Quote Originally Posted by Kiwi Stoker View Post

If you know what you want to do at university, just go and do it. Even if you don't quite know but defineitely want to go, do it as the first year is really feeling out the direction you want to take, what department and lecturers are good etc.
This.

I recruit engineers directly out of college (it's the main part of my job) into a technical field. I can tell you that if she wants to be an engineer, it helps tremendously to show purpose and direction in her schooling...even at the HS/Bachelors level. Hiring managers look at that when they look at resumes...particularly for recent grads.

This doesn't mean that she has to go directly to college, but if she wants to and is ready, I would encourage it. If she wants to take a year or two off, then I would HIGHLY recommend spending that time working in a related field. If she can score internships, great...but those can be very hard to come by for HS students. Something like Americorps or working for Habitat for Humanity would probably be a good option for her civil engineering aspirations.

Another thing to consider is that sometimes taking time off and then going back will make it harder academically when your focus is math and science. Ask me how I know this!

Lastly, (and somewhat unrelated to your actual question)...as she starts out in her college degree, someone, somewhere along the line (or a lot of people, like in my case) will tell her that grades are not as important as experience. They'll try to convince her that A's don't matter and that employers would rather see a well rounded student experience instead. That is dead wrong when it comes to engineering. Well-rounded experiences are good, but again, engineering managers like to see purpose, direction and an ability to focus on the task at hand. Good grades AND good relevant experience will point to that. A's will open doors both during her academic career and afterward.