Becoming an Electrical Engineer

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

KP2

Senior Member
Location
New Milford, CT
I am a E-1 in Connecticut, currently working as an instructor. I'm 35 years old and want to go to school to become an engineer. I feel with my background as an electrician that power distrubution is a good direction, but I haven't been able to find a course that is specific to power. Most courses seem to include alot of electronics.
I'm intrested in working in this field because of the increasing demand for more efficient power usage and distibution. For example Fuel Cell Technology as well as PV, however I have not worked with either.

Can anyone give up some advice on where to start.

Thanks
Kevin
 
ed downey

ed downey

Senior Member
Location
Missouri
If you are going to work during the day be prepared to spend quite a bit of time. I started going to school at night 10 years ago and will finish an Electrical & Computing Engineering degree this May at University of Missouri Kansas City. I have spent all of my electives dealing with Power Distribution, Transmission & Renewable energy but it took me quite a bit of Electronics type courses to get to the point of going through classes that I enjoy.

You may want to look at an Architectural Engineering program that deals more with Mechanical & Electrical Systems in buildings. Or you could try to find a program that still is involved heavily in the Generation, Transmission & Distribution.

-Ed
 
charlie b

charlie b

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Retired Electrical Engineer
KP2 said:
Can anyone give up some advice on where to start.
Click to expand...
You just did. Congratulations.

Now for the next step. I might suggest stopping by the local library, and having a chat with the reference librarian. They are trained to find information, and they should be able to tell you which colleges have a degree program that includes power systems engineering courses. You may be able to start out at a community college, to get some of the general courses out of the way. But be sure to verify that they will be accepted as transfer credit at the college from which you intend to graduate.
 
D

dkarst

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Just to emphasize a bit what has been stated, if you are planning to graduate with a Electrical Engineering degree from an ABET accredited institution, you should plan on taking electronics, digital systems, electromagnetic fields, differential equations etc. as the undergrad curriculum is quite tightly controlled to maintain accreditation. You can have a "power systems emphasis" which will mean you have a few courses but they are typically senior electives. I would say a good place to start is look at the university on-line catalog you are thinking about and check the required coursework and see how it matches your interest.

I personally believe patience is also required as I remember some classmates that simply ran out of it while taking Calculus III, Physics II, Thermodynamics and wondering when the "interesting courses" were going to arrive.

Attending a non-ABET accredited institution MAY mean some hassles when it comes time to apply to take PE exam.
 
jumper

jumper

Senior Member
Location
3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
I did what Charlieb suggested. I earned a AS in electronics at a community college that Old Dominion University will accept as transfer credits into their EE program, if I decide to continue. My wife is a reference librarian and his advice is spot on.
 
S

skeshesh

Senior Member
Location
Los Angeles, Ca
Great advice by the usual suspects. Let me add that I was working only part-time mostly as a tutor throughout college and it was a pain in the neck. Make sure your schedule is flexible to account for random class times. As one poster suggested, it may take you more than 4-5 years if you have to take care of your family and hold down a steady job (it was certainly tough for me even not being so obliged). Learning about other subjects than power was a bit annoying at the time, but I've come to appreciate knowing about electronics, RF, etc. since electrical engineering is an interconnected field of many disciplines and this knowledge will be handy when you'll have to deal with something down the line. Finally let me add that I went straight to college after high school and had considerable academic momentum; I had several classmates about your age who, though they had the disadvantages of not being as young and used to academia used their work ethic and experience to graduate while others that may have started at a better position failed. I wish you all the best along this challenging yet rewarding path.
 
C

Corey Zachel

Member
Location
Northwest Ohio
Good luck. I have a BSEE, but I am basically a computer programmer with three power courses. the curriculum is based on computers and electronics. It is crazy how I ended up doing this instead of VLSI design for motorola. I must have settled for the quick money or something. :grin:
 
C

Corey Zachel

Member
Location
Northwest Ohio
Seriously, I would focus on wireless transmission, PLC, and robotics if i had to do it again. They didn't offer wireless or PLC's when I was finishing up and Robotics didn't seem half as intereting then as Electromagnetics and Power Conversion. I also would have done one more semester of C++ and Java to dual major. I was pretty burned out and ready to be done though come graduation filing time. Take the FE your senior year and persue your license. I think it is cool you want to become a super nerd.
 
weressl

weressl

Esteemed Member
Location
Texas by the Gulf, geat crab, great shrimp
KP2 said:
I am a E-1 in Connecticut, currently working as an instructor. I'm 35 years old and want to go to school to become an engineer. I feel with my background as an electrician that power distrubution is a good direction, but I haven't been able to find a course that is specific to power. Most courses seem to include alot of electronics.
I'm intrested in working in this field because of the increasing demand for more efficient power usage and distibution. For example Fuel Cell Technology as well as PV, however I have not worked with either.

Can anyone give up some advice on where to start.

Thanks
Kevin
Click to expand...

Maybe want to think it over from the carrer standpoint. I had sufficient on-hands experience before I went to college and spent my time in power generating stations, distribution wiring and so on. My experience put me ahead of my classmates who have not seen a switchgear before, nor during their studies. So you have the advantage there.

If you put the full throttle on you can gradualte in 4-6 years. So you will be ~40+. Competing with whom in the job-market? Kids half of your age? Where do you want your career to take you? So just think it through and gird your loins for the fight Spartacus;)
 
S

SAC

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Regardless of the area you want to specialize in, getting your degree will require a lot of work. Rather than just looking to do what you already know about, think about where you really want to end up (it may be the same or may be different). I think on the other end it probably won't matter that much where you started - you'll either have more depth or more breadth, and both are good for different jobs. It will matter more that you do what you like. But even then try not to sweat that you'll have to take courses in areas other than what you like. It is amazing how all the different areas can come together in the market place to make a diverse background useful (e.g., arc fault interrupters, vfds, etc...).
 
weressl

weressl

Esteemed Member
Location
Texas by the Gulf, geat crab, great shrimp
SAC said:
Regardless of the area you want to specialize in, getting your degree will require a lot of work. Rather than just looking to do what you already know about, think about where you really want to end up (it may be the same or may be different). I think on the other end it probably won't matter that much where you started - you'll either have more depth or more breadth, and both are good for different jobs. It will matter more that you do what you like. But even then try not to sweat that you'll have to take courses in areas other than what you like. It is amazing how all the different areas can come together in the market place to make a diverse background useful (e.g., arc fault interrupters, vfds, etc...).
Click to expand...

I wonder if any of the engineering courses offer nowdays credit for work experience.(The same exist in other fields.) I definetly think they should, especially in this or similar cases. Anyone who wishes to pursue higher degree in their specialization is most likely advanced in his field and level of expertise.

I think it is worth asking.
 
S

sculler

Member
I'd advise some research in your state's licensing intents before investing time and money in schooling if you want to be a power Engineer. For example in Oregon a Supervising Electrician can legally do anything a P.E. can do design wise and his signature is as good as a P.E. stamp.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top