going back to school to get BA in mechanical engineering 4

[puresteam]

Can anyone give me an idea on what I should expect from engineering courses at the college level.I was in the residential hvac business for about 4years and now I'm currently a stationary engineer.I've been to alot of classes and training but I know that this will be nothing like any of those.Any advice would be helpful.

thanks

 

[strokersix]

Be prepared to do a lot of math. Get as many transferable credits as you can from junior college so you can avoid competition from other students in the lower level courses.

 

[TheTick]

Never seen a BA in mech eng program. Plenty of BSME programs.

You will be doing lots of math. Resurrecting an old, rusty math machine can be painful.

 

[puresteam]

yeah i meant BSME not BA THANKS

 

[TheTick]

I think a lot depends on your attitude. If you think you will enjoy learning how and why things work (especially the things you've worked on before), then I think you will be happy.

Your practical experience will be useful. However, try to avoid the "where am I going to use this" mentality when you go through more theoretical courses. I don't use it all, but I do use plenty of it.

All the world is springs and energy balances.

 

[moltenmetal]

I'd like to qualify what TheTick said: I'd argue that you should, indeed MUST, continually ask yourself "where am I going to use this" while you're getting your education. Making your education relevant while you're getting it takes information and turns it into useful knowledge. That's why co-op experience is so valuable. In your case, you have at least four years of industrial experience to draw on to make your education relevant to you. With the proper attitude, that can be a rare gift which can make you a superb engineer.

What you must NOT do is to conclude, from the perspective of a student, that the answer "I don't know" or "I can't imagine" equates to "therefore there's no point in paying attention to this"! Sure, there's some garbage in every educational program, but there was precious little in my own.

By the way, we don't get B.A.s or B.Sc.s in engineering here, we get B.A.Sc.s (Bachelor of APPLIED Science).

 

[TheTick]

Well stated, MM.

 

[KENAT]

I agree with the above, lots of math and certain aspects so theoretical it can be difficult to imagine applying it.

Are you looking at staying in HVAC? Don't expect many of your initial classes to be directly applicable to this specific field.

You'll probably get a very broad education rather than a very detailed, specific one.

If we're getting picky about what kind of Bachelors, if you went to university in the UK you'd probably get a real engineering degree: BEng - Bachelors of Engineering.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[carnage1]

My specific questions are:
How comfortable are you with calculus?
Can you use some of your classes you have taken to satisfy some of your BSME requirements?

Luck is a difficult thing to verify and therefore should be tested often. - Me

 

[tygerdawg]

Don't be intimidated by comments about mathematics. It is simply a tool one uses to do engineering. Embrace, polish, and practice it until it comes naturally. Take those remedial courses first before you dive into an engineering program if at all possible.

And ultimately, as I have preached to students before, surviving a 4-year engineering program will change how your brain works and teach you one thing: how to solve problems.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[SomptingGuy]

There are a couple of universities in England that offer a BA degree in engineering. Quite tough to get into though!

- Steve

 

[KENAT]

Plus they'd only take 3 years to get, right Sompting.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[SomptingGuy]

I wouldn't know about those places. You know I'm a Limp grad ;-)

- Steve

 

[puresteam]

Thanks guys for all the helpful information and feedback I greatly appreciate it and will hold on to it.Also I wanted to ask how long would it take to finish if I went part time, because right now i'm waiting for my wife to finish school before I start and I must work full time to make ends meet.

 

[Mr168]

All depends. You need to look at what courses are required, number of credit hours, if any distance learning courses are offered, scheduling as far as time of day, winter/spring semester only, etc. To do a full 4 year degree part time, you could be looking at anything from 5 1/2 years to 8 years and beyond.

 

[jistre]

Day late and a dollar short, but be aware that as you progress from the prerequisites into the engineering courses, there will be courses with required lab periods that might last an entire afternoon and be given only one day a week. Further, the class itself may be offered only once a year. This might make getting through the last few high level courses part time take longer just because of how rarely these courses are offered and the fact that you likely won't be able to take night classes due to the labs. I know at my university there were zero engineering courses offered at night. Prerequisites, yes, engineering, no.

The point is that to offset this, when you do enroll, load up your schedule as much as you feasibly can with all of your prerequisites and don't waste time with them.

 

[puresteam]

thanks guys for the feedback

Your attitude determines your altitude

 

[VibeAC]

I did something similar. I had a BA in acoustics and audio and worked for 3 years doing acoustical consulting in the building/construction industry.

I decided to go back and did a BS and then MS in mechanical. I would say that the first year was the most challenging: math, physics, statics, dynamics, etc. I spent a lot of time studying and did not have a job. The amount of study time required will to some extent depend on your current level of math and engineering knowledge.

On the plus side, think I got a lot more out of it than my younger classmates (...I was hungrier), and I was better at managing my time.

Good luck!!!

Andrew Gorton, MSc
Noise & Vibration Consultant

http://www.PapadimosGroup.com