Engineering.. is it for me?

shanelad95

Hi guys, just wondering, im interested in doing engineering next year in nuig. However i did pass maths for the leaving and did find it very easy. i probably got at least a b without a book and papers :P just wondering would somebody who did ordinary level maths be capable of the maths in the engineering course?

Any help is much appreciated

demakinz

I'm doing computer engineering 10 years after i did the leaving cert. I did ord level maths and have had no problem with the maths in the course. My friend is also doing the course with me and he's 33 and didn't do the leaving cert he finds the maths very difficult but has passed every exam he has done over the 2 years. If you go to the lectures and put in the effort you will have no bother at all. My class is made up of a lot of mature students who have not done maths in many years and only a small few have failed maths.

YbFocus

Currently progressing to my 4th year in Mechanical and Renewable Energy man. Got a B in my pass maths.
You should be fine as they would normally start from stuff you know from school and you progress to the higher tiers of maths after a time.
I really wouldn't be worried and best of luck with whatever you choose

hanloj1

I did pass maths in my leaving. Done electronic engineering in gmit. They start the maths at a comfortable level. You should be well able for it.

lisheen2308

hanloj1 wrote: »

I did pass maths in my leaving. Done electronic engineering in gmit. They start the maths at a comfortable level. You should be well able for it.

Sorry for busting in on this forum!
im really interested in doing electronic engineering next year in UCC i hear its like really really hard? is that true? and with regards to maths im only ok at them! my teacher reckons theres alot of complex numbers and all that sort of stuff. so yeah just basically looking for some opinions on the course!

pa4

I did ordinary level maths for my leaving cert. Like you I found it very easy and got an A1 (I took the lazy option of dropping down). I'm now going into my 4th year of engineering and have no problem, I never failed an exam and got 87% in my main mathematics module for my summer exams.

If you go too class and put in the effort you should have no problems. When I first decided to do engineering I was like you and taught I might not be able for it and a lot of people including my teachers told me I would struggle but it didn't end up being that difficult at all.

They do start with fairly basic stuff in first year and gradually progress. There are a lot of mature students in my year in their 30's and 40's, most of which did ordinary level back when they did the leaving cert and still pass all their exams. Hope this helps.

shanelad95

Thanks lads, its good to hear from people who are actually doing the course. Just out of interest, is a lot of the maths e.g theorems repetitive? like has it become second nature to you?

Also where have you/ did you get employment? was there a lot of opportunities?

YbFocus

In my mech course obviously everything is centered around mechanics so there is a lot of stuff that keeps cropping up across the classes. Think of it like a number of key things you must learn and then everything falls into place around them. Also depending on the course, maths won't be the only subject you'll do maths in, like I do maths in at least half of my classes.
Engineering is strongly driven by maths so be prepared to have to struggle once in a while when the going gets tough

Celly Smunt

Almost failed maths in the leaving (D3) and i am now in possession of a MEng.Moral of the story,keep up with the work in college and you'll be grand. :cool:

YbFocus

pmcmahon wrote: »

Almost failed maths in the leaving (D3) and i am now in possession of a MEng.Moral of the story,keep up with the work in college and you'll be grand. :cool:

I'll second that I'm not at your level yet man but I do know that you will do it if you want to. Put the head down and do the work and you'll be happy at the end of it.

Celly Smunt

You'll also find that in engineering,the maths actually mean something it's not just a load of numbers and procedures that you have to learn to pass an exam.It's far more practical and useful.

I know you're probably aiming towards Mech,but one project i had great fun doing was building two 7 segment displays and programming them through with the use of kernaugh maps (one of my first projects that started my love affair for maths).If you get time download a program called "digital works" and follow a few youtube videos on kernaugh maps,gates,boolean algebra etc.

shruikan2553

Im doing engineering in NUIG but did higher level in the LC. If you go to the lectures and tutorials you'll be fine. In NUIG the lecturers give problem sheets to be done in the tutorials and the exams tend to be questions picked from that.

shanelad95

Thanks lads one more question, now i know this might be pushing into the area of personal qs but, what was yer starting salaries like/ expected to be?

YbFocus

Currently a level 8 grad in my area can get a job around the €30K mark or a little short of it.
If your doing well in 6-8 years that could be in the region of €60-80K.

xJEx

I want to do engineering next year, a common course not a specified field but I don't know what to expect. Can anyone tell me the sort of things you'd be doing in year 1?

shruikan2553

xJEx wrote: »

I want to do engineering next year, a common course not a specified field but I don't know what to expect. Can anyone tell me the sort of things you'd be doing in year 1?

They have changed the course since I did it but from working in one of the first year labs they were doing maths, physics, computer stuff inc programming, bit of mechanical stuff like gears and drag forces, chemistry and some electrical eng stuff like binary. Theres a list on the nuig website that gives a description of the classes and what each of them involves, ill see if i can find it.

xJEx

shruikan2553 wrote: »

They have changed the course since I did it but from working in one of the first year labs they were doing maths, physics, computer stuff inc programming, bit of mechanical stuff like gears and drag forces, chemistry and some electrical eng stuff like binary. Theres a list on the nuig website that gives a description of the classes and what each of them involves, ill see if i can find it.

Thanks! Sounds good

shruikan2553

http://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering/moduledescriptions_1styear1.html

This is for all first year IT and engineering so theres some stuff that you wouldnt be doing but Im not sure which parts. They are trying to make engineering 1 course with people specialising in third or forth year.

xJEx

shruikan2553 wrote: »

http://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering/moduledescriptions_1styear1.html

This is for all first year IT and engineering so theres some stuff that you wouldnt be doing but Im not sure which parts. They are trying to make engineering 1 course with people specialising in third or forth year.

Cool! I think i'm gonna aim for TCD since its closer and stuff but this will help I love maths and physics and all so hopefully I'm gonna enjoy it!

bren2001

xJEx wrote: »

Cool! I think i'm gonna aim for TCD since its closer and stuff but this will help I love maths and physics and all so hopefully I'm gonna enjoy it!

http://www.dcu.ie/registry/module_contents.php?function=4&programme=ME

That is the DCU information. 1 common year, specialise at the end. 4 year degree with an option of a fifth year for the Masters. Courses in DCU are Mechanical & Manufacturing, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Electronic and a series of ICT and DME courses.

Trinity has 2 common years. Never saw the point at 2 common years.

xJEx

bren2001 wrote: »

http://www.dcu.ie/registry/module_contents.php?function=4&programme=ME

That is the DCU information. 1 common year, specialise at the end. 4 year degree with an option of a fifth year for the Masters. Courses in DCU are Mechanical & Manufacturing, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Electronic and a series of ICT and DME courses.

Trinity has 2 common years. Never saw the point at 2 common years.

Alright cool, cheers

DJW11

I went back to uni to finish my Mech eng. degree after 8 years out. I did pass maths in school and had a 2yr cert in Mech eng from an IT behind me. My advice from someone who struggled at maths is this, engineering maths is tough, and only gets tougher but it is beyond no person.
The trick is you must understand that one thing builds on the last, the only time this isnt true is when you will do a stats and probability module, or linear algebra, but even then the basics of transposition of formula, knowing how to solve your basic liner, simultaneous, quadratic equations etc, factorization, and basic calculus will always be required in most of your engineering modules even outside maths.
I have spent the last year getting through 2nd year in Mech Eng, I ended up not doing myself justice in exams simply because the foundations were not in place, partly because i had forgotten so much and partly because i never understood it well enough before I even left college first.
I could tell you exactly what you need to know with regard to been ready for it, and it would start with getting a copy of Stroud Engineering Mathematics and working yourway through as much of that as possible before you start, Its the best book for a person in your position and will be worth its weight in gold for you throughout your degree if you choose to do it.
Id say again that the maths is very very tough, but with work absolutely anyone can do it, and you may even find you have a flair for it as you go on. If the OP or anyone thinking of going back to finish or start an engineering degree is worried about the above dont hesitate to PM me or ask a question, hope this helps.
As it stands Im currently exempt from an 8month coop placement and I'm working on research for the Uni and covering Stroud's math book from cover to cover to get ready for 3rd year.

CatFromHue

DJW11 wrote: »

As it stands Im currently exempt from an 8month coop placement and I'm working on research for the Uni and covering Stroud's math book from cover to cover to get ready for 3rd year.

Dunno if that's a great plan. I'd contact the Maths teacher for your third year module and explain the situation you're in now (i.e. you want to try and get up to speed with the foundations of Maths to perpare for their module).

The last thing you want to do is get bogged down spending ages trying to get your head around something that is of no relevance to you.

DJW11

I know what your saying, but its probably hard to grasp my problem from the way i described it. Il put it this way, iv been going through stroud for about 3 weeks for a few hours per day, and im already a third through it. Dont worry with vector calculas coming in 3rd year im hoping to be moving onto kreyszig advanced maths for 6-7 chapters so i can hit the road running in 3rd year. I dont want to just get through my next module. I dont want to be one of those engineers like so many i have spoken to who say "you dont need or wont use half of what youve learned in you maths modules". I believe if you understand it enough youll be able to see where it can be used to help you solve a problem.