What makes these classes effective for jobs in the future workplace?
The purpose of most upper-division classes is to gain valuable skills and be exposed to software programs that will make me a good candidate for the job I apply for. As a senior Construction Engineering Management (CEM) student with an internship coming up this summer, I would say I have a fair grasp of what classes efficiently transfer to having an advantage when beginning a new job or internship. The internship position I was offered for this summer is an assistant estimator. Therefore, the estimating experience I was exposed to while taking classes will be very valuable when starting this position. Two subsequent courses helped students gain estimating skills, which allows them to learn multiple applicable software programs, how to properly interpret construction drawings, and how to accurately calculate an appropriate estimate.
The majority of the CEM classes have provided valuable knowledge for a future job. No matter where you begin in the industry, there is one particular class that seems far behind the current technological age. This class is specific to teaching highway design and location is particularly behind the times of technology. There were a lot of hand calculations that can now be done using a software program instead of being completed by hand. This class would be better if it were taught in a more hands-on style. The occasional lab was beneficial, but the class would have benefited more if there were frequent and in-depth labs on highway design. Although this class is antiquated, it was still important to understand the math that goes into completely mapping out the location of a highway and the overall design.
Resources:
Lecture 1: Developing Training Programs