The problem with UAH (Birmingham, Huntsville: loans, employment, schools)

[HB2HSV]

Is it safe for me to accuse your parents are racists because they did not marry someone of different race?

You can develop life-long bonds & friendship better without the alcohol clouding your judgement.

But we forgive you. You are only a philosophy major afterall, how can we expect any wisdom from such poorly educated?

[djmaxwell]

Originally Posted by pistoG

Why am I on campus? Because I'm an academic and I like to go there for their philosophy section in the library. They have some good philosophy there. Yeah, my education is in philosophy.

Do you want fries with that?

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

Well that's the thing - on traditional campuses, there are many upper division and graduate students who go sans-vehicle because campus life is self-contained and forging a car is a big way to save money at at time in your life when you have little to spare. And then because so many people in the same life-phase are confined due to lack of cars, a culture is born. The bars are beside the point. What really makes a campus life a traditional campus life is a whole 'college town' area where there are places not just to drink but to dine, live, shop, socialize, and work all within walking/biking/public transport distance of campus.

Which is why there's no "fixing" UAH to offer a traditional campus life. You can't just throw some bars near campus and change the culture there. A traditional campus culture is more than bars. I experienced a traditional campus culture without ever stepping foot into a bar once.



I disagree. Sometimes this may be true, but sometimes, the connections made at school in a close-knit campus community serve you as well or better than your degree ever will. I know many people who do absolutely *nothing* work-wise in their field of study, but have gone on to have successful lives because of the people they met and the connections they made in college.

It's really an individual choice and every student has to weigh the pros and cons of each school depending on cost, culture of the school, their individual area of study, and their ultimate life goals. And on the flip side, campuses like UAH are *better* for certain students, such non-traditionally aged undergrads or working professionals simultaneously attending school. The tenor of the faculty is very different at a commuter campus vs one where most of the student body is living in a college bubble. They understand many of their students have life and responsibilities outside of school.

It has been established that Huntsville is not a "traditional" college. It's a commuter college, so if you plan to get around you will need a vehicle. How do you plan to add all of the venues to the college when there is no space to add anything? If you want to place more value on the "social" aspect of the college this isn't the right one. If you want the degree and aren't too concerned with "social networking" UAH may be for you. I'm 33, but even I think that too many younger generations want to put too much emphasis on social networking and social life and too little on getting the degree to start your future. I'm not arguing that networking isn't important because it is. But I think the scales are tipped too much in favor of making the college more fun instead of focusing more on improving the program offerings.



I didn't go to UAH (I'm not from here either)... but somehow I built the same networks you described above without going there. I don't think you should lean on UAH for networking. My wife has no contacts that she networks with from any of her old classes. She doesn't need to. The degree will get you in the door, and you can use that opportunity to build your networks. Her networks were built from work experience (as were mine).

A traditional college town is built around the school. Look at Alabama and Auburn. In Huntsville, the college was tailored to the area. I guess I don't really see the argument or reason to change it. UAH's current offerings seem to work very well as they are. You would almost have to create a culture and redesign the city footprint to accommodate all of the extra "stuff" that one can get a few miles down the road.

[pistoG]

Oh goodness. I was hired with a federal contractor based out of DC here with a salary in the mid 40's. I am actually in the interview process with another respected contractor here in town as well. Yes, it took me a little bit and I had a couple business mentors help me with my application materials and contacts. I also went to the library and hit the books on federal contracting, business, management and contract law. You can do things with philosophy, you just have to be smart about it.

Originally Posted by djmaxwell

Do you want fries with that?

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by pistoG

OK. The real serious issue i have is with people who don't seem to think that racial politics was involved with the decision to establish UAH and, specifically, to make it an ENGINEERING based school. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We are talking about the SOUTH in 1950 just after WWII. This was even before Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. UAH was established in 1950. Alabama A&M was in 1875. Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960. Now, Why in the world would you think that such a strong engineering program would develop at UAH and that UAH would be placed where it is when there was already a well established (75 years prior) university with a mechanical, science and technology emphasis existing in Huntsville?

In reality, it probably has more to do with the University of Alabama system as the state university wanting to expand and to establish a campus focused more on sciences/engineering/technology as traditionally UA has been more business/law, and Huntsville was the perfect place to do it. Same reason behind UAB.

Also, wouldn't be boasting about a mid $40's salary with all your big degrees. I know people in this area without any degrees that make three times that. I've had three UAH engineers that I have worked with right out of undergrad get hired on for $80k + starting. See....they did the smart thing and did not focus on the party atmosphere of a school and recognized that they could coop with these companies while earning a very challenging and highly respected engineering degree from UAH and start out at a pretty respectable salary right out of college. I have one right now part time with Boeing and he's making $55k...PART TIME.

I would be thrilled if my son chose to go to UAH. Personally, while I want him to enjoy his college years, I also want him to be serious about it and understand college is NOT about the "lifestyle"....its about earning a degree to prepare for your future.

[SarahBellum]

Originally Posted by pistoG

I was hired with a federal contractor based out of DC here with a salary in the mid 40's.

I have friends who are administrative assistants on federal contracts here who make that right around that amount.

Good luck with the interview.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by pistoG

Oh goodness. I was hired with a federal contractor based out of DC here with a salary in the mid 40's. I am actually in the interview process with another respected contractor here in town as well. Yes, it took me a little bit and I had a couple business mentors help me with my application materials and contacts. I also went to the library and hit the books on federal contracting, business, management and contract law. You can do things with philosophy, you just have to be smart about it.

I commend you trying to improve your professional deficiencies because of your philosophy major, with 2 degrees in that no less (now we know you are a stubborn person).. Anyone who is motivated to elevate themselves out of a $40K starting salary is to be encouraged. Remember, it is not what you started out as but it is what you ended up that matters.

Having said that, I wish you had a better "guidance" in both your undergraduate & graduate schools regarding to the painful economic reality as philosophy major outside the ivory tower of academia. Perhaps if you were not so focused on beer, pizza & partying but instead working campus minimum wages to help pay for tuitions & food, it would have prompted you to think do I want to live like this after I graduate?

But the wisdom is built upon many failures, preferrably made by others, unless you are a man of God then the book of Proverbs maybe of use to you. Somehow being a philosophy major, I doubt you take much of an interest in the good book. It pains me to think your parents wasted good money so you could drink beer & eat pizza near campus. Now you have to go back & learn what you should have been study in school just so you can get a higher paying job

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

But we forgive you. You are only a philosophy major afterall, how can we expect any wisdom from such poorly educated?

A philosophy major who seems to think that they are an expert on what criteria makes a good Engineering program. FYI Modeling and Simulation is a really big deal in the Engineering world by the way, you obviously don't work or aren't associated with this field in any way. As far as philosophy, I'm not one to criticize other fields either, everything isn't about how much money you make, and I certainly think philosophy and other majors are right for certain people, so best of luck to you in whatever you choose to do. My problem is with your notions about UAH that really make no sense.

[dijkstra]

This thread reminded me of some graffiti in one of the bathroom stalls in Tech Hall in the CS department. Someone had written "I am philosophical" on the stall and then underneath that someone else replied "No you are just a Douche." I laughed at that numerous times when I would go in there. I wonder if it is still there......may have to go take a look one day when I get a chance. lol

I graduated from UAH in Engineering with honors. I have been dabbling with Graduate classes lately and am about to dive in and get my Masters from there. The engineers are walking right into around $60k starting salary according to most I talk to and the ones with stellar gpa's are getting in the 70's to 80's. I wouldn't really be bragging about getting a job in the $40's around here.

We would from time to time have someone transfer from other big schools to UAH that we would have classes with. Usually it was something financial or they were home sick or whatever and they moved back home with their parents in the area. They always and I mean always would make comments toward the end of their first semester about how much harder UAH seemed and asked if it was just the particular classes we were taking at the time or it was normal. I remember one in particular asked and we all started laughing because it was in one of the "easier" classes.

I am confident without a doubt I could go to one of the big social schools being discussed in this thread and cruise through a liberal arts degree doing nothing more than going through the motions. Even at UAH in my required liberal arts classes, about all I had to do was show up and listen, do whatever busy work paper or projects they assigned and show up and take the tests. I was bored to death in them but still got A's.

I don't know where all this racist nonsense is coming from. Maybe the OP is black and looks at everything from a racial perspective.....who knows but to claim that UAH was formed for that reason is absurd.

The reason UAH is so heavy on certain things such as research and simulation is because that is what the local employers are requesting. UAH tailors their programs to what the local employers desire for their hiring purposes. The local area is heavy on defense contractors who specialize in developing new defense technologies so guess what they need in a new graduate/potential new employee?

UAH is what it is and it isn't for everyone. If you want to have a big social scene and party it up, it definitely is not for you and you would be very unlikely to ever graduate because you have to almost completely devote yourself to your course work to make it through. Your reward is a well paying career that affords you the ability to enjoy life post college.

[Tourian]

I think this whole thread is stupid and the OP should've known better then to come in and say the things he did about UAH and engineers but he isn't bragging about making 40k a year - he's responding to a crack about his degree being no good and him being only able to find work as a fry cook.