Securing professional careers through structured interactions between higher education and the work-place

A graduate engineer today can expect to have four to six different types of work in his/her career. Preparing for the future is a continual process, and without proper preparation a plateaued status is imminent increasing vulnerability to a RIF. Sometimes stagnation and RIFs are inevitable if an organization fails to meet competition, but these situations can be minimized through strategic preparation by both employers and professional employees. The thesis of this paper is that the best preparation for both career stability and advancement of professionals and organizational profitability is planned integration of academic and on-the-job learning experiences.<>