| Author | Message | ||
     Pkforbes87 |
Anyone know of a school that offers a mechanical engineering 4-year program through distance or online methods? After some searching, the only school I've found is Penn Foster but it looks like they only offer up to an Associate's with the online classes. I'm wanting to start working towards a 4 year degree (then progress to a 6 year) and would like to major in mech. engineering with a minor in electrical engineering. I've got an unpredictable work schedule though so can't be tied to an in-class schedule. Any ideas? Those degree ideas aren't set in stone. I'd like to spend the next 16 years earning a retirement check, then go to work doing R&D work for a motorcycle company. (Maybe Buell ver. 2.0 by that time?)  | ||
| Jasonnennig |
Good Luck man, I'm sure you could do it if you really put your mind to it... BUT,,,in my honest opinion (for what it's worth), More than half of the whole college experience is about the people you meet there and the experiences you will have on campus. You can't really "home school it". If you have the grades, money, time and motivation, check into local universities and colleges. There is nothing wrong with starting at a community college and getting a associates degree and going from there... | ||
| Geforce |
PK... good luck. Problem with distance learning is you cannot take a lab through a PC. Not all labs are the same, but you cannot perform experiments or test things when you don't have it in front of you. This is why I switched to Construction EN MNG. | ||
| Texastechx1 |
you can do distance learning for 'Engineering Drafting and Design Technology'... but Mech Eng would be more difficult than actually doing it on campus. DAMHIK, I'm an ME at TTU. | ||
| Interex2050 |
I don't know about undergraduate degrees, but at UCLA they offer online Masters Degrees. The classes are horribly expensive, and you do not get the same face to face interaction with the professors and students. I agree with Jason on this one, you will be missing out by trying to get your BS online. Not to mention, suffering with others is much more fun than alone in front of the computer.  There is also a hitch with getting a ME degree with a minor in EE. I wasn't allowed to do that, something to do with overlapping classes. That is... many classes are almost the same, yet different enough that they are not interchangeable. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Another ME here. When I went to college back in the dark ages, there weren't any minors for technical majors, at least not where I went to school (Clemson University). I could have probably chosen additional technical electives in electrical engineering but there were no formal "minors". | ||
| Benm2 |
Pk - check with your local college about night classes and corresponding day classes. If they're offered at the same time (meaning there are 5 or 6 class schedules offered for Chem 12, for example), you might have some flexibility regarding WHICH class you hit, at least for the first two years or so. Bigger state Universities will have the same lecture maybe 8-10 times during a given week, and class hopping might be a possibility to keep you from missing class time. Professors also are generally flexible about office hours, so you might be able to schedule office visits for things that you just didn't grip in class. Remember the most important rule about college: ITS YOUR MONEY. Make it worth it, express a real interest in learning and you might be suprised at how much breathing room you're given. From my experience, for the first two years of my college experience almost no one cared about attendance, and the tests were impersonal color-the-black-dot items graded by computer. Be careful with "cameraderie" in college: I found it almost always means "can I copy your homework". Do ALL of the homework yourself, and ask the prof for help if you need it. Generally speaking, asking your buddy for help during the test is prohibited. You can coast thru on homework in some classes, using "group effort" to keep your classwork grade portion high, but if you really want to learn then put your own effort in there. I would try HARD to have your military experience count towards some portion of your credits. I have no idea if its possible, but forcing engineers to take Theatre 101 to be "well rounded" is a massive pile of hooey, IMHO. If you've been put in a position where you could have been shot at, you're well rounded enough for me. If you've already got drinking & partying out of your system, then you don't need the "college experience" anyway. Concentrate on learning & getting good grades. Treat it like a job: ITS YOUR MONEY. Good luck! | ||
| Xbmacon |
The labs are the issue. Be sure that any "online" ENG BS degrees you find are accredited. I found a few, but none accredited, so they were worthless. | ||
| Ztferrari |
Theatre 101 to be "well rounded" is a massive pile of hooey Agreed! Texas A&M requires something like 14 hours of "cultural diversity" - basically theater history, literature appreciation, etc... waste of money that would be better spend on degree specific courses | ||
| Slaughter |
I couldn't imagine trying calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, physics, statics, dynamics, circuit analysis - without being able to raise my hand with a stupid look on my face to ask questions Don't know HOW they'd handle senior design??? | ||
| Hughlysses |
My favorite story about BS (and that's not Bachelor of Science) electives is from when I was in school. The Liberal Arts department knew that most engineers didn't like to take literature, art, etc. so they actually went out of their way to develop a 3 hour liberal arts elective for engineering students on the history of technology. I would really have liked to take it (I'm into old machines and stuff) but the Engineering Department said "NO! We won't accept that as an elective!" THEY made us take the BS literature, arts, etc.  | ||
| Boltrider |
Yeah the labs might be the deal breaker. At my school, each physics class is 4 semester units. Three of those units are for the lecture and one unit is for the lab. I don't know how they could integrate the lab into a distance learning curriculum. (Message edited by boltrider on December 22, 2009) | ||
| Drfudd |
most distance education schools for a BS in engineering is combined, 2 online, 2 on campus. the first two years are easy, the last two (pure engineering classes) are the toughest, I don't know how I would have made it if I was working at the time, I was a full time student. Right now I'm trying to get my masters in Mech. Eng. from NCSU, its also all online, luckly my work is paying for it because I wouldn't be able to afford it! out of state residency tuition is ridiculous expensive. I got my BS in Engineering the old fashioned way, being in the class room really makes a difference, and only go to an accredited school, an employer won't talk to you unless its accredited. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I've been looking, and spending time in the classroom looks like my best route to take. I'll just have to find a schedule that fits with my full-time work schedule. Don't have to worry about paying for anything other than books, thanks to so many generous taxpayers who will be footing the bill for the rest of it  Thanks for the tips guys. I'll be applying to Oklahoma University. Their engineering department appears to be pretty focused in the aerospace field. With my current semester hours earned on the job (almost all avionics credits) I should be able to get an associates quick, then go from there. |
