1. Let's Take a Shot at Defining Success

2. Covering your Bases

Tools of the Trade (Great gifts for yourself!)
What is RPN (reverse polish notation )?
Three ways to be a smarter computer owner
Ten Tricks of the Old-timers (Upperclassmen)

1. Find out where the offices of the (Engineering) Registrar and student records are located.
2. Scout out the library and the computer labs. Make a note of the hours they are open.
3. Figure out where your classrooms are before classes start.
4. Buy books early-if you can!
New versus Used Textbooks
Options to purchasing books
5. Find out who the deans are (and what they look like).
6. Talk to upperclassmen.
7. Be prepared for the lifestyle change.
8. Go to departmental, library, and computer center overviews if they are offered.
9. Get yourself an alias.
10. Surf the TURF.

3. The Undergrad Engineering Experience
The Time Frame We Are Looking At
Your Professors
A Few Dos and Don'ts for Dealing with Profs
All About Engineers: Culture, Characteristics, and Quirks
Professional societies
More on Individuals
The Female Engineer
The Minority Engineer
Students with Disabilities
The "Older" (Returning to School) Engineer
The married re-entry student

4. Choosing a Major and Selecting Classes
Choosing a Major
Mainstream and narrower-focused majors
The Nuts and Bolts of the Big Seven Disciplines
Square one: Engineering
Engineering Work (and Passion)
Engineering intuition
The Engineering ring
The Big Seven: Nuts and Bolts
Engineering for the citizens of the planet: Civil and environmental engineering
Engineering for smooth movers: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The manipulation of the invisible: Electrical and Computer Engineering
What's the difference between a computer engineer and a computer scientist?
Keeping industry industrious: Industrial Engineering
Sports equipment to superconductors: Material Science and Engineering
The 'techie' side of medicine: Biomedical Engineering
The earliest Chemical Engineers weren't necessarily making Root Beer
What will the next 100 years bring? (The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century from the National Academy of Engineering)
Minors, Double Majors, Honors Degrees, and Other Things
Selecting and Registering for Classes, Sort of
Pros and Cons of a televised class
Having trouble deciding between two electives?
Some Considerations for Choosing Nonengineering Electives
Who Decides What Engineering Students Learn? (ABET criteria overview)

5. In Class-More to Staying Awake than Taking Notes?
The Classroom Environment
Note Taking and Paying Attention
Want to stay awake? Try this . . .
Sample note-taking from sample lecture
How to Suck the Marrow out of Class
Choose Your Own Adventure example of why it is better to go to class than skip
What to do when your professor's teaching style doesn't match your learning style
Save that Syllabus
Lab Periods and the Law of Labs
A final note . . .Maybe I'm not cut out to be an Engineer?

6. Outside the Classroom-Workload and Studying
Problem Sets
The bright side of problem sets
Format of a problem set
Beware! Answers in the back of textbooks are not always correct
Old Tests and the Honor Code: The great student-faculty debate.
A Note on Problem Set Shortcuts
Programs
Lab Reports
The Overachiever's Lab Format
The most common grammatical error of engineers (and non-engineers): the word, data
Projects
Small, Piddly Projects (SPPs)
Big Term Undertakings (BTUs)
Group Projects
Gantt Charts
Mind Maps
Presentations
Typical Talk toolkit
Papers
Maintenance Studying
Studying from the Textbook
What to Do When the Textbook Stinks!
Studying from Class Notes
Studying from Problem Sets

7. Quizzes, Tests, and Exams
Studying for Tests
Step 1. Organize Your Troops (You and Your Notes)
Step 2. Be Strategic and Formulate a Game Plan
A note about review or study sessions.
Professor-student dictionary
Step 3. Review Old Campaigns (Tests)
The 80-20 Rule
Step 4. Review Class and Text Notes
Step 5. Practice Problems
Step 6. Know Your Study Sheet
Should the all-nighter be an option?
Studying to Test Well versus Studying to Learn
Charge! The Test
Things to do when you:
Get the exam
Tackle a problem
What's the Mode of Attack?-Multiple Choice, Short Answer,
or Long Answer?
Multiple Choice
Short Answer
Long Answer
Four Things to Consider if Your Answer Seems Way Off
Ten surefire ways to tackle an engineering test problem when you are stumped
Getting the Test Back
If you think there is a grading error

8. A Crash Course in Engineering
Co-ops and Internships
1. Finding an internship or co-op
What should you do if your school doesn't have a co-op program?
2. Choosing an Internship or Co-op
Thinking about a school-year internship or co-op?
3. Reporting for work
Research Assistantships
Turn work-study into research-study.
1. You're sold. Finding a RAship
A REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates program) for you?
2. Everyone wants you to work with them! How do you choose the best RAship?
3. Now you are a researcher. How do you get the MOST of your RAship?

9. When the Going Gets Tough . . . Dealing with Ruts and Unmarked Pitfalls
Ruts
Burnout
Study groups aren't always successful.
Sleeping All the Time
Too Much to Do
Napster and the Wednesday Night Beer
The best study break are those that offer…
Pitfalls
Computer Hell
Can't Get into a Class You Need to Get into?
End-of-the-Term Slam
Adverse Advisors
Can't Stand the Instructor
Girlfriends, Boyfriends, and Other Possibly Neglected Distractions

10. Balancing It All
Life, School, and Sanity
Keeping Your Battery Charged and Motor Running . . .
Caffeine: Engineer's Friend or Foe?
Is It Possible to Spend Too Much Time with Your Computer?
How to fight eye fatigue
Is your monitor eye- and brain-friendly?
How Are Your Wrists Holding Up?
Sit Smart (at Home)
Anxiety and Stress
What you consume (or don't consume) can affect your memory
The All-Nighter: Sometimes It Is Unavoidable . . . but Try to Avoid It!
Extracurricular Activities
The Life of an Engineering Student-Work Hard, Play Hard
Playing a Varsity Sport or Working While in School
Job Prospects for Engineering Majors
The Ben Balance
Art
Out of Touch
Life 101
The Big Picture
Hands-On Application
Communication Skills
Other People
The Counter-Creativity Myth

11. Beyond the Bachelor's Degree-Things to Think About Midway Through
Some good (free) resources for the maybe-job-hunting, maybe-going-to-grad-school-about-to-graduate Engineer
A License to Engineer?
The EIT (a.k.a. FE) Rundown: How the Process Works
EIT/FE pass rates
The Examination Itself
No Lame Excuses about Taking the EIT Exam!
On to Bigger and Better . . . Things? Places? Adventures?
The Quick Guide to an Engineering Resume
The Engineering Job
The Inside Scoop on the Engineering Interview
Don't Forget to Write a Thank-You Note
What salary should you expect?
Grad School
The Part of the Application That Always Gets Left Until Last: The Essay!
Not-Really Engineers

Appendix A Discipline-Specific Engineering Societies
Appendix B Special Interest Societies
Appendix C Engineering Honor Societies
Appendix D Some Useful Stuff
Appendix E Sample Resume
Bibliography-Thanks for the Info! 161
Dedication 163
Acknowledgments 165
About the Author 167
Index 169

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