer) writes:
>
>One thing that kind of bothers me is the number of people i noticed that went
>to the engineering school merely to escape the language requirement in the
>college of arts and sciences.  They chose engineering, not for the reason that
>they wanted to be engineers, but rather, so they would not have to fulfill the
>requirements of another discipline.  Kind of negative if you ask me.

I am an engineer.  Most of the engineers I know didn't come in to escape the
language requirements of other schools.  They came into engineering because
they were more comfortable dealing with *things* (rather than with people).
This is a pervasive problem in Engineering -- the technically brilliant who
can't communicate who have to deal with a technically mediocre world that
*demands* communication.  This is why technically competent engineers who
*can* deal with people go so far up the management chain so fast ;-)..

The people you describe, Derek, who merely wish to escape foreign language
requirements [like English :-)] generally don't do too well in Engineering.
They are also apt to be rather disappointed, since new accreditation rules
(as I remember them) seem to call for some rather broad general ed.
requirements (from the folks who accredit schools of engineering).  It *is*
possible to go to an engineering school that is not accredited, but it
generally doesn't help one's chances in the job market.  :-)

karen
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