Technician to Engineer 3

[Panther140]

Hello folks,

I've been an engineering tech for about one year now. I have been looking inward and realizing that I want to become more involved with engineering. I work in a test lab and I have enjoyed it, but I want more. The work I am doing has been composed of repetitive tasks in the past few months, and I am starving for a creative outlet at work. I was working toward an associate degree when I was hired into this job, and I think I am going to have to continue formal education.

I am thinking of a few paths right now:
-Finish AAS in electromechanical technology
-Finish AAS in mechanical design technology
-Go to community college and get an associates with an emphasis in engineering (this sets me up to finish BSME)

What do you recommend I do and why? I am looking for other perspectives, but my goal is to work with ideas and remain within this same engine manufacturer. I have considered job shadowing

 

[testing]

@Panther140: Did the tech school tell you the classes would transfer or did someone at the state school? I'd only truly trust the answer you get from an advisor at the state school to make sure you don't waste time/money on classes that won't transfer in the end.

 

[Panther140]

zwtipp05, there are a few resources I looked through this with. There are transfer agreements between the schools, and they provide a wizard you can use to look up which of the tech school credits will transfer to a given department at the state school.

Then you can look at articulation agreements to find more details on how each class will roll into the general engineering program, and how it changes the process of going into the mechanical engineering program.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[GroovyGuy]

Howdy Panther140,
I was in the same boat at you are now (albeit a few decades ago). At that time I had been working for a few years after receiving a (2-year) diploma of technology. I loved my job, but I knew that if I wanted to make it into a great career, I would need to go back to school and complete an engineering degree. I enrolled in a 2-year university program that was geared to take a technologist, such as myself in, and turn them into an engineer. I handed in my notice at work, and to my surprise, my employer offered a considerable financial incentive as long as I agreed to work for them after obtaining my engineering degree. I took them up on that offer, and have never looked back. It was the best decision I ever made, other than marrying my wife, who I met at university.

If you're young, as I believe you are, now is the time to do it, before marriage, mortgage and kids take over your life (these are nice problems to have).

Education is something that no one can ever take away from you - it's yours for life.

I told my daughter the same; she is now completing a doctorate in nursing.

Good luck to you!

 

[Panther140]

Update: After a lot of investigating on which classes transfer to where, and what prereqs I need, I am back in school. I haven't told anybody that I work with, not even my boss. I already paid for it out of my own pocket. I'm going to mention it in my performance review in 3 weeks. I'll ask him if I can get some financial assistance from the company for the rest of it.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[IRstuff]

Well, congratulations!! That's a good start that will need lots of dedication and follow-through

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
faq731-376 forum1529

 

[Tunalover]

I attended a Maryland CC first in a "Marine Technology" program then in an "EE Technology" program for three semesters. I switched to EE Tech because my ill-informed advisor told me that it was "electrical engineering". Of course it wasn't but I was too naive then to know the difference. When I called the university about transfer credits and sent them a list of course titles and descriptions. They told me that, while a few would transfer as GURs or electives, the technical classes would not transfer for engineering credit.

I learned much too late that I should have signed up for the "Pre-Engineering" program that gives you the first two years of any BS Engineering program at the university. Things may have changed since then but all BS <insert specialty here> Engineering students in the State of Maryland public university system had to complete the same coursework in the first two years. This coursework was fully transferable from any state CC to any state university in the system. The great advantage I had at the CC was that the instructors there were EDUCATORS not RESEARCHERS. I learned the material much better because the instructors were better and I was deficient in some areas. At the university the attitude of some of the professors, at least in the junior year, was "sink or swim" and "I'll throw everything at you to weed you out of the curriculum". Some were callous about it too because it appeared that they resented having to "teach" classes rather than devote their full efforts to their research. Some of these guys were really crappy teachers.

On another subject, if you like to work with your hands while improving your chances of landing an engineering job, you can always get a BSMET or, say, a BSEET. Some companies will hire your as an engineer, if not as a new grad, but maybe later after you've spent some time in an engineering environment doing low-level engineering work. Some of the best EEs I've ever worked with gained years of experience as technicians before earning their BBEET's or BSEEs. My boss at one job held a BSMET and was a really sharp design engineer!

Good luck in your endeavors regardless of which path you choose!

Bruce






Tunalover

 

[Panther140]

Thank you! My only intent is to get a BSME. I know that I won't be satisfied without that.

And yes, you're right to draw attention to advisement. Some advisors are effectively racketeers. You need to know exactly what you are getting into before you even go to a school. Your advisor doesn't care about you as much as you care about yourself, they do not bear the consequences if a wrong decision is made, and there is almost nothing holding them accountable. Most of them are good and want to help, but I'll never enroll in a course without certainty that it will provide what I need.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[MacGyverS2000]

I did somewhat similar, tuna... attended the local CC before transferring to U of F. All of my basic classes were done (well, sort of... still had to take a couple of boring history classes and such), and the vast majority of my work was in core classes. Saved me a lot of grief in the long run.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[HamburgerHelper]

I hope your current employer sees that getting a BS degree adds value. There has been a few threads in the past of techs getting a BS in engineering and complaining that their employer still sees them just as a tech. Sort of like why Jesus couldn't produce miracles in Nazareth because there he was just the son of a carpenter.

 

[Panther140]

HamburgerHelper, I hope they feel that way about it. I do fear them holding me into my role. I sense disdain from certain engineers closer to my age. The fresh-out-of school engineers will refuse to believe anything that I say unless it is echoed by a superior of theirs. It is frustrating to be adamantly disbelieved regardless of how objectively correct my idea/observation is. Unless there is a far more experienced engineer in the room who will listen to me objectively, they look at me like I am bat-shit crazy. There isn't even dialogue. There is just the risk-aversive instinct to not believe anything that comes from somebody who doesn't have their pedigree documented as a degree. There are a few subject areas that I have advanced abilities within. I have a job concerned with those subject areas. I don't speak outside of those subject areas unless I am on this forum

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[MacGyverS2000]

The fresh-out-of school engineers will refuse to believe anything that I say unless it is echoed by a superior of theirs.

Sounds like anything I tell my wife.. if her dad doesn't repeat it, I must not know what I'm talking about. Of course, once he says it, then the idea obviously came from him, not me.

Word to the wise... ignorance knows no bounds.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[Panther140]

MacGyver that is annoying! I'm sure if you use logical appeals and abstract reasoning, she will aptly be persuaded.



"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Nowadays it usually involves looks of confused disgust, throwing my hands in the air, and leaving the room.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[jari001]

I think you should pursue the ABET accredited degree in the most direct route possible; I do not think the associates degree alone is enough anymore to be in a role with the "engineer" title. Do you know that once you have your BS, you have the opportunity to move into/interview for an engineering role? You may find that your company doesn't have the need/money for another engineer so you may stay working as a tech, but that's between you and your employeer.

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Panther140]

Jari I agree. The associate degree idea was there because I already have 75% of an associate degree.. I am focusing on the BS right now. I hope my employer sees the value in it. I am certain that I can get a co-op/Internship of my choice at this company. If I can't get that there, I've had job offers from the competition and its a closer drive.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[jari001]

If you go for a Co-op or internship at your current employer, won't you be taking a pay cut and forfeiting your current technician position? I assumed you were going to school part time and still working full time; are you going to to school full time now?

It's good to hear you have some other options already open for you. I think you should go for an internship in a different area if mechanical engineering if you can, it might be fun!

 

[Panther140]

Jari001 those are good points. If the Co-ops are making what I think they're making at this company, I won't be taking a very big pay cut! And yeah I might have to leave my technician position at some point, but I plan to go to school full time for the last year (at least) of the degree. I'll probably need to be laser concentrated for some of those classes.

My current plan is to finish all of the prerequisites (calc 1-3, physics, etc) that I can before going into the program full time. I may have to do a certain amount of those pre-engineering classes at the university campus that I want to attend, but I have other bridges to cross before I get to that point.

It would be cool to check out a different area of mechanical engineering. My heart is in engines and it always has been. First and foremost, I am an engines guy. That will always be my biggest credential I've learned a little about engineering through engines and working in the lab and I could do a lot with the knowledge and credentials of an engineer.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[Panther140]

I'm revisiting some of the content from classes I've taken in the past and doing my best to re-master it. Does anybody know of a good way to relate calculus to engineering? I'm looking for a source that can help me thoroughly understand the math and not just "know" how to do it based on memorizing instructions.

This is not homework help at this point. I don't have class for another month yet. This is me wanting a source that can help me to look at equations as representations of concepts and ideas. I couldn't make real sense of calculus until I took physics, if that helps you understand my learning style. I limped through algebra by memorizing directions on how to solve equations and never got to take the time to understand what the equations were actually doing. My secret weapon will be understanding what the equations actually do, and being able to figure that out without relying 100% on having a good teacher.



"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[Panther140]

Again, I am not asking for homework help. I am asking for a source that can help in viewing these concepts as they relate to physics/engineering.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin

 

[jayrod12]

The best book (and prof) I ever had in regards to this is Calculus for Engineers by Donald Trim.

I know you mechies and electrical guys use calculus way more than we structurals. I've promptly forgot most of what I knew then.