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

 

[IRstuff]

I'm not sure that either do THAT much calculus-wise. Nevertheless, any source that has calculus and engineer in the same breath is probably a good start.

That said, however, with the advent of computers, calculus is not typicall something that has to be crunched, as there are mounds of numerical tools like FEA for doing that work. That's particularly true as the complexity of the design increase over time. I doubt that many "thoroughly" understand all the math they use; it's neither necessary nor useful, unless you're doing fundamental mechanics, because most of what people design are derived from existing designs or concepts.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[Panther140]

Thank you Jayrod and IRstuff.

I realize that I won't be breaking out those equations on a regular basis. I'm going to look into that book. Another way to look at the question I'm asking is along the lines of "I want to know what question that each equation answers. The equation is not a question in itself, to me. The equation itself is not the problem. It is a part of the process in finding the solution to the problem. If that is handled by a program, then I want to understand the equation like the writers of the program.

"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, from that perspective, you may be SOL, simply because no single book is likely to cover every possibly useful equation that you might need or come across. And, when doing calculus, you need to kiss a bunch of frogs (unrelated equations) until you get to those gems, simply because you need to be able to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. You're not going to start with, say, a Kalman smoother/predictor equation without spending a fair bit time doing things that lead up to that, just as you would not expect to solve trig problems without going through the basics.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[Panther140]

I understand what you're saying, somewhat. I know that those light-bulb moments come from hard-fought battles. I just want to have more than one way of getting to them.

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

 

[IRstuff]

I was simply pointing out that not every equation that you have to learn along the way to the equations you're actually interested in will be solutions to specific problems of interest. We spend a lot of time learning trig identities, but they're not always solutions of problems in of themselves.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[jari001]

"I want to know what question does each equation answer"

Practically speaking, the equations are the relationships between physical properties. From this view point, the question that an equation can provoke is how are the variables within this equation related? For me, this question is the gateway to thinking about the physcial phenomenon that is taking place.

Math is the language in which scientists/engineers describe reality(phenomena), so for me engineering equations describe some physical truth and I need to have a handle on that physical truth for the math to make sense. If you are focusing specifically on how calculus applies to engineering, then I would say this: Calculus is the study of change and a method on how to describe it. Therefore, engineers use calculus to describe how the variable of interest changes w.r.t. the manipulated variable.

The basics of calculus are the tools needed to perform the analyses that form the language and create dialouge. If your desire is to understand the development of these calculus concepts, then the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and a mathematician are the prescription.

I hope I said something of value to you in this post LOL

 

[Panther140]

Practically speaking, the equations are the relationships between physical properties. From this view point, the question that an equation can provoke is how are the variables within this equation related? For me, this question is the gateway to thinking about the physcial phenomenon that is taking place.

Math is the language in which scientists/engineers describe reality(phenomena), so for me engineering equations describe some physical truth and I need to have a handle on that physical truth for the math to make sense. If you are focusing specifically on how calculus applies to engineering, then I would say this: Calculus is the study of change and a method on how to describe it. Therefore, engineers use calculus to describe how the variable of interest changes w.r.t. the manipulated variable.

The basics of calculus are the tools needed to perform the analyses that form the language and create dialouge. If your desire is to understand the development of these calculus concepts, then the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and a mathematician are the prescription.

I hope I said something of value to you in this post LOLbigsmile

Yes I found that helpful. The idea that I bolded shows me that we have similar habits of the mind. I will research the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and try to take something valuable from what I can learn on the pursuit. I am not close to any mathematicians right now, but that suggestion makes me think about reconnecting with an old friend who is one. Thank you!

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

 

[Belgiancadengineer]

Mathematics only belongs in one place: Hell itself.

 

[IRstuff]

There are some online sources for engineering-related calculus:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathemat...lculus-for-engineers-fall-2004/lecture-notes/

http://civile.utcb.ro/cmat/cursrt/ma1e.pdf

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/books/TheCalculusforEngineers_10008181

The last site:

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en

contains other books that are no longer under copyright, presumably.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529