Becoming an engineer with a Bachlors in BMET

<p>Im in a serious delima and hope I can get some feedback on this. I have 3 semesters left till I get my degree in BMET from Devry(Biomedical Engineering Technolgy). I feel that Devry was a mistake because they were giving me the impression that I will become an engineer. Now that I am about to graduate soon, I feel that this is not the career path that I want to pursue. From my research it seems that BMET's do more of schedule maintence and repair then design/development. I feel like BMET is like high school getting me ready for college lol. I do like the challenges of math and science, and working with electronics, electrical circuits, sensors etc. etc. In my program I did have to take Calc. I II and Phys.I II, that briefly discussed differential equations and linear algebra,and a bunch of electronic courses. My career path is to stay in the medical device field because of BMET and design/develop anything from MRIs to surgical equipment or instrumentation. My problem is am I able to transfer from a BMET to a BME or EE at a major university or would I have to completely start over? If so, what would be my first step? Does anybody have any opinions on the two degrees of BME or EE and which one would be beneficial to me? Sorry for all the questions, but Im tired of getting headaches over this. Oh yeah Im a disabled vet so my education is paid for. I just have to give them a proposal of why I want to do this.</p>

<p>Sorry to say but most universities won’t take credits from Devry or any school like it. Do research on the type of accreditation your school that you want to go takes credits from. I almost went to Devry for Electrical Engineering or what I thought was EE anyway. Since you’re almost done I would say finish and at least see what kind of jobs you can get, you might like the work anyway and Im sure it still pays decently.</p>

<p>Unfortunateley you are right. Im trying to attend U of H and they only accept ABET accredited classes. They did have an academic advisor for the engineering dept and I sent him and my va advisor about my problem and hopefully they can figure something out for me. Im thinking I might be able to test out of some of the general courses. Id be happy with getting a BS in EE in 2 1/2 yrs. instead of 4 yrs. I noticed that you mentioned EE for you. Are you one now? If so, how has that been going for you. I really do like what Ive been reading about EE in the medical field.</p>

<p>Im actually in an Mechanical Engineering Technology program myself but I had no clue what I wanted to do at first and almost went to Devry.</p>

<p>Thats the thing with Devry is that they try to make it seem like you will have the credentials of an engineer which is not the case. There are alot of threads on here about ET vs EE and what is the difference. From the research I did this morning, if I work in a hospital it will mostly be repair and maintenence. If I work at an R&D or manufacture company I may work along side with engineers because of my lab experience at Devry. The job market right now is mostly for hospitals. Because of my disability rating I have good education benefits especially here in Texas. I just have to convience them what I want to do with my career. I’ll do more research over the weekend and send my va advisor an email about my situation and see what he thinks. You never know they may be able to pull some strings for me. That would be very cool. Thanks for the input.</p>

<p>If you can finish it up fast, i would just do that and see what type of jobs you can get and start from there. You can still take the FE. If you pass the FE, you should be considered as good as the next guy.</p>

<p>Silverbullet, I don’t know where you are getting your information from but your implication that someone with a technology degree from Devry will be “as good as the next guy” if he or she passes the FE is not accurate. </p>

<p>First of all, I can tell you that depending on the state it will be difficult to become a PE without a traditional engineering degree. It is possible in some states but requires more work experience after passing the FE. </p>

<p>Also, to address a subject that I have seen in several other threads as well, a technology degree or even a BS in an engineering technology should not be compared to a traditional BS in engineering. I have a BS in ME and I have looked at the engineering technology curriculums and I can tell you that they are very different. I get the feeling that some people on this forum think that they are essentially the same thing. I can tell you that they are not. The type of jobs that graduates of these programs compete for are not the same in terms of nature of work, responsibility, or compensation. Contrary to what some people think on this forum, most companies will not hire someone with a technology degree for a true engineering position.</p>

<p>I know people in technology programs that call themselves engineers. A technology degree is a noble thing and I applaud anyone who does this but lets not lose sight of the facts. People use the term engineer describe many jobs that are in fact not engineering jobs. Contrary to what Silverbullet is implying, a technology degree is not the same as an engineering degree. There is nothing wrong with it but lets not confuse it with a BS in engineering.</p>

<p>I agree that Zman should finish and see what type of work he can do with the degree, you might just like it. A lot of people go into engineering thinking they’re going to be designing things and/or working with their hands and are disappointed when they realize most “engineering” jobs are 90% paperwork. </p>

<p>And ME is right about ET’s not being engineers but legally unless you have a PE, you’re not technically an engineer, and a lot of people could care less about getting a PE.</p>

<p>

I never implied that. I stated if he passed the FE exam, he would be as good as the next guy. I should have been more clear as i was speaking in terms of hiring. You are correct that it may take some work, but the OP seems pretty determined. Anyone can pass the FE IMO if they did enough practice problems. It does vary from state to state, but i can’t imagine the FE being that much different from other states.</p>

<p>I know what you mean, ME 76.</p>

<p>I see a lot of people who come around with an attitude like “I was thinking about CS, but IT is just as good and more practical.” Well, I don’t have anything against IT, really, but I think it’s inappropriate to compare the two. They differ significantly in difficulty and rigor… they lead to fundamentally different jobs, with different levels of responsibility and compensation.</p>

<p>I think it’s a great and noble thing to go for the more hands-on, applied technology degrees… but I don’t feel great about saying they’re interchangeable with the more… theoretical, let’s say… degrees.</p>

<p>Silverbullet, my point is that someone with a technology degree regardless of passing the FE, is still not equivalent to someone with a BS in engineering in terms of hiring. A BS in engineering will qualify you for positions in design and analysis (true engineering positions). A technology degree will not in most cases. </p>

<p>Someone with a BS in engineering is required to have a higher level of technical expertise than their engineering technology counterpart. Also, a BS in engineering is required for advanced engineering degrees. If someone with a technology degree wants a to get a master’s or PhD in engineering, he or she will first have to take a vast number of fundamental undergraduate engineering and math courses. For example an ME must take several calc, calculus based physics, and chemistry courses not to mention diffeq, statics, dynamics, kinematics, mechanics of materials, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, vibrations, controls, circuits, programming, material science, several mechanical design courses, and the list goes on. An MET will not take these traditional courses and pursuing an advanced engineering degree without these courses or doing advanced design or analysis work in industry would not be feasible. </p>

<p>So to sum it up, engineering and engineering technology are not equivalent in terms of curriculum, hiring, or nature of work. Once again, there is nothing wrong with technology degrees but for the most part an employer will not consider these two degrees to be similar regardless of passing the FE.</p>

<p>Ok guys I found out some new info. about transfering to U of H to complete my EE degree. The only reason why my program was not ABET accredited because of the actual BME classes that I am taking right now. The basic courses of English, Humanities, History, Psycology are accredited. I did take Calc I II and Phys I II so I may be able to test out of those, but not sure. Like I said before I wouldnt mind that it might take 2 1/2 yrs instead of 4 yrs to get my B.S. in EE. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel so far. Now…I do like the medical field as far as the equipment and instruments being used. Im wondering if BME or EE would be beneficial for me. Any suggestions? I might post a new thread about BME vs EE. Healthcare technology will be on the rise once we get out of this economic slump.</p>

<p>Most school will take classes from DeVry. All the colleges the engineering colleges in Ky do. It because Devry is TAC/ABET. But Ky will not take classes from IIT-Tech because they are not TAC/ABET.</p>

<p>@zman35, why is your BSBMET from DeVry not TAC/ABET? Their BS-Cmp-ET and BSEET degrees are TAC/ABET.</p>

<p>Also I have seen that DeVry has a new M.S.E.E that should EAC/ABET once the first student gets done. DeVry is going to let EET students into the program but you need to have an 3.4 GPA. But a student with a EE dergee only needs a GPA of 2.7</p>

<p>BTW, I’m not a DeVry student. But I do know students that went to DeVry that have great jobs. Some of they have been able to going into a MSEE program. But they did have to go back and do some prerequisites Undergraduate class.</p>

<p>Here is an example from Purdue. Purdue is one of the top colleges for MSEE.</p>

<p><a href=“ECE Admissions Guide - Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Purdue University”>ECE Admissions Guide - Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Purdue University;

<p>buster, just because one program at a school is ABET accredited doesn’t mean all of them have to be. They get accredited on a program-by-program basis.</p>

<p>I understand that. Maybe it because the first class has not fished the degree program yet.</p>

<p>Or maybe their program just isn’t acceptable to ABET?</p>

<p>That’s true. But most college that have TAC/ABET or EAC/ABET for a program will get it for the newer program.</p>

<p>I know here in Kentucky that U.K. had EAC/ABET for all their engineering programs, but it take them 3-4 years to get the Computer Engineering setup for EAC/ABET</p>