YACT (Yet Another College Thread, from yours truely)

[jaedaliu]

Depends on the university. Do your research first. At my undergrad, I had to apply to switch majors, and would have been at least 1 class behind if I switched to EE after my first year.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

if you want to be surrounded by computers, EE is a better bet. regardless you can start in the engineering program, its the later classes that usually differentiate the degree

EE is heavily math based. I'm not the greatest at math. Its not my strong suit.

 

[crashtestdummy]

EE is heavily math based. I'm not the greatest at math. Its not my strong suit.

All engineering is math-based. Math is the language in which science is communicated. There's really no way to do engineering without a pretty solid background in it.

Keep pushing on the math. It takes a while before calculus really sets in, but once it does, it becomes natural.

 

[Saint Nick]

EE is heavily math based. I'm not the greatest at math. Its not my strong suit.

Any engineering degree you pursue will be heavily math-based. My dad made a joke about engineering programs...calling them "pre-business" because a lot of people couldn't cut it, and ultimately ended up just majoring in a much more accessible (read: easier) degree.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

All engineering is math-based. Math is the language in which science is communicated. There's really no way to do engineering without a pretty solid background in it.

Keep pushing on the math. It takes a while before calculus really sets in, but once it does, it becomes natural.

It does? I'm a senior Aero Engineering major, and I still have trouble with those double integrals. Granted, they're like 10 variables long, but still.

 

[Murloc]

EE is heavily math based. I'm not the greatest at math. Its not my strong suit.

all of engineering is heavily math based and requires strong commitment.

Anyway you shouldn't pick your major because you want to do a specific thing: there is a 99.9% chance you won't do that.

Anyone I know who entered MechEng or Aerospace is a car buff and likes to talk about F1.

Most people who are in EE with me either have a liking for computer stuff, but not exclusively for programming (those go more into computer engineering), or they play an electric instrument in a rock band.

It does? I'm a senior Aero Engineering major, and I still have trouble with those double integrals. Granted, they're like 10 variables long, but still.

I don't think it has to become natural, some people just need to work hard. Still, a senior in engineering saying he's bad at maths has a different meaning from a high school guy saying he's bad at maths.

Anyway I was bad at maths too yamamoto, I just needed to start studying seriously.
Now I like maths and I think it's easier than many others things I have to do.

 

[CountZero]

I guess I'm not totally set on a major yet then. Those classes look awfully boring in my opinion.

I'd say look at the senior/grad classes for various engineering programs. If some of the highest level classes you are likely to take don't sound even moderately interesting I'd reconsider.

It can be a hard slog getting to the "interesting/fun" stuff but if it doesn't sound interesting or fun to you then it probably never will.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Case designer? :biggrin:

 

[OverVolt]

I wishr my parants had moneys for collerge

 

[OverVolt]

Any engineering degree you pursue will be heavily math-based. My dad made a joke about engineering programs...calling them "pre-business" because a lot of people couldn't cut it, and ultimately ended up just majoring in a much more accessible (read: easier) degree.

I wish I went for an easier degree I would have more time for internships :awe:

If you aren't that good at math, either bust your ass now and see if you have what it takes, or choose something other than engineering. Like Computer science or CIS, which is a little less hardcore with math, the latter being very easy with math.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

If I were to do compsci, how much math would I need to know?

 

[CountZero]

If I were to do compsci, how much math would I need to know?

I can't recall for sure but I think CS at my school required through Calc 3 (basically a year of calculus) and linear algebra (matrices) think the only thing they didn't require that engineering did was differential equations. So still a fair amount of math. I don't think the curriculum is quite as math heavy though it can be depending on the classes.

 

[Saint Nick]

If I were to do compsci, how much math would I need to know?

Probably about as much as EE. I think at my uni, CS students took the following...

Calc I
Calc II
Finite and Discrete Math
Differential Equations
Applied Linear Algebra

EE would probably throw in Calc III and maybe another class.

 

[brianmanahan]

EE would probably throw in Calc III and maybe another class.

my ee required 13 math classes

 

[CountZero]

my ee required 13 math classes

Seriously? What 13 math classes?

Mine required Calc 1-3 (basically derivative, integrals, multivariable), linear algebra, diff eq, stats for engineers. So six math classes. If I wanted to count the EE classes that were basically math classes (continuous time and discrete signal processing) I still only get eight.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

If I practiced math, I'd probably understand it more.

 

[OverVolt]

Getting good fundamentals with math in Algebra and Calc I is absolutely crucial to taking the higher math courses.

Basically bust your ass for an A or need not apply. If you get a B or C in any of the lower math classes you're just going to have to buy a review book and brush up to A level knowledge anyway in order to do well in DEQ, Calc III, Calc II etc.

But don't really take advice from me I got filtered out after Calc II I had it with math, I was done. Maybe someone who has taken DEQ and passed can chime in. Those are just my regrets basically :awe:

The school makes a huge difference. Basically 50% on exams was passing because it was curved so hard, and everyone did so badly. I didn't enjoy that kind of stress I prefer to actually learn WTF I'm doing so I could go further in math.

But it also could have been my school, the graduation rate is low for engineering/math.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Any say with information systems engineering?

 

[jaedaliu]

Any say with information systems engineering?

What is that? an IT degree or a systems engineering degree? In a university setting, that sounds like a focused computer science degree.

To me, engineering is a problem solving field. If you like figuring out puzzles, you'll do fine on your coursework (assuming you attend class and do your homework.) Choosing a specific major is fairly important for engineering. It's better to know which field you want to go into before you start because there are so many classes to take. I would browse the university website to see what the different clubs and student organizations do for fun, then figure out which one you would want to join, and choose the field that they're in.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

What is that? an IT degree or a systems engineering degree? In a university setting, that sounds like a focused computer science degree.

To me, engineering is a problem solving field. If you like figuring out puzzles, you'll do fine on your coursework (assuming you attend class and do your homework.) Choosing a specific major is fairly important for engineering. It's better to know which field you want to go into before you start because there are so many classes to take. I would browse the university website to see what the different clubs and student organizations do for fun, then figure out which one you would want to join, and choose the field that they're in.

Its a little of both from what I can tell.

And I love puzzles and solving problems. I'm creative which my dad (masters in engineering) said would be helpful.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I actually looked more deeply and now I'm thinking computer engineering.

 

[Red Squirrel]

My comp sci program had 3 math courses, math 1,2 and 3. They were maybe slightly harder than high school level. If I can pass, you can. And by pass, I mean, getting no more than what is the required percentage needed to pass. I'm no good at math either. Math is one of those things you either are good at it, or you're not. Best bet is take something easier and then you can always start your own business later for what you really want to do. That way you skip having to meet certain requirements that wont matter anyway.

"Case designer" is probably not something that could bring in much revenue especially with the industry trying to kill the PC and most people like sheep, just following suit and replacing their PCs with tablets. It's something you could perhaps do on the side as a hobby though. There is perhaps still a market out there for cool out of this world cases but it's not something that's big enough to live off of.

Your best bet is probably computer science, as it opens lot of doors, from IT to other computer related jobs out there. Something good to get into too is networking/telecommunications. Especially with lot of stuff changing lately such as voip, IPv6 etc it's good to stay in the loop on these technologies. I've been wanting to mess with that stuff myself actually.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Computer science is software heavy. What I like about computer engineering is that it combines hardware and software. I get to learn aspects of both worlds.