I actually agree with you for once Elyse, lol. Even if you are not planning to become an engineer, FISRT still helps you.

Just think of the other parts of first....
Animation
Web-Design
Secretary's
PR Directors

There are so many things that FIRST helps us learn, out side of the engineering field. The most important thing we learn is teamwork. No matter what field you go into, teamwork will be needed.

I want to be a music producer. It seems like a pipe dream but its what i have wanted to do for along time. Cuz i figure i'll never make it as a rockstar but i might as well do something, so thats what its gonna be.

But i can always fall back on web design, multimedia stuff, video production, or electrical engineering:)

One of my good friends, Stephanie, wants to be a music producer. She was one of the best builders on our team this year, and heavily involved with our design and such, but music has always been her passion, and so she's going to a college down in Nashville to become a music producer.

Non-engineers
 

I think the mentoring partnerships between students and engineers is a terrific way to introduce scientific and technical career options to high school students who may not have had much contact with people in those areas. It can be really inspiring. Or you can find out very quickly that it's "not your thing".

One of our biggest challenges in recruiting new members this year will be to show how we need people with a variety of skills and interests to join the team in order to make it successful.

Wanna design, build or drive a robot? GREAT! Wanna design, write, produce a videotape of the team or a brochure or a fundraising letter? GREAT! Wanna design and make giveaway buttons? GREAT!

So while FIRST may have been created to inspire students to look at careers in the sciences, it has a lot of impact in other fields, too!

I'm going to be a political communication major at The George Washington University in the fall. You can't get much farther from engineering than that.

I've been around FIRST for nine years, been with my team for four, and captained the team for two. But engineering just wasn't for me.

However, FIRST has given me more experience than anything else I ever could have done (and it has its own politics ;)). And I think that GW noticed me because of my background in "technical" extra-curriculars. A friend of mine knows kids with better academics than me that have not gotten into poli-comm at GW.

Or I'm crazy. But that's my input.


--Jordan

Oh my goodness, yes! All of my friends make fun of me because I want to go into politics and I tell them just to look at what our team was like. I remember delegating committees, having team leaders, trying to please as many people as you could, compromise, dealing with very stubborn personalities, working with school administration, appeasing parents, etc. I did student government for 4 years in high school but I learned more about politics (and the fact that I could hack it) in my one year with FIRST.

What about apprenticeships?? I went through a tool and die apprenticeship and I love what I do now. Plus I get to machine things all day long. There are all sorts of apprenticeships out there and the best thing is they're FREE. You get paid to learn how cool is that. Pluse every job that has apprenticeships have a great job outlook. ( www.dol.gov ). Apprenticeships it's the college alternative!!!

this has probably been said.. but FIRST also helps in facets that you wouldnt think be associated with engineering or mechanical situations.

when looking for sponsors, creating proposals/presentations, budgeting, and speeches all are non-traditional but very beneficial experiences for anyone not going into engineering, but also engineering since it requires teamwork and responsability anyways

i dont
 

i want to be a veterinarian

hm
 

i am deciding between these professions"

-dentist
-chef / nutrition
-doctor
-hotel management

has anyone heard of a type of person called "glue". this person doesn't have aan area interest but instead a wide variety of areas.....

I thought i wanted to be an engineer, but i got this mentor from ODU who showed me all this stuff and things i would need to become one, and right now i find some of the things boring and don't want to spend my life doing that. I'm the "unconventional nerd" on my team for the reason i'm such a huge sports (mostly Football, baseball, and hockey) fan and i want to be involved in sports, whether a player or in the front office. I'm training right now to go out for my schools baseball team as a pitcher which starts after building season next year. I love this competition, and the "sports atmosphere" it has, but it's not a huge passion of mine.

I want to *minor* in ME and Major in business. :)

Engineering and FIRSt
 

FIRST is obviously focused on engineering right now because the FIRST Robotics competition is by far the most involving of their programs. I hope one day to see programs from FIRST that are either more universal or more specific to other areas, hence bringing this kind of excitement to all the fields that FIRST encourages. FIRST does encourage other fields than engineering in the way the program is set up.

Personally, I'm probably going for Biology and Computer Science (we'll see how much that changes in 4 years). FIRST Robotics is an asset to anything anyone wants to do, so I have always had a lot of interest in it (not to mention the fact that it's fun!).

what is see is people speaking in contradictions; first does indeed seemes to be majorly focused on engineering and as people say it has some mild branching into other areas; and then i read how people want first to involve other things as well; they want first to become "universal"; then they say what they want to do should be covered by first's great and widely ranging opportunities; but the occupations/concentrations people are speaking of (except the person that mentioned "glue") are indeed concentrations; they are the opposites of generality (if that is a word)

there are reasons for focusing on aspects instead of being an extremely wide and far ranging entity; these reasons are why we have different jobs, different skill sets.

if every organization that was made to promote something promoted everything then all we would have is a world full of silly organizations that all do the exact same thing

i'm sure there are programs that promote things that first does not; and first provides opportunities other programs do not; each one has its own niche; not everyone is bend on taking over the world.

i believe expending FIRST too greatly into other areas would destroy what FIRST is.

---

as for myself i can't ever decide what i want to do; not because i hate everything but because everything (almost) interests me greatly; i am already in college and still can't quite decide on exactly where i wanna go; i have put myself on the computer science track as my initial "vector" but have a feeling it isnt going to last long; perhaps i am falling a victim of a certain lack of focus... even in computer science there are different "sub"-fields that one might take (if the plan is to becomes sufficiently advanced); its kinda of hopeless...