What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
(OP)
In my quest for grad schools, I have come across a few schools that offer a masters in systems engineering. I had never heard of it and figured it was a money making scheme and ignored it. Recently, however, I got my monthly issue of money magazine which had an article about the best job growth and Numero Uno on the list was systems engineer. They described it as dealing with the project managment aspect of engineering. Wikipedia has a nice article about it and also. My question is this: Does anyone have a Masters degree in Systems Engineeing? If so, what are your opinions of it? What did you learn? Would you do it again?
Thanks Guys/Gals!
Thanks Guys/Gals!





RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
The systems aspect of my course was more about learning the fundamentals of what the various systems did/could do etc. presumably with intent that you vaguely understood it when talking with experts in each field while working as some kins of project engineer or project manager but we never really did much of that actual stuff.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
- Steve
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Sorry.
It can be a bit management speakish.
I think similar was discussed here before now, though maybe just about systems engineering not specifically a Masters.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
- Steve
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Systems Engineering really means different things to different folks in different industry sectors.
Here (machine design) the systems engineers are mostly (all?) from a mechanical background though with some knowledge of electrical and software.
I swear it was touched on before but a quick search only turned up thread731-233243: Online Class and I'm sure there had been another.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Systems engineering I was taught was very much like life cycle analysis, to include risk. The engineering economic analysis went deeper into the subject than undergrad and has been very useful. Mathematical modeling and simulations was much like the undergrad, no additional depth. From their we went to probability and statistics, queueing and scheduling, and system test and eval. That part was useful later for commissioning (wasn't called that then).
From their, it went to design basics, design for reliability, maintainability, human factors, economic feasibility, and support. That part was useful for a framework when doing biddability, constructability, and operability review for major construction.
The class could have taken half as much time if it didn't linger on terminology and exact wording, nit-picking, and inventing new terms to describe old subjects. The guy I had teaching was into maintenance and logistics for major systems, so most of the programs and scenarios run were on that subject. I haven't used any of that. The book was pretty good (Blanchard and Fabrycky) and I still use it as a reference 25 years later.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Where I work, the systems engineers seem to manage projects that span multiple disciplines (mech/elec/control). Like hybrid vehicles.
- Steve
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
ht
drawn to design, designed to draw
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
But then there are degrees for similar things like MBA and stuff. Still a system engineer for a IT world would a lot different than one for a food processing plant and so on.
Rafiq Bulsara
http://www.srengineersct.com
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
As such, an SE deals with determining the functional partitioning and flowdown of electronics, mechanics, optics, and software.
TTFN
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RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
A lot of the systems engineering that was taught would really be a part of logistics. Not sure if there is a difference between logistics engineering and systems engineering.
Automotive industry would be a perfect example. If you want to sell parts, design to fail the day after warranty expires. Design for failure was a big part of the undergrad materials class I had. The prof gave really good examples of how one component, like a spring, could be designed for a fairly accurate number of cycles, and then making the spring an integral part of an assembly. Based on the expected failure rate and cost of replacement parts, life cycle projections for materials, profit, stockage, etc. would be performed.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Without lingering on terminology and exact wording... it wouldn't be Systems Engineering. :)
-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Rather like six Sigma, you can concentrate on the new fancy tools they give you to play with, which are the old tools uploaded to a PC, or you can use it to get things done. To do the latter requires experience.
Cheers
Greg Locock
SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
- then for each chunk, defines a module in solution space,
- then outlines how each module will attack its assigned chunk of the problem,
- then, most importantly, defines the interfaces between the modules,
- and how they will interact with each other,
- before any of the modules are available.
A not so good SE does the same thing, except that later, after much money has been spent, we find out that some of the modules are unrealizable, or some of the interfaces are not wide enough.
When it's done well, it looks easy.
I don't think it actually is easy.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Sadly I've never encountered one in my career, so what they do when they grow up is still a mystery to me.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, a poor system design may not become apparent until years after the product has been delivered.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Hg
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RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Windows says I should see one every so often. From the number of times it says that, I should think you would be able to find one on any street corner, but they don't seem to hang around there. Perhaps a systems engineer might be able to substitute for a system's administrator, since I always figured that a systems engineer was the one that actually did the real work and the administrator was his boss, who really wasn't supposed to do anything except administrate the systems engineers anyway.
**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Cheers
Greg Locock
SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
The company I currently work for has a Systems Engineering department in which their function is to be the lead engineer overseeing all the functional engineering departments.
They are mostly the go between the technical people and the program management as well as customer discussions.
There is no formal education needed at my company other than an Engineering degree in a related field and an overall knowledge of the product.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Best way to describe it is with the example of a car as a system. It has mechanical components integrated with sensors, electrical components and control software.
I did subjects ranging from stress analysis and materials to semiconductors and advanced signal processing.
My last job was with hybrid vehicles where the degree made a lot of sense.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
No "industrial engineering" program, though. Guess that's a dirty word these days.
h
They also offer a nanotechnology engineering program- hybrid of chem eng and physics (whose students find great difficulty in obtaining co-op work term jobs).
"Buzzword engineering" apparently attracts government grant money, so it's doing its job as far as the uni is concerned.
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
http://www.optants.com/tutor/ceseipt.htm#SEMTH
-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Perhaps some should try to identify WHY this discipline has come about? INCOSE (which someone posted the link to earlier) is trying to establish the competency framework so that those in the US can go down the PE route. The original methodology seems to have come out of software / electronic / user-interface type problems but is equally applicable to other engineering projects. Needless to say this is not a job someone with no engineering knowledge can do well.
Seems to be more use in big projects where system complexity and integration can be a real issue, otherwise it might be a big hammer for a small nut.
NASA use it...
http://n
DoD use it
http://www.dod.mil/ddre/org_sys_eng.html
DOE use it
http://cio.energy.gov/SEM3_1231.pdf
Ok, maybe that isn't a ringing endorsement for it but nonetheless it doesn't surprise me that that type of role is getting offered big bucks (going back to the OP)- too many projects run over time and budget.
Regards all, HM
No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Sounds like systems should be a masters program done after you complete a bachelors in one of the traditional non-military disciplines (those are civil, mech, chem and electrical in my books).
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
www.PeirceEngineering.com
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
There are BS degrees in Systems Engineering. http://seor.gmu.edu/ George Mason University offers it as a BS and is supposedly a great program. Im sure the location of the school has most to do with that (30 mins away from DC).
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
Fe
RE: What the heck is Systems Engineeing?
When you look at the cost overruns on major procurements in the government, it's easy to see how systems engineering would be applicable, and might even avoid buying $700 hammers and synthetic urine for testing on-board aircraft heads. I remember reviewing the AF synthetic urine program and commenting that I could provide the real thing for a tenth of the price and only specialty tool I would need would be a bottle opener. Of course, it was still funded.