getting second bachelor's degree? 2

[mechmama]

I'm curious if anyone on the forum has two bachelor's degrees in engineering?

If yes, anyone get a second degree many years after the first? What was your reason?

I'm toying with the idea of taking some EE classes via a distance program, although I don't know if I'd go for the full degree.

For me, the reason is because it's starting to look like having me manage & develop my spouse's growning electrical service business might be more financially lucrative than staying on my mechanical engineering career path. I don't NEED an EE degree to manage electricians, but as a typical engineer I just need to know things about what I do. I could see growing the business in a direction where we might want an EE on staff someday, and I'd like to be able to talk the talk.

This is all in the pipe dream stage for me right now, but I'd love to hear if anyone else has made a discipline switch.

Thanks!

 

[csd72]

You may consider just doing self study instead.

The following website has professional development lectures that are free if you dont need the pdh:

http://www.pdhengineer.com/Course Web/Electrical/index.htm

 

[plasgears]

My favorite boss had both ME and EE degrees, and he was very effective in electromechanical products. He functioned as Dir/Eng in a medium size company.

Collecting other eng degrees is not as difficult as it may seem. You have already got the makings of at least 2/3 of the EE. Go for it.

 

[mendinho]

Hey, I have got a 5-year degree in civil engineering from my local university. Then I have got an MSc in the UK. And currently I am studying for a 5-year degree in IT engineering at the Spanish Open University. Certainly, this is going to take some time but I do not see this as a waste of time. What is more, in Continental Europe masters are expensive but not so popular and good as in the States or the UK and a PhD is considered too theoretical. In fact, you can find many politicians and managers that have two main degrees. It is not so weird.

http://NotOnlyBridges.blogspot.com

 

[p14175]

I have a BS in Computational Mathematics and recently completed a BS in Manufacturing Engineering. I wanted to go for an MS in MfgEng, but that would have meant a reduced number of classes in the subject and I wanted to learn as much as I could.

Getting the second degree was pretty easy. All I had to take was the core classes for the program plus a couple of global awareness classes my math program missed.

Linda

 

[kpressley]

I have an ASEET degree, BSEET degree and a BS Computer Science degree. I had worked in electrical engineering for about five years programming PLCs and designing manufacturing equipment control systems and decided that with movement in the industry toward Programmable Automation Controllers and PC-Based control, I wanted my programming to be more professional, so I went back for the Computer Science degree. The second degree has helped me greatly, especially since I have to work closely with the IT department to network all of our PLCs and Industrial PCs for data collection.

I think that if the second degree will complement the work that you are currently doing and you are willing to invest the time and money required then do it. It also looks great on a resume.

Regards,
Ken

 

[Senselessticker]

About getting an EE degree as a means to "have a background" in electrical engineering relative to the electrical contracting world... The degree will offer very little practical knowledge regarding technical matters associated with the kind of challenges and problems which you will encounter in the industry.

The EE degree will give you the ability to understand many of the fundamental concepts in electrical power distribution, code requirements, etc... but until you spend a number of years actually "doing" the work under the supervision of an experienced electrical power type of engineer, the knowledge gained from the degree is practically worthless.

I'm not saying a degree in EE degree is bad (I have one). But the degree does not qualify anyone to make judgement calls regarding technical/safety matters in the electrical contracting/service work. Only in the right kind of "real world" experience can someone gain thay type of knowledge.

If given an experienced electrician vs. a rookie "electrical engineer" regarding electrical safety or technical understanding, I'd put money on the electrician ten-thousand to one.

If you simply want to be able to "talk the talk"... just go read up on the NEC, any local codes, and the IEEE color series books, then go pull wire with the electricians for a year or so... and you could probably even find some kind of local classes which will bring you up to speed on the basics.

If you want to bring a degreed EE on staff to oversee electrical safety and troubleshoot technical issues... then you should hire an experienced (and licensed) field engineer who has been around the block a few times (and whose boots are generally dirty from being in the field - not a design engineer who has sat behind a desk for years).

Again, an EE degree is a wonderful thing. But it does very little good (if any at all) to prepare someone to oversee electrical contracting type work regarding technical issues and safety.

So.... if you are just wanting some respect from the guys in the field, just read a little and go pull some wire with them for awhile...

If you want to oversee their work from a technical and/or safety perspective, then get an EE degree... then spend about 10 years or so (under supervision of an experienced electrical/power type PE) doing calcs (load studies, short circuit, arc flash, coordination, lightning protection, conduit fills, box fills, conductor sizing, voltage drop, etc... ), performing design, writing construction and equipment specs, writing safety procedures, overseeing installation, performing field testing, learning the dark art of electrical grounding, and of course still spend a great deal of time in the field getting your hands dirty (pull wire, stand in ditches, hang pipe, make terminations... all while getting your arse chewed out by the electrical installation supervisor for being the engineer that screwed up the design). Meanwhile, make friends with the local equipment vendors, and be sure to fill out the accident report after someone hits a live wire or catches a blast from an arc flash incident (be sure to go visit him/her in the hospital and/or send flowers to the funeral)..... then - after all this, your're probably going to be well prepared make judgement calls on technical/safety matters in the field of the electrical contracting world...

 

[Senselessticker]

I was just reading some post more carefully above... I'm assuming the electrical work is performed by at least journeyman electricians? Please don't tell me you have a business doing electrical service work (of any kind) where no certifications are in place...

 

[electricpete]

Just to brainstorm, there might be a few other alternatives out there:

1 - Is it possible you might jump straight from BSME into an MSEE instead of BSEE?

It seems to me that BS then MS is the typical projection. I'm pretty sure I have heard of people with a BS in one discipline and MS in another. I have the sense that an MSEE might possibly be easier than a BSEE degree from the standpoint of total time and effort required, although I haven't investigated thoroughly. Note that an MS program typically includes room for some undergraduate courses, so you could stack some undergraduate EE courses toward the front of your program. Also, in my case, the courses I took in a BS program were mostly theoretical with not a lot of applications and the courses in my master's program tended to be more closely aligned to toward specific technologies and applications and somewhat more practical (although not any easier).

2 - Another alternative would be an MSME with a healthy dose of EE courses.

3 - Yet another alternative:
3A - focus on getting your PE
3B - take just a few courses (but not a degree program) to learn exactly what you are interested in electrical. Might include community college tech courses where you can get some good hands-on instruction.

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