Engineering Technology major?

[MichiganSpecial]

I am looking at engineer, mechanical to be more exact, and this "engineering technology" as a BS major. Can anyone help me out with some input about the "engineering technology" major? Reason I am asking is because I want to know the stuff an engineer does (thermal dynamics, fluid dynamics and so on) just because I am interested in knowing it, but I don't want to be someone who sits behinde a desk. I'd rather be working on things, hands-on. Testing things.

 

[transmissiontowers]

I have a Mechanical Technology BS degree, but went back to night school to get my BSME degree. It was much more difficult to get my PE registration with just the Technology degree, so I got the engineering degree. If the PE is your goal, the engineering degree is better.

You can get into hands on work with either degree, but the pay and opportunities are better with the engineering degree.

My remarks are based on getting the BST in 1971 and the BSME in 1983 so I am nearing retirement age while you are just starting out. Talk to the college placement office and see how the jobs opportunities are for the BST and BSME degrees.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[MichiganSpecial]

What is PE? Product Engineer?

 

[transmissiontowers]

Professional Engineer = PE

Allows an engineer to practice and use the PE seal to certify that a design meets certain standards much like a doctor or lawyer must pass exams and have experience. It is regulated by the state boards of every state. During school you take a test and once you pass you are an Engineer In Training (EIT). After graduation and 4 years of work experience, you take another exam and submit your work experience and apply for professional registration. This is reviewed by your state board and you are allowed to call yourself a professional engineer. Most large corporations value the PE registration for their Engineers and promotions are linked to the having a PE.

It sounds like you are still in High School? Do more research and talk to guidance counselors and Engineers about your career path. The Technology degree requires less math classes and emphasizes the more practical aspect of engineering, but is somewhat limited when promotions are considered.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[MichiganSpecial]

Actually I was going to Kettering and withdrew not too long ago due to funds and not being sure about myself. So, I withdrew before I made a bad decision and ended up owing a lot of money.

 

[transmissiontowers]

OK, good luck with your career. Do a lot or research to see what is best for you.

In my case, I was not doing well in Engineering school and the Vietnam war was calling in 1968 if I had flunked out, so I switched Majors to Technology which seemed good at the time. I studied harder and ended up on the Dean's list in Technology. I graduated and got a job, was laid off and got another one. The pay for a Technologist doing the same job as an Engineer was about 3/4 and the opportunities for promotion was limited, so I went back to night school and got a BSME. The point of my story is to evaluate the long term possibilities of your degree.

BTW; my tuition and books cost $250 for my first semester in 1967 but I was making $1.25/hr pumping gas at the time for at summer job.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[MichiganSpecial]

Well what you just told me helps me alot acutally. I know I want to do some sort of engineering. I know I want something to do with automotive. I absolutely love working with engines. From what you are telling me between enginerring technology and engineering, in the long term, engineering is the way to go. You do the same things, just about, but get paid less as an engineering tech. There is a company Kettering CO-OPs with. Called FEV Engine technologies. A kind of job I would love...

... Thanks for your help "transmissiontowers".

~Patrick LaMontagne

 

[transmissiontowers]

Hi Patrick;
I actually work as a Structural engineer and my job experiences apply to my specific company. Your automotive field may be different, so check out the companies you want to work for and see what degrees they prefer to hire. You may be able to intern for your dream company while going to school part time and see how office politics work. Find out what degrees that the management types hold if you want to get into management in the future.

Good Luck;
George

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[GregLocock]

PE is irrelevant for automotive engineering, pretty much.

However, a full engineering degree, rather than an Engineering Technology degree, is probably a wise move. I think the Technology degree will make it more difficult to get that very important first interview. You will also skip much of the maths that you may need down the track.

To be honest in Big 3 land the vast majority of automotive engineers are not hands-on. Some are - development engineers, and test engineers, for example.

However, their Tier One suppliers will have a higher proportion of jobs that are hands-on.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[MechanicalChef]

Your opinions of where you want to go generally change as you progress through engineering school. If you have the smarts, go for the pure ME. I too fell in love with automobiles and went to school to pursue it. My choice was Michigan Tech. However, over the years of hearing stories of my friends who worked for the Big 3, I realized I don't have a stomach for the levels of bureaucratic BS engineers in Detroit live under. Tier 1 suppliers generally aren't as bad (as I've been able to tell).

You can pretty much never know where you'll be after those 4-5 years of school. But, engineering is a diverse and rewarding career, and choosing to pursue it isn't a bad idea. So you will have options if your GPA is at least a 3.0.

For what it's worth, with my BSME from MTU, I actually wound up working a composites R&D job in the aerospace industry, doing plenty of hands-on and desk-work. Up until a week before getting an interview, I had never considered it a possibility at all.

Lastly, the tuition @ MTU is about half of what you'd pay for Kettering, and we have fraction more girls.

 

[MichiganSpecial]

MechanicalChef, I heard MTU has a little automotive concentration. From your experiance, what is the automotive experiance at MTU?

 

[dgowans]

MichiganSpecial,

I wouldn't concern myself too much with getting into a school that bills itself as having an automotive-centric program. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have any value, just limited value, IMO.

What would be invaluable is to get a BSME from a reputable school (MTU is one, haven't kept up much with Kettering/GMI/whatever else it's been called recently), if what you really want is to work with engines. As far as the concentration of your program, allow me to say this: I got a BSME from a highly regarded school with a concentration in fluid mechanics/thermo and the like and haven't used the specifics of my concentration one day since I left school, yet I love the work I do. The BSME is what has ultimately afforded me the opportunities I've gotten.

Hindsight being what it is, I think the Kettering/GMI concept has tons of merit. I could have gone to school there, but as a know-nothing 18 year old I didn't like the idea of going to class for a quarter and then co-oping for a quarter. After I was out in the real world for a while and realized how things really work, I would have loved to have been exposed to industry while I was still in school. That would have allowed me to use some on the job experience to determine where I should have been devoting my efforts, instead of me doing it rather blindly.

Where in Michigan, BTW?

 

[MichiganSpecial]

I am in Clinto Twp., it is in the south east side. About 30 miles from Detroit. Besides Kettering and MTU, I have really taken a look at Grand Valley. Very impressive program. Has the co-op as well. A kid I went to high school with, and who was in many of my classes, goes there and loves it. He is doing EE. I don't know where I want to go exactly. Right now I am doing the community college thing for about two years, maybe less, and will transfer in somwhere. Just have to figure where now. Like I stated, my options at 1)Go back to Kettering or 2)Go to MTU, Lawrence Tech, Grand Valley, or Michigan Tech.

 

[MechanicalChef]

Regarding automotive concentrations at MTU - the majority of application specific topics you'll encounter @ the university level will normally come during your senior year. You can join the enterprise program and do work with FSAE, ChallengeX(aka Future Truck), or Mini Baja. Plus any technical-electives you opt to enroll in - Like Internal Combustion Engines.

While MTU doesn't require a co-op, you'll find internships/co-ops are invaluable to landing your first full-time job. As hard as I tried, through MANY interviews, I never landed one, but did get hired less than 2 weeks out of school. Also, since the school is dominated by egineering, the recruiters are by a large majority seeking engineering types for said summer jobs.

Hmm, I realize this has turned into a pitch. On a darker note, MTU nightlife is a little week if you're the clubbing type. A lot of the bars are dives, but their drinks are cheap. Housing is REALLY inexpensive, and you can walk to wherever you need to go...except walmart, you will want to bring your car. Dining choices are pretty limited, but enough to get fat on fast food. And if you live on the side of a hill, you can count on the snow-plow pushing 3+ feet of snow behind your car/truck every morning during the winter.

Consistently, you'll hear people taking about the snow. The U.P. receives A LOT of it. Great if you like to ski, sled, and snowmobile. Bad if you own a car with RWD and bald-tires. And that's what drives off the majority of the people who leave after the first year - chemistry, calculus, and the snow. Mostly the snow. The academics aren't that difficult if you can get a team of people together and crunch through the homework as a group.....(a couple days before the exam)

 

[duck0601]

General Motors uses the MTU program for its technical education program. I used it.

IMHO the Technologist Degree is extremely career limiting. My experience, so far, is that the Technologist degree (BS) will get you in the door faster than an Associates degree. Also, the BS(X)T will give you the equivalent of a couple of years of experience after that. The down side is that you will be in the same career path as those with an AS.

Chris BSET/BSME