This is my advice to Undergraduates.  Of course, it is based on my personal experiences and thoughts.  Others might have different, but equally valid, opinions.

How do you create the most value for yourself out of an NCSU education?

First of all, get a Masters Degree. In ECE, having a Masters degree will lead to a lifetime earnings increment of at least several hundred thousand dollars and leads to much more interesting jobs. If at all possible, do it full time. I see many part time students suffer after 3 years of working AND studying. Seriously consider our 5 year BS/MS program.   This is a clear winner.  If you are capable of it, get an MS degree.

Consider the areas that tend to lead to the most return. In rough order, these are IC design (with full custom (analog, RF, digital) circuit design leading pure digital [i.e. HDL-based to ASICs or FPGAs design], then Computer Aided IC Design (CAD),  followed by embedded SW, followed by generic SW and board level design. Frankly, you usually need an MS degree to get into IC design, except possibly some FPGA activities.  MEMS design and fabrication continues to go well too.  

Develop a specialized skill that is not taught at most Universities. My PhD students that have developed detailed knowledge of the Cadence tools have attracted a premium. It is hard for me to specify a topic here, but other possibilities include becoming an expert in Signal Integrity, High speed circuit design, Analog Circuit Design, Synposys Design Compiler, in DSP as applied to Datacom, in PLLs, etc.  There are a number of specialized activities that do not have a large supply of skilled practictioners.

OK, I am not doing a Masters, what Senior Courses should I take?

Again, I am biased but I would go for a combination of depth and breadth while building up a more-than-solid SW resume. I would pick up topics in embedded systems, DataCom, RF, Circuits, and even control, no order implied. 463 has solid SW projects, while 460 builds up solid interfacing skills. We have provided more recommendations on the Analog Alliance web pages.

Should I consider a Ph.D.?

Deciding to do a Ph.D. is a very personal issue and a difficult one to generalize on. Frankly, I would advise any of you with a 3.7 or better GPA to seriously consider it. Why?

1. It proves something to yourselves and others.

2. It buys you your freedom. Ph.D.'s get treated different than others, even in Industry. Trust me - you'll value this freedom one day. As an over-generalization, BS graduates test things, MS graduates design things, while PhD graduates work out what to build next and how to build it. i.e. The tend to be the most forward looking, and get the greatest freedom to explore new topics, while MS graduates tend to be expected to stay in one technical area and be constantly designing and redesigning.

3. The Ph.D. process is fun. You get to do something very technical in a very free environment.

4. You can be a Professor one day. OK, you hate us now, but seriously its a very satisfying job. However, I will point out that most of our Ph.D.'s go to industry.

What is the downside? You spend 3+ years on a low salary after finishing your MS. You eventually make this loss back but it takes a few years. It is also a serious challenge. Good people rise to it though.

On this topic, your lifetime earnings will be definitely higher, and your starting salary is very likely to be higher than an MS with similar experience. Also you will be afforded more career growth opportunities (in general), even access to the management rungs in highly technical companies.

Feel free to question myself or any of my students on my web page if you have any questions about the PhD.