Want to become an Engineer

Feelgood

Hey chaps,

I have been working in IT for the last 10 years and am starting to dislike it more and more by the day so I am thinking of changing my career path to some sort of Engineering, ideally electrical or electronic or something along those lines.

I already have a diploma in IT with other certifications (Cisco, Unix etc). The thing is that I can't really go back to college full time as I have a mortgage and car and have a pretty decent job at the moment too. The other thing is that I work northside of Dublin and live in the North East so going to DIT 2-3 evenings a week doesn't really suit either.


What is my best route from here?. I have been looking at Open University courses though I'm not convinced they are top notch or well respected in the Engineering trade as they don't seem to be able to help you obtain chartered engineer status.

Do any of you have any recommendations on how to proceed?. Ideally I am looking to change my career to engineering with minimal impact on my current lifestyle!

Many thanks for any insight.

godtabh

A lad in my office has been doing a day a week for the last 4 years in Queens. He is doing civil

folan

im not sure how it works, but you could look at the NUIM one, i think there was a part-time version for electronics, but i think it might have been for technicians

What do you dislike about IT?
Do you have an opportunity to get some work expierence in an engineering firm before you commit to the education?

Pure Cork

It's a tough one. Lots of people in your position would save up enough money (and it might take a few years) so they could afford to leave their job and study full time. If it's possible to do something like kearnsr mentioned above, it sounds like a very good option.

Kearnsr, how long does it take to get the degree studying one day a week?

Feelgood

Moonbaby wrote: »

What do you dislike about IT?
Do you have an opportunity to get some work experience in an engineering firm before you commit to the education?

IT just isn't doing it for me anymore really. Typing in a few commands, plugging in a few cables, sitting looking at a computer screen 8 hours a day. Its an extremely boring profession.

I unfortunately don't have the opportunity to work in an engineering firm, but my brother is an engineer and I like the sounds of what he does. Unfortunately he got all his training in the Irish navy so he isn't any use to me when it comes to finding college courses or routes into engineering.

I think the main thing that appeals to me about engineering is that you continuously have to apply yourself, your not stationary looking at a screen all day and your basically using your brain cells.

You could train a monkey to work in IT particularly in the services and support sectors. Programming sure you get to be creative though programmers spend approx 5% of their time actually coding programs.

Feelgood

Pure Cork wrote: »

It's a tough one. Lots of people in your position would save up enough money (and it might take a few years) so they could afford to leave their job and study full time. If it's possible to do something like kearnsr mentioned above, it sounds like a very good open too.

Kearnsr, how long does it take to get the degree studying one day a week?

Don't think I could quit my job to do it, can you imagine going back on the breadline?. If I was going to do that I'd probably consider doing medicine or something.

There has to be some engineers out there that never went to college?. How did they get into the profession?.

Anyone know anything about the Open University engineering degree at all?

godtabh

Pure Cork wrote: »

Kearnsr, how long does it take to get the degree studying one day a week?

He has been doing it for 4 years and I think he has another year to go

Wazdakka

If you have an IT background I would recommend Control Systems Engineering or Automation Engineering.

A solid base in IT and even a rudimentary knowledge of basic programming languages are a massive advantage.

I have been doing it for a few years now and I absolutely love it.
Every day is a new challenge.

Feelgood

Wazdakka wrote: »

If you have an IT background I would recommend Control Systems Engineering or Automation Engineering.

A solid base in IT and even a rudimentary knowledge of basic programming languages are a massive advantage.

I have been doing it for a few years now and I absolutely love it.
Every day is a new challenge.

Would that fall under the category of Mechatronics?. I was looking a course in Mechatronics though didn't think that there would be a whole pile of work out there in it..

Wazdakka

Not Really,
Control Sys is normally an Major in a Electrical Eng Degree..
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055284759

But the best way to get into it is training on the job.
You will learn 1000 times more, than reading from the books.
Alot of companies will hire you and provide full training.
With the strong IT background, Home automation companies might also be worth a look.

Feelgood

Wazdakka wrote: »

Not Really,
Control Sys is normally an Major in a Electrical Eng Degree..
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055284759

But the best way to get into it is training on the job.
You will learn 1000 times more, than reading from the books.
Alot of companies will hire you and provide full training.
With the strong IT background, Home automation companies might also be worth a look.

Cheers Waz appreciate the info....