Ryan Liu ’07 

Company: Google 
Major: Electrical engineering and engineering management 
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii 
Extracurriculars: Bassoonist in the Conservatory of Music Concert Band, Xi Chi Sigma Asian interest social fraternity 

When Ryan Liu ’07 started his engineering journey, he didn’t see a single path; he saw possibility. 

Now a technical program manager at YouTube, Liu leads projects that shape how hundreds of millions of users experience gaming content on the platform. But long before he was developing cutting-edge features like interactive “gaming recaps” and “playables”—mini-games you can play directly in the YouTube app—he was a student at University of the Pacific, double majoring in electrical engineering and engineering management. 

“Pacific allowed me to become a well-rounded engineering professional,” Liu says, “It’s because of that foundation of liberal arts, coupled with the technical aspects, that I was able to go into the workforce and continue to improve myself.” 

What Liu does at YouTube 

Liu started working at YouTube in 2020 and now oversees a team focused on GTX—gaming, teens and extended reality. He collaborates with engineers, designers, product managers, researchers and data scientists. 

One of his team’s newest projects is “playables,” a feature that lets users jump into casual games without ever leaving the YouTube app. It’s part of YouTube’s effort to create a more interactive experience and a new kind of entertainment. 

“It’s the notion that you can, instead of watching a video on YouTube, play a game natively in the YouTube app,” Liu says.  

Gaining a broad-based perspective at Pacific 

Liu’s path to Big Tech wasn’t linear. His Pacific experience helped him explore both the technical and business sides of engineering. Through the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s CO-OP program, he worked at Calpine Energy as a plant engineer and completed a second internship in Japan at Daiwabo Polytec, a manufacturing company, where he helped develop advanced synthetic fibers. 

“Figuring out how to navigate that environment by living, working and adapting in another country was an important part of being able to shape my skills for the better,” Liu says 

He credits much of his growth to the close mentorship he received at Pacific—especially from his adviser, Professor Abel Fernandez, who taught project management. 

“I credit him for basically getting my first job out of Pacific because of his support and coaching.” 

Liu even recalls cracking open the project management textbook from Fernandez’s class long after graduating from Pacific. 

Building a career in tech 

After graduation, Liu spent 12 years working in consulting, mostly at the business management firm Accenture, helping clients manage large-scale engineering and business projects. But after welcoming his first daughter, he wanted to shift away from constant travel. That’s when he made the leap to Google. 

Google was an environment which, according to Liu, required the ability to learn and thrive in ambiguity by being adaptable, much like the experience he gained from his CO-OPs and multifaceted education.  

At Google, Liu says the most rewarding part is the scale. 

“As soon as you hit that launch button for what would appear as a minute feature change on an app, it’s something that impacts billions of users. To me that is not only exciting, but there are few places that offer that in the world.” 

Why a liberal arts foundation matters in tech 

In a fast-moving industry, Liu believes one thing is crucial: a solid foundation with coursework in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. He says the liberal arts education he received at Pacific, which taught him to think critically, communicate effectively and approach problems from multiple angles, has made the biggest difference in his career.  

“We’re in a world now where the pressure to specialize is so high,” Liu says.  

He compares it to San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, which has tilted over time due to foundational issues. 

“Students who jump into investing so much time and money to specialize in one thing without building that crucial liberal arts foundation are like the sinking tower,” Liu explained. “The short-term benefits are there, but the shortcuts will catch up to you.” 

That solid foundation is especially important now, as artificial intelligence transforms how engineers and creators work. 

Liu’s advice for students fearing AI 

Rather than fearing replacement by AI, Liu urges students to focus on deeply understanding their core engineering principles and viewing AI as a tool to enhance their work. 

“Know your tradecraft. You need to command an understanding of it,” Liu says. 

He says students with a broader educational background will have an edge when working with AI tools. He urges students to develop a deep understanding of fundamental concepts, such as comprehending code rather than just generating it. 

“The more knowledge you have, especially from a liberal arts standpoint, the better prompts you should be able to write,” Liu says. “The ability to interpret and find what’s useful for human use will help you because it’s a human element that AI won’t be able to replicate.” 

For students considering a future in tech, Liu’s advice is simple: Be curious. Embrace change. And don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and adapt.   

“Seek out opportunities to learn and grow, even if they take you outside your comfort zone,” Liu says. “And never underestimate the value of a well-rounded education.” 

Technology is a key feature of modern medical care: think X-rays, COVID test kits, pacemakers, knee implants, artificial limbs and MRIs. Doctors use these tools every day to provide critical care to patients across the world.  

Many of these innovations are thanks to the efforts of biomedical engineers. Biomedical engineering , a subfield of bioengineering, sits at the intersection of engineering, biology and health care.  

These engineers work at the cutting edge of a rapidly evolving industry, developing technical solutions to biological challenges. They often work with health care providers to identify problems in health care, then use their specialized skill set to design equipment, devices or computer systems. 

“If you want to support, enhance or improve the condition a person has, then that would be an application of bioengineering,” says University of the Pacific bioengineering professor Shelly Gulati. “If you want to be able to do monitoring of health variables, steps, stuff like that, then that would be a way to measure health that requires an engineering solution.” 

The health care field, like much of our economy, is highly technology-driven. You can see that reflected in the growing need for bioengineers and biomedical engineers. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, for example, expects employment to grow by around 7% over the next decade. Compare that to the average career, which the BLS projects to grow by 4% in the same period.  

If you’re thinking about getting into the field as you head toward college, we’ll go into more detail about how it differs from the broader field of bioengineering, cover what biomedical engineers do and go over some jobs you can do with the degree.  

Bioengineering vs. biomedical engineering

Bioengineers use the principles and technology of engineering to tackle biological problems. As we’ve mentioned, you likely see their work when you go to the doctor. But they also do innovative work with consumer goods, energy or materials production, sustainability industries, agriculture and more.  

For example, some food you eat may be bioengineered or made with bioengineered crops. Athletes use bioengineered technology to monitor and improve their training regiments. And bioengineering principles can be deployed to create sustainable biofuels.   

“Students who come from the bioengineering perspective are motivated by the problem,” Gulati says. “They’re motivated by the application of the problem to one of those areas and they will learn what other disciplines’ information is going to be necessary to solve that problem.” 

One of those problems is health, where is where biomedical engineering comes in. This field applies engineering concepts to biological systems and health care.  It seeks to advance tools that help doctors provide better care for their patients. 

Biomedical engineers may work on technologies used in diagnostics, like MRI machines, or in treatments like laser eye surgery. You might already benefit from these engineers’ work without even realizing it.  

What do biomedical engineers do? 

There are several pathways biomedical engineers can take. They may conduct research for a company, government body or other organization, creating or improving medical devices. In these roles, biomedical engineers connect patients’ problems with their specialized know-how.  

“Observation is a really important part,” Gulati says. “You can explore the empathy piece of how that nurse or doctor engages with the patient. Asking how the patient was feeling through this process, asking a lot of those questions at the user level. And then, from there, designing a solution that would benefit that.” 

Alternatively, they may work in production, ensuring a company creates high-quality, reliable technologies, medication or other goods.  

Because of their specialization, biomedical engineers may also go into government service as part of a regulatory team. Some may also work as field engineers, installing and servicing specialized technologies 

In any of these pathways, biomedical engineers have to identify problems, then draw upon a broad array of engineering or scientific disciplines to create appropriate solutions. The range of potential issues means there’s plenty of room to pursue work that calls upon your interests, whether that be robotics, neuroscience or chemistry.  

Entry-level biomedical engineering jobs

Compared to other engineering fields, biomedical engineering is a young discipline. It’s also a fast-evolving one, as its advances build on each other and open new frontiers.  

Joining the field means you will work with cutting-edge technologies and processes. It also opens doors for you to work on issues you’re really passionate about.  

“Sometimes students will bring ideas like, ‘I observed my grandparent with this. They’re navigating the world with this challenge. How can I support and help with that?’” Gulati says. “We want to help that family have a higher quality of life.” 

There are many avenues you can take into the field.  

Biomedical field service engineer

You encounter biomedical devices in almost any health care environment, from doctor’s offices to hospitals. Field service engineers ensure those devices operate properly by installing, servicing and maintaining them.  

Biomedical field service engineers may also train medical staff on proper use and care for the technology. Though you see them far less often than doctors and nurses, these engineers also play a vital role in your health care.  

Systems engineer

Systems engineers take a broad view of the projects they work on and often remain involved with a product from its initial stages through development and production. They’re generally responsible for making sure all the pieces fit together, troubleshooting product issues and communicating with all parties involved.  

Because biomedical engineers are trained to take this broad perspective, especially with an eye toward the relationship between a solution and the people who need it, they fit into these jobs very naturally.

Project engineer 

The term “project engineer” covers a broad range of actual jobs which can vary widely depending on the company and industry. Generally, though, these positions are responsible for coordinating the technical side of a project.  

Consider, for example, a project engineer who’s tasked with finding a solution for a client. They may work with a design engineer to identify or create the equipment which fits the project’s needs and budget. Then they might source the materials and coordinate with another team to assemble it into a functional product. 

Other jobs

• Manufacturing engineer 

• Clinical research associate 

• Clinical specialist 

• Process engineer 

• Design engineer 

Bioengineering at Pacific

If you want to pursue a career in biomedical engineering, Pacific’s bioengineering degree can give you a leg up as you enter the job market.  

One of the biggest advantages of Pacific is its relatively small student population, averaging around 23 students per class. Because Pacific’s engineering programs have a strong emphasis on practical education and lab work, you’ll gain experience working on teams and develop relationships with your classmates.  

Pacific also touts a 14-to-1 ratio of students to faculty members, which gives you more opportunities to build relationships with our faculty. That means there are opportunities to get involved in research, potentially even working alongside a professor.  

On top of that, Pacific also offers the Cooperative Education (CO-OP) program. You can apply on an online job board for internships offered exclusively to Pacific students. These paid positions typically last for about six to eight months. 

“That was one of the biggest attractors for UOP, because there is this company Abbott that I actually had the honor to work with,” Minervini says. “I knew they had this partnership and it’s easier to apply because you’re competing at the local level versus competing with students across the U.S.” 

During her CO-OP internship with Abbott, Minervini worked as a systems engineer. Her team ensured the company’s devices met customer needs and regulatory requirements. Minervini’s work there also helped her secure an independent internship with the biotech company Genentech.  

Unlike most other Pacific engineering programs, obtaining a CO-OP internship isn’t required to earn a bioengineering degree. That’s part of the degree’s flexibility, according to Gulati, who said students are encouraged to take advantage of bioengineering’s flexibility. They can specialize in certain topics through elective clusters, pursue research opportunities and/or get a CO-OP internship depending on what makes sense for them.  

Finally, bioengineering students will also pull together their education and experience to work on a senior project. This gives you an opportunity to make a personal fascination into a real project.  

“One example I can think of: students built a bioreactor that was intended to grow cells, care for cells and make sure they can live,” Gulati says. “That was related to a tissue engineering faculty research project.” 

Showing your experience with a practical project can help you set yourself apart from other recent graduates as you enter the job market. 

Biomedical engineering

If you’re looking for a way to combine your interests in engineering and innovative health care work, biomedical engineering might be the pathway for you. Pacific’s bioengineering program can help you step into this world, and potentially even create a product or technology that can help raise standards for patient care.  

It’s a standout field for people with diverse interests, looking for a way to pull them all together. Biomedical engineering in the workforce can mean many different things, depending on the forms of science and engineering that you’re working with.  

“Be ready for a lot of self-exploration,” Minervini says. “It’s not as straightforward as other engineering fields … because it overlaps with everyone else. You have to put in a lot of thought and try to get involved to understand what you would like to delve into more.” 

Roads, bridges and ports are just a few  civil engineering projects that you rely on every day, whether you know it or not.  

For example, even if you don’t drive, you probably buy products transported to the store or your home by a truck or delivery driver. And if that product was made overseas, it likely arrived in the U.S. through a port or airport.  

Civil engineers plan, design and manage the infrastructure you rely on, directly or indirectly. The study has existed for thousands of years under various names. Across cultures and eras, you can find engineering marvels like the Giza pyramid complex, the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum in Rome and Machu Picchu in Peru. 

But these feats are only one aspect of civil engineering. Much less flashy but much more important is the infrastructure so common that we take it for granted: roads, railways, ports, tunnels, dams and even our water supply systems.  

“When you flush the toilet or take a shower, that water doesn’t just go away,” says University of the Pacific civil engineering  Professor Camilla Saviz. “It goes to a wastewater treatment plant. It gets treated, then either gets reused or discharged into the environment. So, in a nutshell, civil engineers build the systems that keep society working.” 

Given their importance, it’s no wonder that U.S. News’ Best Engineering Jobs 2025 report ranks the field as the seventh best, crediting that primarily to wage potential and employment. Those wages sit at a median of $95,890 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

BLS data also indicates civil engineering employment will grow by 6% inside of the next decade, higher than the average growth of 4%.  

If you’re thinking about studying civil engineering in college or changing your major, this article will cover the basics of what you need to know.  

Civil engineering pathways 

Civil engineering isn’t just a very old field, it’s also very broad. Its subfields include infrastructure, environmental, structural, water resources, architectural, construction, transportation engineering and more.  

Generally, universities offer several of those fields as concentrations in their civil engineering programs. Students in those programs typically take basic courses covering most civil engineering subfields and then take electives to specialize in one or more concentrations.   

Here are some of the concentrations you may be able to study:  

Infrastructure systems engineering

Infrastructure systems engineering is one of the discipline’s broadest subfields and incorporates elements from other areas. Infrastructure systems engineers have a bird’s eye view of their projects. They design, manage and supervise the construction of structures, foundations or systems that may affect whole communities like water supply, flood control, water treatment and transportation.  

“They’re the ones translating the plans and making sure what’s built is correct,” says Saviz. “They’re also there in case something unexpected happens. You dig a trench and there’s a pipe that wasn’t supposed to be there. They’re the ones who adapt and keep the project going.” 

Structural engineering

These engineers use their knowledge of physics and materials to design safe and stable structures like buildings, tunnels and bridges. They work with architects who determine a structure’s appearance and functionality. Guided by that vision, structural engineers design the framework, which you could also think of as the “skeleton,” that keeps the structure standing for years to come. 

These engineers are also often involved in the actual construction process to make sure the project is proceeding according to plan.  

Environmental engineering

Environmental engineers design solutions to mitigate or alleviate the effects of waste and pollutants, such as constructing systems for water treatment, waste disposal or air/water pollution control.  

Education in this subfield can also be useful even if you don’t end up working directly with those systems.  

“They come across it in consulting or working in regulatory agencies because of water quality and environmental quality regulations,” Saviz says. 

Water resources engineering

The management of our water resources is a vast field. Engineers working in this field are concerned with available water resources and their storage, distribution, quality and estimated demands.  

This is important not only for personal usage, but also for public works and the agricultural industry. This topic can become especially complex considering water resource regulations and its potential transportation across cities, counties or even states.  

Depending on their position in industry—regulation or consulting —water resources engineers may handle data analysis and collection, system design, construction management or some combination of these skills. 

Civil engineering major requirements

Outside of these specialized classes, your education as a civil engineer will heavily rely on your knowledge of mathematics and science subjects like physics and chemistry.  

If these are subjects you already excel in, then you’re in a good position to enter a college-level engineering program. You will want to take the highest-level classes you have access to. For example, you’ll be better prepared for college math if you have taken calculus or Advanced Placement calculus. 

But even if math and science aren’t your best subjects, you can still seek extra help as a high school student. You should speak with your teachers, who may be able to give you extra support for cracking those tougher concepts. Your school may also have staff or peer tutors who can help guide you through these classes. 

What does a civil engineer do?

Civil engineering is a vast field. What a civil engineer does can depend heavily on their specializations, their industry and where they practice their trade.  

“You can find your passion and go there,” Saviz says. 

This is one of the best parts of civil engineering: its flexibility. Although civil engineering is formally separated into different subfields, they overlap with each other. Generally, civil engineering degree programs acknowledge this cross-specialization by encouraging or requiring you to take classes in two or more concentrations. 

Civil engineers are employed by the government, by consulting firms, by educational institutions and by industry. Working for a public agency at the local, state or federal level can empower you to make positive community changes. Working in industry, whether in construction or a specialized field, can involve you in work that’s reshaping our world. 

You could also go into consulting and provide specialized services to industry and government on varied projects and design challenges. Finally, you might find yourself in education, mentoring a future generation of changemakers or doing cutting-edge research. 

Unlike other fields, civil engineers tend to have more flexibility in career paths.  

“Every village, every town, every city, every county needs civil engineers because of the infrastructure aspect. You’re not tied to once place like the tech sector is,” Saviz says. 

Civil engineering at Pacific 

If you’re interested in a degree in civil engineering, Pacific can give you the tools and experience you need to stand out among your peers as you enter the workforce.  

With an average class size of 24 students and a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, you’ll have more chances to interact with your professors and peers. As Saviz points out, this can be especially helpful in the working world.  

“Students work really closely together,” she says. “They’re sometimes colleagues in the same company. Or one might be a consultant while the other is on the project management side. And finding jobs, they recruit each other. … They make lifelong friends. It really helps our students find a community.” 

Pacific emphasizes hands-on education, including a lab component in most classes. Students are also encouraged to use the labs, with faculty supervision, for projects with student teams, clubs or other opportunities.  

“We have a lot of projects, field trips and many more labs than most universities,” Saviz says. “Each of our core classes had a lab with it. So, our students get to apply their knowledge to design stuff. Design a building, design an experiment, use software.” 

Before graduating, you’ll also gain practical and professional experience through Pacific’s Cooperative Education (CO-OP) program, and you’ll complete a senior project.  

Pacific partners with companies to offer paid, full-time internships exclusively to our students through an online job board. Applying and getting those opportunities will teach you how to build a resume, interview and ultimately build connections in industry.  

With all that experience at your back, you’ll tackle a team-based project in your senior year to showcase your education and experience. Although most are theoretical in nature, some students end up working on actual projects.  

“One group did a women and family shelter design in Modesto,” Saviz recalls. “Another group did a park upgrade in Stockton. One did a hotel design. [And when] the City of Stockton wanted to expand their animal shelter, [one group] did the design of the expansion.” 

Once you earn your civil engineering degree, you’ll stand out among your peers with your education, professional experience and actual examples of your work. 

As a civil engineer, you’ll play a critical role in building and maintaining the infrastructure that keeps daily life running—roads, bridges, water systems, and more. Your skills will be in demand across both public and private sectors, shaping the spaces we live and work in. 

If you think it’s your calling, then Pacific’s civil engineering program can empower you with the tools, experience and connections to be a changemaker and leader.

Studying engineering management is a good way to prepare yourself to enter leadership in a technical industry. Just about every form of engineering, from chemical to civil, needs managers to keep projects on-track and within budget.  

Broadly speaking, engineering managers oversee projects from conception to execution. The exact process, though, depends heavily on the industry. Engineering managers may oversee a production scale-up, the construction of a bridge or the creation of a product.  

Professor Abel Fernandez, the chair of University of the Pacific’s engineering management program, will tell anyone who asks that it can be hard to explain the program. People rightly wonder how a fresh college graduate can enter management. And the answer is, they typically don’t. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study engineering management, though. In fact, it’s a great degree for people who are looking ahead in their career. By training as an engineer while also getting comfortable overseeing systems-level issues — think budgets, timelines and team leadership — you’ll be ready for advancement when the opportunity arises.  

Tyler McIntosh

At Pacific, engineering management student Tyler McIntosh landed an internship with America’s fifth-largest winery, Delicato Family Wines in Manteca, California. Tyler believes his real-world experience and background in engineering management will help him find success in intellectual property law.

Learn about Tyler

This degree is also a great option for students who aren’t necessarily interested in engineering management itself. Plenty of engineering jobs have feet in two worlds: sales engineering, project cost estimating and technical marketing are just a few examples. Engineering management students develop their technical skills alongside their business and leadership abilities. 

If that sounds interesting to you, here’s what else you need to know about pursuing an engineering management degree. 

What does an engineering manager do? 

The day-to-day job depends heavily on the industry and even the individual company, but you can generally think of it as a specialized form of project management.  

At the front end, an engineering manager might design a plan and timeline, get a budget ready and source tools or components. They call on their technical knowledge and experience to predict project issues, then plan accordingly. 

As the project gets underway, engineering managers may shift from planning to delegating work, keeping their team on-track and preparing updates for outside stakeholders. Being a strong communicator is very important in this stage, as they may have to coordinate with other teams in the company or build relationships with clients or vendors.  

Engineering managers may still have to get their hands dirty during these projects, especially if they’re working with a smaller team.  

Keep in mind that the particulars of this job depend heavily on the industry and company. That might be frustrating if you’re trying to wrap your head around it, but that’s also one of this degree’s great strengths. You’ll still learn and train as an engineer in a field that interests you, while also building skills that are helpful for advancing your career anywhere you go.  

Engineering manager skills 

• Engineering education  
  • Engineering managers need to understand the principles of their field in order to appropriately direct their team’s work. That knowledge — along with years of hands-on experience — will be used at every stage of the project.  

• Leadership  
  • A good leader is responsible for motivating their subordinates, keeping track of their strengths and weaknesses, and assigning tasks to the person best suited for it.   

• Management  
  • Management and leadership are often used interchangeably, but it’s better to think of them separately. Management relates more strongly to the logistical problems of running a team. This could mean organizing collaborations between subordinates or with outside parties, or it might mean dealing with office conflict. Projects also have a lot of administrative work which falls under this purview.  

• Project management  
  • Overseeing anything is a can of worms, let alone a multi-person project with a rapidly approaching deadline. Bringing a project to fruition means tracking lots of details, large and small, while keeping everything according to schedule.  

• Communication  
  • Clear communication can determine whether a vendor gives you the right parts, a team member does a task correctly or whether a boss understands that a project needs more time.  

• Problem solving  
  • It’s inevitable that engineering managers will run into problems, so it’s essential that they learn how to overcome, solve or avoid them.   

Where do engineering managers work? 

Engineering management degrees offer a flexible way to combine technical training with an education in business and leadership. It will equip you with the tools to step into a field you’re passionate about.  

That’s not to say that every engineering management degree looks the same to an employer. You will build a portfolio through your coursework and internships, getting more familiar with certain industries and technical specializations as you advance your career.  

So, even before you start college, it’s important to start thinking about what kind of work you’d like to be doing in your career. Knowing that will help you choose the right electives as you work toward your degree.  

You don’t need to worry about being perfect. It’s very common for college students to adjust or even fully change their goals as they advance their learning. The important thing is to have an educational plan that guides your choices, even if you do course-correct during your college career.  

Listed below are industries that have engineering management roles. Learning more about each one is a good way to create a well-informed plan for your studies. 

• Aerospace engineering  

• Biomedical engineering  

• Chemical engineering  

• Civil engineering  

• Computer engineering  

• Electrical engineering  

• Industrial engineering  

• Mechanical engineering  

• Software engineering

Engineering management vs. an MBA

Of course, studying engineering management isn’t the only path to leadership in technical industries. There are some who may learn those skills on the job, while others may return to university to pursue graduate-level studies.  

As an example, a working engineer could pursue a Master of Business Administration degree, such as the one offered by Pacific, to get a foot in the door of leadership positions.   

It may be a worthwhile decision, but earning an MBA mid-career also poses some challenges. Those who stay at their job, either full- or part-time, will have to juggle both commitments – doable, but no easy task. Others might leave their job altogether to focus on their studies, which can come at a significant financial cost.   

Pursuing a degree in engineering management, though, can offer you a portion of that learning while you’re still an undergrad. Students who really take advantage of their time — maximizing their course load, getting good research and work experience — might even get a lot of the benefit of an MBA program. In other words, they’ll be ready when the opportunity for career advancement arises.  

Neither route is necessarily the “right” option. If you’re already thinking about moving into leadership, though, engineering management might be the leg up you need in your career.  

Studying engineering management at Pacific

One of the main things to know about Pacific’s program is that students truly make it their own. Fernandez estimates that between a third and a half of all classes are electives. This flexibility allows students to gain specialization in their fields of interest.  This could look like a focus on a particular form of engineering, but you also can position yourself well for a specific type of job. 

As an example, Fernandez points toward two program alumni who now work as lawyers focusing on intellectual property. Their technical background helps them understand the technology they now work with. At the same time, because engineering management is so flexible, they were also able to take classes that prepared them for law school.  

It’s worth noting that these courses aren’t chosen in a vacuum. Rather, they’re grouped by field (for example, choosing two classes in engineering science, in business, etc.). This allows students to build their own experience while also making sure there’s a clear arc to their education.   

Pacific also helps its engineering management students prepare for the real world as they near graduation. The first is the Cooperative Education program, better known as “CO-OP.” Pacific partners with employers who post CO-OP-exclusive programs on Handshake, which students — after taking a class to prepare — can apply to. These paid positions will last from six to eight months.   

“I loved my CO-OP!” says Jeniffer Alvarado, a program graduate who now works for the City of Stockton, about her experience. “I went to Abbott, and I was a systems engineer. I would say, before my CO-OP, I was very shy. The CO-OP pushed me above my limits in the sense that I became a more confident individual in my work. Things that I had seen as weaknesses in myself became strengths.”  

Engineering management students will also complete a capstone project in tandem with a team of peers, pulling together their education in design and execution. It’s also, Fernandez points out, an exercise in managing expectations.  

“That’s part of engineering,” he says. “You are not going to eradicate world poverty in 15 weeks. So, what you have to do is learn bounded rationality. In other words, you have to figure out, ‘if there’s three of us, and we have this much experience and we have 14 weeks, what can we do?’”   

Alvarado recalls Fernandez pushing her team to do their best within those constraints. Her team created a renovation plan for a campus building, trying to create a multi-purpose place for everyone. It was a challenge to seek out input from students, staff and faculty to try and design a space that works for everyone. But that’s the exact type of experience that’s invaluable once you enter the workplace.  

With all this at their backs, students from Pacific’s program will enter the workforce ready to be engineering managers when the time comes. They’ll also have the skills they need to work entry- and mid-level jobs until then.  

Alvarado says she still thinks about her classes in her day-to-day work. “Now that I’m a project manager for the parks division, I find myself thinking, ‘oh, this is the stuff that I learned back when I took these classes at UOP.’ I would say it’s all tied together nicely.”  

Entry-level jobs for aspiring engineering managers

Because engineering management is such a broad umbrella, there are plenty of entry-level jobs available across a variety of industries including:   

• Project engineer  

• Quality assurance technician  

• Design engineer  

• Operations analyst  

• Field engineer  

• System engineer  

Studying engineering management

An engineering management degree can help you step into a field you’re passionate about while also setting yourself up for a leadership position. You’ll learn hard skills that will remain relevant and soft skills that you’ll continue to build on throughout your career. There is a growing need for technical managers, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating a 6% increase in employment over the next decade. 

If you’re just getting started, you should continue doing research on the industries and specializations that interest you. It’s also important to choose a program that will set you up for success, giving you classroom learning, practical experience and industry networking.  

We spend a lot of our days using computers. They’re almost universal in office jobs, and you may need one to complete your schoolwork. You might use them to play games, work on creative projects, write or use social media. But the personal computer is just one corner in the world of computing.  

If you have a smartphone, that’s a computer that sits in your pocket every day. They’re also in cars, planes, medical devices, digital cameras, kitchen appliances and even on your ceiling if you have a smart light fixture.  

With this electronic expansion, more and more industries need people who understand how this technology works. In other words, computer engineers.  

Over most of the next decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for computer hardware engineers will grow by 7%. That’s faster than the average of all professions, which sits at just 4%. This need is especially pronounced in California, which BLS data shows has the most working computer hardware engineers of any state.  

There’s clearly a need for people with this skill set, but is computer engineering right for you? We’ll explore the discipline a little more and explain how it’s different from similar engineering fields to help you decide if this is the major you want to pursue in college.

What exactly is computer engineering? 

Computer engineering sits at the intersection of electrical engineering and computer science. It calls upon the principles and theories of both of those fields to design, build, implement and maintain the hardware (and sometimes the software) of computing devices as well as technologies controlled by computers.  

The most clear-cut example of this is the personal computer, whether it is a desktop, a laptop or a mobile phone. These devices rely on component technologies like motherboards, graphics processing units, controllers and so on.  

At one company, computer engineers might work to improve these technologies and create a better product. At another company, they might instead adapt technologies to a specific purpose, like embedding a computer into an electric bike. 

Computer engineers are primarily trained to deal with hardware, but programming is also a fairly common skill to have. How much a computer engineer codes depends on their company and sub-field. For example, they might be the ones designing and programming specific components of a larger device. 

“A typical problem they solve is writing software codes to control microcontrollers that go into various gadgets and devices, like your microwave oven or your iPhone,” said Vivek K. Pallipuram, an associate professor in University of the Pacific’s electrical and computer engineering department.  

Pallipuram considers this flexibility one of the major upsides of studying computer engineering. If you’re mostly interested in hardware, you can tailor your education to focus on electrical engineering. On the other hand, if you really like coding, too, then you can take more computer sciences courses instead. 

While we’re covering computer science and electrical engineering, let’s talk about their relationship to computer engineering.  

Computer engineering vs. computer science

From the perspective of a college student, these two majors start off similarly. In either degree program, you would start with programming courses and foundational mathematics, especially discrete math.  

Once you’ve completed those basic courses, though, these majors start to diverge. In computer science, you move into more advanced topics in software development and maintenance, like programming languages, operating systems and application development.  

As a computer engineering major, you can still take some of those classes as electives. But the bulk of your education moving forward will focus on more advanced mathematics, some physics and electrical engineering. You’ll apply principles from those fields into the design, creation, innovation and maintenance of computing systems. 

Computer engineering vs. electrical engineering

Understanding the principles of electrical engineering is key to your success as a computer engineer. In fact, the two are so closely tied that many universities house both in the same department. What separates the two?  

Electrical engineering is a vast field of study. Our world is heavily reliant on electrical systems and electronics, and electrical engineers work in nearly every field you can imagine: transportation, telecommunications, power generation and distribution, manufacturing and many, many more.  

Studying electrical engineering means you’ll go even further into mathematics and physics, learning to apply them to power systems, control systems, communications systems and beyond. In other words, you’ll get a broader education.  

There is plenty of room in electrical engineering to choose your own path, and you can think of computer engineering as one of those specializations. Rather than focusing on a broader view, you’ll go deeper into the topics relevant to computers in particular. On top of that, you’ll gain cross-disciplinary experience in coding that isn’t generally taught to electrical engineers.  

So, if you’re trying to decide between the two consider this: are you especially interested in working with computers and computing systems? That’s the realm of computer engineers.  

Jobs

Deciding which degree you want is only half of the battle. The other half is using your education to step into a career. Depending on how you structure your education, there are a number of different jobs you can consider in the working world.  

Hardware design 

Computer hardware engineers research, design, develop, test and implement the hardware design of computing systems. These engineers build the right system for the job at hand, whether that is a personal computer, a system for power networks, telecommunications electronics or others. 

You’ll work closely with other engineers, programmers and other professionals to design the right piece of equipment for an end user.  

Computer network architect 

Computer network architects and engineers design, create and/or maintain internet and communications infrastructures for companies and other organizations.  

Unlike a home network, a business network is often complex, especially if there are offices over several floors, several locations or across continents. Things get even more complex when you factor in printers, information security protocols, virtual private networks and other common features.  

Computer architects use their expertise to design and install the right technological solution for a particular company’s needs. Even after a network is up and running, companies will still need computer engineers to maintain, improve or solve issues with their network’s hardware and software.  

Embedded software engineer

As technology has gotten smaller, product designers have been able to include more computers in their work. With a smartwatch, you can wear a computer on your wrist. If you have smart light bulbs, you can use your phone or a remote to control their color and intensity. Some electric bikes even have embedded computer systems, providing anti-theft measures and diagnostic abilities.  

As an embedded software engineer, you’ll call upon both your computer engineering and programming backgrounds to create code appropriate to the hardware embedded in these technologies.  

These engineers work across a wide variety of industries, so you can pursue your interests in consumer products, medical technologies, commercial operations and more.  

Why study computer engineering at Pacific?

If you’re considering a degree in computer engineering, Pacific can give you a personalized and hands-on education. With a project-oriented curriculum and the option of a dual-degree program, you’ll have the experience that employers are looking for in entry-level hires.  

With an average class size of 24 students and a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, you’ll get a lot of one-on-one time with your professors. That was one of the reasons Pallipuram came to teach at Pacific.  

“When I interviewed, I saw how much they value student-centric education, and I saw how much personalized education the professors gave to undergraduate students. I thought that was something remarkable,” he said.  

This goes beyond after-class and office hours discussions, too. Some undergraduate students at Pacific participate in their professors’ research, sometimes even publishing in journals or presenting at large conferences.  

Although not every student gets involved in research, every Pacific computer engineering student will gain practical experience through project-based classes, the Cooperative Education (CO-OP) program and a senior project.  

“We focus on providing our students not only the science behind those engineering concepts, but also we provide them the skills that are necessary for them to succeed in industry,” Pallipuram said. “Some of our CO-OP employers have told our students, ‘Oh, wow, you have used all these tools in your undergraduate curriculum? That’s totally awesome. We don’t even have to train you.’” 

The CO-OP program, a requirement to graduate, is a full-time, paid internship that typically lasts from six to eight months. Before applying, you’ll take a class to learn about resume-building and interviewing skills. You’ll then apply to positions posted on a job board exclusively for CO-OP students.  

Before graduating, you’ll use all your classroom and internship experience to tackle a senior project. As part of a team, you’ll design, create, test and optimize some kind of computerized device.  

Pallipuram recalled some particularly impressive projects from recent years: A rover which used deep learning and computer vision to roam a kiwi orchard, identifying and pollinating the appropriate flowers. Another team designed a solar-powered device that took in carbon dioxide and then released oxygen, essentially giving users some benefits of an indoor tree.  

Finally, Pacific also offers an accelerated path to a Master of Science in Engineering through a dual-degree program. Students on this path can take graduate courses while earning their undergraduate degree, potentially earning both in as little as five years.  

Studying computer engineering

As technology advances, we’re seeing an expansion in the uses of computers and computerized systems. The growing employment for computer engineering is obvious in Silicon Valley, which is a relatively short car ride away from Pacific’s campus, but the study’s applications can be seen across many industries and areas in California and across the U.S. 

If you’re interested in the nexus of hardware and software, then Pacific’s computer engineering degree can give you the tools and experience needed to enter this exciting and expanding field.  

Getting a mechanical engineering degree is a great springboard into a career in almost any technical field. It’s a broad discipline with skill sets needed across a wide array of industries: public utilities, consumer products, automotive manufacturing and more.  

There is also a growing demand for mechanical engineers. Over the next decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an 11% employment increase through 2033—much faster than average. Because there’s such a need for mechanical engineers, average annual salaries also tend to be strong.  

Mechanical engineering is about more than the pay and the labor market, though. It’s an integral part of pushing technology forward, whether it’s life-saving medical technologies or cutting-edge robotics.  

If you’re thinking about a career in mechanical engineering, here’s what you need to know.  

What is mechanical engineering?

Generally, mechanical engineering focuses on the study and application of physics and movement. Using these principles, engineers design, develop and fabricate tools, machines, engines and similar devices.  

What mechanical engineering looks like in practice depends heavily on the industry. Controls engineering, for example, deals with technology that controls or regulates other technology.  

In an automotive company, controls engineers might work on a car’s automated systems. In manufacturing, on the other hand, they might instead work on designing, maintaining or optimizing automated production lines. And in aerospace engineering, controls engineers may work on internal systems for aircraft, spacecraft and satellites.  

“That’s the strength of mechanical engineering, the versatility of it,” said Professor Kyle Watson, the chair of University of the Pacific’s mechanical engineering department. “Looking at what our students do on CO-OP, there are medical device companies, electronics companies, paving equipment, companies that design and build pavers. It’s a huge range of applications and opportunities that are opened up.” 

In other words, you’ll have plenty of space to pursue your own engineering passions through your class choices, internships and personal projects.  

“I think mechanical is great for people who are very nitpicky and technically inclined,” said mechanical engineering graduate student Madi Wilcox. “I like to tell people it’s like the jack-of-all-trades. You could go into any of the engineering fields because it’s a very general major.” 

Do I need to be good at math to be an engineer?

A solid understanding of mathematics is essential for understanding engineering concepts. There’s no getting around that. If you already enjoy the subject, that could be a sign you’re meant for engineering.  

That being said, you can still go into engineering even if math isn’t your strongest subject. If you’re still in high school, be sure to take all core math classes offered. If available, calculus or Advanced Placement calculus can do a lot to prepare you for college math.  

If you think math is difficult, you should seek extra help. You’ll want to speak with your teachers, who may be able to give you extra support. Your school may also have staff or peer tutors who can help you crack those tougher concepts. 

You’ll also have access to similar resources in college, too. Professors and instructors hold office hours each week where you can ask questions about class or homework.  Most universities also have academic support centers that offer drop-in or scheduled tutoring, taught by high-achieving peers or graduate students.  

“If you’re going to be paying for school, you should take advantage of the resources available to you,” said mechanical engineering major Felipe Rodarte. “If office hours are available, go to office hours if you need help. There are study groups, the student support center. There are a lot of resources out there that people don’t take advantage of.” 

You may also consider help from outside your university, like private or online tutoring. These options can tailor their teaching to your specific needs.

Industrial engineering vs. mechanical engineering

When it comes to manufacturing, it can be easy to confuse industrial with mechanical engineering. Both fields are concerned with the machines and devices used for production. Often, both are working to optimize those systems.  

The key difference between the two is the scale. While mechanical engineers are concerned with the individual machine, industrial engineers are concerned with how all the machines work as a unit. Their job is to oversee all facets of production, drawing upon their technical knowledge to make better decisions affecting the whole manufacturing process. 

Mechanical engineering jobs

As we mentioned earlier, the next decade is looking bright for mechanical engineers. Their employment is projected to increase by 11%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to the average rate for all professions of 4%. 

Pay for mechanical engineers depends heavily on the industry they’re in, but it’s generally quite strong. If you consider all industries, the average yearly salary hovers around $80,000 per year, according to the website Payscale. It’s worth noting that graduates from Pacific actually tend to outperform this metric, with annual salaries averaging over $100,000 in the first decade of their career.  

Across various industries, there are many roles which employers look to mechanical engineers to fill.  

Maintenance engineer

Maintenance engineers play an essential role for businesses that rely on industrial machinery and technical equipment, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and is operated according to safety regulations. They’re also responsible for handling system-wide maintenance and repair processes.  

It’s important to differentiate between maintenance engineers and maintenance technicians. Technicians are generally the people who do routine maintenance on equipment. Maintenance engineers deal with big picture issues: making sure a facility’s machinery runs optimally, training staff, managing budgets, planning system upgrades and so on.  

That’s not to say that maintenance engineers don’t get their hands dirty. They will often be involved in installing new equipment, running diagnostics on important equipment or handling major repairs. Depending on the company, some maintenance engineers may also carry out the duties of a technician.  

HVAC Engineer

If you’ve ever cranked on the air conditioning on a hot summer day, then you should thank an HVAC engineer. Short for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, HVAC systems control indoor temperature and air quality.  

HVAC engineers are the people who design, maintain or improve those systems. They’re essential for the construction of new buildings, taking into account the structure itself, its design, energy costs and the needs of future occupants.  

A school has very different HVAC needs than an apartment building. They also generally have very different budgets and may not adhere to the same safety and building codes. On top of all that, HVAC engineers need to know how a building’s design affects its air flow, heat load and heat loss. They’ll also oversee the system’s installation and ensure it works as intended.  

They may provide other services, too, like evaluating how well an already-installed HVAC system works and recommending improvements.  

Other career options

Mechanical engineering is one of the widest disciplines in engineering, and there are plenty of other roles that you could pursue, including:  

• Design engineer 

• Field service engineer 

• Project engineer 

• Production engineer 

• Controls engineer 

• Manufacturing engineer 

• Construction engineer 

• Launch manufacturing engineer 

• Design release engineer 

• Component engineer 

• Vehicle dynamics engineer 

Why study mechanical engineering at Pacific? 

Pacific’s mechanical engineering degree can help you take your first steps into an intellectually challenging and rewarding career. With an average class size of 24 people, you’ll become deeply enmeshed with both your peers and professors.  

 “It’s great having a personal connection with professors,” Rodarte said. “Having office hours, you know the professors and they know you. They’re willing to help you out whenever you need it.” 

Going to office hours can be intimidating, but it’s also an integral part of pushing your education forward. 

“Once I finally sucked it up and went, the rest of my time at school was so much easier,” said Wilcox. “They’re not judgy. They meet me halfway. They know, if I’m lacking in something, they can direct the class lecture according to what the students don’t understand.” 

It’s also important to nurture relationships with your peers. Friends you make in classes, clubs or other extracurriculars might become partners on a project. Members of Pacific’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers club, for example, brought their skills together to build a Formula One car from the ground up.  

Pacific’s professional learning opportunities

The other big reason to study at Pacific is the plethora of professional learning opportunities. The most notable is Cooperative Education program, known as CO-OP for short. Pacific partners with employers, which post CO-OP-exclusive internships on a job. board that students are able to apply and interview for.  

The paid internships, which last from six to eight months, can even be a first step into a post-graduation role. 

“Many times, I hear stories of students, once they come back, that continue to work part-time for these companies while they finish their degree here,” said Watson. “And when they’re done here, they go work for these companies.” 

You’ll also work on a senior project, designing a product or process that requires mechanical engineering in some way.  

There are also plenty of on-campus organizations you can join to learn alongside peers. Wilcox is the vice president of the Society of Women Engineers, which she was also involved in as an undergraduate at Pacific. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers provides another opportunity to work with people who have similar professional interests.  

Collaborative spaces

Pacific has over 30 laboratories on campus where you can use a variety of equipment, including a wind tunnel, a machine shop, materials testing machines and data acquisition systems.  

Dual-Degree program

Finally, some Pacific students fast track their pathway into graduate school through the university’s Master of Science in Engineering dual degree program. This program allows you to start taking graduate-level engineering courses as an undergraduate, shortening how long it takes to finish a master’s degree.  

Next steps

Mechanical engineering is a foundational discipline for engineering as a whole. Earning a degree can be the first step into a diverse array of work in nearly any technical industry you can name.  

Taking your first steps into a career can be tricky, so you’ll want to choose a program which gives you practical opportunities on top of classroom learning. It’s also important to find an internship to build experience and industry connections that will help you get your foot in the door.  

With the right combination of theoretical and practical learning, a mechanical engineering degree can help you land an interesting and exciting career. To see if Pacific is the right fit for you, you can find more information on Pacific’s mechanical engineering program’s webpage.  

We live in a world flush with electrical systems and electronics. Every day you use consumer goods like cell phones or microwaves, and every day you rely on hidden systems like GPS satellites and power grids. 

Our lives are so dependent on these goods and systems that it can be easy to take them for granted, but they don’t appear out of thin air. Electrical engineers are responsible for shaping the world around us. They worked on your car, the stoplight on the road, the systems bringing power to that stoplight and the facilities producing that electricity. 

Electrical engineers have a role in just about every industry you can imagine: telecommunications, computing, automotive, energy sector, signal processing and so on. Given that widespread need, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for electrical and electronics engineers will grow around 9% over the next decade.  

If you have strong math skills and want to be part of this network of innovators, an electrical engineering degree might be for you.  

Let’s take a broader look at the discipline and what opportunities it offers.  

Areas of focus within electrical engineering

Electric engineering includes a wide variety of subfields. Here are some major topics you can pursue within the discipline. 

• Power engineering 
  This is what most people imagine when they think of electrical engineering. Power engineers plan, design and maintain electrical power systems across residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Beyond the basics, they’re the ones who troubleshoot issues, make sure systems are in compliance with state and federal regulation and may also develop plans to increase energy efficiency.  

• Signal processing
  At its most basic, signal processing focuses on creating, transforming and analyzing information transmitted via electronic signals. The most obvious examples of this are radio and television, but signal processing technology is also essential for health care equipment, smartphones and many other consumer products. 

• Communication systems 
  This subfield focuses on the design and performance of communication systems and data networks of all kinds, which are essential for radio, TV, landline telephones and cellular phones.  

• Controls systems 
  Also known as control engineering, this subfield focuses on designing devices that manage or direct the behavior of other technologies and systems. These systems underlie basically all technologies we use every day: think of your car’s cruise control, your air conditioning or your washer and dryer.  

• Computer engineering 
  When we think of careers in computing, the most obvious option is computer science. But as important as software is, coding can’t work without an electronic device to run it. Computer engineers understand, work with and design computer hardware, architecture and network systems. 

• Microelectronics 
  The smart phone in your pocket is more powerful than the computer onboard Apollo 11’s spacecraft when it landed on the moon in 1969. Year after year, our electronics get smaller and more powerful. This is the realm of microelectronics, where engineers use special techniques to design smaller and cheaper transistors, integrated circuits and microchips.  
  
  These days, some components of those devices can measure only a few nanometers. For comparison, a strand of human DNA is just 2.5 nanometers in diameter.  

• Robotics 
  Robotics engineering sits at the nexus of electrical and mechanical engineering, and it calls upon several of the fields we’ve already discussed. Computer engineering, control systems and signal processing are just a few specializations needed in robotics. The need for robotics engineers is increasing as more industries, from car companies to hospitals, are finding uses for them. 

Electrical engineering vs. computer science 

There is considerable overlap between electrical engineering and computer science, so it can be hard to choose a path if you know you want to work with computers.  

Here’s a quick way to differentiate between the two: Electrical engineers who learn about computers mostly focus on the hardware and how those systems interact with each other and with the internet. Computer science, on the other hand, deals primarily with software, building programs or improving digital user interaction.  

For some jobs, there is a clear delineation between these skill sets. If you want to design computer hardware, for example, you will want to study electrical engineering (or consider computer engineering). On the other hand, you should probably study computer science if you’re fascinated by the possibilities of large language models or generative artificial intelligence. 

Jobs for graduates with electrical engineering degrees

Our world is dependent on electrical systems and electronics. Every sphere, from the home to the commercial space to telecommunications infrastructure, relies on some form of electrical engineering. Earning a degree will open doors for you across a wide array of industries. 

Broadcast engineer

Broadcast engineers are the people who keep TV and radio transmitting on the airwaves, bringing entertainment, sports, music or news to your devices. They’re responsible for managing, updating and troubleshooting the technologies that these stations depend on every day.  

A broadcast engineer in TV news, for example, will handle the hardware that receives media from the field — maybe a journalist’s report or live feed, footage from a helicopter or video from another news agency — and that also broadcasts the actual newscasts. 

It’s critical that broadcast engineers have a solid understanding of the equipment they work with. They’re the ones keeping an eye on cutting edge technologies and implementing them in their own workplaces. They’re also the ones who diagnose and solve problems when something technical goes wrong.  That means they need to handle pressure well, have a solid diagnostic ability and work efficiently.  

Circuit design engineer

Circuit boards are an essential component of electronic devices, found in everything from a simple calculator to a relatively complex smart TV. These boards contain wiring that connect and route electricity through components like microchips, transistors and diodes.  

Circuit design engineers work as part of a team to develop this fundamental hardware. Once they’re brought into the mix, they’ll use advanced tools to design a circuit board, taking into consideration the production budget, end goal and technical specifications. They’ll then test and refine their prototype until it meets the specifications set at the outset of the project.

Controls engineer

Unlike the others in this section, controls engineer doesn’t refer to a particular job. Instead, it encompasses a whole category of positions found across nearly every technological industry.  

A controls engineer may design, implement, optimize or maintain a control system, which is the technology that regulates how other devices or systems behave. A control system you might use quite often is your air conditioning. Using a number you input, air conditioners automatically measure the indoor temperature and then “communicate” with other devices that release cool or hot air.  

These systems can get incredibly complex, especially when you move from air conditioning into controls systems for production lines, automotive and aerospace technologies, harnessing clean energy or manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Whatever your interests are, there’s plenty of room to develop as a controls engineer.  

Other jobs electrical engineering can prepare you for 

• Electrical engineer (may require a master’s degree) 
• Electrical technician 
• Nano-electronics engineer 
• Sound engineer 
• Test engineer 
• Industrial technician 

Studying electrical engineering at Pacific

Whatever field you’re interested in, Pacific’s electrical engineering degree offers you a personalized education with a plethora of hands-on learning opportunities. 

The first thing to know is that you’ll mostly be in smaller classes. The university has a 14-to-1 ratio of students to faculty and an average class size of just 24 people. That means you’ll be getting a lot of one-on-one time with your professors to discuss classes, pitch ideas and get support for academic projects.  

The personal atmosphere was one of the draws for Rachel Wood ’13, a Pacific alumna who now works as an engineer at Honeywell Process Solutions.  

“I enjoyed the small classes, taught by professors rather than graduate students,” Wood said. “And I liked my adviser. She worked with me patiently and practically to make a curriculum plan that fit the goals of my study.” 

Students at Pacific also have plenty of opportunities to put their education to use. That means, after you graduate, you don’t need to sweat an entry-level job asking for previous experience. As a student, you’ll be able to use the university’s state-of-the-art labs where you can work with circuits, test equipment and further class projects.  

You’ll also be required to undertake a paid electrical engineering internship as part of the Cooperative Education program, also known as a CO-OP. It’s a chance to build your professional resume and network as you work in a full-time, paid internship for six to eight months.  

To prepare for the CO-OP, you’ll take a class where you’ll learn how to build a solid resume and improve your ability to interview. From there you’ll apply to positions posted on a job board exclusively for CO-OP students.  

In your senior year, you’ll also complete a senior project. As part of a team, you’ll come up with an idea, then develop, implement and refine it over the course of two semesters. This project and the CO-OP can help you show potential employers both your technical and your professional skills.  

Finally, there’s Pacific’s Master of Science in Engineering dual-degree program. Juniors and seniors who meet certain qualifications can apply to enter this program, which allows them to start graduate-level coursework while still an undergraduate.  

These features set Pacific’s electrical engineering degree apart, giving you the chance to find your passions and make your degree truly your own.  

As an engineer at Honeywell, Wood works primarily with battery energy storage systems, her engineering passion. She notes the field is growing, especially when paired with renewable energy or improving business resilience during power outages.  

“If you’re fascinated by electricity and you want to use your problem-solving skills to transition to cleaner, safer and more efficient electrical systems, then electrical engineering might be for you,” Wood said. “It has the power to make life better in the future — pun intended.” 

Next steps

Electrical engineers play an essential role in today’s world. Not only are they responsible for maintaining the systems vital to our everyday lives, but they’re also at the forefront of designing new and more efficient technology to adapt to our changing world. 

If you see yourself as part of that effort, Pacific’s electrical engineering program can help you learn the skills and build the experience needed to join its ranks.

Current job: Project manager, City of Stockton
Major: Engineering management
Hometown: Sunnyvale, California
Extracurriculars: Gamma Alpha Omega, SHPE, MESA

Jeniffer Morfin, a graduate of Pacific’s engineering management degree program, is a project manager with the City of Stockton. We spoke with Morfin about her experiences, her Cooperative Education (CO-OP) internship, her capstone project and how Pacific readied her for the job market. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.  

What made you decide to study engineering management at Pacific?  

I actually decided to enter the program when I was already at Pacific. In my high school I was always conflicted between engineering and science. And I tried that, but it wasn’t for me — the science path. And so I wanted to give engineering a chance. I spoke to — I believe it was Abel [Fernandez] or Mehdi [Khazaeli] — and I really loved what they had to say about the program.  

I felt like it was a really good balance between a lot of things. I mean, I’ve taken business classes. I’ve taken an economics class. I’ve taken a mechanical engineering, an electrical, a civil engineering class. I feel like the program allows you to be very well rounded.  

Why did you decide to study at Pacific in particular?  

What drew me to Pacific was the small faculty-to-student ratio. That made my mom very happy. She was also happy because there was tutoring offered. That was something I knew I was going to be needing. Knowing that I had all those resources was great.  

All of these resources made it a great fit for me. I knew I was going to need that additional support, and I felt like UoP was gonna give it to me, and help me succeed and learn. And I’m from Sunnyvale, so it was a good space from home but I could also go back.  

Can you talk about how you customized the program to fit your path? 

At first I was taking electrical engineering classes. My dad’s an electrician so I was like, “Ooh, let me take these classes.” But no. I learned the basics, but I wanted to learn something else. That’s when I started Civil 15, where you do AutoCAD and I was like, ‘this is fun!’  

And then I heard there were mechanical classes where you learn different programs. There’s Revit. I like to play the Sims and build stuff, and I found those classes so exciting — especially Revit and rendering.  

You have a lot of group projects. In every class I was in, you had some group projects. I feel like that also helps you with your communication skills, working with different personalities, different people. Really emphasizing that everyone has their own strengths in different things, but that’s what makes a team great.  

I can go on about the classes. You learn about the projects, timeline, budgets, scopes, all of that stuff. I feel like everything I learned has been very helpful to my career path.  

I was wondering If I could learn a little more about what you and your team did for your capstone project? 

I helped with the [School of Engineering and Computer Science’s] student success building. So they were like, “How can we convert this space to be beneficial for the students?” That’s what we worked on. We got to have outreach with the students, speak with the faculty.   

You might think renovating something is easy, but no. You have to fit everybody’s needs and wants into one space. And then also thinking about the budget. We had to make it into phases. Phase zero was no money: “Hey, let’s rearrange the furniture we have.” And we were actually able to do that.  

It involved a lot of outreach with the students and faculty. It was a really great experience. Like I mentioned, working in a team has really helped tremendously. It’s a real-world type of experience you get. It helps prepare for scenarios and situations that you can be in.  

Can you talk about what you did for your CO-OP? 

I loved my CO-OP! I went to Abbott, and I was a systems engineer. I would say, before my CO-OP, I was very shy. The CO-OP pushed me above my limits in the sense that I became a more confident individual in my work. Things that I had seen as weaknesses in myself became strengths.  

I had the chance to work with a cross-functional team. I had the chance to see the whole V&V — which is validation and verification — of the devices that they have. It was pretty much a project that I got to be in charge of: setting up for it, who are going to be the testers, how many hours does this take?  

A lot of my classes did come in handy in the sense of: “OK, you have a timeline. How long does this take, right? What are some risks? What are things you can think of?”  

I would say I learned a lot. I got pushed out of my comfort zone but not in a bad way. In a really, really good way. It made me become more confident in myself.  

I have nothing but great things to say about being able to do a CO-OP. It was a great experience. When you apply to jobs when you graduate, a lot of people are looking for some kind of experience. So it does help a lot.  

I was going to ask if you thought the program prepared you for your field.  

It definitely does. I actually didn’t end up doing anything in the biomedical field, but project management — you can apply that to a lot of things. Some people might be like, “oh, you’re engineering management. That might not apply to this and that.” But if you think about it, it does apply to many things.  

I worked at Bay Cities [Paving and Grading] my first year out of college, as a project engineer, where I was able to apply the things I learned at school. At my first big kid job, right? Even my CO-OP experience, it all helped out a lot.  

Now I’m a project manager for the parks division [at the City of Stockton], I find myself thinking, “Oh, this is the stuff that I learned back when I took these classes at UOP.” I would say it’s all tied together nicely.  

Were you involved in on-campus extracurricular activities at Pacific?  

Yes, I was. And I will tell anybody and everybody: if you are scared your freshman year to join something, do it.  

I waited until after I came back from the CO-OP. I started joining all kinds of things, because I still had a year left. I joined Gamma Alpha Omega and I will say: I found my forever friends. I just got married and they were my bridesmaids. They’re like sisters to me. Even my family is always asking about them.  

Another program I joined was SHPE [Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers]. That’s actually where I met my husband. Being a part of that was amazing. I got to meet forever friends, like I mentioned. It gave me a sense of a second home, as well.  

And MESA [Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement] as well, because I worked for MESA and was also a part of MESA. All of those programs were great. And I feel like I’m still connected with all of those people. I see everybody as family, because they have all been crucial in a big part of my life, which I’m forever grateful for.  

When engineering physics graduates interview for jobs, Professor Rahim Khoie says, they are often asked to explain their degrees. This is perhaps to be expected: the field of engineering physics is only a few decades old. Consequently, job applicants with Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering Physics applying for jobs are relatively rare, compared with those with mechanical engineering degrees, for example.

So, what is engineering physics? Formally a hybrid of mechanical and electrical engineering, Khoie says that it is a “physics-flavored engineering discipline.” It is a multidisciplinary, cross-functional engineering degree for students who love physics and want to work in industry — who want to understand the universe and its workings — down to its elements and who want to create tools that can improve peoples’ lives.  

Engineering physics majors receive a deeper education in physics and math than other engineering students, frequently taking math classes through Calculus III and applied differential equations, thermal physics, quantum mechanics and advanced electives in both subjects. These courses provide a strong theoretical and technical background to support future specialization.  

Applied physics vs. engineering physics: Engineering physics programs are usually housed in engineering schools, whereas applied physics programs are usually housed in a university’s school of arts and sciences. At University of the Pacific, engineering physics students get the best of both worlds, studying with professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and learning the fundamentals of engineering with professors in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. 

What can you do with an engineering physics degree?

An engineering physics degree prepares students for more technical jobs within physics or more theoretical engineering jobs, as well as for graduate school in physics or engineering.  

Interesting projects in college: Because it is an interdisciplinary field, engineering physics students work on projects that tend to be particularly interesting. Here are some examples of projects that engineering physics majors at Pacific have worked on:  

Two engineering physics majors built a device for measuring the performance of different types of nanoparticles used in solar stills to speed up the process of distilling salt water into fresh water. In this desalination process, nanoparticles absorb a wide spectrum of the available sunlight and make the surface of the water heat up faster than it otherwise would. The process has the potential to increase the availability of fresh water in communities without reliable access to potable water.

• Two engineering physics majors built a device for measuring the performance of different types of nanoparticles used in solar stills to speed up the process of distilling salt water into fresh water. In this desalination process, nanoparticles absorb a wide spectrum of the available sunlight and make the surface of the water heat up faster than it otherwise would. The process has the potential to increase the availability of fresh water in communities without reliable access to potable water.
• An engineering physics major worked with electrical and computer engineering majors to create a real-time display of local, national and global levels of carbon dioxide. They used a network of solar-powered sensors built by the students and placed locally in concert with data streams from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Another group of engineering students, including one in the engineering physics degree program, developed a method of tracking changes in water salinity and temperature in wetlands, to better understand water filtration in those areas. To do this, they built a net of floating nodes with sensors that could monitor and store data. 

Graduate school: An engineering physics degree is good preparation for graduate studies in both engineering fields and physics. Students have a variety of options if they wish to pursue further education:  

• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering: Because an engineering physics degree program introduces students to electrical and mechanical engineering, graduate school in either discipline would be a logical next step for students who want to pursue higher-level careers in either area. 
  • Some MSE degrees are offered in blended programs, where some graduate coursework can be completed during a student’s undergraduate years. They can also be obtained as stand-alone degrees.  
  • Some programs require a thesis and others don’t; others let you choose. A thesis-track MSE can be good preparation for a PhD, whereas a non-thesis MSE can provide more immediate career benefits.  
• MS or PhD in physics: An engineering physics program might convince you to pursue pure physics, at either the master’s degree or doctoral level.  

Engineering physics jobs: The engineering physics curriculum prepares students to work in fields where technology is changing rapidly, salaries are competitive, and the boundaries of several traditional engineering disciplines overlap, such as: 

• Robotics: Working in robotics will draw on your ability to program and to build electrical circuits and other electronic components. Familiarity with AI is a plus, as are the critical thinking skills you’ll develop while you obtain your engineering physics degree. 
• Mechatronics: This field combines mechanical engineering and electronics, so engineering physics graduates are well-suited to it. People in this field work in manufacturing  creating electronic parts, products and tools. 
• Micromachines: Micromachines are machines built at microscopic scale that perform a variety of tasks. Some are sensors, which can identify chemicals or detect types of movement, and others serve other functions, including as actuators or as part of gears and lever systems.  
• Laser physics: Many jobs in laser physics and photonics—whether working with semiconductor lasers or for a defense contractor—are engineering-oriented. Gaining practical experience by making the most of your labs and doing internships in industry is key if you want to work in this field. 
• Medical instrumentation: Medical instrumentation engineers design, create and maintain a wide variety of medical devices, such as sensors that can detect the presence of proteins or other substances in blood to help with disease diagnosis and management, or machines that can be used in hospitals and doctors’ offices to improve patient care. 

CO-OP HIGHLIGHT

Mark Castaneda ’25

After completing an internship at NASA Goddard in 2022, Castaneda was accepted into the highly selective NASA Pathways program. Students hired for Pathways work multiple positions and branches while completing their studies, then continue their work full-time upon graduation. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT MARK

Engineering physics at Pacific 

Engineering physics students take classes in both the School of Engineering and Computer Science and in the physics and mathematics departments in College of the Pacific.  

First and second years: During their first year and second year, engineering physics students take classes across the university to fulfill their general education requirement and begin taking classes to fulfill their major requirements. 

Third year: Like most other engineering majors, engineering physics students are required to participate in Pacific’s CO-OP program, which sets students up with two-semester paid internships to gain hands-on experience which they can add to their resumes, and which prepares them for the professional world they’ll enter when they graduate. Engineering physics majors frequently work for chip manufacturers like NVIDIA.  

Fourth year: All engineering students are required to do a two-semester-long senior design project, working with other students from other engineering disciplines to design and build a product with a useful function. The examples of student projects given above are a sampling of senior design projects from Pacific’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. Students also complete the other requirements for their major. 

MSE dual-degree option: Pacific’s engineering physics students have the option to begin the coursework for a Master of Science in Engineering degree while they are undergraduates, shortening the length of time it would take to earn the graduate degree (and reducing its cost).  

Engineering Physics

Pacific’s engineering physics degree program educates you to work in areas where technology is changing rapidly and where the boundaries of traditional engineering disciplines overlap.

Learn how to apply

When University of the Pacific computer science student Ethan Perez ’25 started developing his own video game, he never imagined how far the project would go. Today, with a team of three fellow computer science majors, his ambitious vision is taking shape as VR Mech Wars, a virtual reality game that blends gaming with fitness in a creative way. 

VR Mech Wars is not just a game; it’s an “exer-game” designed to entertain players while encouraging physical activity. Using an innovative omni-directional treadmill, players physically walk through the game’s environments while battling enemies, earning points and upgrading their arsenal. The game exemplifies how hands-on learning and teamwork can push the boundaries of what’s possible in computer science. 

Building skills, one challenge at a time 

Perez credits the computer science program at Pacific for giving him the foundation he needed to tackle such an ambitious project. “It has prepared me immensely,” he said. “I focused my courses on game development, which gave me the core fundamentals of computer science and application development. That knowledge has been critical.” 

However, turning an idea into reality isn’t without challenges. With experimental technology comes a host of obstacles, from programming issues to game design dilemmas. Each member of Perez’s team brings unique talents and, together, they’ve found innovative solutions to keep the project moving forward. 

Teamwork makes the vision work 

One early hurdle was incentivizing exercise within the game. Team member Kyra Comstock ’25 took the lead on creating a rewarding point system that encourages players to keep moving. “Finding ways to make gaming beneficial for exercise is very important to me,” Comstock said. “I see this becoming huge in the gaming industry.” 

Ethan Donnelly ’24 tackled another key component: the in-game store system. “You’ll have shops where you can upgrade weapons using the points you earn from walking,” Perez explained. “Players love being able to enhance their gameplay experience.” 

Meanwhile, Koby Naomi Izunaso ’25 manages the research side of the project, including developing player feedback surveys and drafting a research paper. This work not only supports the game’s development but also builds valuable academic and professional skills. “We’re learning to script in different languages and map diverse environments,” Izunaso said. “These are skills we’ve developed independently through this project.” 

Mentorship and independent learning 

Although the team meets weekly with computer science professor Daniel Cliburn for guidance, the project is primarily a student-led capstone experience. This balance of mentorship and independence allows the team to develop critical professional skills—from problem-solving to project management—while still having access to expert advice. 

“It’s very multidisciplinary,” Perez said. “There’s audio design, texturing and artistic elements, but the most important part, in my opinion, is computer science. Without it, this wouldn’t be a game; it would just be a movie.” 

Keeping players engaged 

The team’s ultimate goal is to create a game that captivates players beyond the novelty of VR and the treadmill. They’ve put significant effort into designing a balanced reward system and a variety of immersive environments to ensure the game remains engaging. 

“VR and the treadmill could easily become a gimmick that players lose interest in after five minutes,” Perez said. “That’s why we’ve focused so much on making the gameplay rewarding and diverse.” 

Advice for aspiring computer science students 

Perez encourages high school students considering computer science to approach the field with an open mind. “Don’t feel like you have to settle on a specific path right away,” he said. “My experience at Pacific has been centered on video game development, which I love. This focused approach has made it easier to pursue a discipline I’m passionate about.” 

With the guidance of their professor and their shared determination, Perez and his team continue to refine VR Mech Wars. For these students, the project is more than a game—it’s a testament to the power of hands-on learning and the exciting possibilities in computer science.