Momentum - March 2020 - 20

CAREER PATH

OCCUPATIONAL BENEFITS OF
COMPETING IN TECHNICAL
COLLEGIATE COMPETITIONS
I have been a faculty advisor
for Pittsburg State University's
SAE Baja team for the past
20 years. Over this time frame,
PSU has competed in at least
one Baja competition yearly,
as well as hosted the event in
2011, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
As a professional in a
technical field, you will be
tasked with many projects
and responsibilities that may
not have been addressed in
the curriculum within your
academic coursework. If your
department or university
has student organizations
that compete, especially
in technically oriented
competitions, I would strongly
urge you to become involved.
Students that participate
in technical collegiate
competitions set themselves
apart from their colleagues
in ways that can only be
achieved by participating in
a group project-especially
a group project that has a
competitive element, as all
of the SAE Collegiate Design
Series competitions do.
Today's workforce is more
complex and demanding
than ever before. In order to
compete in today's job market,
students need to be equipped
with complex problem-solving
skills and hands-on experience
before graduation. While the
formal classroom provides
knowledge in basic skills
and in some cases handson learning, this may not be
enough to be competitive

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2003_Career Path_18-20.indd 20

in industry. Students need
to be engaged in practical
situations in order to improve
communication, acquire
leadership abilities, learn to
work with others to solve
problems, and apply criticalthinking skills. These skillsets
are required by industry to
be a productive employee in
today's market.
While it is possible for
students to successfully
enter the job market without
participation in academic
collegiate student clubs
and organizations, research
suggests that those that do
have an advantage when
it comes to entry-level
employment. In order to
develop communication,
leadership, critical-thinking,
and problem-solving skillsets,

students must be engaged
in activities outside the
classroom.
Academic collegiate
student organizations provide
opportunities for students
to explore activities outside
the traditional classroom.
Students participate in
situations where they work
with others to complete
a common goal or task
that may help them to
develop skills desired by
industry. By participation
in academic student
competitions, students
are given opportunities to
learn and apply leadership
skills, problem solving,
communication, and critical
thinking by applying
classroom knowledge to
situations and problems that

they are likely to encounter in
the workforce.
In short, participation
in technical collegiate
competitions serves as
an avenue for students to
explore their field of study,
learn skillsets outside of the
classroom, and gain real-life
experiences. Students will
be able to draw from these
opportunities and experiences
when interviewing for entrylevel positions, as well as
assist them as they begin their
careers in industry.
Dr. Trenton
Lindbloom, faculty
advisor for the
Pittsburg State
University Baja
SAE team, wrote
this article for
MOMENTUM.

MOMENTUM

2/17/20 10:53 AM
https://careercenter.sae.org/
Momentum - March 2020

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