general engineering and uppperclass "weedout" courses

NAFTA
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:10:59 +0000

I said I’d answer your question if you made a new post; so I will.

Calculus 2 and 3, Physics 212, Chemistry 102 and 104, and any of the TAM courses are courses that weed out engineers from non-engineers. You never know which one will be the course that finally breaks you.

Advanced engineering courses specific to your major also weed people out. If you’re a civil engineer and complain about Calculus 2, set the book on fire after you’re done with the course, and that sort of thing… that’s ok. If however, you’re hating Statics, Solid Mechanics, and the majority of your 300 level core courses; you’re probably in the wrong major. So yes, your friend is right in saying that there are upper level courses that weed out the civil engineers, or chemical engineers, etc… from those who merely made it to the point where they can finally learn upper level knowldege. The reason grades are higher in upper level engineering courses is two-fold.

First, many people have been weeded out. Second, the courses are more practical and less theoretical. Basically, they are easier, in the sense that you can wrap your head around the knowledge better. However, they are certainly no cake-walk. I did well in my 300 block because I genuinely liked the material, and had a hunger to learn it. It was difficult material, and I could have failed if my motivation had been at the same level as it was for Calc 2.

One note of advice. Many people kid themselves internally that TAM is like physics or math; interesting, challenging, but marginally important. TAM is engineering; and people who hate TAM(mostly civil, mechanical and maybe general), especially Statics and Solid Mechanics, should really think long and hard if engineering is really the place for them.

Moving on to your next question.

Bottom line up front on general engineering: transfer out if there is another major that really sparks your interest.

Here are some facts. The military, specifically the Air Force, Navy,and Coast Guard require some of their officers to be civil, mechanical, or electrical engineers. An architecture degree will also do… nowhere do they mention general. Typically they need civil engineers to run their facilities and build stuff. I mention this point because the federal government, whether in uniform, or out of it, needs civil engineers, as do state governments. That’s one field you’re gonna have a tough time getting into.

A railroad requires civil engineers and electrical engineers; industrial may also apply. Again, no mention of general, and even though they could apply, the recruiter will probably pick civil and electrical.

Those are just two fields I know of where general engineers would be out of luck in this economic environment.

But let’s brainstorm here: a refinery needs mechanical, chemical, petroleum, maybe civil to build; Dupont needs chemical; automobile, construction equipment, and arsenals need mechanical; oil companies need civil, mechanical, or chemical/materials; Ameren IP has a big demand for electrical engineers; ship builders basically don’t exist in the US unless the US Navy is building a ship, but they could take general, although they’d probably go for mechanical and any naval engineers they can find; licensed land surveyors are typically civil engineers; HVAC design is purely mechanical; nuclear power wants nuclear, electrical and mechanical. All these industries operate out of a building and have facilities to maintain which needs civil engineers. The 50 states have DOTs; which are led and run by civil engineers. I didn’t mention that everyone needs software; so software engineers.

That’s a long list; but using my engineering logic, general engineering does not fall as the major of choice for any of the aforementioned categories.

General engineering makes no sense to me, especially at UIUC. You’re busting your but as hard as I am, if not harder. However, you’re getting a general engineering degree, which has no rank, and is catch all in a world of increasing specialization, while I’m getting a civil engineering degree from the number one program. Oh, and people say my civil engineering degree is too “catch all” in nature, and someday civil engineers will need a master’s degree to get their professional license. So if your degree is catch all from the get go, and mine is sometimes viewed as catch all, well I think you see what I’m getting at.

Here’s another fact, as a general engineer, it will be difficult to get a PE License because you’re neither mechanical, nor civil, nor chemical.

I am biased on this and urge you to bring these concerns to your academic advisor. I am sure plenty of general engineers get plenty of good jobs. I’m probably not seeing the big picture on general engineering. But as far as I’m concerned, I think it’s got bad idea written on it.

All engineering bachelor degrees are general in nature. You specialize in your senior year, and on the job, but you learn a broad field. Thus, even if you picked a major like mechanical, civil or chemical, you’d still be pretty broad in knowledge, and that is fine. As an engineer you deal with systems and your career will put you in different jobs. That requires a broad array of knowledge; but not so broad that you can never really solve the problem at hand.

However, if you pick a major whose stated goal is to be general in nature from the start, then there will always be someone who can do the job better than you. Let’s say you need to re-wire a refinery. Will they hire a general engineer, because he can re-wire and do the mechanical part? No, they’ll probably pick a mechanical engineer with a circuits background, or hire a company that employs mechanical and electrical engineers.

The competition for jobs, graduate school, OCS, you name it, is very intense. If it was 1945; I’d say, don’t sweat it, stick with general engineering. 2010; I’d say think about it.

Finally, don’t bother with a minor; unless you’re really motivated about it and it’s easy to get. Internships and research are worth more to your resume and experience than a minor. I know many people who have gotten math minors, and it’s not a bad idea. The thing is that these people were extremely smart, had stellar GPAs, and the minor was a class or two away anyhow.

That’s a lot to digest, but I hope it helps.