I will assume for simplicity's sake this is advice for undergraduate students or incoming undergraduate students in MSE.
In essence, I would begin with finishing prereqs OUTSIDE of a classical 4 yr university in places such as a community college while doing high school in the for of dual credit (or whatever other name is used in their home state). This, in turn, would mean that 1) you pay less for credits that transfer towards your degree (make sure to check for a WRITTEN document on the matter), 2) opens up time slots to either change majors later if needed, or finishing earlier if so desired.
Additionally, I would recommend the student seek PAID positions in their professor's labs throughout their stay in college. Which allows for them to accrue paid experience, which in turn, helps them in their quest for internships (which translates to a better chance of employment after graduation). Moreover, I would also instruct the student to seek to do any homework they have IN ADVANCE if a syllabus is given of their entire semester's HW requirements. That way, you can turn around and teach the procrastinating students (for a fee, favors or food) what you learned well in advance so that you yourself become more proficient at the topic as well (you retain 90% of the material you teach whereas you only retain about 30% when you learn it from someone else). This allows you to retain topics a lot more permanently which will serve you if you take something like the Fundamentals in Engineering (FE, previously known as the Engineering in Training exam) if you decide to prepare for the Professional Engineering Exam (PE Exam).
Next, the student will have to decide if they are interested in research as a career long term, or private industry after college. In my experience, no employer wants to take on a newly minted engineer, so you have to look for any job (yes, pay will be low) that ACTUALLY accepts new engineers and trains them (so long as it is a genuine engineering position). However, more likely than not, the student in either scenario will probably need to get their Masters at least.
I could probably go on longer about steps afterwards, but once the student gets to the point described, they probably have a good enough idea as to what they plan on doing and why.
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Hugh Shortt
University of Tennessee Knoxville
Knoxville TN
(832) 350-2577
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