To all Engineers on this forum

[He Man]

That was actually pretty motivating to read HHooligan. Congrats on getting it done in 4 years, atleat i know its possible. I wish classes were available for me to take during the summer. Atleast im not stuck like the Chem E guys who have classes that only occur during the fall.

I wish you the best man! Motivation is sure hard to come by. Im stuck in class with a bunch of other dudes. Half of which smell really terrible. There is one hot chick in my math class though. That keeps me going there cause she dresses pretty cute i just have to go talk to her one of these days!  

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. 

Hahaha! Dont transfer back to another school for an HS girlfriend either.  5.5 years. Thats exactly what I am aiming for. im shooting for 12-15 a semester right now since i cleared out all my liberal arts already.

How did you get a masters in 2 semesters? I thought those things took 2 years! Im only playing 4grand a year for my school. Its my favorite one out of the 4 colleges ive attended classes at, and its the only school in my city that has it so its not like i have a choice. lol

how did you get your grad paid for? work?

[Airborne]

How did you get a masters in 2 semesters? I thought those things took 2 years!

dont want to speak for him but typically an MS in engineering is about 30 credits, or a "graduate certificate" whatever they call it.

[He Man]

Ahhh, i see, 15 per a semester. Full time for masters i about 9 credits i hear. 9 months for a master seems like its worth every penny. I heard about this thing called a PE exam, and how some people take it after their masters? I thought it was something you can only take after working? like a tradesmen.

[Triple J]

How did you get a masters in 2 semesters? I thought those things took 2 years! Im only playing 4grand a year for my school. Its my favorite one out of the 4 colleges ive attended classes at, and its the only school in my city that has it so its not like i have a choice. lol

how did you get your grad paid for? work?

UC Berkeley has a 1 year program for Geotechnical Engineering. No thesis, but a project at the end. 18 credits of coursework for each of the 2 semesters....maybe 15 credits per semester, I can't remember. It's tough, but well worth it. I looked into a few schools, but couldn't turn down a 1 year program. Besides, it's an extremely good grad. school for engineering.

Many schools have a large amount of money for grad. students which they use to pay for their credits. UCB offered to pay for my credits, and I taught 2 semesters of lab which paid for my out-of-state tuition. All I had to come up with was 9 months of living money. 

[Triple J]

I heard about this thing called a PE exam, and how some people take it after their masters? I thought it was something you can only take after working? like a tradesmen.

You have to pass the EIT first...might be called the FE now. It's typically taken during the end of your BS degree.

For the PE requirements vary from state to state, but typically you need 4 years of work experience after earning a BS to qualify to take the PE (California only requires 2 years for some reason). A MS degree will usually count as 2 of the 4 years.

I worked for 4.5 years between my BS and MS so I was eligible right out of grad. school.

I think working between the degrees is a good idea. It gives you some practical experience...and also lets you know if this is what you really want to do. My $.02.

[He Man]

WHat kind of work was it? I have years in the small construction business through my dad, and community programs, so I've pretty much always wanted to build/fix things, or destroy them. ( I perfer the later, but i hear most demo companies are family owned and operated)

[Triple J]

I did traditional geotechnical engineering and a little bit of environmental engineering between my BS and MS. Quite a bit of field work, which was very useful. Now I'm in the tunneling industry.

[Speedbag]

It took me six years to get my BS in Engineering, for the following reasons:

1. I paid my way as I went (no loans!), worked the whole time, thus could only afford so many credits per quarter (the days just before semesters). This sucked balls for many reasons (never did anything but work during breaks) but it was the way to go looking back at it now.

2. I partied a little throughout when I had the time. 

All things considered, I'm not 100% sure I'd do it again. You probably won't get rich in engineering (I'm not, but then again I'm not starving either), but the work is very enjoyable for the most part.

[Schwanger]

I got my BS in Mech Eng in 4.5 years, this included a semester off for an internship.  Don't load up your semesters to try and get through.  Make sure you're actually learning the material because, believe it or not, you are not you are going to use this stuff when you graduate.  Also make sure you leave plenty of time for  because once you graduate it's harder to go out on a random week night.

Good luck!  [moto]

[pennyrobber]

I got my Bachelors in Mechanical in 4.5 years as well. Didn't like the job market at the time so I went into graduate school. I have been here now for 3.5 years. When will it ever end? 

Seriously though, if your grades are good enough, I would look into taking the GRE and checking out some Masters programs. That will buy you a couple of years to let the market cool down and you'll be more marketable. Don't do a PhD though, trust me.

[rgramjet]

I got my BS in Mech Eng in 4.5 years, this included a semester off for an internship.  Don't load up your semesters to try and get through.  Make sure you're actually learning the material because, believe it or not, you are not you are going to use this stuff when you graduate.  Also make sure you leave plenty of time for  because once you graduate it's harder to go out on a random week night.

Good luck!  [moto]

Yes but did you get it in 4.5 years while living in a tree??  Everybody at Berkeley lives in trees dont they??


 

[Airborne]

HeMan if you are civil you should want to take the EIT for sure. All my civil friends took it in the fall of senior year, got the results back in January. Everyone who passed got jobs lined up. This is your area too (NYC). I dont think your type of work would count, I'm not certain but I believe you have to work under another licensed P.E. i.e like a construction firm such as Turner, Judlau etc.

[Triple J]

I dont think your type of work would count, I'm not certain but I believe you have to work under another licensed P.E. i.e like a construction firm such as Turner, Judlau etc.

This is true. Qualifying experience for eligibility to take the PE must be gained while working under a licensed PE. The work tasks must also be engineering. The PE application will require recommendation letters from everyone whose experience working under you are trying to count.

[He Man]

oh well, the experience is what got me into this whole thing. dont mind working under a PE. I looked up EIT, thats engineeer in training?
how hard is the test suppose to be?

[Triple J]

The EIT isn't all that hard. If you pay attention during your classes and do some brush up studying before hand you'll be OK. That's one reason everyone takes it in school...everything is still fresh.