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#60 by Justin on 09 Nov, 2005 13:39
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I have a year left at Kettering University (formerly GMI) and we do this 3 month rotation between school and a co-op job, I really havent used anything from the classroom, the most complicated math that i have used in the field is rise over run for calibrating pressure transducers
oh hey check out my rabbit on kettering's website they just did a veg oil article on my buddies and I, but yeah the degree mainly gives you credibility, but there are a lot of kids that get through that should not have even started college, they may be book smart but they have no common sense.
the Biggest thing in college is Networking, and Networking. remember the saying its not what you know its who you know, man is it true. small colleges and Strong Fraternities are great for this
I engourage you to get back into the field and good luck
later
Justin -
#61 by TDIMeister on 12 Nov, 2005 04:10
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Quote from: "BlackTieTD"
How is everyone's semester going?
I haven't heard much from TDImeister lately, I'm sure he has his hands full over there. Anyone heard much from him?
AWW, I'm so humbled that people wonder about me. Sorry that I've been out of touch from this forum. The last several months have been crazy, and as it is I spread myself very thin between school, my part time job and all the partying!! :shock: :lol:
I'm doing great! Been here in Aachen, DE, since early August. The study semester actually began only in mid-October, but prior to that I was getting settled in my new home and attending an intensive German language course. I'm taking some really cool courses, but some really hard ones as well... Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals is facsinating me but I'm finding everthing to be simple stuff I already know, and unfortunately I don't have a very inspiring lecturer for that course... Automotive Engineering I is also a wonderful course and I'm learning a lot in a much more structured and quantitative manner when I already have a lot of cursory knowledge and field experience.
My social life has never been better. I certainly never got out this much and found such acceptance in Canada. I have made some really close friends among classmates and their network of friends... I find that I'm out doing something 3 or 4 nights of the week :shock: And have I said that German women are to die for?!
Maaaannnnn!!!
Anyway, so much more to share but I promise I will be more active here. Marc and I have been chatting on MSN and I look forward to sharing and contributing more, especially on an interesting thread he referred me to about the resurgence in IDI Diesels.QuoteI'm sad to say I sold out and went back to working fulltime after year 1. I think I did it for the right reasons though and I hope to return to Engineering studies, but at the University level for Sept '06 or '07 start.
Its a big commitment, 5 years of schooling. I'd like to hear some reflection from any Eng. grads on your experience, what you are doing with your education now, and what you might have done differently?
Well, Lenny, I have full confidence that you made the right decision for you. Coming back to school has actually been a bit of a challenge for me academically. I have not really had to use my brain like this for 5 years, and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with some of the material in certain courses. But I guess I am not helping myself considering I have not spent an iota of time in study outside of scheduled lectures and tutorials... :oops: The German study system is rather different in Canada. I am used to getting homework and assignments, the grades of which contibute to the course final. Here however, there are no such homework and assignments. You are given complete freedom to do as little or as much as you want. You don't even have to attend a single class. Your final examination is the be-all-and-end-all that determines your overall grade. A 100% final exam is a scary thought for me...
If you have any questions, Lenny, about your future direction, feel free to ask. Hey, you can even come to Germany Falling enrollments, especially in Engineering fields (and Germans loving Canadians 
) actually make it fairly easy to get a place at a German University. Believe me, my qualifications are nothing extraordinary! Plus, tuition is FREE! Yes, FREE!
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#62 by BlackTieTD on 21 Nov, 2005 13:52
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Quote from: "zyewdall"
What is the difference between college and university for you. In the US they are pretty much just nomenclature differences dependding on what school you are at. Perhaps your college is more like our Community College, which is another name for the two year schools here? A bachelors of science in engineering degree is designed to be a 4 year program (although alot of people take 5 years to finish it). You can get two year technical degrees on various things, but not usually the traditional engineering disciplines.
i was enrolled in mechanical engineering - design & analysis 3-yr co-op program at the college level. i have completed 1st year.
the university program i am considering is mechanical engineering at the university of waterloo which is a 5-yr program and far more intense.
the important practical difference between the two is 4 little letters after my name, P. Eng.
if i graduate from college i'd be a technologist and be lucky to make what i make now.
if i graduate from university i'd be a Professional Engineer. that designation carries much more weight, responisibility, and paycheck.
i'm not really interested in investing the next 2 years of my life into a program that, once completed, will more than likely land me with a lower-paying job than the one i quit to go back to school. i'd love to say i'm not doing it for the money (because obviously engineering is far more interesting than graphic design), but in the end, its a job, it pays the bills, and its all about the bottom line.
beyond that, college was like high school. i showed up with 'my game face on' taking everything quite seriously. i quit my full-time job and disrupted my life completely to be there. i wasn't fooling around. in the end, i was incredibly disappointed with the pace of the program, the knowledge of the instructors, the lack of option to add additional courses, and even my fellow classmates (who more times than not would be happy as long as they didn't fail).
i tried to bulk up my course load by applying to add several upcoming courses to my current timetable, and was unable to. some courses they offer only for one semeseter per year. i was left feeling like i was working to about 50 or 60% of my capacity and i felt like i was wasting my time. so when it came time to think seriously about returning for 2nd year... i called my old boss instead and got my old job back. (i also called UofW admissions and had missed the deadline for '05/'06 admission)
UofW is one of the premier engineering schools. it is known to be TOUGH, the math is heavy, the pace is at least twice that of college. before my experience at college i was intimidated to the point where i didn't even apply to UofW or other universities. i had been out of high school for at least 4 or 5 years and i didn't think i could 'hack it'. if anything, the college experience gave me confidence and the drive to achieve something greater than college could provide. i'd rather fail giving my best effort at university than coast through college wondering why i'm there.
sorry, that explanation got long... i'm just a little frustrated with the whole college experience.Quote from: "Justin"the Biggest thing in college is Networking, and Networking.
a couple of you mentioned networking...most people i talk to about this say the same thing. at college, all i found myself being exposed to were people and opportunities dealing with production-type work. factory environment. i have worked in tons of factories (part of the 'research' i did that led to me returning to school in the first place) and i have no interest in being a millright, or being an engineer in charge of ensuring that X amount of parts are stamped in time for Y deadline. ideally i'd like to work with new ideas, innovate, develop concepts or even do field testing....whether its an automobile or a toaster. i hope that at the university level i will be able to find the opportunity to network with people who will be able to help me move more in that direction.Quote from: "TDIMeister"AWW, I'm so humbled that people wonder about me. Sorry that I've been out of touch from this forum. The last several months have been crazy, and as it is I spread myself very thin between school, my part time job and all the partying!! :shock: :lol:
sounds like a blast dave. you are following a path that is quite intreguing to me... whether or not i make it as far as you have come remains to be seen, but you certainly have helped to open my eyes to the opportunities that are out there. my step-father used to return from business trips to germany where he would attend hydraulics/pneumatics trade shows and tell me all about the crazy things the germans were doing. i've always wanted to get over there and see it all for myself. to actually attend school there would be unreal!
i'm really glad its all working out for you and you are happy with your decision. keep us posted on the happenings over there... feel free to dump in this thread like i do :lol:
and PS! it's Lanny, with an eh. :wink: -
#63 by 3beejay3 on 21 Nov, 2005 17:40
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It's definitely true about the networking thing.
The business that myself and my partners run came together because of networking. All the business that we have done so far has come from networking.
In early October I attended a seminar hosted by Communitech( an association of all the high tech businesses and schools in the Kitchener-Waterloo area) One of the speakers was an early 30-something guy that founded a company called Redknee Inc. (it's went from zero to about $50 million in annual revenue in about 5 years) A lot of his speech was about how he spent alot of time in university(U of W) getting to know all the smartest students because he wanted to hire them when he started his business.
BJ -
#64 by BlackTieTD on 23 Feb, 2006 09:27
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lets bring this one back from the dead....
how's everyone doing with school? call out to davemeister!
last night i put my application in to the university of waterloo for september 2006. mechanical engineering of course. here's to hoping!
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#65 by VelocityConservation on 24 Feb, 2006 13:06
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Congratulations on your upcoming return to school
I returned to school to get an engineering degree (after 12 yrs out) and have not regretted it even once (I finished 10 yrs ago in May). I know that makes me very old. :oops:
When considering pay as the motivator I have found that I could make almost as much and sometimes more before the degree but, I had to work twice as many hours to do it. So for me it has been an enabler for a higher quality of life.
Enjoy your time in school! It will be fun! -
#66 by TDIMeister on 01 Mar, 2006 17:23
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Quote from: "BlackTieTD"
lets bring this one back from the dead....
how's everyone doing with school? call out to davemeister!
last night i put my application in to the university of waterloo for september 2006. mechanical engineering of course. here's to hoping!
Congrats on sending in the application, Lenny. Nothing is by any means guaranteed, but the initiative and drive to pursue this is commendable!
I'm doing well here, as noted in my previous post above. I just wrote exams this morning in Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals and Energy Conversion Machinery.
Very, very heavy studying, made all the more difficult when you have 2 1/2 hours to write both exams which could take 3 hours to write EACH! They were not difficult courses at all; but I did myself no favours by procrastinating in my studying... :oops:
If it interests you I will send you links to some lectures, tutorial problems and past exams in PDF format of some of the courses I'm taking that I've hosted on a website of my own. -
#67 by BlackTieTD on 02 Mar, 2006 10:31
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Quote from: "VelocityConservation"
I returned to school to get an engineering degree (after 12 yrs out) and have not regretted it even once (I finished 10 yrs ago in May). I know that makes me very old. :oops:
Enjoy your time in school! It will be fun!
thanks! i've been out of high school since 1999 but i've tried two college programs since then. everyone says they don't regret it and that i won't either once i finish.... its great reassurance.Quote from: "TDIMeister"Congrats on sending in the application, Lenny. Nothing is by any means guaranteed, but the initiative and drive to pursue this is commendable!
If it interests you I will send you links to some lectures, tutorial problems and past exams in PDF format of some of the courses I'm taking that I've hosted on a website of my own.
hey deve! (it's lAnny, dave!! :lol: )
yes please do send me some PDFs i'd love to take a look!
'by any means guaranteed' is right...
just got off the phone with admissions at UW and discovered that although i soared through 1st year engineering at conestoga including programs in all areas of study that UW has listed as prerequisites, UW does not recognize these courses as equivilants to the 12U courses they require. the guy i spoke to said its kind of a grey area because i was last in high school before they introduced 12U courses and did-away with OAC.... so essentially i fall between the cracks, but in a bad way. to be considered i will have to complete 4 pre-university courses at an adult learning centre (and if i want in for sept '06 i have less than 30 days to complete all 4, impossible). all this despite having all 1st year marks at conestoga above 85% with averages of 90% and 91%. i figured for sure that would be enough, i was wrong. the time for someone to tell me this would have been last summer when i inquired about it! i spent over an hour on the phone with admissions at UW in july and he didn't mention any of this. now it looks like sept '07.
adult ed here i come :lol:
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#68 by TDIMeister on 02 Mar, 2006 10:56
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Lanny (whoops) :lol:, can't you apply as a mature student then???
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#69 by BlackTieTD on 02 Mar, 2006 11:14
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i am applying as a mature student. even as a mature student i still need those 4 pre-requisite courses (that i thought i had equivilants of, but apparently i do not) :evil:
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#70 by TDIMeister on 02 Mar, 2006 11:42
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Well, keep plugging away, Lanny. And should the day come of your graduation from a Univ. Engineering program, you already know someone who would be honoured and happy to present you your Iron Ring.
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#71 by BlackTieTD on 02 Mar, 2006 11:45
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i get a ring? nice! :wink: :lol:
thanks for the encouragement dave, good luck in das vaterland! -
#72 by BlackTieTD on 18 Aug, 2006 11:17
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i quit my job last thursday party
who's going back to school this fall? what are you taking?
how's it coming with you dave? sick of the warm beer yet??! -
#73 by TDIMeister on 19 Aug, 2006 13:11
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Still here, once in a while at least. Not sick of the beer, but definitely missing home. Anyone wanna contribute to a "Bring Dave Home Fund" for September?
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#74 by QuickTD on 19 Aug, 2006 19:25
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Quote
i get a ring? nice!
Yes, you get a pinky ring, and immediatly lose all my respect. Them pinky ring rubbin' types are the scourge of the practical world. All we wanna do is just get (and keep) the machinery running. Terribly hard thing to do with them engineering types around...
It's an odd relationship I have with engineers. I conceive it, I design it, I build it, I wire it, I program it, but I can't turn it on until its approved by a P.eng. They once typed up a 37 page report on a 12 foot long conveyor I built, the bleeding thing didn't have 37 parts... It's different, the way they think...
All I have to say is try to keep it real, Lanny...