Duration : 28 sec

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: squid

Tweet This Post

Tweet This Post

Have you had calculus or physics, or chemistry and how did you do in those classes. That will give you and idea of how you will do as an engineer.

All the formulas you use in college will be related to each other through calculus so you need to understand it to see that relationship. Also some more advanced functions like calculating the area of an irregular volume will require calculus.

Physics is the core to understanding our universe and how things work, so an understanding of it is critical. You need to be able to understand and calculate the forces at work in a structure or a material, the safety factor, and the point of failure. This testing can be done by machines, but it is quicker to do the math then you can custom design the material.

Chemistry is how things come together and react with each other. It goes beyond knowing that Sodium burns in water it involves what elements are added to metals to increase the hardness and how much. The difference between steel and iron is 6% carbon and that is the difference from a steel bar you can bend with your hands or one that can be used to hold a huge weight.

My father was a Mechanical Engineer; he became a Safety Engineer for Boeing working on contract for NASA. He was involved in the space program from the Apollo Project up to the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. He was literally a rocket scientist.

Clearly computer programming can be useful and knowledge of technical writing is a must to create and read your reports; so that means you need English as well. A famous saying goes “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.” This means that a basic understanding of history will be a requirement as well. Another famous expression is “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the field of engineering that means a technical drawing so a drafting course would be a requirement so you can explain your ideas.

I went to Texas A&M and knew a lot of engineers, from them I found the two major funk our course for engineers; Calculus and Chemistry. In fact when the head of the chemistry department tried to make his course easier he was fired.

High School requires that an average student can graduate. College requires that the graduates will be able to perform in the real world. There is a world of difference between the two; colleges take pride in the amount of students they flunk out. It shows they have higher standards and makes a degree from that university worth more. In the case of Texas A&M the recommended that all engineers take a freshman Calculus class and a Freshman Chemistry course. Both courses had a required lab and were famous for being weed out courses to get rid of the weak students. If you didn’t have enough math to take calculus then you would take enough courses until you could. This would add more time to your degree plan and so take longer, but you wouldn’t be penalized by the college for doing that.

I applaud your interest in Engineering and I wish you luck. You are smart enough to ask questions now as to what you should be doing for your future career plans. I strongly suggest you take a few advanced placement courses. Those courses will give you an idea of what college would really be like; they will also look nice on your transcripts to the admission board. Colleges also like to see well rounded students and that means involvement in extra-curricular activities, so join a club. It doesn’t have to be the chess club or the math club, but if you belong to another group or club then you will get a well rounded experience, which will help you in college.

In conclusion I suggest you take an interest in the following courses (in order of their value):
- Advanced math; calculus
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Drafting
- English
- History

Tweet This Post

University of Michigan has the most prestigious reputation among the three overall, but it's overall engineering ranking is one behind U of I… but for mechanical engineering, it's ranked second, and five for many engineering majors (but not chemical engineering)

University of Wisconsin Madison is ranked 3rd in chemical engineering and 2nd in nuclear engineering. but its overall engineering ranking is lower than that of u of I and michigans…

UIUC ranks 6th overall (ranks 1 in material and civil, and overall top 5 in many engineering programs). it has the best reputation amongst engineering schools I've been accepted to…

I'm really confused as to which one I should go and benefit most from…

They are all top notch engineering schools, you should choose the university who's environment will suit your personalty the best. Go to the campus while they are in session and check out the student body and faculty and see if you will like it there and will fit in. You will do a whole lot better and learn a whole lot more if you are happy and comfortable in the environment you are in.

As for me, I wish I went to a different school with a more diverse faculty and student body and with smaller classes instead of going to UF where they don't have any women profs, hispanic profs or African American profs in the CE department and there is a lot of animosity from the asian and rich white students towards the hispanic, black and poorer students.

Tweet This Post

See wat we learn at school is pedantic..

at job it is pragmatic…

If you want further details..drop an E-mail.

Tweet This Post

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/enns10_brief.php

But a better choice would be UC Berkeley. It has the third ranked program for universities, just behind MIT and Stanfurd.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/enps10_brief.php

http://www.me.berkeley.edu/

So how far do you want to go with this degree? If a BS, MS or ME is all you need, then Cal Poly SLO is fine. But if you want to aim higher overall, then give Cal (Berkeley) a shot. By and large, the UC system is more elite than Cal State Schools (even the Cal Polys), and UC Berkeley is the flagship of the US system. While Cal Poly is recognized as a good school, Berkeley carries a helluva lot more prestige.

But prestige isn't the whole equation. What are you looking for in terms of environment? Cal Poly SLO is a lot more conservative than Berkeley. SLO is a quieter town than Berkeley. And dollars to donuts, you'll see more lifted pickup trucks driven by cowboys in SLO than in Berkeley (where would you park it in Berkeley?).

Tweet This Post

If you can't make that decision, You might also want to consider BioMechanical Engineering where you can design machinery in direct support of medicine.

Tweet This Post

1.) I want to live somewhere with decent weather and low crime, I have a few ideas of places I would like to live. Does this career give me the flexability to work where I want to live? or am I going to be mainly limited to living where work takes me?

2.) I want to be able to spend time with my family. Is Mechanical Engineering going to consume all of my time after work with meetings/research or is it a job where I can have some time to do things that I want?

3.) what is realistic average pay for a mechanical engineer when they are at the peak of their career? I have read that $55k-60k is average to start ( of course rank and location change that) (

4.) Is the math still overwhelming or are most equations dealt with on computers/calculators?

thanks for your response -Brian

Brian,

Speaking as a mechanical engineer who's now counting the days to retirement:

1. I used my engineering skills in the municipal water and wastewater field. The pay wasn't the best, but I could always work wherever I wanted (anyplace that has water at least).

2. One drawback of the water/wastewater field is that I have been on call for most of my career. When sewers back up or when people don't have water, they don't want to hear, "I'll get on it first thing Monday morning." I've always had pretty good vacation time, but I've had to make myself available nights and weekends for emergencies.

3. Pay varies widely. In general, you should expect close to $50k to start. I learned to live frugally working my way through college and, since I graduated, have always found my pay to be more than I have time to spend; so I have always considered working conditions much more than pay in considering jobs.

4. From my experience, there is very little math after graduation. The little that you do, however, must be done correctly or lives may be at stake. I usually do important calculations on a computer, on a calculator, and by hand to make sure they're right.

Good luck.

Tweet This Post

Tweet This Post