I currently debating an engineering technical degree from an online school vs. a 4 year mechanical engineering degree. Is it possible to go into a masters mechanical engineering program with a tech degree?
Not without a substantial amount of remedial work to fill in the gaps from what you missed by choosing to forgo the 4 year degree, if at all. It would depend on the graduate program.
Beyond that, I’d question the value of any fully online engineering degree, especially a tech degree. Much of what techs do is the hands on implementation. If you don’t have labs, i don’t see how you’d have much to offer an employer.
@Nauset16 - There are no ABET accredited fully online undergraduate engineering programs. Engineering requires much hands on lab and project work, in addition to the foundation science lab courses, which require one to physically do the work in a lab using the physical equipment. Few employers will take anyone with an online degree seriously.
A few schools have partially online undergraduate engineering programs, but you must attend physically to do the lab work. Even with those, I discount them. Part of education is the interaction one has with the teachers and fellow students. You get far more out of classroom interaction than simply reading the material online without that interaction.
If by “engineering technical degree” you mean an engineering technology degree, that is not the equivalent of an engineering degree. ET programs do not have the high level math, science, and theoretical course content of an engineering program, and essentially one is relegated to technician or assistant level positions with them. They are meant to train technicians who, under the direction of engineers, build and test the designs of the engineers. The engineers however are the ones making the technical and design decisions and doing the high level design work. Comparing them is akin to comparing a medical technician or nurse’s degree with a medical degree, a paralegal diploma to an attorney, etc. They are two different things.
Most engineering graduate schools require one to hold an accredited undergraduate degree in engineering. Some schools may accept ET graduates, but will require a significant amount of remedial coursework (for no credit) that you would not have had as part of the ET program.
As an engineering manager, I would be highly unlikely to hire an online degree holder over one who attended the school in person. If you want to be an engineer, get an engineering degree by physical attendance at a real school. Take my advice, get the 4 year undergrad ME degree in person. Shortcuts will only disadvantage you in your career. There is no substitute, really.
When I review applications for graduate school, if I see that you have a degree in engineering technology, the first think I am checking is to make sure that is what you claimed to have. I have seen some students apply with ET degrees but attempt to pass them off as engineering degrees, and those get thrown straight in the trash. Don’t lie on an application.
Assuming you were up front about it, the next thing I am looking for is if you took any extra courses that would bring you onto a level footing (at the very least in mathematics) with someone with a more traditional engineering degree. If not, you probably won’t be admitted because you would be unprepared for the rigors of the program. If the math background is strong enough, I’d be willing to consider admitting such a student, but it still probably involves remedial coursework.
ET degrees simply aren’t very deep in the mathematics and theory required to understand graduate-level engineering coursework.