Going for Engineering Degree

[sparkie]

So I have a job lined up and I'm making the move to pursue an engineering degree.

I have been thinking electrical forever, but most of the subsets don't particularly pertain to industrial controls.

I'm also thinking about pursuing Mechanical Engineering instead.

There is also the Manufacturing Systems Engineer degree offered.

However, I am leaning towards a specialization in Digital Electronics.

I really want to stay in the Industrial Controls field for sure, but I'm not really sure what would most closely resemble that career path.

 

[Peter Nachtwey]

Mechatronics

 

[Paullys50]

Software Engineering?

Controls will only become more complex and higher expertise will be required in this area. People who understand high-level code and aren't afraid to get dirty in the field are very valuable.

I used to believe I was always one to tinker and never move beyond PLC/SCADA development. I'm now realizing how valuable high-level programming skills are going to be in this field. Hopefully I can continue to keep myself current with the help of the internet!

 

[SoftwareJanitor]

Don't get the wrong idea about a college degree. It's about proving you *can* learn, not so much about *what* you learn. If you're already out there working, proving you can learn, then all you need is the degree to ward off the discrimination you'd experience without one.

I'd just go with the Computer Science degree, if I were you. It's a hell of lot easier than an Engineering degree, and just as respected.

 

[Toine]

I have made a career change into controls and am working on a degree in mechanical engineering. It was the only good school that was not too far away and can be combined with a day job (working 4 days a week). As the janitor said: it is not easy indeed, however I do find it is a good combination with controls. It helps me a lot to have a good understanding of the mechanical workings and limitations of a machine. Last but not least I like it.

 

[sparkie]

Thanks for all of the input. I really don't "need" an engineering degree per say, but for me it is more of an accomplishment. I set this goal years ago and I want to finish. I took harder classes for the AAS in Mechatronics and completed just under 80 credit hours in two years to prep.

I'm right there with you guys when it comes to possibly computer science, software engineering or mechanical engineering. Honestly, I'm not really much of a fabricator. I'm not really all that mechanical, though I'm not incompetent.

I was thinking about digital electronics for the algorithms section of it. I used to work with a computer engineer and he always told me that the language doesn't really matter much as long as you can see the logic, you can learn the syntax of a language. I guess I'm going to have to research into each of these and really see what is entailed, but that is also something my adviser would be able to help me with.

Thanks for the input so far!

 

[AustralIan]

For me, electronics are the easiest parts of control systems. Being able to understand physics is of enormous help, particularly for those "it is a mechanical problem.. no it is an electrical problem" discussions.

If you were just starting out, I would say mechatronics, but as you already have an electrical qualification, I think you would grow the most with a mechanical engineering degree.

The other side of the coin is "getting your resume past the HR intern / recruitment agency." The average ones will look for BoE(Electrical) or BoE(Electronics) and not pass your resume on to the hiring manager. The really good ones will know how valuable your two qualifications combined are for the role and put you at the top of the pile. So the question is, are your future career prospects with companies that have average HR people, or really good ones?

Above all though, pay attention in class and try to dig deeper into the concepts than what is required to pass the exam. Do not ever ask "is this going to be on the exam?" Push your lecturers to explain how what they are teaching is relevant to the real world. Ask your peers how they used what you are learning in the real world.

Hmmm.. you are making me consider studying again.

 

[widelto]

+1 for Peter and AustralIan, mechatronics is the way to go.

 

[papejo]

how many mechatronics guy are there in this forum?

 

[Peter Nachtwey]

I consider myself to be a mechatronics eng among other things.

There wasn't a mechatronic degree when I graduated in 1975
I got my degree in EE and CE ( computer engineering ) but I got my mechanical training in the navy and the nuclear power school. Navy ships are still mostly mechanical devices. I had to know how all the mechanical systems worked and operate them all. You could say I got me degree in mechatronics from experience, anticipation, home work and lots of preparation, not hard knocks.

I am a big believer in that you can't control what you don't understand. Yes, some people get lucky.

I don't think much of college courses taught by people that have very little real experience. Most have no idea what is really important.

What I think is important is the calculus, differential equations, numerical analysis, statics and dynamics. I didn't have control theory. I learned that and programming on my own. I use these things all the time.

 

[Jeev]

how many mechatronics guy are there in this forum?

There were 2 of us, but I had to kill the other guy.

Mechatronics had 1 course that involved about 3 weeks of PLC relevant material. It was the good old 3 level elevator problem with 1 timer on an old Hitachi brick that I can't even find a picture of now. I found that one of the biggest pros of Mechatronics was also one of the cons. That is you cover a decent breadth of topics, but you don't have a lot of depth in any of them. "Jack of all trades. Master of none".

Having said that, I don't think I would have liked pure Mech/Elec as much.

 

[sparkie]

Well, I'm far from mechanically incompetent, but as far as pursuing a Mechatronics degree, looking at the course material, I would be retaking every class I have already taken. I don't think (given my real-world experience), I would be able to remain interested, as I would be covering almost elusively material I have already covered, or am already quite familiar with.

Just finished my application for the college of engineering I want to go to . I would have a 3.9 GPA but I dropped a class late and ended up with an F >.< so my GPA is only like 3.7 now.

I have also secured the financing to the move, and though I'm working a job I despise at the moment, it feels good knowing I don't *have* to keep working for the next month, I'm just doing it because of debt. Though I missed the deadline, I'm really hoping they will have a spot for me left. We will see how it all goes. I know I will do well in the technical classes, but the higher level math classes kinda scare me, though I'm looking forward to engineering physics for sure! I want to study waveforms.

 

[MrAnonEMoose]

I'd do Chemical Engineering with focus on computer process control if I could do it again.

 

[dburnum]

Myself and two of my brothers all attended KSU as Mechanical Engineers. I have a business I've had since '99, and hired my brothers between summers doing automation/controls for the many gas companies in our area. Funny enough...all of us do automation controls now. Though...one now does more project management for his company and makes $$$$$$. My two brothers live in CO now. However...as stated earlier...college doesn't teach much about automation controls, and nearly everything I know has largely been self-taught or the occasional manufacturer training provided.

 

[harryting]

If I would do it over again I would do CS, work for Google, then retired to a tropical beach by now.