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Dr. Lowery:

I hope you are doing great. I am graduate student in the civil engineering department.  I would like to know if there are any teaching assistant or tutoring or grading positions available with you.  I am very good at both engineering Mechanics and Mechanics of materials, so I think I would be able to help out students better with those classes.

If you have any positions available, I would like to apply for the position and prove to be a successful candidate.  Please find my attached resume.  Can I meet with you and discuss it?  Can you suggest a suitable time when I can meet you in person to discuss more about the position.  I look forward to your reply.

Joe

Joe:

Years ago, the professors did have some input into who was hired for TA and grader positions, but no longer.  In most cases I think they are offered to graduate students from other universities that we are trying uproot to come continue their studies at A&M.  You might go talk with some of the current TA’s who work in the old pi R square room on the first floor of DLOB and ask how they got hired.

Good luck,

L^3

Dear Colleagues –

The department has established a registration page for the posting of internships at http://cework.civil.tamu.edu.

Internships are then listed for the students at http://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/current-students/internship-postings

It is also linked from the main department page under “Post an Internship.”  The offeror of the internship can fill out the form with all pertinent information.  Once it’s checked out, it can be forwarded to Kristina for posting to the “Resources for Current Students” page under the “Internship postings” link.

The direct link is:  https://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/current-students/internship-postings

If you’re contacted by anyone regarding a possible internship, please let them know of the CEWORK page or, alternatively, please just forward the email to me and I’ll handle it.

Thanks,

Jim

—

James M. Kaihatu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Texas A&M University

3136 TAMU

College Station, TX 77843-3136

979-862-3511

jkaihatu@civil.tamu.edu

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/jkaihatu

Also:

From: Bob Appleton [mailto:bob_appleton@tamu.edu] Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 10:18 AM
To: en-cven-mj-ug@lists.tamu.edu
Subject: Internship Opportunities

Please be sure to visit our webpage regularly if you are still looking for an internship. We post opportunities there http://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/current-students/internship-postings . Three are currently listed.

If you are still looking and the SEC career fair didn’t go so well for you, I recommend an appointment with one of the career counselors at https://careercenter.tamu.edu/current-students They will sit down with you at a scheduled appointment and not only polish your resume, but also help you find jobs at firms that don’t come to the career fair. They know best how to use tools like LinkedIn to put yourself out there and to search for the best opportunities. It will be worth your time.

Robert “Bob” A. Appleton, P.E.
Associate Professor of Practice
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
DLEB Building, Room 108
3136 Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3136
Office – (979)458-8217

 

Typical responses to questions:

From:
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2017 9:17 AM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@tamu.edu>
Subject: EIT Position

Hi Dr. Lowery,

Please provide the link where we can look at recent or upcoming engineering graduates’ resumes related to civil, transportation, traffic, etc.

Thank you,

Joe

Hi Joe:

I’m really sorry but the department no longer maintains a resume list for our students.

If you would like to announce internship openings, the department now has a dedicated web page at http://cework.civil.tamu.edu/ where you can post your information.

Dr. Kaihatu, our Director of Undergraduate Programs has asked that internship questions, or questions on the use of the internships page be forwarded to him at

James M. Kaihatu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Texas A&M University

3136 TAMU

College Station, TX 77843-3136

979-862-3511

jkaihatu@civil.tamu.edu

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/jkaihatu

Regular new employment information that you would like forwarded to our students can still be sent to me, as before.  If you didn’t get many responses to an earlier announcement it’s often just a matter of how close to graduation we are, the day of the week, was it around Spring Break, etc.

Thanks, and please let me know if I can help in any way,

Lee

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.            <><
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
CE/TTI Building  –  Room 701c  –  Texas A&M University  –  College Station, TX 77843-3136  –    Mail Stop 3136
Phone: 979-845-4395  –  email: Lowery@tamu.edu –  URL: https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/

Joe:

1)      Your GPA is not poor.  It isn’t stellar, but I have dozens of advisees that would kill for your 2.61 GPA.  Some would kill for a 2.0.  And I assure you that they, and you, will get really good jobs when you graduate.

2)      Summer internships, on the other hand, are notoriously difficult to get.  We dump everyone in school out at the same time along with millions of high school students, and the companies just get flooded with requests.  Go to http://lowery.tamu.edu and click on Section K, then on anything and everything under Section 1.  Read anything that might help you look better to an employer.

3)      Go to our jobs website (email me if you have lost the address if you are from A&M) and see what job offers have come in recently.  They were looking for specific talent, but they might also have internships, or be able to put one together if you write and send them an impressive resume.

4)      Go to the civil engineering internship web page and see what’s listed there.  Again, email me if you can’t find it.  Lowery@tamu.edu.

5)      Decide where you would like to work, if you have a preference.  Perhaps in your home town where you can live at home.  Get the phone book out and dig out all of the engineering firm addresses or put “engineering companies in college station” for example and get their addresses.  Make sure you know what they do, and send them a copy of your resume, saying you are a current civil engineering student at TAMU and are hoping to widen your practical experience with an internship in construction (or structures or surveying or whatever they do that you would actually want to do over the summer).

6)      Be sure to read Section 2 on getting your resume in order.  Make it 2 or more pages long and put a photo of yourself on the front pate, along with anything else that they will remember when they go through 60 other resumes.  List references on there, including me.

7)      I will post this on my suggestions list, and add things here as I think of them, on section 8.d.

Good luck, and let me know how things go.

L^3

• Columbia.edu
• Virginia Tech
• A Dictionary – USE IT!

And where, you might ask, did I find all these nifty resources? From the web, of course.
And how long did it take? About 5 minutes.

Also, I have to admit that when I first put those links there in Fall of 2001, there were 10 of them. Since then, seven (7!) of them died, leaving only those you see above. Even some of the companies that were listed have died. Amazing. Although the web has a wealth of information, it is very temporary, no matter how useful.

Other writing assistance:

TO: All TAMU Faculty
FROM: Dr. Valerie Balester, Interim Director, University Writing Center
SUBJECT: University Writing Center to open September 17

I am pleased to announce, as interim director of the Undergraduate University Writing Center (UWC), its opening on Monday, September 17. The UWC, funded by an $8 student fee, is open to all undergraduate students. As interim director, I will report to Dr. Mark Weichold, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Programs and Academic Services.

Undergraduate students may drop by or call 458-1455 to make appointments. Writing consultants will be available to help with any writing problem, from planning or narrowing a topic, to punctuation or documentation. All writing consultants have experience in teaching writing and are committed to helping students become independent writers. The UWC also sponsors an “on-line” writing center, accessible at http://uwc.tamu.edu/.

An important function of the UWC will include supporting faculty who include writing in their courses. In particular, the UWC hopes to be a resource for faculty developing writing intensive (“W”) courses. To that end, a web site for faculty is now in the first stages of development; in addition, plans are underway to offer workshops in conjunction with Evans Library and the center for teaching Excellence.

The UWC stresses students taking responsibility for their own learning. While we hope you will strongly recommend that your students visit us, the UWC policy states that visits are strictly on a voluntary basis.

I’d appreciate it if you’d announce the announce the Center’s hours and phone number to your students:

Undergraduate University Writing Center
Room 1.210B
Evans Library
Monday-Thursday 10 am – 10 pm
Friday 10 am – 2 pm
458-1455
For more information: http://uwc.tamu.edu

Professor: Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.

 

 

 

Textbook used in course: None

Students interested in joining the co-op program should click here for initial instructions.

Catalog Description:  ENGR 385. Problems for Co-Op Students. Credit 1 to 3 each semester. I, II, S – Special problems in engineering for cooperative education students. Problems related to a student’s outside work assignment culminating in a research or work experience paper.  Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

Course Objectives:  To introduce the student to the principles of engineering through actual work experience.

Learning Outcomes

• (a) Ability to apply knowledge of basic mathematics, science, and engineering.
• (b) Ability to analyze and interpret data.
• (c) Ability to design a civil and/or ocean engineering system to meet desired needs.
• (e) Ability to formulate and solve civil and/or ocean engineering problems.
• (l) Ability to use computers to solve civil and/or ocean engineering problems.

Course Prerequisites: Approval of department head.

Course Assessment:

• Graded final report @ 50%
• Employer evaluation @ 50%

REPORT DUE DATES: A week or so before the end of the semester.  Because of signature requirements from the employer, this date is approximate.  You should never pay for overnight delivery of required documents.  Reasonable extensions are available upon request to Dr. Lowery.  NOTE: This deadline is the departmental deadline for your Co-op report and related materials that need to come to Dr. Lowery. This may differ from any materials that need to go to the Co-op Office.

Note that the following comments, suggestions, and reminders are intended to be supplemental to the materials prepared by the Office of Cooperative Education. Each co-op student should pick up copies of these guidelines from the Co-op Office on campus before beginning each work term. Some information will be repetitious to students on second or higher work terms but please check through everything to refresh your memory and make sure you get any more recent changes or additions.

Please note that I serve as “Co-op Advisor” for reports and report-related issues. Your regular Co-op advisor will continue to advise you on matters related to administrative issues pertaining to the co-op program.  Your regular C.E. Department advisor will continue to advise you on matters related to the curriculum, degree plans, etc.

My key task is keeping in touch with you, finding out how you are doing during your work experience, grading reports and handling questions related to your reports. You can contact me directly by e-mail at Lowery@tamu.edu or call me at 979-845-4395. You should email me a report on how you are doing, and what you are doing, and who you are doing it for at least every few weeks.

Reports

You should have already received information from the Co-op Office about accessing the “GUIDELINES FOR ENGINEERING CO-OP REPORTS” through the web. The following items are intended to supplement these guidelines for the reports and also provide additional information on other issues. Any CVEN directions or guidelines supersede or override the more general guidelines.

Students may do either a work experience report or research report. It would be my opinion that the work experience might be suitable for the first one or two terms, while for the third term, it may be more appropriate to write a research paper.  The following suggestions will help you in preparation of the papers.

Work Experience

For a work experience report, you should focus on your activities while on the co-op assignment. You may identify several activities that you have done during your work term. I am not looking for a daily diary of your activities. However, I suggest that you consider mentioning two to four activities in summary fashion. Each activity should be in the range of ½ to 1 page in length. It is important that at least one of your jobs be expanded to include the engineering significance or importance of that particular activity to the company or to the particular project you were working on. Such questions as the following may be addressed:

-What did you actually do? (Be specific and give details.) It is okay to use “I” when saying what you did.  (Click here for an actual example from a student.)
-How did that fit into the bigger picture for the company or the project?
-What were the engineering aspects of the activity? (Testing, measuring, calculations, reporting, etc.) Include engineering calculations where appropriate.
-References to methods or equipment used in your work should be included in this section.  Mention what type of equipment your used, what types of inspections you made, what computer programs you used in your analysis, what report writing tools,  …    Basically just list how you got your assignments accomplished.

A list or summary of what you did every day, kept in a spiral notebook, will be invaluable to help you quickly and easily write such a paper.  A few photos you took during construction and a few notes made of what you did will be invaluable, both for such a report, and to fill in your resume when you graduate, and later.

NOTE:  A copy of these papers and reports MUST be transmitted to me by email.  You can also send it by snail mail and insured for $500, but if (when) they get lost (and they will, I’ve seen it many times over the years) you have no proof you ever even wrote them and must start over.  I want an email of your evaluation from the company, an email of your evaluation of the company and your job, and an email copy of your final report, photos, figures, the whole thing.

Research Paper

For a research paper I would recommend that you choose a topic related to your work activity. It is not a requirement that you do this. You may be passionate about a subject that is not related to your work. If you are short on ideas, many of your supervisors will have suggested topics that you might write about or you can call or e-mail me and we can discuss subjects.

General Report Comments

If the company you are working for has strict proprietary/trade secret limitations about what you can write, please come to agreement with your supervisor about what you can write about generically, with key information omitted or altered. Also, you may work with me so that I am the only one viewing and grading the paper. Then, I can have the report shredded or returned to your supervisor.

1. At the end of the semester, you will send me a letter of transmittal, a copy of your signed report (Be sure to have your supervisor sign the cover page.), Co-op evaluation), and the employer evaluation form. A sample of letter of transmittal is attached to this memo. Please address your package as follows:

Dr. Lee Lowery, Jr.
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3136

1. Please keep a copy of your report so that I can keep the copy sent to me. As long as I get copies by email, I don’t need any hard copies.
2. Copies of your work experience evaluation and employer evaluation should be mailed to the TAMU Office of Cooperative Education. Be sure to make and retain a copy of the report and related documents for yourself just in case the others are lost in the mail. Submit the addendum on-line. You do not need to send a copy of your report to the Co-op office.
3. It is preferred that you send all materials by email, since that is the way all the rest of the world is going.  Thus if you use Word, and make copies of all figures and graphs and insert them into that document, you can simply email the report to Lowery@tamu.edu.  You can also make electronic copies of your evaluation documents and other materials and email them too.  If this is not possible (sometimes the documents are large sheets) that is ok, but I would prefer you get acquainted with electronic delivery.
4.  The posted report due dates to me for each work term are flexible. The report will hopefully be e-mailed by the due date to be considered “on time”.  I realize that circumstances will arise that prevent the report being submitted on time. In this event, please follow the procedures listed below.
5. Contact me by e-mail at lowery@tamu.eduor by phone (979-845-4395) to get permission for late submission, almost always granted.
6. Be sure to note in your letter of transmittal that we agreed to an extension and indicate the reason.
7. Please see the due dates on page 1.
8. If I do not receive a report, you will receive an incomplete which will turn into an F by the start of the following semester, about 5 months later.  I don’t do this, the University does it.  And if I remembered that I turned in an incomplete, I would contact you and make you cough up a report.  But I will never remember that 5 months later.  I just won’t.  Don’t risk getting an F; email a report to me. If there is a problem, I will try and work with you.
9. Also, don’t forget that the responsibility for ultimately submitting a late report rests with you the student. You will not be reminded that your report is late or overdue. Grades not changed from “I” will automatically be changed to “F” one semester later, as described in University policies.
10. Please encourage your supervisor to fill out your evaluation and if received, an ABET related evaluation form that may be sent to them as part of the online package of evaluation forms. This information is used by the College of Engineering, but is not always required unless we are in the accreditation process.

Detailed Guidelines

1. Follow the format of the sample title pages.
2. Follow the guidelines for the content of the Abstract. Remember that the entire report should be summarized in the Abstract. The abstract should include What, Why, How, and Results. Brevity is important; generally 150 words or about ½ a page is sufficient. The person reading the title of the report, the authors name and the abstract needs to be able to make a decision whether or not they want to read the paper or report. No mention of figures or references or page numbers should be included in the abstract.
3. Include page numbers and major subheadings in the Table of Contents. Number all pages in the report, including those in any appendices. Note that a List of Tables and List of Figures is required if you have figures and tables in your report.
4. The body of the paper should generally be divided into sections with each section having a descriptive title, such as “Introduction”, “Work Assignments”, “Summary”, etc. plus any subheadings.
5. Always try to include figures or tables on the same or following page after the first reference to them in the text. If for some reason the figure or table is not on the same or following page, then give the page number in parentheses. This will be a tremendous aid to the reader and avoid excessive thumbing through pages “hunting” for information. By the time it is found, the point may very well be lost. Also include the page number for any specific information in any Appendix that may be referred to in the main body of the report. This of course implies that all pages in the Appendix should be numbered as well. Each figure should have a number and descriptive title that is below the figure. Each table should have a number and descriptive title that is above the table.
6. Use an Appendix (or several) to place information containing “excessive detail”. This is admittedly somewhat of a judgment call, but simply try to be reasonable (put yourself in the place of the reader). All figures or calculations should not be automatically placed in an Appendix.
7. Each item listed in the References must be cited within the text somewhere. Note as well that every paper is required to have at least 5 references and not all can be “Personal Communications” or web based. Follow the format of the examples given in your Guidelines. List the references in alphabetical order or in the order they are used. Examples follow:

… research has shown that rectifiers generate heat (Hall, 1993). According to Wooldridge (1992) the human brain is a machine. Several studies confirm …  (Hall, 1993; Wooldridge, 1992; Smith et al., 1994; Jones and Smith, 1989).  {note separation by semicolons}

1. An acceptable alternate method for citing and listing references is to list them numerically in the order in which they are cited within the text. Follow the same format as the examples for listing the references but number them accordingly. Use square brackets [ ] and numbers to cite them in the text.

… research has shown that rectifiers are neat [1]. According to Wooldridge [2] the human brain is a machine². Several studies confirm …  [1, 2, 5, 8].

Best wishes for an enjoyable, productive, and educational work term.

FAQ

1. How long?
2. The paper should be around 10 pages in length, not counting appendices.

   Q. Where do titles and figure captions go?
   A. For tables the caption goes at the top, while for figures the caption goes underneath. This is the most common method for technical publications.

   Q. What font size and spacing should be used?
   A. Please use font size 12.

   Q. May I send my co-op report electronically?
   A. Yes, and that is greatly preferred.  Simply make pdf’s of your report in a single document, including figures, and email it to Lowery@tamu.edu.  Also, make pdf’s of all other signed documents such as your signed evaluations, etc.

Here is an example of what a student recorded as their activities during their co-op:

Engineering Intern Semester I, Houston, TX

• Supported construction management and observation for SH 249 section in Tomball, TX.
  • Cross Section Construction
  • Bridge Deck Preparation
  • Storm Water Construction
• Performed HCTRA Highway Inspections on BW 8, West Park Twy, SH 59, HWY 90, I-10, Hardy Toll Rd.
• Designed Preliminary Paving on San Felipe St. in Angleton, TX
• Designed Storm Water Pipe Upsizing on White Pillars in Piney Point Village, TX
• Updated Technical Specifications based on City of Houston Specifications
• Inspected Storm/Sewage Water TV and Cleaning Tapes
• Created construction exhibits to send to Contractors and City Managers to begin bidding process
• Corresponded with Contractors to obtain bids
• Created Map Request Forms to determine the location of utilities

Municipal Engineering Intern Semester II, Houston, TX

•  Performed inspection of manholes in Sheldon MUD
• Created Notice to Proceed Work forms to initiate Contractor construction
• Performed Quantity Takeoffs

Municipal Engineering Intern Semester III, Houston, TX

• Supported construction management and observation of North Piney Point Road Reclamation and Core Sampling
• Created check lists for equipment and machinery at Coyote Springs Groundwater Treatment Plant, Las Vegas, NV
• Performed on site survey inspections and verifications

Note:  No matter how often I check, external links throughout this site go bad.  People just seem to have a fetish about changing their server name from Server12 to Sygg44$inc.  Wonderful.  Please contact me at  with the page and link if you find dead links to information in which you are interested, and I will try and find out where it went to.  Thanks.  Lowery@tamu.edu

 

RECEIVED 11/15/2020

Howdy!

Our regular contact with the Co-op Office, Brad Collet, is unexpectedly out of the office and he is typically your point of contact for Co-Ops with the Civil Engineering office.  Until his return, please direct any questions regarding Co-Ops to me as I’m handling all Co-Ops in his absence. We will update you again when Brad returns. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you,
Amarette

Amarette Renieri ’18, M.S. (she/her/hers)

Career Services Coordinator| Career Center | Texas A&M University
To schedule a Walk-in Advising Session, like a resume review, please go to tx.ag/ccwalkin.

ph: 979.458.0100 | arenieri@tamu.edu | HireAggies.com |linkedin.com/in/amarette18

Texas A&M University | FEARLESS on Every Front

 

For companies interested in setting up a co-op program for their company:

The Co-op program is basically divided into two groups.   First, those who administer, set up, and run the university program.  In Engineering, that is Brad Collet, Experiential Education b-collet@tamu.edu, 979-845-7725 or 979-862-2509.

See also:

https://careercenter.tamu.edu/Sign-In.aspx?returnurl=%2fResources%2fInternships-Co-op

You should contact him about setting up a program, and to answer any questions regarding its operation once in place.

On the other side, I take care of announcing such opportunities to our students, work with them while on the job, grade their required report papers, give then a grade, keep in contact with you, etc.  So after you touch base with Mr. Collet, he lets me know that you have started a co-op and that students who are qualified can enroll in 385.  He often also announces such opportunities directly to our students.

For students interested in joining the co-op program:

Critical Note:

Howdy Jackson,

Dr. Lowery is our department coordinator for engineering co-op education. You must work with him and the career center to register for ENGR 385 which is the co-op course. I assume that you will also register for CVEN 399 and use this co-op for your high impact learning practice. Registering for these classes will keep you enrolled at A&M. If you don’t follow through with registration you will miss a semester, which requires that you apply for readmission. You cannot register for the civil engineering section of ENGR 385 unless the career center assigns you the attribute that allows it.

Take care,

Bob Appleton
bob_appleton@tamu.edu
Click here for the Co-op syllabus and general information regarding how to enroll, who to see, required reports, etc.

Click here for more  general co-op information.

Click here for general information on required co-op reports (Engineering)

In general the Civil Engineering Department at Texas A&M University has an ongoing co-op program where the student works for an engineering company during two or three semesters, while registered for one hour per semester of ENGR 385 (usually a total of 2 to 3 credit hours, one per semester.) The CE program is administered by Dr. Lee L. Lowery, Jr., Room 705c in the Dwight Look Office Building, phone 979-775-5401, (NO LONGER WORKING ON CAMPUS DUE TO VIRUS) email: Lowery@tamu.edu or telephone 979-775-5401..

Details on the benefits of the co-op program will be discussed when you meet with Dr. Collet, along with what you must do to co-op, dates for initial meetings, companies listed in the co-op program, salaries paid, and everything else you could possibly wish to know about the program are listed at the co-op web site.   Details of internships, a completely different program are listed here.

Co-op orientation meeting dates are found by calling Mr. Collet’s office (979-845-5139) and shown on the above web page, towards the bottom by clicking on “Co-op Orientation”. All students considering the co-op program must first attend an orientation session where they answer any and all questions, including how much you can expect to make, how many semesters you should participate, etc. For additional information you can also email Brad Collet at b-collet@tamu.edu (979-845-5139) or David McMahon at jdavidm@tamu.edu (same telephone number). They are our representatives with the University Co-op office.

After attending an orientation meeting, you will register and fill in a list of courses required for graduation from your Degree Planner on Hoydy.  You then email this list to me  for my signature.  Its main purpose is to make sure you understand that co-op may delay your graduation, and to make sure that you don’t think those co-op hours can be substituted for any other hours in your degree program.  In general, they cannot.  If you co-op, you must do so because you want the experience which will be invaluable when looking for a job upon graduation, or because you just want a break from school and want to go see what you will be doing the rest of your life, or you need the money, or …  One thing is pretty sure, you will make some extremely valuable contacts within your co-op company, and they almost always offer you a position upon graduation.

There are many advantages to the co-op program, including the money made, the excellent engineering experience gained, and the fact that you see how the material we are trying to teach you is actually being used in industry. Co-op students invariably have a greater appreciation of their course work after returning from co-op assignments, and make much better grades as a result. It has also been our experience that co-op students average about $1500/year better job offers upon graduation. The down side is that it delays your graduation, and some students are not well suited to breaking into their study routine every semester or so, leaving the university environment. Average salary for CE students during their first co-op term (2002) was $2780/month, with higher averages in succeeding semesters.

At the current time there are co-op job offers available, so you should have an reasonable choice in selecting where you wish to co-op. Civil Engineering co-op students should have a GPR of 2.5 or above, and have completed their first three semester’s courses. These suggestions are not rigidly enforced because you may well make an excellent employee even if you don’t have these courses or grades. However, it is our experience that if you don’t have a 2.5 GPR you probably haven’t really gotten serious about your education, and we’re not sure you should be out representing A&M and being serious about the job. So we ask that if you do not have a 2.5, come talk with us and let’s see what your real commitment is. The reason for asking that you finish your lower courses is that the more you have learned to do, the more valuable you will be to your employer. Again, we are flexible here, but you should come by and convince us that if you haven’t had these classes you can still contribute to the company.  In any case, you must ethically talk with your potential employer if you do not strictly meet these guidelines, and explain why you think it will be in both their and your best interest to employ you.

Once at your co-op job you will be expected to contact me two or more times a month by email, to keep me informed on how you are doing, what you are doing, and to let me know how you are coming along on your required paper (your term paper or final report for the course.  See below.)  It is CRITICAL that you keep records of what you are doing during any kind of employment, either co-op, internship, or after you graduate, since that highly influences whether the Board of Registration thinks you have enough experience to sit for the FE/PE exams.  You will put yourself at a tremendous disadvantage if you do not keep careful and complete records of any and all professional experience.  Click here for a typical record sheet that you should fill out weekly.  It will make all the difference in the world.  I constantly hear from graduates asking me if I remember who their co-op was with, and what they did, and do I have a copy of their 4 year old report they submitted to me.  Yes I do, but I know they are going to have a tough time remembering all the engineering work they did that long ago.  KEEP CAREFUL RECORDS, STARTING NOW.

You can find general guidelines on  what types of term papers are acceptable and other requirements here. Guidelines on technical writing can be found here. You are also welcome to drop by and view (not copy) other reports that students have written, to get a feel for how they should be written, length, etc. You can set up a time to see me in my office at http://lowery.tamu.edu/officehours.  Your co-op report may be either a research paper or a work experience paper.

If you choose a research paper topic it must be related to your major, but does not have to be directly related to your Co-op assignment. Typical research papers deal with things you worked with on the job. For example, if your company has a new method of applying asphalt on roads, or a new patent on concrete forms, those would be a natural for your paper. The company has an interest in letting people know about its use, and would probably love for you  write a paper about it. On the other hand, if you worked all semester installing tanks, write a work experience paper. A work experience paper should be an in-depth study and analysis of your Co-op job experience, or some aspect of your experience. Did you install tanks all semester? Write about what tanks are used for, why they must be carefully installed, what problems are normally encountered, etc.

If you choose to write a work experience report, it must be a quality report of approximately 5-10 pages. If this is your first work term, the report should cover the following:

• Description of employing organization (research on the structure and services or products of the company, web references, etc.)
• Why you chose this particular company.
• Discussion of how you fit into the organization.
• Discussion of your work activities and projects.
• Discussion of how these activities became of increasing complexity and usefulness to the company during your tenure.
• Evaluation of these learning experiences in relation to your academic discipline and career goals.

If this is your second or third Co-op assignment, your paper should represent an extension of the first work term report. Identify a particular organization function or activity to describe and analyze. Demonstrate an in-depth study on a topic aligned with your academic studies and/or work assignments. Consult with your supervisor regarding suggestions for a topic and for assistance in acquiring necessary information.

Finally, DO NOT wait until the last second and then have to pay $20 to overnight your report to me. See here for an example of a waste of money.  I would much rather have you email me and request an extension and get it a few days late than to see you blow $20 on something I won’t have time to grade for a week anyway. Send it by regular U.S. snail mail only, or by email (much preferred) and IN NO CASE send me your original copy. Send me a copy only. That way if it gets lost in the mail you won’t have to start from scratch. We have had several instances of the “only original wonderful complete fantastic co-op report” being lost in the mail.

Far better and much preferred would be to email everything to me at Lowery@tamu.edu including your evaluations and your report. That is the way the world is going has gone and you might as well get used to it. If at all possible, write your report using Word or Word Perfect. Get your boss to show you where the scanner is, then scan in your figures, or draw your figures with AutoCAD. Then import them into your document. If your company isn’t able to transfer documents electronically, then they are getting so far behind they may not be there for your next co-op semester. Help them out. Talk them into letting you buy them a $50 scanner and attach it to their computer. Show them how to use this technology. Get them to buy a copy of Adobe Acrobat to make pdf files from scanned pages. They will love you for it.  (This must have been written 20 years ago.  No company still in business is without this ability.)

If you have any questions please contact me at Lowery@tamu.edu.

Differences Between Internships and Co-op

When students intern, we don’t really know what they are doing. The company may have them running a Xerox all summer long. We also have no way to verify that they got any real engineering experience during their employment. Thus at graduation a company looking at the student’s resume takes somewhat of a chance as to their work experience. The student who interns is not registered as an A&M student during this time. They are pretty much on their own, although we are always available to help them and they are welcome to contact us for assistance. This may be a problem if you are counting on being on your parent’s insurance, since many insurance companies won’t cover you when you are not a full time student. If you co-op, you register for a one hour co-op class and are still considered a full-time student.

When a student co-ops, the University signs a formal agreement with the company. In this case the company agrees to a specified engineering experience content, and to be mentored by an engineer. Thus at graduation an interviewing company can be assured that the student got some serious engineering experience. It might actually be no more than would have been obtained by interning, but it is guaranteed under co-op. The student remains a full-time student registered for 1 hour of co-op during this time. During a co-op period a Civil Engineering professor keeps tabs on the student, and helps them as needed. The student writes a final formal report which is graded

A company can hire their sons or daughters either as interns, or as co-op students. If they hire them as interns, no formal agreement is necessary. If they would like to hire them through the co-op program, they would have to see what is required by the co-op office and sign an agreement with them. They are permitted to hire them to the exclusion of other students.

Companies can find much of the necessary information for this procedure at:

          http://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/coop/?pwid=21188851302365356&dynid=3236237&sn=undergrads

Click at the top on Employers. It gives detailed information regarding what co-op is, how to develop a corporate co-op program, average salaries, etc.

If you get an offer, be sure whether they are offering you a co-op or an internship.  Information for both are listed above, but you don’t register for classes at A&M for an internship.  However, very important, if you intern during a regular semester, you have to make sure you can be re-admitted to A&M at the end of the internship.  If  you intern during the summer semester, you don’t have to worry about that.  You should contact Dr. Brumbelow KBrumbelow@civil.tamu.edu to help you with the question of re-admittance.  Unless you are on probation, you will probably be approved.  Otherwise, you might decide not to intern during the fall or spring semesters.

1. a) Co-op Office Website Evaluation Forms:

• http://careercenter.tamu.edu/docs/employereval.pdf  The form you need to evaluate your co-op employer
• http://careercenter.tamu.edu/docs/studenteval.pdf      The form they use to evaluate you.

1. b) The Co-op Office Website (where you will probably get trapped and find it hard to get back here so open a second instance of this page to return):

Cooperative Education is a supervised, academic program for qualified students that formally integrates semesters of academic study with multiple semesters of paid, full-time work experience while retaining full-time student status.

Advantages/disadvantages to retaining full-time student status:

• It allows you to remain on your parent’s insurance, although you may be able to anyway (even if  just working for a company, not under the co-op program.  Check with your parent’s insurance company.)
• Even one hour of co-op at TAMU certainly isn’t cheap.  However, if you took 14 hours last semester and paid for the minimum 15, the 1 hour co-op may in effect be free.
• It can influence your financial aid.  You will have to check with that department to see how it might influence your situation.
• Click here for a complete discussion of co-op information.
• Click here for a complete discussion of interning

Answers to miscellaneous questions asked by my co-op/intern students:

Dear Dr. Lowery,

I just wanted to verify the way we are supposed to turn in our report. Correct me if I’m wrong: we are able to email you the report in order to turn it in on time?

>> Yes.  Email will be fine and is preferred, and it is not late as long as you let me know when I can expect it, within reason.

>> An email copy of everything you are sending is fine, or if you can’t get it into an electronic version, you can mail it.  However, I would rather receive it late rather than receive some package that you spent $20 overnighting to me.  The due date is flexible.  If you pay more than US Postage to get it to me, I’ll take off points.

 

ii) Is an emailed PDF version and a hard copy by mail both required?

>> No.  Either is acceptable, email is greatly preferred.

 

iii) I wanted to verify that the following list of items is all that we have to turn in to you:

1. Co-op Report (signed by our supervisor)
2. Supervisor Evaluation
3. Co-op Evaluation filled out by us (work experience evaluation)
4. Employer Assessment of Academic Preparation (filled out by our supervisor of Academic Preparation (filled out by our supervisor
5. Addendum
6. Letter of Transmittal

>> Looks complete to me.

And if we do have to send a letter of transmittal what is the format you prefer, or can we use the format that our company uses?

>> Your choice.

Also another question, what is the required number of sources and also book sources for our report. I have seen two different numbers on a couple of websites.

>> Either is fine since I didn’t know you had to use some number of references anyway.  If you are doing a work study report, it might not have any references at all.

Sorry to bombard you with the questions, but I really appreciate the clarifications.

>>       :  )

L^3

 

iv) Hello Dr. Lowery,

My friend in the Mays business school has gotten college credit for having his internship over the summer. I was wondering if the Civil Department had a program like that because I am starting my second term with Cole Engineering based out of St. Louis, and have kept an activity log throughout the duration.

>>Sorry, but no.  Some departments require that their students co-op and/or intern as part of their degree plan, and hence they get credit for it.  Rather than taking 128 hours to graduate, they may be required to take 131, of which 3 are co-op or internship hours.  Since Civil Engineering students are not required to co-op or intern as part of their degree, there is no credit for them.  Had you decided to co-op with them, you could have taken up to 3 hours (1 hour per semester) of ENGR 385, co-op, and gotten hours credit then.  However, those hours would still not substitute for any of the other classes you have to take.  You would still need to complete the same required 128 hours with or without co-op.  You cannot substitute them for, say, CVEN 444 and 446.

L^3

v) Lowery,

I am interning for a construction company this summer. Today, they approached me about the idea of continuing to work after the summer as a co-op. I do not know much about doing a co-op program through A&M. I looked online and it said that you were the Civil adviser for the program. Therefore, I’m emailing you looking for more information.
Thank you for you time,
Joe

Joe: Yes, I understand that the co-op is very similar, but I think it may be a good idea for my future in my career and for finding a job out of college.
L:  I certainly agree.  It is a great idea.  You have probably already read the advantages and disadvantages between the two on my website.

Joe: I looked on the website that you sent me. It says that I must attend an orientation meeting. I looked online but I could not find a time for when there is one available. Also, since I work every weekday, it may be hard for me to attend one.
L: Click on the link http://careercenter.tamu.edu/Sign-In.aspx?returnurl=%2fResources%2fInternships%2c-Externships-Co-op%2fCooperative-Education-(Co-op) to sign in (top secret things in here I guess), click on Current Students at the top left, go down and Click on “Focus (Co-op)”, click on “Learn how to participate”, go down to the middle and click on “Co-op Orientation”, click on “steps to Co-op and it will tell you how to schedule an appointment by calling 979-845-5139.  I think they will work with you over the phone if you are already working out of town.

Joe: I know that it is a little late in the game to be trying to set up a co-op through A&M, so I’m curious as to if there is enough time to do it for this upcoming semester or if it would have to be something that I could get set up for the following semester (spring semester).
L: I don’t think it is ever really too late.  They usually find a way to get you in, even quire late.

Joe: Also, would the company (Granite Construction) need to do anything also?
L: If they offered you a co-op, they are probably already registered to do that, so no, nothing else except call (979-845-5139) or email Mr. Collet to coordinate your coming.  If not yet registered, instructions for you to give them are listed at http://ceprofs.tamu.edu/llowery/Things/engr385/385.htm  That tells them who to call to set up co-op positions between their company and A&M.

Joe: The co-op web site link on the website  you sent me does not work either.
L: Yea, they change it like they change their socks, why, I have no idea.  Here is the new one, and corrected on my web site:  http://careercenter.tamu.edu/Sign-In.aspx?returnurl=%2fResources%2fInternships%2c-Externships-Co-op%2fCooperative-Education-(Co-op)    Thanks for the heads up on that.

Joe: Thank you,
L: Most certainly.  I look forward to working with you on this.
L^3

Hi Joe:

You will have to talk with financial services about your tuition.  You would drop any classes you have registered for the fall, and sign up for one hour of co-op ENGR 385-505 with me listed on the section.  To be eligible for co-op you have to first go to one of their meetings.  To satisfy this see http://Lowery.tamu.edu/Things/engr385/385.htm

Be sure they are offering you a co-op rather than an internship.  Information for both are listed at the URL above, but you don’t register at A&M for an internship.  If you intern during a regular semester, you have to make sure you can be re-admitted at the end of the internship.  If  you intern during the summer semester, you don’t.  See the above URL for a discussion of co-op vs. internships, and readmission after interning during a fall or spring semester

Good luck and let me know how this turns out.  I really think a co-op experience is worthwhile.

L^3

From: Alyssa Kieschnick [mailto:akieschnick@gessnerengineering.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 10:33 AM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@tamu.edu>
Subject: Civil Interns
Hi Dr. Lowery,
We are looking for two civil interns for the year. Will you have the students send me their schedule, unofficial transcript and resume if they are interested? They will be working in the College Station office for a minimum of 12 hours a week.
Thank you,

Alyssa S. Kieschnick, PHR | Director of Human Resources
Gessner Engineering, LLC
www.gessnerengineering.com
2501 Ashford Drive
College Station, Texas 77840
Civil | Structural | Geotechnical | Land Surveying | Construction Materials Testing
From: Joe
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 12:49 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>; akieschnick@gessnerengineering.com
Subject: Re: FW: Civil Interns with Gessner Engineering,

Hi, I’d like to apply as a civil engineering intern for Gessner Engineering. Attached is my resume, Fall 2016 schedule for A&M and my transcript. Since this will be my first semester at the university I don’t really have any grades from the university so have uploaded the most recent transcript I have which I used to transfer here.
Thank you.

Joe

Dear Joe:
I have read over your documents and understand that you are new to A&M.  I’m sure you understand that the company will in all likelihood be inclined to hire someone with a longer track record and has taken more CE courses.  This  would let you help with more problems without guidance from their other employees.
That is by no means saying they don’t expect and look forward to helping whoever they hire to solve new and complex problems.  But they would much prefer to hire someone who is already able to solve for reactions on a simply supported uniformly loaded beam (CVEN 221, a course you will take this coming semester).
I still recommend that you apply for the position, since you never know who they might hire.  Read the email below on how to apply.  But please don’t be disappointed should they not select you at this stage of your career.  Keep on trying as you develop your courses and grades at A&M.

Please contact me if you have any questions on this, and I truly wish you good luck,

L^3

Dr. Lowery,

My name is Joe and I am a civil engineering student. Over the last summer I had an internship with a civil firm. I know some majors get credit hours for internships and I was wondering if that is available for civil majors too. I asked my advisor but he didn’t know. If there are any credits I can receive please let me know.

Thank you!

Joe ’18

 

Joe:

Some majors add a couple of required hours for an internship in their program, which is why those students get that credit after they intern.

CE does not require an internship, although doing one certainly adds to your resume and your chances of future employment, but not towards your required 128 hours for a degree.

Even if you co-op, you have to do it because you want the experience and the money and the probability that the firm almost always makes you an offer after graduation.  You still need 128 hours of coursework for a degree.

L^3

Joe:

Excellent documents.

On your comments: “I recommend the option for co-op students to bypass writing the paper if the employer allows it. It is difficult to find the time to write a 10 page paper working 60 plus hours a week.”

That’s not an option, it is a co-op requirement.  We want  you to get experience writing reports, and yes it is difficult, which is why the more we make you do of it the better you get at this critical aspect of your skills set.

The following is not a trivial task but it is critical that you do it and take it seriously:

You should keep a daily log of what you did, day by day, in a spiral notebook.  You should also take extensive photos of your job sites and of plans and specs you worked on and save them in a separate directory on your phone.  Check with your boss and make sure this is OK, telling them it is for your final report.

You should keep a detailed list of who you worked for, who you worked with, who you met from other companies, people at other firms you worked with, etc.  You should keep their full names, complete addresses, email addresses, complete contact information, titles, job responsibilities, etc.  Also keep detailed information on why/how/how well you know them and the nature of your interactions.  This will prove invaluable when you are desperately trying to remember people and especially registered professional engineers to recommend you when you go for your Professional Engineering License.  Keep in close touch with these people.  They are part of your family of people who helped you get where you are today.

Email them every year or so and see how they are doing and what they are working on now.  Ask them for help whenever the need arises.  For example: “Don:  I remember you told me about a computer program that made notes and sketches on pdf files for emailing.  Do you remember what that was?  Also, thanks again for the help  on the Missouri City tower collapse.  I still owe you on that.”

This is NOT sucking up.  This is using your friends to keep in touch.

Then towards the end of the semester you should have had no problem writing a 10 page summary of what you did, what you learned, how you were impressed with your work and your employer, what you found missing in the co-op experience, etc.  I promise that at the end of the semester you will find it takes about an hour at most to put together a 20 page document which you will then have to go in and delete a bunch of things just to get it down to 10 pages, especially when you include the photos you took of your assignments, copies of plans you drew up, what you learned about how to read them, meaning of engineering terms for which you had no clue what they meant when you first came in (what is a corbel, anyway?), things you had to explain to the client about details and why they were done the way they were, and so on.

Also hang onto it to show potential employers about your report writing skills.

: )

L^3

P.S. After writing the above I got around to reading your co-op report and wrote a note on it.  “If it was hard and kept you up at night and you hated it, that’s tough buddy.  That’s exactly why you will be twice as valuable than your non-co-op buddies” and:  “EXCELLENT PAPER!  One of the best I have seen in quite a while. Well written, complete, thoughtful, structured, informative.

———————————————————————————-

Howdy Dr. Lowery,

I am planning on sending over my report and evaluations over soon but I had another question. What is the addendum and letter of transmittal?

Thank You,

Brian

Brian:

https://www.google.com/search?q=addendum+definition&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=&gws_rd=ssl#spf=1575295694988

 

https://www.google.com/search?rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US%3AIE-SearchBox&sxsrf=ACYBGNQ4hKbtKExCVZvUU_APuVImhza-zA%3A1575295815382&ei=RxvlXcP6Fu-7tgXQrKDQBA&q=letter+of+transmittal+definition&oq=letter+of+transmittal&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i131j0i20i263j0l8.1786.9035..11497…1.2..1.90.2322.36……0….1..gws-wiz…..10..0i71j35i39j0i22i30j0i22i10i30j35i362i39j0i273j0i67.zoPWa2ez1TU#spf=1575295827839

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.

 

From: Joe
To: lowery@tamu.edu
Subject: Letter of recommendation

Joe:

Did you respond to my previous email?  If not I will go ahead and reply to the request (see below) without a letter, but have to admit that right now I am furiously modifying several dozen letters of recommendation sent to me from other students.  My generating one from scratch with only our class experience together just isn’t in the cards right now.

I will do my best, but can’t answer even the simplest of questions like how long I have known you without your input.  I know your grades in my classes and those on your transcript, but they obviously know that without my help.  From that alone they know you are a good student and will surely succeed in graduate school, but again, I am wasting their time just restating the obvious.

Again, “Please see http://lowery.tamu.edu/generalceinfo/index.htm   section 1.A.4.”

If you sent a letter for me to work on please send it again, since I missed it.  I don’t know the deadline for this so I will go ahead and submit my best response, and if you get something to me I will try and go back in and add it later.

Good luck,

L^3

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.

From: Lowery Jr, Lee L
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2016 6:58 PM
To: Joe
Subject: RE: Letter of Recommendation

Joe:

Gladly.  Please see https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/2021/07/19/general-information-on-getting-a-job/ section 1.A.4.

L^3

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.

Dear Dr. LEE LOWERY,

Joe J. Josephson (joejjoe@tamu.edu) has applied for admission to a graduate program at MIT and has identified you as a potential recommender in the application process.

To submit a recommendation for this applicant, you may complete the recommendation form online by clicking here or entering “http://web-as.MIT.edu/LORFinale/Default.aspx?g=24235c51-25aa-4bce-a0b9-f81fc5baa38d56c&t=201731” into an internet web browser (Firefox or Safari preferred). Please note, this link will expire after two weeks of inactivity.

Depending on the length of your comments, the recommendation form can likely be completed in 10 – 15 minutes.  If you do not wish to submit a recommendation for this applicant or have already done so by paper, you may decline the request after clicking the link above.  If you have any questions about this process, please call the Office of Admissions or send an email to us. If you have any questions about serving as a recommender for this applicant, please contact the applicant directly at the email address listed above.

Thank you for assisting JOE in his/her/its educational pursuits.

Graduate Admissions Processing
Office of Admissions

From: Joe
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2016 6:33 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>
Subject: Letter of Recommendation

Howdy,

This is Joe, I was planning on applying to MIT’s graduate program to pursue a masters degree. I was hoping you could possibly write a letter of recommendation for me to the graduate office. I have thoroughly enjoyed having you as an adviser and studying engineering courses in your classes and I hope to continue studying it in a masters program.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Joe
Texas A&M University
Class of 2021

January 4, 2001

University of Utah
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
122 South Central Campus Drive, Room 104
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0561

RE: Letter of Recommendation for Joseph A. Lazibmm

Dear Sir or Madam:

Joe is applying for admission to graduate school in your department and has asked me to write him a letter of recommendation. I knew Joe while he was a student at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He was a student in three of my classes and did O.K. I guess, since he seems to have graduated.

I never really knew much about Joe.  I don’t think he was an ax murderer or anything like that, but couldn’t really say one way or the other.  There actually was an ax murderer around here about that time, but he must have gone since bodies have stopped showing up.  Joe never wore ear rings, or had green hair, as did some of the idiots in my class so you might find he works hard, but then maybe not. I never caught him cheating or copying other people’s work, and I never missed him in class, but then I don’t usually take roll, either.  He seemed to get along well with the other students, or at least I don’t remember any fights breaking out in his vicinity.  He might have been a Boy Scout, or an Eagle Scout, and might have worked two jobs to support himself at A&M, but I don’t really know.  It’s just as likely  his parents put him through school.  Anyway, that’s about all I can tell you, and I really didn’t even know that much.  It took me a danged hour just to scrape up the little bit you see here.

Sincerely,

 

Lee L. Lowery, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3136