rudypoochris Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I have noticed my peers at UC Davis are clueless. Which seems to make it just easier for me to use the machine shop and such. Nobody knows how to use their hands around here, but seeing as your on Hybridz.org you shouldn't have that problem... Theory has a higher pay potential, from what I have seen. Alternatively all of my engineering friends are more hands on. Just talking about 95% of the other engineers I meet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxjoeyxxeb Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Cal Poly is both theoretical and practical. There are lots of labs that go along with classes to see things first hand. And yes, diff. eq. was 2nd year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I would think Cal Poly would be a pretty good place. Mainly because of the girls. It is hard to get into though. Unless you do what my friends did and enter under something like "Ag Business" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 I would think Cal Poly would be a pretty good place. Mainly because of the girls. It is hard to get into though. Unless you do what my friends did and enter under something like "Ag Business" I had a friend who did something like that, went to U of Michigan as a music major iirc, then transferred to the school of science and engineering. Last I heard, he graduated with BS in Chem. Any idea how it would work transferring from a community college? I've ___HEARD___ that with say, 50 credits and a 3.0 you can just transfere to a UC school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I had a friend who did something like that, went to U of Michigan as a music major iirc, then transferred to the school of science and engineering. Last I heard, he graduated with BS in Chem. Any idea how it would work transferring from a community college? I've ___HEARD___ that with say, 50 credits and a 3.0 you can just transfere to a UC school. I have heard the same, but do not know. My first girlfriend is probably going to transfer to Davis from Santa Barbara City college. I hear you guys get first priority. I went to a private high school and didn't get into Cal Poly for ME. I had a 3.86 and a 2000+ on the SAT. I write essays pretty well too. My friend with a 4.13 didn't make it either for civil and he had higher SATs. That doesn't mean you won't get in. For all I know they just didn't like me or my school. I still wouldn't have gone there if I did get in back then. Now, I would consider it, but I really like being up here in this area. I just think it is tough to get into. Impacted is the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxjoeyxxeb Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I was out of state student so I think I got accepted for the extra fees. A lot of people come into Cal Poly into a lesser major (ag eng, business...) and then switch into Engineering. If you can, come down for open house... I think its in April. Spend a few days and see the area. It is beautiful here! Pismo beach is 10 mins away, the town is great, weather is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 SHO Z .. thats crazy you have a MET degree at MSCD!! Im currently going to MSCD for aerospace.. and my minor is MET! small world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 SHO Z .. thats crazy you have a MET degree at MSCD!! Im currently going to MSCD for aerospace.. and my minor is MET! small world! Say what everyone wants about the MET degree at MSCD. It has all real engineers teaching classes, no grad students. When I went there they all had experience in the real world and every one was a PE. Doesn't Cal Poly San Louis Obispo also have a MET degree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I'll have to agree that ME is the way to go. You get alot of people switching from ME to MET, but not the other way around. MET seems like kind of a backup. I love my major and I can't think of anything I'd rather be studying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxjoeyxxeb Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Cal Poly might have it, but I've never heard of it. Doing a quick search on the site brings up some classes offered ETME- Eng Tech Mech Eng. But I'm not too sure if it's current. If you're looking for hands on, Cal Poly is pretty good if you make what you can of it. Some students use the facilities and are constantly working on projects, while others dont even know they exist. Pretty much every quarter I have had a lab or two, and have had large desiging projects, problem solving projects, welding, casting, machining... If you do come for Open House be sure to let me know and I'll be happy to show you the real town. (ANYONE else on this board too... if you're in SLO let me know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Courses such as diff eqns are often “weeder courses†which are not inherently difficult, but are made difficult to winnow the field. Surviving the course means that you have the tenacity and dedication. This, some say, is useful later on in life, as a practicing engineer. The senior undergraduate courses are specializations of the freshman-sophomore core. In some regards they are actually easier. They repeat some of the freshman-sophomore material and do it in a more applied way. That makes them both more enjoyable and less frustrating. That said, as an engineer I very often use concepts from calc, diff eqns and other core courses. I rarely actually use variation of parameters or calculate Wronskians, but concepts such as linear independence, resonance and damping, linear superposition, truncation error and the like are so ingrained in my intuition that they’re almost done without thinking, like the proverbial riding a bicycle. If I need to have something drawn in Solidworks, or stress in a part calculated using finite elements, or code slammed out in Java, well, I can delegate that to some one else. But the conceptualization of an engineering system from scratch is really something that requires a mental training only possible from rigorous study. That study could perhaps be on-the-job; you don’t need a piece of paper to be a good engineer. But I’d argue that it is far easier in the long run to step over the high hurdles while a college student. Study hard when you’re 19, so that when you’re 39 you are an established expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moridin Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 What community college? Some of the CSU's and UC's have automatic acceptance programs if you maintain a minimum GPA in the required classes. I believe a signed agreement (contract) is also required. By no means is this a knock on the UC system, but I've noticed that those who graduate in engineering from CSU's or either of the Cal Poly's have a much easier time finding work in the practical world. UC's seem to prepare many for staying in academia. I have a boss who graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from UC San Diego, and who's father works as a professor at UC Berkeley. He's pretty opinionated on the issue saying it seems UC's tend to teach learning for the sake of learning. Where he to do it over again, he said he'd have probably gone to a state school or changed his major to business. With all that being said, if you were to put a UC graduate against a CSU graduate (both with the same degree and all other aspects being equal) for a job, the UC graduate may be the more likely one to get it. Both UC Davis and Sac State have very good engineering programs. Berkeley too. Any of the UC's will serve you well, while you may have to be more selective about what state school. Both Cal Poly's are amazing. Have you thought about joining the Formula SAE program at whatever school(s) you're looking at? Might be a deciding factor. Not all of this is hearsay, because I have spent enough time at my community college to be a doctor on any other "normal" track. Many of my observations come from seeing many of my peers from high school graduating from their respective universities. I know most who are now working, and many who are back at home despite having some very respectable degrees from "good" schools. I guess my point is, if you plan on staying in academia, go with a UC. Otherwise, a M.E. degree from almost any accredited school will serve you well. In the end, experience holds more weight than what university you graduated from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 UC's do teach for the sake of learning and nothing else. I just spin it my own way and feel better for it. The only reason I would have chosen Cal Poly over Davis would really be for the girls and the beach. Otherwise it is really just what you make of it in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Sorry for not keeping up with this thread of mine, full time school and work makes life interesting . . . I'm going to Shasta College, and I looked up the classes that are articulated to Cal Poly - not many at all. I presume the courses are alot more specialized, as CSU Sac has a number of courses that I can transfere down. Not that I've taken that many, just the basic and usual stuff. Thanks all for the input!! Talked with several current and former ME's, and it is such a wide open field that I shouldn't have to worry about employment with a Mechanical Engineering degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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