u/Richstepper122

I’ve been working in plant operations as one of the youngest guys in my department while pursuing my Electrical Engineering degree. As I got deeper into my degree (going into 4th year), I started to feel a little unfulfilled at work because much of my daily work involves general maintenance and basic carpentry related tasks. While that work is cool and has taught me a lot, I realized it wasn’t aligned my goals I’m working toward.

It’s been sitting on my mind for a while and wasn’t sure how to go about it. So Instead of staying quiet, after a few weeks I decided to have a conversation with my director (who’s an engineer) and simply express my interest in learning more and getting exposure to other aspects of the department such as possibly learning about project management that happens within the department or something electrical. The result of that was he’s perfectly fine with it and thought that would be good for me & he’s starting me on generator testing.

That makes this opportunity clutch is that I’ve already taken coursework covering three-phase power systems, generators, motors, transformers, and electrical distribution. Getting the chance to see those concepts applied in a real hospital environment is motivating because it connects classroom theory to systems in the real world so it’s setting me up for success.

A simple conversation turned into an opportunity that aligns with my education, my interests, and my goals.

So I say that to say never be afraid to advocate for yourself.

Has anyone ever dealt with this?

I’m an electrical engineering student going into my 4th year and wanted to get some perspective on a situation I’m in.
I didn’t enroll in a required course (a lab) this semester that’s only offered in the spring. I later realized it’s a prerequisite for both my senior seminar (fall only) and senior design (spring only), so missing that one class pushes my timeline back a full year.
By May 2027, I’ll have completed essentially all of my coursework except for the seminar and capstone sequence.

Is there ever any flexibility in situations like this?
Would something like a seminar-type course ever be allowed concurrently with the prerequisite?
Or is this usually just a strict sequencing situation where there’s no workaround?

Hi, I’m an electrical engineering student going into my 4th year and wanted to get some perspective from faculty on a situation I’m in.
I didn’t enroll in a required course (a lab) this semester that is only offered in the spring. Come to find out this course is a prerequisite for my senior seminar (only offered in fall) and senior design (only offered in spring.) Because of this, missing that one class pushes my graduation timeline back by a full year. By May 2027 I would have completed all my course work except that seminar and senior capstone.
From a faculty perspective Is there ever any flexibility in situations like this?
Would something like a seminar-type class ever be able to be ran concurrently with the lab?
Or is this just one of those it is what it is situations?

I’d appreciate any input.