which degree is better internationally, a ucc or cit?

eoindgdg

I am in 6th year and want to study engineering, but I dont know where to go, cit or ucc? I plan on moving to USA or Canada when I have finished my degree and i just wanted to know which place would give me a more internationally recognised degree?

enda1

TCD

endacl

enda1 wrote: »

TCD

Oh, I'm so tempted to agree out of divilment!

OP, they will both have equal status as a Level 8 qualification on the national framework. The science involved will not change depending on where you acquire it. The opinion of those who disagree should be disregarded!

Good luck with the LC.

Outkast_IRE

What type of engineering, honestly it is a very broad field.

eoindgdg

endacl wrote: »

Oh, I'm so tempted to agree out of divilment!

OP, they will both have equal status as a Level 8 qualification on the national framework. The science involved will not change depending on where you acquire it. The opinion of those who disagree should be disregarded!

Good luck with the LC.

I know they're both level 8 and the same here, im just wondering would it make a difference when I go abroad? Would having a university degree rather than one from an IT give me a better chance of getting a better/more well paid job? And because of financial reasons ucc and cit are the only options

eoindgdg

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

What type of engineering, honestly it is a very broad field.

first choice is mechanical but as they dont do it in ucc im worried about the credibility of an IT degree abroad vs. One from a university. Chemical engineering would be just as good an option though

Sync

eoindgdg wrote: »

I know they're both level 8 and the same here, im just wondering would it make a difference when I go abroad? Would having a university degree rather than one from an IT give me a better chance of getting a better/more well paid job? And because of financial reasons ucc and cit are the only options

Canadians won't know what college is better in Ireland, same for the USA probably. They will say, oh Ireland... do you live near Dublin.

At the end of the day, all that matters is what "letters" come after your name.

BSC PHD etc etc... that's what they will recognize. :pac:

Outkast_IRE

eoindgdg wrote: »

first choice is mechanical but as they dont do it in ucc im worried about the credibility of an IT degree abroad vs. One from a university. Chemical engineering would be just as good an option though

If your wondering about the credibility of a mechanical engineering degree from CIT then you havent done much research.

1.CIT are well known for the quality of their mechanical engineers, they have engineers representing the college at loads of international project events.

2. Its a tough course, the advantage of CIT is that they value practical experience and project work, it prepares you for the real world very well, whilst also teaching you a high level of maths, physics, etc .

3. Its the same level of qualification as the university degree. All Level 8.

4. I happen to have a good insight onto this course, as i share some of the same modules with it. My brother has that degree and is currently employed in Germany doing 3d engineering/modeling work for a high end car maker. A job which he got off the back of his CIT mech eng degree.

eoindgdg

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

If your wondering about the credibility of a mechanical engineering degree from CIT then you havent done much research.

1.CIT are well known for the quality of their mechanical engineers, they have engineers representing the college at loads of international project events.

2. Its a tough course, the advantage of CIT is that they value practical experience and project work, it prepares you for the real world very well, whilst also teaching you a high level of maths, physics, etc .

3. Its the same level of qualification as the university degree. All Level 8.

4. I happen to have a good insight onto this course, as i share some of the same modules with it. My brother has that degree and is currently employed in Germany doing 3d engineering/modeling work for a high end car maker. A job which he got off the back of his CIT mech eng degree.

believe me I have researched it time and time again. I have connections with various engineers, the main thing that worries is an engineering manager in charge of a 1.2bn euro windfarm in Germany calling a cit degree 'a waste of time'. Coming from someone so.high up in the business I sort of feel obliged to believe him? Im just worried about employers abroad looking more favourably on a university degree rather then IT? or is that just the biased snobbery I always head towards cit? Anyway, thanks for the answer its helped a lot

endacl

eoindgdg wrote: »

first choice is mechanical but as they dont do it in ucc im worried about the credibility of an IT degree abroad vs. One from a university. Chemical engineering would be just as good an option though

Some ITs have quite a strong international reputation. Take massecheusetts for example! Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Unlikely an employer across the Atlantic will be able to name a single Irish college or university.

Outkast_IRE

eoindgdg wrote: »

believe me I have researched it time and time again. I have connections with various engineers, the main thing that worries is an engineering manager in charge of a 1.2bn euro windfarm in Germany calling a cit degree 'a waste of time'. Coming from someone so.high up in the business I sort of feel obliged to believe him? Im just worried about employers abroad looking more favourably on a university degree rather then IT? or is that just the biased snobbery I always head towards cit? Anyway, thanks for the answer its helped a lot

That just sounds like snobbery bull****, and if he hires people based on what college is on the degree rather than on merit then hes more a fool.

One of my uncles also has a CIT Mechanical Engineering degree, he walked straight into a job with apple for 5 years with it and changed jobs to another very well known international company which manufactures electronic goods for big name brands.

Best advice you will ever be given is to pick a course because you will like the material and find it interesting. It is very hard to come to classes day after day if you dislike the course .

eoindgdg

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

That just sounds like snobbery bull****, and if he hires people based on what college is on the degree rather than on merit then hes more a fool.

One of my uncles also has a CIT Mechanical Engineering degree, he walked straight into a job with apple for 5 years with it and changed jobs to another very well known international company which manufactures electronic goods for big name brands.

Best advice you will ever be given is to pick a course because you will like the material and find it interesting. It is very hard to come to classes day after day if you dislike the course .

thanks for the advice, appreciate it! Im hoping to do a masters in something in the aerospace field, but thats a long way down the line..once again thanks a lot I've got exactly what I came for

rebelfff

I did mech eng in CIT and had the points to do any engineering course in the country. Most of my class walked into jobs despite graduating in the middle of the recession, many went abroad including myself. There will always be some ignorant snobs no matter what university or IT you attend.

enda1

OP. You are best going to the best university. A massive amount of university education and learning comes from your peers. The better your peers, the better your learning.

TCD has the best students in its courses as can be testified by its higher CAO requirement. A first achieved in a course with a higher calibre of students and more difficult entry requirement holds greater weight than one from CIT. Sorry but it's true.

Lastly, it would stand to your character more to move out of Cork (assuming you live there as you only mention Cork institutions) and venture to pastures new. It would show to prospective future employers that you seeked out the best education. Also its a great way to meet people and develop yourself (and realise Dublin's waaay better )

quietsailor

enda1 wrote: »

OP. You are best going to the best university. A massive amount of university education and learning comes from your peers. The better your peers, the better your learning.

TCD has the best students in its courses as can be testified by its higher CAO requirement. A first achieved in a course with a higher calibre of students and more difficult entry requirement holds greater weight than one from CIT. Sorry but it's true.

Lastly, it would stand to your character more to move out of Cork (assuming you live there as you only mention Cork institutions) and venture to pastures new. It would show to prospective future employers that you seeked out the best education. Also its a great way to meet people and develop yourself (and realise Dublin's waaay better )

I'm not so sure that the CAO points necessarily mean that TCD is a better engineering degree - your talking about the OP only looking for degrees based in cork as (you think) they live in Cork - if you apply that rationale to TCD then of course it will have a higher CAO points requirement - it's located in Dublin which has the largest population in Ireland so it will have the largest number of home-birds looking to get into a degree near home - hence the points go up.

I went to CIT - Marine Engineering - so I can confidently say 110% that my course was the best Marine Engineering degree (level 7) in Ireland bar none - then again it's the ONLY Marine Eng degree in Ireland, so I can skew that argument (best degree everrrr) to suit me. OP I'd research for reviews comparing engineering degrees directly if your that worried about what degree to choose

ITs give you a lot better practical grounding, colleges give you a more theoretical degree.

• If your practically minded and don't like the idea of getting into management then a IT degree might be better for you.
• If your interested in getting away from day to day engineering and into management then a university degree plus a MBA might be the way to go.

I agree with enda though - it looks better to have studied away from home, a lot of the foreign students I met in UCC were over here for a Masters/PHd for precisely that reason - it looked so much better on their CV when they went back to (for example) Germany and their future employer saw they had studied abroad - thats 4-5 years down the line for you though

There is no one perfect degree, it all depends on your own likes, dislikes and future plans

mawk

I'm mostly going to retread the other posters. It's doesn't matter a great deal.

Ucc, more theory
Cit, more practical

In theory, theory is as good as practice.

Mech in cit, is broad as hell. And it's not easy. The mets course is easier than dme, but it still has probably 50% failure rate by the end of first year.

Dme is cit's 4 year straight B.eng hons in mechanical. Mets is the cert, diploma, degree option. After lvl 7 mets you funnel into 3rd year dme (5year beng lvl8 in total) or into ppt, or amt (4 year b.sc lvl8 in total) mets is probably the better choice if you are not 100% sure on what you want to do after as it exposes you to a lot.

And to the original question.. Once you have ANY experience in industry.. Employers ask very little about college ime

2011

mawk wrote: »

And to the original question.. Once you have ANY experience in industry.. Employers ask very little about college ime

Couldn't agree more.

All I was asked about at my last interview was where had I worked, what was my role in each case and exactly what did I do since I graduated. They had no interest in what college I had studied at.