Continuing Education (Books/4-year degrees/Certs.)

[R-110]

Hello all,
Has anyone bought the 4 books (Beginners, intermediate, lab, and electronics) from this website? Do you recommend them? As things have slowed down a bit I find myself looking into continuing my education in the most productive ways I can. I currently hold a position as a Controls Engineer with only a 2-year degree. This is something I wish to eventually turn into a 4-year degree but am worried with the amount of travel I do, I would have to be strictly online I think. This has turned me to look at other opportunities, such as literature and certifications. With that said, what resources have you all used and think are best in your experience? Are there any online 4-year degrees you could recommend to someone in Controls? I have toyed with the idea of branching out to other areas of my company to, say application engineering/mechanical engineering. Being someone that could enter the field and supervises an install and then commission the mechanical/electrical and controls of a system may appeal greatly to my company. (Or another company if in the worst case, something were to happen to my position here). I love my occupation, it has given me a great opportunity to actually have a career and not just a job. And I feel I should do everything I can to better myself to give back some of what has been given to me. Like they always say, if your not learning, your dead.

Thank you all for your valuable input. Hopefully this discussion can help others to.

 

[PLC Pie Guy]

I have purchased these when I started PLC programming. It was use full.
Some good labs to go through for sure and lots of resource material. I still use them on occasion
Its worth the asking price for sure.

 

[alive15]

Maybe online electrical engineering would be best option for you? Controls / Electrical goes hand-in-hand.

I think there are many ABET accredited community colleges out there which can provide you the degree you need.

Or I have heard of Mechatronics degree? It's a combo of mechanical and electrical. I never did much research, but perhaps may be worthwhile in the position you are in.

 

[sparkie]

Well, coming from that career path, you just have to decide your timeline, and what is right for you. I chose to quit my job as a controls tech. Primarily because it is hard to walk away from a machine that is down so you can go to class, and my company wouldn't let me move back to a second or third shift position until I decided to give my notice. It was too late by then.


An engineering degree isn't an easy thing to get while you are working too. I've spent about 16 hours this week doing homework for a single class. I've got ten hours in another. Not that it isn't doable, just temper your expectations, and know what you are getting into.


If time isn't a major concern, you can take one or two classes at a time. There are a full two years of gen-ed classes. When I got my mechatronics AAS I took classes that would count towards my engineering degree where I could. Some of your classes may transfer from there if it was a community college.


Otherwise, you can find colleges that offer online courses and in-person courses that will transfer for an engineering degree. The core curriculum tends to be two semesters of chemistry, calculus I, II, III, differential equations, engineering physics I (classical mechanics), engineering physics II (electrostatics), then a few humanities classes. An economics class is generally tossed in there somewhere as well. Finally, there is often an ethics class and a composition class.


You should be able to do that stuff online, part time to get it out of the way and have to take less time off to finish your degree somewhere. Just check each and every credit to make sure it transfers to the school you want to go to.


EDIT: One more thing if you end up moving somewhere. Try to pick a school that has lots of work around it. Some industries might take you on as an intern to give you a flexible schedule. I ended up working for a local electrician here. I do a lot more than controls, but at least I'll be graduating with a Master's Electrical license, which is a nice boon.