Considering starting an engineering degree

..Brian..

Hi Guys,

I'm considering going to college to do Civil or Electrical Engineering or Architectural Technology next year. I'm looking at three different 3 year courses in particular in Waterford

BEng in Civil Engineering

BEng in Electrical Engineering

BSc in Architectural Technology

I'm trying to find out more about the prospects and opportunities I will have after completing either of these courses. What sort of job could I expect what sort of salary would I earn. What would potential earnings increase to as I became more experienced years down the line? Is there much work in these areas at the moment? I plan to move to Slovakia in the next 5 or 6 years, any idea what the industry is like over there?

Do any of you have any tips or things you would have liked to have known before setting out on this path? Is there anything I'm not asking that might be good to know?!

Thanks guys!

mawk

I don't know much about Slovakia but around here almost all engineering disciplines seem to top out at about 80k unless you settle into upper management.
You may start lower but will probably work for a long time between 30 and 50k

It's generally not huge money in engineering but its usually stable and can be interesting.

The three courses you mention are very very different to each other. And I presume they are all hetac lvl 7 being 3 years. This would mean you cannot be chartered with is important in civil and (I imagine) arc tech.

Most importantly, what are you interested in? Inventing? Drawing? Diy? Programming?

..Brian..

Thanks for the reply. What exactly does being charted mean? Meaning I wont be able to work on my own? Would I get a job with a company not being chartered?

I would be interested in drawing and building, AutoCAD. The design of big things like bridges and machines interest me. I guess I picked the above courses as they al have bits that interest me!

mawk

Chartership is a professional accolade that basically proves you are competent. It Is also a protected title meaning you can only use it if you have earned it. "Engineer" on its own in Ireland is not protected. Anyone can call themselves an engineer.
A lot of large construction jobs will only be given to chartered engineers. Especially government contracts.

Maybe look at mechanical or structural engineering. Both are cad and design heavy

..Brian..

Thanks for the info Mawk.

..Brian..

So I've pretty much decided on Mechanical Engineering. With that in mind, and given the fact that I have no formal education past the leaving cert years (went to school on and off till 6th year but never sat the exams), I am enrolling in some night courses that I think will help.

I have enrolled in a City and Guilds level 2 course in CAD parametric modelling and plan to also enrol in a C&G level 2 Mechanical Engineering Technician course also to try increase my chances and knowledge. I have about 2 years experience as a MIG/TIG welder in a small engineering company also but that was back in 2000 or 2001.

Can anyone think of anything else that would be a worthwhile way to spend my free time (quite limited now!) or something I could plan to do in the future that would be overall beneficial?

2011

..Brian.. wrote: »

Can anyone think of anything else that would be a worthwhile way to spend my free time (quite limited now!) or something I could plan to do in the future that would be overall beneficial?

Yes, study maths.

..Brian..

Good point. What maths will I need to get a head start on things?

bren2001

..Brian.. wrote: »

Good point. What maths will I need to get a head start on things?

Basic algebra (you would be surprised....), differentiation, integration and trigonometry. It is not a case of getting a "head start". If you are out of practice on this stuff it is a case of catching up. Doing an evening course for Leaving Certificate is the standard required. You will be taught anything above that.

Most of the mature students on my course struggled mainly with the Maths and never really got their head around it. Their results always suffered. If programming is on the course I would advise that you start to look at some of the basics now. It is not hard but the older you are the harder it seems to grasp it (in my experience).

onefourreal

you will be fine, you can get grinds on the maths when the time comes.
you have a great advantage in having worked as a welder,you can visualize,you know how to put things together.
good to have the qualification but its your experience that will make the difference when job hunting.

..Brian..

Thanks for the guys, will start looking at maths stuff on youtube now. You're right Bren, it'll definitely be a case of catching up vs getting ahead!

Turbulent Bill

..Brian.. wrote: »

Thanks for the guys, will start looking at maths stuff on youtube now. You're right Bren, it'll definitely be a case of catching up vs getting ahead!

To be honest, I'd go straight to the Leaving Cert Maths curriculum and see how much of it you currently understand. That's the standard your classmates will be at, and what any college course will build on. Having major knowledge gaps isn't a problem once you recognise what they are and how to fix them.

I wouldn't bother with part time CAD courses etc., can easily be picked up along the way. Doing a degree level engineering course with poor maths skills could be as difficult as doing it through a foreign language in my opinion.

..Brian..

Duly noted. The maths is something I will definitely get stuck into throughout the year. It's been a long time since I have done any sort of leaving cert style maths so I will need all the catching up I can manage!

Re the CAD courses etc. The idea of those is that, aside from being relevant to the course, it will hopefully show I am serious about going back and obtaining a degree and that I haven't just been sitting on my arse twiddling my thumbs! I don't think mature student places are so easily obtained these days as they were a few years ago, so anything that gives me a bit of an advantage over other candidates will be welcome!

Chet T16

..Brian.. wrote: »

Re the CAD courses etc. The idea of those is that, aside from being relevant to the course, it will hopefully show I am serious about going back and obtaining a degree and that I haven't just been sitting on my arse twiddling my thumbs! I don't think mature student places are so easily obtained these days as they were a few years ago, so anything that gives me a bit of an advantage over other candidates will be welcome!

I would think the maths would be the biggest help here. Without higher leaving certs maths at a good level you are at risk of being left behind very quickly and they're not going to want that. I took an Access course into my degree which covered (only) the required maths and i still took a beating in first year!

I found the Khan Academy on youtube brilliant for all the calculus needed, it worth looking that up.

endacl

^^

+1

http://www.khanacademy.org/

..Brian..

Wow the Khan Academy is a fantastic resource, thanks for the tip!

joeperry

Another tip is to check if your answers are correct using www.wolframalpha.com

Turbulent Bill

..Brian.. wrote: »

Duly noted. The maths is something I will definitely get stuck into throughout the year. It's been a long time since I have done any sort of leaving cert style maths so I will need all the catching up I can manage!

Re the CAD courses etc. The idea of those is that, aside from being relevant to the course, it will hopefully show I am serious about going back and obtaining a degree and that I haven't just been sitting on my arse twiddling my thumbs! I don't think mature student places are so easily obtained these days as they were a few years ago, so anything that gives me a bit of an advantage over other candidates will be welcome!

There's no harm tinkering with CAD, but if I was on an interview panel for mature students the biggest attribute I'd look for is problem solving. Namely, can you recognise a practical problem, come up with a possible solution, test and evaluate it. Even a household issue like rainwater collection (for example) would be relevant. You won't have the technical expertise to do a really complex problem, but you can demonstrate the thinking.

In my experience mature students are generally better than school leavers at this.

Paddy Cow

An access course would be your best bet. They cover the basics of maths and science and if you get good marks you will generally be accepted into college. If you are not completely sure about which course you would like to do, an undenominated one is probably best.

Newtown90

Having done mechanical engineering myself and seen some mature students succeed and fail it's clearly evident it's how committed you are to it.

Having had plumbers and fitters mostly in my course, and been away from school for 8+ years, some used stay til closing time of the library every day, constantly doing maths, mechanics and thermo. While others had the attitude of "twil be grand" and tried cramming, going on to fail and not complete the course.

I would advise you get a few books off eBay just on basic mechanics and thermofluids along with the maths already suggested, I thought I was good at maths going into the course having done honours in my leaving but soon found it to be my biggest weakness.

Best of luck with the venture! Stay committed!

..Brian..

Thanks for all the advice guys. Unfortunately the City & Guilds CAD course did not go ahead due to lack of numbers. None of the other engineering related night courses were running in the WIT apart from the part time degree. I had found another, much more basic course in CAD in another college in town and applied for it, was due to start this evening but received a text yesterday that that too was cancelled due to lack of numbers! TBH though, from the course outline I know most of it already from youtube.

The Khan Academy has been a brilliant resource, I've been putting in a good bit of time there. I've had to go all the back to the start of algebra as I remember none of it but it's coming back to me quick enough. I'm going to get stuck into the physics modules they have online also.

Must have a look on eBay and see if I can find any books. An access course looks perfect but they don't seem to do them in WIT.