Engineering---maths??

augmented reality

Hi,

I have engineering down as no.1 on my cao but am starting to think about the maths aspect of the course.
Can anyone tell me what the maths aspect is like? Is it like a maths degree like I've been told? Do you need to love maths to do well?
Do many finish the course who just barely scrape the HC3 in maths or do you need to be getting B's or A's to be sure it's right for you?
Is the course in UL very theory based or is it practical?
I was considering UCD aswell but can't make up my mind.
Is a UL degree well recognized around the world?
Thanks!

ninty9er

No matter where you do engineering you will have to be good at maths. Maths is the part of engineering that keeps machines running, buildings standing, planes in the air etc.

I didn't do engineering, so I'm sure some others may be able to help, but if you hate maths with a passion then engineering probably isn't for you.

augmented reality

I don't hate it with a passion but I don't love it either.
I like the problem solving in paper 2 especially trig and stuff like that.

Is there good career prospects with an engineering degree from UL?

ninty9er

It depends on what kind of engineering you want to get into. A lot of the engineering graduates I know either did business postgrads or had jobs with ESB or aerospace companies sorted before they graduated.

BBRodriguez

I got a C2 in Maths in LC and managed to get a first in my mech eng degree. Didn't work too hard at LC tbh.

Most of the first year maths covers LC stuff anyway and once you are reasonably confident with Diff/Int etc. you should have no problem with the maths in any of the other engineering modules.

Also, even though UL isn't that well known outside Ireland, the engineering course is accredited. In theory, that should mean that a UL grad is just as good as a UCD grad.

ned14

I'm doing the last of engineering maths modules at the moment in 3rd year. To be honest, it's not going to be easy, and it is hard to get a good mark in the exams, but I haven't had a problem with the maths over the past 3 years. I scraped a C2 in honours LC. The maths is pretty different to LC, so it doesnt really matter once you have a decent understanding of Trig, differentiation and integration.

Doing Mech. Eng. and love it. Lots of practical stuff to the course, some very interesting. And with 8 months Co-Op (Paid job placement) in 3rd year, it will really stand to you when you go job seeking after college.

Daniel S

ned14 wrote: »

I'm doing the last of engineering maths modules at the moment in 3rd year. To be honest, it's not going to be easy, and it is hard to get a good mark in the exams, but I haven't had a problem with the maths over the past 3 years. I scraped a C2 in honours LC. The maths is pretty different to LC, so it doesnt really matter once you have a decent understanding of Trig, differentiation and integration.

Doing Mech. Eng. and love it. Lots of practical stuff to the course, some very interesting. And with 8 months Co-Op (Paid job placement) in 3rd year, it will really stand to you when you go job seeking after college.

I'm pretty much in the same position as you, but a few years younger. I'm hoping to do Mech Engineering next year, but I'm struggling with maths, although it started making sense about 2 months ago. I'd love a C2 tbh! I'm good at trig, differentiation and integration, its stuff like functions and stats/probability I don't really like.

Where are you hoping to work for your Co-Op? Is it possible to go abroad with it? I'd like to go to Switzerland/Austria/Germany if I could, to use some of the German I've spent 5 years learning. :rolleyes:

Also, I thought maths stopped after second year?

ned14

mtb_kng wrote: »

I'm pretty much in the same position as you, but a few years younger. I'm hoping to do Mech Engineering next year, but I'm struggling with maths, although it started making sense about 2 months ago. I'd love a C2 tbh! I'm good at trig, differentiation and integration, its stuff like functions and stats/probability I don't really like.

Where are you hoping to work for your Co-Op? Is it possible to go abroad with it? I'd like to go to Switzerland/Austria/Germany if I could, to use some of the German I've spent 5 years learning. :rolleyes:

Also, I thought maths stopped after second year?

No, Maths keeps going until the end of third year. It is without doubt the hardest of the lot. though after 3 years of it, it finally makes a little more sense. You do one module on statistics in 2nd year, but its not too bad. Most modules in engineering contain maths, but they're all based on practical applications (for example calculations on bending an I-Beam). Individual maths modules are the only ones that are entirely theory based.

I've just done my co-op in a medical devices company. You start Co-Op in the summer of second year, and work through the first semester of third year until January.

To go abroad, you need to keep your average grades high and have a QCA above 3.0 I think. That's basically keep an average result of a B2. Only thing is, Co-Op abroad is usually worse paid than within Ireland.