So, I'm going back to school

So as some of you may know i was laid off a while ago, unfortunately from an automotive restoration job i really enjoyed and was looking forward to years of new experiences and skills. Having previously been a BMW mechanic at an indie shop with cool track cars and whatnot, that's sort of the focus ive taken in the job hunt, basically indie shops (usually full or not adding techs), dealers (want bmw factory training), restoration shops (again in a holding pattern), and hot rod shops. There have been a few hopeful opportunities that never panned out so i've been left feeling like i'm in a state of limbo for too long.

Aside from building the XJ-R for the challenge i havent had a real project or focus in my life, other than the job search, which hasnt been fruitful. Add the fact that i've had a little thought lingering in the back of my head for years that A) i dont think i want to be a mechanic still 25 years from now, and B) since i left an engineering program 10 years ago for an auto/tech program (still an excellent decision at the time for where i was in my life) there's always been a little ember burning back there about finishing an engineering degree. sooo...

Tuesday i start classes at NH tech inst. for Mechanical Engineering Technology and i'm definitely feeling an equally strange mix of looking forward to taking a positive step towards a real goal while also being terrified at the notion of being a student again. I think it'll be a good decision...

Anybody looking to buy an 06 Trailblazer SS? (que next topic)

Are you good at math?

If you lucky, you'll get picked up by a company that will pay for you to get a Bachelors. If your not that lucky, you'll get a company that is perfectly ok calling you an "engineer", even if your salary doesn't reflect it.

I spent 8 years in part-time/full-time college ending up with a degree that's very hard to market. I wish I would've studied harder and majored in something technology based.

As for school...lots of young ladies looking for a more mature man to give them direction...but maybe your married or settled.

My wife has a 2003 2WD TB and my work truck is a 2008 4WD TB and it is going "bye bye" in 5 weeks. How much are you asking?

I can't imagine how much gasoline the SS burns...........

I'm a Mechanical Engineering Technology student and I love it. When I started out I burned through almost 3 years doing nothing in college, RUINED my GPA, and contemplated dropping out. Then when I decided I wanted to go this route, everything changed. I love this field and almost all of my professors are "working professors", they teach because they love the subject (yeah I know, Im sure they love the money too), but I know they aren't just doing it for tenure.

Anytime I take a course that ends with a huge project I always do something car related. I designed my traction bar, machined, assembled, and designed a way to test it at school. Anyway sorry for the rambling. Good luck!

What kind of math courses are required for Mechanical Engineer Technology?

PHeller wrote: What kind of math courses are required for Mechanical Engineer Technology?

For me its all the way up to Calculus 2, then Statistics 301, Discrete Mathematics and I THINK differential equations, but I'm not positive on that last one.

You also must take 2 Physics courses, 2 physics labs, and 1 chemistry course.

EDIT: Among other things. Thats just a couple of the non-engineering course.

I teach MET in a community college. Our top math level (4th semester) is Applied Calc. If you have a decent background in Algebra/Trig, you'll do fine in Applied Calc.

We are ABET accredited and have a full-faith transfer agreement to our local 4 year school (NJIT).

Obviously when our students go to a four year school, there is additonal math required in the 3rd / 4th year.

In all the years I've worked here (30), the majority of our students have been able to get decent, technical jobs.....even when the economy has been weak and other engineering areas have been soft.

Make sure you are ~outstanding~ at 2D and 3D CAD. Being proficient at multiple platforms (ie-AutoCAD, ProE, SolidWorks, etc.) is a big plus (we're even seeing companies using Google SketchUp these days)..

Having a real mechanical background will help you a lot.

In my experience, the engineers and techs with dirty finger nails have been the most valuable, and highly regarded ones.

Yeah-PM me a price on that SS please.

Fluid dynamics for me sucked ass the worse. I didn't care to see what the Reynolds number was for water flowing through pipe. Now if it had been air though a variable "square funnel", I would have been all over it.

For my AAS, which hasn't made me E36 M3 for $, Calculus 1 was it. It just sucked to have to take Algebra and Trig for the THIRD time in my life as my previous college course did not transfer over directly. But that was the easiest 4.0 class I took. I read the latest car mag in the back of the room while the prof babbled on.

Hey Wilber, congratulations on your return to the classroom!

aeronca65t wrote: In all the years I've worked here (30), the majority of our students have been able to get decent, technical jobs.....even when the economy has been weak and other engineering areas have been soft. Make sure you are ~outstanding~ at 2D and 3D CAD. Being proficient at multiple platforms (ie-AutoCAD, ProE, SolidWorks, etc.) is a big plus (we're even seeing companies using Google SketchUp these days)..

Yeah I have seen a lot of friends that upon graduating in a tanked economy still get decent jobs, one moving up quickly as well.

Your right about the CAD. My professors stress it a lot that we need to really to be able to use different CAD software. They also try to make us use it in almost all design projects. At Miami we use AutoCAD, BobCAD, and Solidedge.

Congratulations on finding some direction and Good Luck in the future! I often consider the legitimacy and respect I could gain by reverting to "student" versus my current "chronically unemployed" status

So, I guess you will be too busy for the lemons team I have been contemplating...

Aeronca, cxhb,

Are we talking about MET students? As in two year students? I could consider going back to for MET, but I highly doubt that'd I'd be able to get past the really difficult math and physics classes.

I'm torn between going for graduate school in a field with more specific employment (natural resources), finishing up my Associates in Business to get a BA of Finance, or going back and starting over in MET.

aeronca65t wrote: I teach MET in a community college. Our top math level (4th semester) is Applied Calc. If you have a decent background in Algebra/Trig, you'll do fine in Applied Calc. We are ABET accredited and have a full-faith transfer agreement to our local 4 year school (NJIT). Obviously when our students go to a four year school, there is additonal math required in the 3rd / 4th year. In all the years I've worked here (30), the majority of our students have been able to get decent, technical jobs.....even when the economy has been weak and other engineering areas have been soft. Make sure you are ~outstanding~ at 2D and 3D CAD. Being proficient at multiple platforms (ie-AutoCAD, ProE, SolidWorks, etc.) is a big plus (we're even seeing companies using Google SketchUp these days)..

that's exactly like the NHTI program i'm starting. its a 2 year MET with dual admission to UNH-manchester but also ABET accredited so many 4 year bachelors programs accept graduates with minimal additional courses required. the nice thing, at least how i see it, is that in 2 years i'll have an associates degree, a checkpoint of sorts, that i can use to get a job in the field while continuing on evening classes for a bachelors but out there working again feeding my car habit.

thanks guys!

PHeller wrote: Aeronca, cxhb, Are we talking about MET students? As in two year students? I could consider going back to for MET, but I highly doubt that'd I'd be able to get past the really difficult math and physics classes.'''''

Yes, a two-year, Associate Degree program in MET. Can be transferred to NJIT or about 100 other 4-year schools for a Bachelors in MET.

Like I said, if you can manage Algebra & Trig, you should be OK. The required Tech Physics classes are algebra-based (not Calc). When I was a kid in high school, one of my friends taught me trigonometry while we were on the Seaside Heights (NJ) boardwalk looking at girls. It ain't that difficult.

You can see our program at the upper right side of ~This Link~

What's the difference between MET and just straight Mechanical Engineering?

Could a MET student possibly work his way towards Civil or some other form of engineering?

i'm sure aeronca can describe more detail, but the big difference as been described to me is that it's sort of like the difference between applied science and theoretical science. every single core class for my MET program has a lab, the physics courses are pre-calculus based so the 2 year program is up through calc 1 with the option of calc 2 (probably recommended for those going on to an MET bachelors), and you take core classes very early in the program working with the real professors not TA's.

PHeller wrote: What's the difference between MET and just straight Mechanical Engineering? Could a MET student possibly work his way towards Civil or some other form of engineering?

MET (assuming bachelor's from an ABET accredited university) is more product testing and production, while ME is more R&D. There are more options with a ME degree, as you can do either. Alot of the ME and MET classes aren't interchangeable, so it's usually better if you have the option to take the required bridge classes and just get your master's in ME. There is no point (other than wasting money) to get dual ME & MET bachelor's degrees.

There isn't Civil Engineering Tech, but there is Construction Engineering Tech. The difference is that construction engineers are geared toward project management whereas civil engineering is the actual project design. I had a couple friends that switched to CET because they were less likely to end up with a desk job.

PHeller wrote: What's the difference between MET and just straight Mechanical Engineering? Could a MET student possibly work his way towards Civil or some other form of engineering?

Are you talking 2 or 4 year? They both exist.

I got my BSMET from Southern Polytechnic here in Atlanta. For us, there was about a 70% overlap with an ME curriculum. We had to take calculus up through Integral (Calc II IIRC) and went through a Calculus based physics program. They got a few more math classes, another thermo, another fluids, and typically something that uses some diff-eq, like vibration analysis. We got a few more hands on courses - Manual machining, CNC machining, Welding, and a lot stronger CAD program (At GT, CAD is an elective!) Both are eligible to test for the EIT (passed mine on the first try) and PE, though the MET program has to wait 7 years to test in GA vs. 4 years for the ME.

My degree has served me very well. I would happily recommend it to anyone here in Atlanta who is planning on staying here. The weakness of SPSU is that it is less well known outside of GA, and with there being a lot of 2 year MET programs out there, people who are not familiar often assume that it's a glorified trade school degree. This is the reason why when I got my masters, I did it at a bigass school that EVERYONE has heard of.

The difference between the two is that MET tends to be more hands than at BSME. It really depends what you want to be doing. MET will train you better to work with CAD/CAM, drafting, more technical tasks, whereas a BSME will be more focused on the theory.

My recommendations, you can get any job with a BSME that you can with a BSMET, but the inverse is not always true (some places poo-poo the technology degrees). So, get your associates in MET and then try to get a BSME, you will be very valuable since you have both the practical and theoretical background. That being said, if you want to be a manufacturing engineer, a BSME will be just as effective as a BSMET. If you want to work as a design engineer in aerospace, a BSME would be perferred.

Hope that was somewhat clear.

Good to know.

I'm horrible at math, highest I took was Business Calc and did very poorly in applied statistics. I'm not much for numbers, especially those I've got to sit and look at all night for homework.

The only way I'd consider any engineering field is if I was given the time to be able to pick my own pace throughout school. That is 1 or 2 courses per semester of tough stuff.

It may never happen, but lately (with the help of Tom Freidman) I've really wanted to be in some world-leading industry. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it though.

Brotus7 wrote: So, get your associates in MET and then try to get a BSME,

Then expect to be in school for 6 yrs, at least in my own experiences. Every school I have inquired to, has told me to fly a kite and you HAVE to start over, except for your passing math, english, etc... courses. That is because you took "technology" courses, so you are an idiot for not taking our "harder" calc-based classes of the same subject.

Ranger50 wrote:

Brotus7 wrote: So, get your associates in MET and then try to get a BSME,

Then expect to be in school for 6 yrs, at least in my own experiences.....

You had an unfortunate experience and I'm sorry it happened to you. But it would be very rare for our students at CCM. Virtually all my guys transfer to a 4-year school with no loss in credits (most of mine go to NJIT). It's called "full faith" transfer and you should always check 2 year programs for this before you sign up (no matter what your major is). The only reason my guys sometimes take longer than 4 years (total) to get a Bachelors is if they take a light credit load (ie-less than 16 credits/semster).

One of the other guys mentioned ABET accreditation (and so did I). If you have an AA in MET from a 2-year school that's ABET approved and you transfer to a 4-year school that has an ABET approved MET program, the transfer is pretty painless and loss of any credit would be unlikely.

Most ABET accredited 2-year MET programs in the US have a "full faith" transfer to at least one 4-year school. I'm confident that our students could transfer 100% of their degree to at least 50 schools in the US (assuming they have a minimum GPA---usually greater than 2.5).

The problem is when students start taking all sorts of courses in multiple programs and tally up around 64 credits (but do not graduate). They may have started out as an MET major in a 2 year school, but if they have a mixed bag of coursework, they won't be able to transfer all of those credits to a 4-year MET program (or maybe anything....other than Liberal Arts). I know this sounds pretty obvious, but it tends to happen to us from time to time (often from students who tranfer into our 2 year school from one (or more) 4 year school with all sorts of mixed credits. And when we won't give them credit for all these credits, they gripe like crazy.

I realize that some schools have a lot of overlap between ME and MET...our's doesn't and we strongly counsel students at the get-go to decide which path to take. It's easier to go from ME to MET than the other way, but our 2-year students still need an extra semester if they do this. There are bridge programs for AA in MET to BSME, but they're pretty customized and differ greatly.

Our MET program used to have Fluid Mechanics and Machine Design in it. But franky, employers want MET students with more applied and practical skills (setting up scopes, programming PLCs, CNC programming, CAD, etc). If a student really wants to take Fluid Mechanics and Machine Design, we counsel them into our Engineering Science/ME program (most of these students go to Rutgers).

Hope this helps and G'luck! (and don't be afraid of math.......just find the right teacher and it's easy)

Hope you left early today! The roads are bad and the drivers are even worse.

Good luck at school!