To all Engineers on this forum

He Man · February 13, 2009, 05:29:06 PM

Just a question since I'm trying to see how realistic my graduation plan is...
How long did it take you guys to graduate?

If my grad plan looks good, then it would of taken me 5.5 years to graduate with a BE(Civil Engineering). and if that calculations are correct, I should have about 1.5 years to get a job or do nothing at all before I die (because the history channel and Nostradamus says we're all gonna perish in December 2012). Everyone is saying i need another 4 years

!!!!

lethe · February 13, 2009, 05:33:33 PM

Quote from: He Man on February 13, 2009, 05:29:06 PM
Just a question since I'm trying to see how realistic my graduation plan is...
How long did it take you guys to graduate?

If my grad plan looks good, then it would of taken me 5.5 years to graduate with a BA in Civil Engineering, and if that calculations are correct, I should have about 1.5 years to get a job or do nothing at all before I die (because the history channel and Nostradamus says we're all gonna perish in December 2012).

Quit now, I'm sure that they hire engineers without a degree. http://www.mta.info/

Speeddog · February 13, 2009, 05:36:37 PM

A B.A. in Civil Engineering

He Man · February 13, 2009, 05:45:29 PM

Quote from: Speeddog on February 13, 2009, 05:36:37 PM
A B.A. in Civil Engineering

Oops. BA= of Arts, i ment BE specifically CE.

been looking at vectors all day today.

Quote from: lethe on February 13, 2009, 05:33:33 PM
Quit now, I'm sure that they hire engineers without a degree. http://www.mta.info/

Im not sure if you are trying to poke fun of me or not, but if you arent, that explains a lot of where the 800million "surplus" went.

lethe · February 13, 2009, 05:51:10 PM

Quote from: He Man on February 13, 2009, 05:45:29 PM
Im not sure if you are trying to poke fun of me or not, but if you arent, that explains a lot of where the 800million "surplus" went.

Engineers drive the choo choos.

mitt · February 13, 2009, 05:51:36 PM

Do you just make pretty paintings of civil sites?

Most engineering degrees start with a B.S. - bachelors of science....

But anyway, I did it in 5 year, BS in Mechanical Engineering. The OP and I don't agree on responsibility, so I won't type my opinion of the importance of finding a job.

mitt

He Man · February 13, 2009, 06:05:21 PM

Quote from: mitt on February 13, 2009, 05:51:36 PM
Do you just make pretty paintings of civil sites?

Most engineering degrees start with a B.S. - bachelors of science....

But anyway, I did it in 5 year, BS in Mechanical Engineering. The OP and I don't agree on responsibility, so I won't type my opinion of the importance of finding a job.

mitt

Pretty paintings is where its at! People buy poo for arts sake!

At my school its called a B.E. I just looked it up to be sure.

Alexandre · February 13, 2009, 06:13:37 PM

I would say dont get too tied up in grad plans... I was planning on an Aero Engineering major and after about 2.5 years in realized that I hate engineering/math/numbers/the word aero/working hard/doing

Im now studying international business/ minor in business econ and I am a lot happier. Im planning on doing study abroad next semester and that will put me a bit more behind but who cares? this is the time to explore our options, learn more and expand our horizons.

Play it along as you go... enjoy yourself and dont try to graduate so fast in this shit economy cause there wont be any jobs anyways for a couple years... good luck

rgramjet · February 13, 2009, 06:34:25 PM

How can you tell if an engineer is an extrovert and not an introvert??

He looks at Your shoes instead of his own when talking to you...

He Man · February 13, 2009, 06:36:12 PM

A vector was walking down cartesian drive when he bumped into a confused Scalar.

The vector asked him what was wrong and he replied, "Help I have no direction."

herm · February 13, 2009, 07:03:52 PM

Quote from: lethe on February 13, 2009, 05:51:10 PM
Engineers drive the choo choos.

haha

i know a civil engineer who used to drive a train..for real.
he drove a freight for Burlington Northern in Northern CA and Oregon.
i think he is a starving house builder now...

Buckethead · February 13, 2009, 07:18:32 PM

I knew a civil engineer who was a contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers.

His "job" was to make sure that the Hornell Dam was still there every day.

He'd drive by it on the way to his other job and make sure it hadn't walked away during the night.

Johnny OrganDonor · February 13, 2009, 07:24:07 PM

To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass was over designed.

Unless you're at the top of your class or going to a top tier school, you should add another few years to your plan to get a Masters degree (MS).

Airborne · February 13, 2009, 07:57:16 PM

I'm finally in my last semester. I powered through it in 4 years, failed only one class (calc 4, twice), overloaded when I had to to stay on the 4 year track without having to go back during the summer. At one point I loaded 25 credits in one semester of all junior level engineering classes, duped the system to not get charged over. Yeah I got a few D's but said make the beast with two backs it and never looked back, it did hurt my gpa though I wasn't going to put myself through those classes again to maybe get a better grade. I put my family in debt doing it and for that I can never thank them enough.

Getting a BE in Mechanical/Aerospace eng. in 3 months, just got the email from the registrar telling me I will infact graduate if I dont fail anything. Everyone says "oh it will eventually get easier" it took me 8 semesters to reach "easier" where I'm only taking 4 classes and one of those is scuba. The thing that motivated me most was that if I didnt fail anything it wouldn't cost my family more $$$. When that wasnt enough I could only dream of the day when I would finally never have to solve another textbook class problem ever, throw the funny looking hat in the air and PEACE OUT.

I can't tell someone how to personally stay motivated, you have to figure out what does it for you. When you started school "you looked to your left, you looked to your right, one or both of those people wont finish" ....it was true. Those who stuck it out know what its like to have gone "to hell and back."

Triple J · February 13, 2009, 08:56:40 PM

It took me 5.5 years total to get my BS degree in Geological Engineering.

I took a somewhat round about way though. I transferred to a different university after my 1st year (don't stay home for a HS girlfriend

). Not too big of a deal schedule wise, but some of my non-engineering requirement classes were a waste. I also switched from Mechanical Engineering to Geological Engineering at the end of my Sophomore year. This probably set me back 6 months or so.

I think it'd be tough to bang out an engineering degree in 4 years. First, it's hard to know exactly what you want to do when you grow up so people often switch disciplines. Second, I don't think any undergrad. degree is more difficult to get than an engineering degree. The Sophomore and Junior level classes (weed out classes) were particularly tough. At times I envied my friends in other majors...like education (nothing against teachers).

It took 9 months (2 semesters) to get my MS in Geotechnical Engineering. It was a particularly brutal 9 months though!

Don't rush it if you don't have to. Making good money is nice...but working full time sucks. I'd also recommend against an expensive private school for your undergrad. Engineers make good money...but not good enough to pay off $100K or more...especially those that only have a BS. Save the expensive university for graduate school...where it is usually paid for by someone else.

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To all Engineers on this forum

Triple J