4 answers
Dean
Student
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1
Question
Updated
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If you had to redo one thing in your path to getting a degree, what would you do differently?
I'm an engineering student looking to make the most of my time in college. I want to make sure I am making the right decisions and would love to hear feedback from those that have already gotten their education. Nothing is a better teacher than failure or regret, so what did you do in college that you with you hadn't, or what do you wish you had done that you didn't?
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4 answers
Andrew Dinh
Consultant
12
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
I wish I had done more of the things that genuinely excited me instead of just following a pre-professional path. It’s easy to get caught up in what you think you’re supposed to do, but college is one of the few times you get to explore freely.
Take the classes that stand out to you, even if they don’t perfectly “fit” your major. Join clubs or activities that spark joy, not just the ones that look good on a résumé. You’ll learn a lot more about yourself that way, and those experiences often end up being the ones that shape your career the most.
Take the classes that stand out to you, even if they don’t perfectly “fit” your major. Join clubs or activities that spark joy, not just the ones that look good on a résumé. You’ll learn a lot more about yourself that way, and those experiences often end up being the ones that shape your career the most.
Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Electrical Engineer, Software Developer, and Career Mentor
517
Answers
Ethiopia
Updated
Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
If I could redo my journey to getting a degree, I would focus on connecting my studies with real-world experience and career readiness right from the start. Keeping a strong GPA is important because many employers look at grades when graduates have little to no experience. I would also make sure I understood my courses by working on hands-on projects. Starting personal projects early, joining competitions, using labs and workshops, and talking to teachers more often would have helped me learn better.
I would aim to be a well-rounded student by joining extracurricular activities, student groups, volunteering, and taking part in shadowing or co-op programs to understand professional engineering settings. Testing my skills and ensuring my field was in demand would have guided me in choosing internships and career paths wisely. I would create portfolio-worthy assignments, seek internships early, learn on my own through coding and design, and take courses outside my major for broader knowledge. Documenting all my projects and experiences would have shown my growth better.
Looking back, I see that success in college comes from blending academics with practical experience, networking, self-learning, and personal well-being, while staying aware of industry trends to secure future career opportunities.
I would aim to be a well-rounded student by joining extracurricular activities, student groups, volunteering, and taking part in shadowing or co-op programs to understand professional engineering settings. Testing my skills and ensuring my field was in demand would have guided me in choosing internships and career paths wisely. I would create portfolio-worthy assignments, seek internships early, learn on my own through coding and design, and take courses outside my major for broader knowledge. Documenting all my projects and experiences would have shown my growth better.
Looking back, I see that success in college comes from blending academics with practical experience, networking, self-learning, and personal well-being, while staying aware of industry trends to secure future career opportunities.
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
244
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
Excellent question.
For me, I was lucky in childhood to be a quick learner, being able to understand a lot of things easily without a lot of revision and repetition - and thus cruised through school applying minimal effort, just listening to the teachers/lecturers and not doing any additional work. I took that approach to university, and found it worked reasonably well through my first year, but suddenly found during my second year that I was suddenly encountering a lot of new material that was more intellectually challenging, along with picking some of the more difficult and obscure option modules - so I gradually found relying on my quick learning alone was no longer enough by itself, and my grades started to suffer. I started putting in a bit more effort, private learning and revision, and managed to get through the rest of the degree, but thanks to a few bad grades as I readjusted to doing more work, and a few poor option module choices, my grade wasn't quite what it should have been.
If I could redo one thing at that stage, I'd go back to my 2nd year classes with my later working approach, and I'm sure I'd have had a much easier journey through later classes and going into industry.
For me, I was lucky in childhood to be a quick learner, being able to understand a lot of things easily without a lot of revision and repetition - and thus cruised through school applying minimal effort, just listening to the teachers/lecturers and not doing any additional work. I took that approach to university, and found it worked reasonably well through my first year, but suddenly found during my second year that I was suddenly encountering a lot of new material that was more intellectually challenging, along with picking some of the more difficult and obscure option modules - so I gradually found relying on my quick learning alone was no longer enough by itself, and my grades started to suffer. I started putting in a bit more effort, private learning and revision, and managed to get through the rest of the degree, but thanks to a few bad grades as I readjusted to doing more work, and a few poor option module choices, my grade wasn't quite what it should have been.
If I could redo one thing at that stage, I'd go back to my 2nd year classes with my later working approach, and I'm sure I'd have had a much easier journey through later classes and going into industry.
Nikita Falento
Team Manager
1
Answer
Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland
Updated
Nikita’s Answer
If I could redo one thing in my path, I would not run away from the “hard” stuff so quickly.
I started in International Business and switched to International Relations because the business faculty had a lot of economics and quantitative subjects that felt overwhelming. Today I am a Team Manager in a large corporate, in a financial department, and the very skills I escaped back then (numbers, finance, data) are exactly what I had to build later, on my own, while working full time.
So my advice to you as an engineering student:
Do not avoid a subject just because it is uncomfortable. Often the "painful" classes are muscle-building for your future job.
Use your degree to build a toolkit, not a title: communication, basic finance, data skills, project work, teamwork. These transfer anywhere.
Get as close to real work as possible: internships, student projects with companies, talking to people already in roles you might want.
You do not need a perfect, linear path. But you will thank yourself later if you lean into the hard things that grow you, instead of stepping away from them.
I started in International Business and switched to International Relations because the business faculty had a lot of economics and quantitative subjects that felt overwhelming. Today I am a Team Manager in a large corporate, in a financial department, and the very skills I escaped back then (numbers, finance, data) are exactly what I had to build later, on my own, while working full time.
So my advice to you as an engineering student:
Do not avoid a subject just because it is uncomfortable. Often the "painful" classes are muscle-building for your future job.
Use your degree to build a toolkit, not a title: communication, basic finance, data skills, project work, teamwork. These transfer anywhere.
Get as close to real work as possible: internships, student projects with companies, talking to people already in roles you might want.
You do not need a perfect, linear path. But you will thank yourself later if you lean into the hard things that grow you, instead of stepping away from them.