Any engineering majors in here?

[CrazyDe1]

1. Get good lab partners...cuts down on time you spend doing labs
2. Take it easy first semester and have everyone you know 1 semester ahead of you so you can jack their homework assignments before you take classes...its a lot easier to figure things out and understand things when you have the answers rather than if u have to sit and figure it all out
3. It's not as much work as everyone says it is(although I say this having spent 20 hours working on an embedded systems lab this week). We also had 3 weeks to do it but I didn't start it till this week.
4. Get in a study group.
5. All you're trying to do is beat the average by about 10 points...if you can beat the average by about 10 points you'll almost certainly have an A or a high B in a class, very few kids get A's on tests...you're just trying to beat averages
6. You can either study 6 hours a day and get an A, or you can put in an hour or less a day and get a B and make your GPA up in humanities classes and in programming classes where grades are all program based...I'd rather have a life and do pretty well and learn the material than work my ass off and study 5 hours a day to get the A...
7. Labs and homeworks are usually 50% of grades...so if you think about it if a test is curved you don't really have to do that well on a test if you get 100's on labs and homeworks...I've gotten 65's on 3 tests throughout a semester which is about average and ended up w/ a B+ in a class.
8. Whatever you do make sure you learn something in each of your classes...the most important being circuits 1, 3 and digital logic...you're going to forget how to program when you take data structures class a year and a half later and hafl to learn syntax again anyways. Make sure you know circuits 1, 3, and digital logic just cause they keep coming up again and thats the basics...the math i scmopletely worthless...just understand what does what and how it all fits together

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: YaKuZa
A lot of you saying that EE is harder than CompEng? How can that be? CompEng is EE + CS. You take the same classes as EE and CS majors. EE's just take EE classes that CompEng's have to take anyway without the specialization in computers, but something easier like DSP, Mems, etc. It's a lot harder to focus on hardware AND software than just hardware alone.

CE doesn't have to do as much of the analog stuff EEs do, like transient response, phasor analysis, etc.
I know in my department, electrical and computer engineer at CSU Pomona, that CE doesn't have to touch power engineering and electrical machinery (motors, generators, 3 phase power) which is a really big sore point for many EE students. Having taken my share of both analog and digital stuff, I really do think the analog stuff is harder than the digital. Digital has much less calculus and math grinding in general than analog.

My professor once made mention though that EE is more generic and established than CE. EE as a degree name has existed for over a century, while CE is kind of a 'trendy' new degree. He made mention that about 50 years ago, universities used to give out 'radio' engineering degrees when that was the 'trendy' name but now those degrees sound dated, where as EE degrees still do not. Also, if a downturn hits specifically the computer field, it doesn't affect EEs as bad as CEs, because EEs can hop to a different field like power/electrical sytems for cities.

However, it's also largely semantics, there is a lot of overlap these days between computers, electronics and programming fields. Things that were once done only in software can be done in hardware and vice versa.

Also, stay away from 'engineering technology' programs. Those are watered down programs and the degree does not command the same respect and potential as a true engineering degree on the open market. True engineering programs must be ABET accredited, where as ET programs do not.

Just a little background, I'm a senior EE student, computer option, at CSU Pomona, I have six units to take before I am finished with my degree (half a quarter worth of classes). I am getting a BSEE degree when I do graduate.



oh also, no one else seemed to mention this, but be prepared to make a fair amount of sacrifice on your social life. There are no girls in these kind of programs. Get heavily involved outside of your studies or else your dating and social life will suffer.

 

[acidvoodoo]

so whats your views on computer engineering technology? is it easier (less study etc) and does it cover less programming etc?

 

[jteef]

A lot of you saying that EE is harder than CompEng? How can that be? CompEng is EE + CS. You take the same classes as EE and CS majors. EE's just take EE classes that CompEng's have to take anyway without the specialization in computers, but something easier like DSP, Mems, etc. It's a lot harder to focus on hardware AND software than just hardware alone.

CmpE is not harder than EE. More time consuming maybe.

CmpE's normally dont take the hard EE or CS classes. Such as the advanced electromagnetics, the various signals courses, etc. Basically, there isn't much calculus in CmpE outside of your math classes.

The deal is if you want a good GPA you aren't going to have a lot of fun because while you are having fun, there will be enough people in your class who are studying and will take up all of the A's the professor is going to give out. There were several tests that I took where I scored less than a 30 out of 100, and that was considered a C or a B. I was in a few classes where more people failed than got a B. All the freshman/sophmore chem/physics/humanities/etc I passed based solely on what I remembered from high school, but a whole lot of people do poorly in these classes. I'm not sure why though. The labs aren't hard, just that you have to go when you'd rather be doing something else. Typing up the reports is a pain, but i wouldn't consider it difficult at all. Makes you want to punch bill gates a few times for all the auto formatting that ms word does....

Studying 6 hours / day is a little ridiculous, but if you want to stay competitive I would suggest 3 hours every other day to complete your homework. That should be enough as long as you can understand what the professor is talking about during class. If you are doing CmpE, then there will be plenty of all nighters while you're finishing your programs/projects. Both EE and CS have this too. CS moreso, EE less so. You shouldn't have to stay up all night your freshman year though.

It took me 5 years to graduate with a BSEE, but I had to redo 4 classes. Of the 40 or so people on my floor from freshman year, I think maybe one or two people graduated in the equivalent of 8 semesters. Maybe 1/3rd failed out.

Be glad you are going to a school with some liberal arts programs and women. The schools like georgia tech, mit, cmu, etc are not fun places for guys in their late teens/early 20s.

jt

 

[ed21x]

Originally posted by: SUBxWRX
How would you guys rate BioE ?

BioE is definitely harder than ME,CE, CS (note, not EECS). Aside from their core BioE classes, they take classes from EE, the Organic Chemistry Series, Biology, and upper-division MCB courses. I'd consider that to be among the hardest majors, aside from EECS.

<~ BioE at Berkeley

 

[Lithium381]

I want to be a Sound Engineer, but that sounds hard, heh, oh well, got nothing else better to do with my life

 

[ManSnake]

I know someone that is a food engineer.

 

[Martin]

I am in my first year, doing Comp Eng in UToronto.

Well..its farking hard

This semester is ok, since they teach a lot of the stuff I learned in highschool, yet they make it very hard..Next semester will be a nightmare..I am dreading it.

Fun? Well, frosh week was fun..making fun of artsies is fun...but I haven't seen much fun. Its saturday night and I have 1 programming assignment and 2 math sections to do. Tomorrow..studying all day...

 

[SgtStedenko]

one last bump..

 

[habib89]

Originally posted by: Kyguy

Originally posted by: brtspears2
EE .... bad ... I dont know why I'm in it.

Oh yea, now I remember. Business majors just seems to be too easy, and humanities majors just seem to get a degree to line up at the unemployment office.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I wish OSU had aerospace, that's what I'm more interested in.

finish your undergrad in ME at OSU, then transfer somewhere else for graduate work in AE.. that's what i'm doing.. well cept i'm probably going to stay at SJSU for both my undergrad and graduate.. unless by some wierd fluke, i get into stanford.. hahahha

 

[habib89]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
ME freshman here at the University of Illinois. So far it hasn't been real hard, but next semester is going to be killer (Calc IV, Phycs E&M, Chem II, etc.).

wait till you get to things like fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, and intro to circuits.. that's my schedule this semester.. *sigh*

 

[TonyG]

I am a junior in highschool considering mechanical engineering, I am good with math, taking pre-cal this year, and calculous AP next year, along with Physics B AP next year, also trying to get some of my english hours out of the way with English III AP this year and English IV AP next year, should be able to get rid of several hours worth if I do good on the tests. I don't know if it makes much difference in getting scholarships, but hopefully it does, but I am a member of the National Honors Society.
As for college, the local school here, in my town, is West Texas A&M, which is going to start a mechanical engineering class next year, which I will be going to, to get some of the basics out of the way, then I will probably transfer to Lubbock, TX to go to Texas Tech to take the rest of my needed classes. Unless, of course I can get a decent scholarship to get out of the area, which I think that I have a good chance of, hopefully.

Though, I have yet to really look into different colleges, but what are some good colleges to go to for mechanical engineering? I really considered EE for a while, but decided that I would prefer to be a mechanical engineer as I like to build/rebuild things, currently rebuilding a wrecked 1983 Nighthawk 650, even replacing the frame.

Though the one other field I would deffinately be interested in, haven't even looked into, would be explosives engineering, or pyrotechnical productions, but I am guessing I would need chemical engineering for this. Bigger the explosion, the better

 

[QueHuong]

I am starting college next fall majoring in computer engineering at Iowa State University.

Congrats - you are now among the elites. But don't think you're one yet; you have a long way to go.

- Freshman Biomedical Engineer, fvcking overwhelmed with school work

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: tigerbait
SgtStedenko, be a business major;

Worst advice EVER!

Some of us, difficult as it may be to believe, LOATHE big corporate culture, and don't see any thrill in "aspiring" to climb someone else?s ladder.

[still working on the rest of this thread. It's interesting, since I, at age 27, will soon be going back to school and transferring into a civil engineering program.]

EDIT:

Originally posted by: tigerbait

Originally posted by: SgtStedenko
Why business? Because it is easy? I want something challenging, something that I like(Computers, and math), and something that I can be proud of.

I wasn't serious about majoring a business. Do whatever you like.

GOOD!

 

[tigerbait]

Originally posted by: Garfang

Originally posted by: tigerbait
SgtStedenko, be a business major;

Worst advice EVER!

Some of us, difficult as it may be to believe, LOATHE big corporate culture, and don't see any thrill in "aspiring" to climb someone else?s ladder.

[still working on the rest of this thread. It's interesting, since I, at age 27, will soon be going back to school and transferring into a civil engineering program.]

chill out.... I was joking with him.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: tigerbait
chill out.... I was joking with him.

Gotcha!

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: ManSnake
I know someone that is a food engineer.

Watch out! I predict that he'll be the next chemist to make Doritos even crispier!

 

[Sukhoi]

Originally posted by: TonyG
I am a junior in highschool considering mechanical engineering, I am good with math, taking pre-cal this year, and calculous AP next year, along with Physics B AP next year, also trying to get some of my english hours out of the way with English III AP this year and English IV AP next year, should be able to get rid of several hours worth if I do good on the tests. I don't know if it makes much difference in getting scholarships, but hopefully it does, but I am a member of the National Honors Society.
As for college, the local school here, in my town, is West Texas A&M, which is going to start a mechanical engineering class next year, which I will be going to, to get some of the basics out of the way, then I will probably transfer to Lubbock, TX to go to Texas Tech to take the rest of my needed classes. Unless, of course I can get a decent scholarship to get out of the area, which I think that I have a good chance of, hopefully.

Though, I have yet to really look into different colleges, but what are some good colleges to go to for mechanical engineering? I really considered EE for a while, but decided that I would prefer to be a mechanical engineer as I like to build/rebuild things, currently rebuilding a wrecked 1983 Nighthawk 650, even replacing the frame.

Though the one other field I would deffinately be interested in, haven't even looked into, would be explosives engineering, or pyrotechnical productions, but I am guessing I would need chemical engineering for this. Bigger the explosion, the better

Check out the U.S. News & World Report college ranking book at your local library for good engineering schools.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/engineering/phd/topprogs_withphd_brief.php
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/engineering/phd/enps10_brief.php

 

[GermyBoy]

Originally posted by: notfred
Computer Engineering is more work than almost any other major. You'll take a lot of math, physics, programming, circuit design, other difficult classes.

I have not ever noticed that. EE is more physics, math and circuit design. CompE is more computer architecture and programming, but not more physics. These other difficult classes are only difficult becaues they like to teach things that aren't useful in the real world but seperate those who are A students (hard workers) and the slackers.

 

[jaydee]

I'm not technically in an engineering major yet, but I am taking Calc, Calc-Physics I, Chem I, Data communications (CCNA cert. course), and Comp Concepts & OS's and I plan on transferring to an Engineering school (EE) after this year. So far it's not too much work (I'm certainly not losing any sleep), but I did take Calc I and II in high school and did pretty well in HS Physics. We have 4 hours of calc class (4 credits), 4 hours of physics lecture, 1 hours of physics recitation, 3 hours of lab for 4 credits and 3 hours of chem lecture, 1 hour chem testing period and 3 hours of lab (thats scheduled, some labs last 2 hours, some 3.5 hours). This is all per week. Expect 4 hours of calc, 5-6 hours of physics and mabey 2-3 hours of chem out of class per week to get a 3.5-4.0 The CCNA course isn't a part of most Engineering curriculums but I'm glad I'm taking it, because you learn a lot from it (although it's quite a bit of work 3-4 hours out of class). Computer Concepts is a garbage class I'm not even attending the lectures just the labs and testing periods.

That is something you can expect from an engineering freshmen year. 18 or so credits and 20 hours out of class WORK will make for a solid gpa. This is assuming you don't come to your 8am classes hung-over. Good luck to you.

 

[joshs2345]

I think you're about 8 years behind the job market curve.

I'd *highly* suggest a Poli Sci major, nothing is more important in these troubled times (terrorism).

My 2 cents.

- David Selby

 

[anxman69]

A few things to add:

The dean of cornell engineering is quoted: "The top percentage of our engineering class won't go into engineering when they graduate. They will be tomorrow's business leaders". With that in mind, engineering opens your mind in ways that only engineering can. It is by far the most challenging type of degree to earn, and employers will recognize that.

There are a few things to keep in mind:

a) As mentioned above, you will not have a lot of free time. I'd say most engineers do about 30-40 hours of work a week. I know I do.
b) Once you've graduated, you know your degree is better and more meaningful than than any other program from your school.
c) You will not have any girls, or very few girls, in your classes (this sucks).

Good luck to you.

-Ankur

 

[UglyCasanova]

Does CS fall under enginnering?

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: MartyTheManiak
I am in my first year, doing Comp Eng in UToronto.

Well..its farking hard

This semester is ok, since they teach a lot of the stuff I learned in highschool, yet they make it very hard..Next semester will be a nightmare..I am dreading it.

Fun? Well, frosh week was fun..making fun of artsies is fun...but I haven't seen much fun. Its saturday night and I have 1 programming assignment and 2 math sections to do. Tomorrow..studying all day...

Sounds like what I was about to say, except I'm a first year EE at McGill (which would be U2 for you since I went through CEGEP). Trust me, by comparison what I did last year in CEGEP (Cal 3, linear 2, etc) is pie compared to some of the courses I'm taking.

For the thread creator: be prepared for a heavy workload, I have, on average, 4 assignments to hand in every week. Each one of them takes me a minimum of 4 hours, usually more. What's discouraging is that some of them only have 3 questions... three ridiculously challenging questions.

Oh, and Marty, UofT and the Leafs suck

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: dparker
Does CS fall under enginnering?

nope, here it gets you a B. Sc. You can however do Software Eng. if you want a B. Eng. and like software