College

[Shaneyj]

sound advice

and when you graduate you will be truly well rounded with working and theoretical understanding
not to mention with proven drive and motivation
a good hire

Thank you sir. I take that as a compliment.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

 

[JoelP]

I had 14 years in the field when I decided I wanted a degree. I got my associate degree through the local community college, while working full-time, thinking this was the best route.
Then I transferred to the local university (university of Houston). They accepted less than half of my credits. (that amounts to about $10k worth of credits not accepted). Spent a year there, while working part time. (they didn't offer all the classes I needed during the evening hours so I couldn't work full time) and realized I can't afford to live on part time work.
Looked for an online EE program, completely online. That was 2 years ago but the only program I found was through Arizona state university and it was $$$.
After some deliberation I decided to go the EET route. I found the least expensive program I could and it is still a couple dollars more per credit hour than U of H was.
This is through Grantham university. They accepted 32 of the 67 credits I paid for and earned to get my associate degree.
But I get to work full-time.
I'm 11 classes away from my degree.
It's not easy, but as quoted earlier, nothing worth a damm is.
Short term pain for long term gain.
I say go for it.
Based on my research you will save money starting and finishing a program at the same institution.



Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Thank you, I am going to do EE

 

[Shaneyj]

Thank you, I am going to do EE

Good for you...
If I can help-advice or questions- message me. . I'd be happy to offer what I can.
Looking back, I didn't know enough to even have the right questions to ask...

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

 

[Barbqranch]

If you can find a community college that is closely associated with the college/university you want, you may be able to get a lot of your general ed out of the way for a lot less money.

Personally, I wanted to spread out my general ed, which was also wise because you had to start right away in the program I was in. I figured it was a good way to meet women, but then it turned out I met my (still, after 46 years) wife in a majors class.

 

[kwired]

Take your gen-ed classes first semester/first year, and scatter some common classes needed for either degree in there and find out what you are good with and go from there. You may even find out you are more interested in something different but still somewhat related along the way and adjust your courses accordingly. The gen-eds will be good for nearly any degree and will be out of the way sooner if you take them early on.

 

[ggunn]

Take your gen-ed classes first semester/first year, and scatter some common classes needed for either degree in there and find out what you are good with and go from there. You may even find out you are more interested in something different but still somewhat related along the way and adjust your courses accordingly. The gen-eds will be good for nearly any degree and will be out of the way sooner if you take them early on.

When I went for my EE degree I already had a BSChem, so most of my electives were already covered. That resulted in my having to carry a full load of engineering courses nearly every semester. It was... strenuous.

 

[Ultrafault]

If you plan on working be prepared to dedicate most of your time to studing. Leave yourself 4 hours of study time for every hour of class time. Some classes will take less some will take more. I do not leave the desk much less the house on weekends. Every ounce of effort you put into studing and practice pays dividends in later classes. You will see the c students from early semesters begining to struggle as they have to learn what the should have in eariler classes. The only hard thing about EE is making yourself do all the practice it takes to succeed. If you can master that you are done.

 

[kwired]

If you plan on working be prepared to dedicate most of your time to studing. Leave yourself 4 hours of study time for every hour of class time. Some classes will take less some will take more. I do not leave the desk much less the house on weekends. Every ounce of effort you put into studing and practice pays dividends in later classes. You will see the c students from early semesters begining to struggle as they have to learn what the should have in eariler classes. The only hard thing about EE is making yourself do all the practice it takes to succeed. If you can master that you are done.

When I was 18-24 years old I was probably smart enough to pursue an engineering degree, but definitely not disciplined enough to put that kind of effort into studying.

 

[gadfly56]

If you plan on working be prepared to dedicate most of your time to studing. Leave yourself 4 hours of study time for every hour of class time. Some classes will take less some will take more. I do not leave the desk much less the house on weekends. Every ounce of effort you put into studing and practice pays dividends in later classes. You will see the c students from early semesters begining to struggle as they have to learn what the should have in eariler classes. The only hard thing about EE is making yourself do all the practice it takes to succeed. If you can master that you are done.

Concepts are relatively easy, application is harder. My regret is not putting in the time just working example problems until I understood how to set up and apply the equations and which equations to use when. Like getting to Carnegie Hall, it takes practice, practice, practice.

 

[ggunn]

When I was 18-24 years old I was probably smart enough to pursue an engineering degree, but definitely not disciplined enough to put that kind of effort into studying.

You're singing my song. My first time through college (BSChem) I went there straight out of high school and the 'rents paid for it. I managed to graduate, just barely, in and out of academic probation the whole time. I survived almost entirely on what I could pick up in class, when I went to class, and cramming for exams.

My second time (BSEE) I was in my 30's with a wife and kid, and I was on my own dime. I did much better, but it took putting in many 100 hour weeks, which I would never have done before. How I even managed to get myself into engineering school given my prior poor academic performance is another story.

 

[Ingenieur]

Concepts are relatively easy, application is harder. My regret is not putting in the time just working example problems until I understood how to set up and apply the equations and which equations to use when. Like getting to Carnegie Hall, it takes practice, practice, practice.

I found the opposite
Imo the concepts and basics took the real effort
mentally visualizing
derivation of the basic equations like Ohms Law or Kirchhoff's from field theory was the difficult part
but once done everything else falls in place

 

[kwired]

You're singing my song. My first time through college (BSChem) I went there straight out of high school and the 'rents paid for it. I managed to graduate, just barely, in and out of academic probation the whole time. I survived almost entirely on what I could pick up in class, when I went to class, and cramming for exams.

My second time (BSEE) I was in my 30's with a wife and kid, and I was on my own dime. I did much better, but it took putting in many 100 hour weeks, which I would never have done before. How I even managed to get myself into engineering school given my prior poor academic performance is another story.

I think those schools know they get more dedication from nearly every student over 25 vs how many under that age will put as much effort into earning whatever degree they are after. If you are that age and even thinking of pursuing a degree you must be serious about it. Yes there are younger students that are very good students, but the majority of students are younger in the first place, nearly all the older students are there for a purpose, the younger ones are still trying to figure out what they might want to do.

 

[petersonra]

I want to go to college but I don't know if I should do Electrcial engineer or Electrical engineer technology

I went EET. If I had it to do today knowing what I know today I would strongly suggest EE. Solely because there is a slow but noticeable movement to make it harder for engineers to do much of anything without a PE license and it is all but impossible to get a PE license with just an EET degree. The curriculum is not a lot harder academically, although I think EE is more rounded in various engineering areas outside of electricity.

The significant difference appears to me to be that EE degrees typically require an extra semester or two of math, some ME classes, and some chemistry classes. The physics is about the same although EE usually goes at it from a calculus basis rather than the algebraic basis in EET curriculums.

If you can handle calculus, which is required in both EE and EET you should not have any real problems with any of these other classes, even if you might not enjoy them as much.

EE degrees also seem to have a lot more fluff to them. This is to make the coursework more profitable to the school. They can have a TA teach fluff classes to 100 kids at a time and charge the same tuition as if a real instructor was teaching 20 kids an actual engineering course.

If you go EE, take the EIT test after taking the review class while you are still in school. It will make it a lot easier to pass and you have to pass it to become a PE. Think of it as one of the merit badges you need, sort of like becoming an Eagle Scout.

 

[kwired]

EE degrees also seem to have a lot more fluff to them. This is to make the coursework more profitable to the school. They can have a TA teach fluff classes to 100 kids at a time and charge the same tuition as if a real instructor was teaching 20 kids an actual engineering course.

People sometimes forget these colleges are in business to earn money just like many other businesses.

Don't be completely fooled by "State" or "Non profit" schools either, they still have to compete with the others and play some of the same games, they just need to justify their expenses to their boards and regulators.

 

[jim dungar]

... I think EE is more rounded in various engineering areas outside of electricity.

...EE degrees also seem to have a lot more fluff to them.

The lack of non-technical courses (is that your fluff?), is often a big stumbling block for EETs and foreign school EEs, when it comes to getting their PE.

 

[ggunn]

I think those schools know they get more dedication from nearly every student over 25 vs how many under that age will put as much effort into earning whatever degree they are after. If you are that age and even thinking of pursuing a degree you must be serious about it. Yes there are younger students that are very good students, but the majority of students are younger in the first place, nearly all the older students are there for a purpose, the younger ones are still trying to figure out what they might want to do.

This is true; at least it was in my case. My first time through I was there for the wrong reasons, which were to enjoy the social life and to stay out of the war in Viet Nam. School was a sideline and I had no idea what good the degree I was sort of pursuing would do me when I got out.

My second time through I looked at it as vocational training. My social life consisted solely of Quality Time with my wife and daughter between getting out of class on Friday afternoons and heading to the library on Saturday afternoons. Sundays were prep days for the week ahead. I left the house Monday through Friday at 7AM and got home after 7PM (sometimes a lot after) Monday through Thursday. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but it was worth it.

 

[gadfly56]

This is true; at least it was in my case. My first time through I was there for the wrong reasons, which were to enjoy the social life and to stay out of the war in Viet Nam. School was a sideline and I had no idea what good the degree I was sort of pursuing would do me when I got out.

My second time through I looked at it as vocational training. My social life consisted solely of Quality Time with my wife and daughter between getting out of class on Friday afternoons and heading to the library on Saturday afternoons. Sundays were prep days for the week ahead. I left the house Monday through Friday at 7AM and got home after 7PM (sometimes a lot after) Monday through Thursday. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but it was worth it.

Sir, I salute your self-discipline. I am pretty sure under similar circumstances I would not be able to do that grind.

 

[Ingenieur]

I'm in grad school now
I have to put more into it but am getting more out of it
work/school is a tough act to balance
1 course/term
still demanding
Lecture 3 hours
hw 4-6 hrs easy
travel another 2
10 hrs/week
can't imagine 2 or 3 courses

 

[ggunn]

Sir, I salute your self-discipline. I am pretty sure under similar circumstances I would not be able to do that grind.

Nothing worth a damn comes easy.

 

[Fnewman]

Lots of great comments, so I'll add a few based on 50+ years. The engineering program at any major university will be almost all theory, meaning a lot of high-level math and theory related to many of the various electrical engineering fields. After all, they only have so much time and neither you or they know whether you will end up designing computer chips or cell tower antennas, just to name two possibilities. For sure, you are not likely to see any courses about codes, motor control circuits, etc. For me, the best combination was a co-op program at a great university so that I ended up with a therotical understanding, along with some really good practical connections to the real world via my industrial job.