Mechatronics?

ayapatrick

Anyone have any views on this, ie. career prospects, would it be a good degree to have etc? There is a course in i.t Sligo and i think one somewhere else.
Thinking of reapplying, Currently doing Civil engineering (first year) and im not sure if its for me atal!

Maintenance2010

Hi there,

I completed this course with a bachelors degree. You ask does it hace career prospects, YES! Mechatronics Course is a convergence of engineering areas, it is a combination of electronic and mechanical engineering together with information technology. A robot for example would have the mechanical movement of its ‘arms’ controlled by electronic circuits. There are also some interesting practical modules in year 2. There is lots and lots and lots of maths involved so if maths is not your thing, don't apply as your brain will be fried after the first lecture on a Monday morning on circuit theory

There's "soft" and "hard" aspects to the course for example when i say soft i mean the likes of digital electronics. When i say hard i mean the likes of mechanical engineering.

This is where the advantage comes in when applying for jobs, you will have a knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems, manufacturing, computer programming. Design and methods and physics, companies like to see this as you will develop a broad range in all engineering areas.

Some of the following companies will be likely to respond to your CV

INTEL, MICROSOFT, DELL, BUILDING SERVICES FIRMS, FACTORIES, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FIRMS, CIVIL ENGINEERING FIRMS, MAINTENANCE COMPANIES.

What did i get out of it? I started managing hotel maintenance contracts for a couple of years - reduced 16 tonnes of Co2 in 4 years in 5 hotels won awards- met environmental ministers etc, went on to the corporate sector, maintaining banks and offices, now i have my own maintenance company with 3 technicians out on the road. The funny thing is i hardly used anything i studied in college to get my job done :P, BUT, it was the degree i held and the understanding of mechanical and electrical systems that kick-started my career.

Best of Luck on your decision. :cool:

Mainteneance 2010

ayapatrick

Maintenance2010 wrote: »

Hi there,

I completed this course with a bachelors degree. You ask does it hace career prospects, YES! Mechatronics Course is a convergence of engineering areas, it is a combination of electronic and mechanical engineering together with information technology. A robot for example would have the mechanical movement of its ‘arms’ controlled by electronic circuits. There are also some interesting practical modules in year 2. There is lots and lots and lots of maths involved so if maths is not your thing, don't apply as your brain will be fried after the first lecture on a Monday morning on circuit theory

There's "soft" and "hard" aspects to the course for example when i say soft i mean the likes of digital electronics. When i say hard i mean the likes of mechanical engineering.

This is where the advantage comes in when applying for jobs, you will have a knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems, manufacturing, computer programming. Design and methods and physics, companies like to see this as you will develop a broad range in all engineering areas.

Some of the following companies will be likely to respond to your CV

INTEL, MICROSOFT, DELL, BUILDING SERVICES FIRMS, FACTORIES, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FIRMS, CIVIL ENGINEERING FIRMS, MAINTENANCE COMPANIES.

What did i get out of it? I started managing hotel maintenance contracts for a couple of years - reduced 16 tonnes of Co2 in 4 years in 5 hotels won awards- met environmental ministers etc, went on to the corporate sector, maintaining banks and offices, now i have my own maintenance company with 3 technicians out on the road. The funny thing is i hardly used anything i studied in college to get my job done :P, BUT, it was the degree i held and the understanding of mechanical and electrical systems that kick-started my career.

Best of Luck on your decision. :cool:

Mainteneance 2010

Thanks for taking the time to write that!;) Ya i heard that it was maths heavy but id manage that!
Just from an engineering point of view, do you see electronic/mechatronic engineering more say 'future proof ' than Civil? (Especially the way things are)
Thanks
Pat

Maintenance2010

Well i think we will always need civil engineers for designing and constructing bridges, roads etc but ask yourself how many civil engineers are there out there compared to a Mechatronic engineer??. Its a fairly new course with more and more applying each year.

There is no one typical career path for civil engineers also but there is money put aside for bridges, roads and other infrastructures in Ireland which will require civil engineers.

On the other hand Mecahtronics deals with a much wider range of engineering subjects and especially with advances in medical / weapons / computer technology you can nearly be guaranteed a good job.

And remember you can go anywhere with your degree! I think both courses are good choices, and hopefully by the time your finished your course the recession will be over!

Maintenance 2010 :cool:

Nukem

Doing my Msc through IT Sligo and was at the open day last year and was in shock at the shear volume of people doing mechatronics there. Easily one of the biggest distance learning courses in the college.

Supposed to be a very intense course and know some of the lecturers who seem to know there stuff. Would give the course coordinator a call and get info from the horses mouth so to speak.

ayapatrick

Nukem wrote: »

Doing my Msc through IT Sligo and was at the open day last year and was in shock at the shear volume of people doing mechatronics there. Easily one of the biggest distance learning courses in the college.

Supposed to be a very intense course and know some of the lecturers who seem to know there stuff. Would give the course coordinator a call and get info from the horses mouth so to speak.

Do you mean studying online or in the college?

ayapatrick

Maintenance2010 wrote: »

Well i think we will always need civil engineers for designing and constructing bridges, roads etc but ask yourself how many civil engineers are there out there compared to a Mechatronic engineer??. Its a fairly new course with more and more applying each year.
There is no one typical career path for civil engineers also but there is money put aside for bridges, roads and other infrastructures in Ireland which will require civil engineers.

On the other hand Mecahtronics deals with a much wider range of engineering subjects and especially with advances in medical / weapons / computer technology you can nearly be guaranteed a good job.

And remember you can go anywhere with your degree! I think both courses are good choices, and hopefully by the time your finished your course the recession will be over!

Maintenance 2010 :cool:

Thats what has me thinking about jumping ship, when i applied first the year before last i was offered mechatronics but i decided to take the year out, then reapplied last year for Civil instead - feel like a right eejit especially with the way things are:eek:
dont think i want to be designing houses the rest of my days!
How good of an understanding of electronics would you want going into the mechatronics?
Friend of mine doing mechatronics says that the points might jump a fair bit this year because of increased interest in it.
Thanks

Nukem

ayapatrick wrote: »

Do you mean studying online or in the college?

Mix of both I think

tyna

Has anyone done the 2yr online mechatronics degree after having completed an electrical apprenticeship or do you need to do a qualifier course????

CatFromHue

i havent done it and dont know much about it but i would recommend getting in touch with the college you are thinking of attending.

there is usually a contact person or secretary of engineering named on the courses webpage. give them a ring and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

if you're looking to start the course in first year i wouldnt have thought you'd need a qualifier course. check it out yourself though.

tyna

As far as i know you need some sort of former qualification eg. higher certificate to meet criteria for the 2yr online degree.

itb and itsligo websites state fetac graduates may qualify but im not sure under what terms.

Think ill send in an application and take it from there...