Introduction
For many engineering students, graduation marks the end of a long academic journey. For Megan Thomas, it was an opportunity to go one step further.
While earning her bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from Oregon State University, Thomas chose to enroll in the Accelerated Master’s Program, which allowed her to stay for an additional year and complete a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree. The decision gave her the opportunity to deepen her technical expertise, build on valuable industry experience, and prepare for a career in semiconductor design. Today, she is putting those skills to work as a hardware engineer at Apple.
"Being able to specialize more in certain topics and interact more with professors in a smaller classroom setting was really valuable," she said. "It also gave me an extra year to do more internships, which gave me more time to figure out where I wanted to head in industry."
A fascination with how complex systems work
Thomas's path to electrical and computer engineering was shaped by a fascination with understanding how complex systems work. Initially, she thought she might pursue biology, but eventually recognized that the aspects of the field she enjoyed most were closely connected to engineering.
“What interested me about biology was really the systems and processes,” she said. “I realized I could find that same big-picture thinking in engineering.”
She found a natural fit in electrical and computer engineering, particularly in the way computers and semiconductor devices are built from interconnected components.
“I enjoyed the physics, the math, and the process of breaking down problems,” Thomas said. “Computer engineering felt like understanding the anatomy of a computer and a chip.”
MEng electrical and computer engineering ’26
Blue Primary, Yellow Secondary
Turning internships into a career at Apple
As she progressed through Oregon State's program, Thomas became increasingly interested in semiconductor design. But it wasn't until she stepped into industry that she fully understood the breadth of opportunities available within electrical and computer engineering.
Her first internship came with Intel, where she worked in pre-silicon chip design. The experience exposed her to a specialized area of engineering that is difficult to fully replicate in the classroom, helped her connect coursework to real-world applications, and pointed her in the direction she wanted to pursue.
“That internship really kicked off my career,” she said.
Choosing an industry-focused master’s degree
By her third year as an undergraduate at Oregon State, Thomas began taking upper-division electives and thinking seriously about graduate education. She considered pursuing a Master of Science degree, particularly because she had done research in a lab on campus, including work in printed electronics. Ultimately, however, she realized research was not the best fit for her interests.
Instead, she chose Oregon State's Master of Engineering program, which offered an industry-focused curriculum. The format appealed to her because it provided additional technical depth without requiring a research thesis.
The program also gave her the opportunity to take advanced coursework aligned with her growing interest in chip design.
“I felt like the additional year of schooling helped me really master some of the subjects I was interested in and dive deeper into electrical engineering,” Thomas said.
Another benefit of the MEng program was the chance to participate in two additional internships. Through a second internship at Intel and an internship a few months later at Apple, she discovered a passion for chip development and system-on-chip design. Across her three internships, she was involved in design verification, power-related chip integration, automation, and timing analysis, experiences that strengthened both her technical skills and career goals.
Looking back, Thomas was satisfied with how everything has turned out. "I think it was the best decision for me, career-wise, to pursue my master's right out of college in that accelerated fashion," she said.
