Vocational / career presentations

Short term: A 10-15 minute, oral presentation, oral communication skills

Medium term: What might I want to do professionally? thinking about jobs / what I like to do

Long term: What do I want to do with my life?? thinking about meaning and "calling"

The presentation

  • An overview of a field you're considering. In engineering or physics or in another field you're considering. Not everyone in class is an engineering or physics major! What kind of education needed? Jobs possible? Most of all: What kind of projects or work are done by folks in this field?
  • Type of companies/organizations...
  • What larger societal / personal goals are you contributing to?
  • One project: Find out about the history and background of a particular project in this field. What problem does it solve? What novel ways does this project solve those problems?

    Sources for engineering projects / news:

    • You can of course google things like "civil engineering news".
    • Professional societies for each engineering discipline have publications and often news stories, including IEEE (electrical engineering), and ASCE (civil engineering), ASME (mechanical engineering),
    • Science publications, such as Science News, Science...
    • Search national newspapers, such as the New York Times. As a GC student you can subscribe and take advantage of their whole back article archive.

    The presentation

    • What kinds of work are involved in this kind of engineering?
    • What kind of knowledge and skills should you acquire in your education?
    • Are you likely to be interacting with the public (more or less)?
    • What are some of the major concentrations or specialties within this field??
    • Are there licenses or professional exams to take?
    • What attracts *you* to this field?
    • What jobs are open to you in addition to traditional ones in this field?
    • Job prospects? Is there likely to be continued demand for folks in this field?
    • Salary prospects.
    • Geography: Is this a profession you can pursue anywhere in the country, or is it likely to mean that you have to work in a particular region?
    • Trends & Prospects: How has this field been changing? Are there prospects for change on the horizon?
    • Profile of one company active in this field.

    Guidelines

    • Write your draft up as a set of slides (PowerPoint / Google slides / Prezi / etc...)
    • Cite your sources.
    • Avoid extended quotes / Avoid plagiarism
      $\Rightarrow$ synthesize in your own words

    Evaluation sheet

      Grade 
    Speech mechanics
    • Clarity, articulation, volume
    • Eye contact, enthusiasm
    • Pacing
    • Used slide text as prompts,
      not to be read
    		20
    18
    16
    .
    .
    Slide mechanics
    • Legible text
    • Effective/creative use of:
      pictures, diagrams, and/or video clips
    • Aids or activities to illustrate the ideas
    		20
    18
    16
    .
    .
    Career Info
    • Preparation, educ, skills needed
    • Day in the life,
    • What big picture are you contributing to?
    • [see other above]
    • Quantitative element: calculations, graphs, numbers
    Company and project profile     		40
    38
    36
    .
    .
    Other considerations not captured above. $+$ or $-$

    Who? Which?

    Start now

    • 3 possible topics assignment (1 article each)
    • Chosen topic (a few sources)
    • Draft of slide deck (followed by feedback)
    • Presentation to class.