<p>Im not an engineer, but run an executive search firm. I usually recruit only executives; on rare occasions Ive recruited engineers. I have recruited countless technical managers and executives (over half of my search assignments have been for technically-based companies). This means that Ive reviewed the careers of perhaps 50,000 or 100,000 people in technical disciplines. Primarily, the positions I work on pay $100,000 to $300,000.</p>
<p>Heres what Ive seen in my 16-year career:</p>
<p>1) I have never seen someone with a BS in engineering technology who had the title of technologist. They carry the title of engineer at work.</p>
<p>2) I have seen people with BSET degrees managing people with BSE degrees.</p>
<p>3) Some companies will not hire BSETs at all; some will not hire BSETs for design engineering positions, but will hire them as test engineers, manufacturing engineers, applications engineers, sales engineers or production managers. Many companies dont care at all which type of degree the candidate has. When recruiting at the management level, Ive never had a client who cared whether the candidate had a BSE or BSET one whit; on the half dozen senior engineer searches Ive conducted, the client didnt care whether the person had a BSE or BSET degree, either. </p>
<p>4) I have asked numerous people with engineering degrees, 25 years past graduation, if they ever used differential equations in their work. Almost all have said they never used Diff EQ, and rarely used calculus when they were engineers. Now that they are managing other engineers, or managing a division or an international sales force (which is when I interview them), they never use calculus.</p>
<p>5) More companies seem to be interested in a knowledge of statistics than differential equations in my experience (yet it seems that stats are not required in most BSE or BSET programs). Most of the BSET programs require an applied version of differential equations, anyway, although the physics required is not calculus-based.</p>
<p>6) As a test, I checked a client of mine, a 300-employee architectural engineering firm that designs systems for buildings, such as HVAC systems for clean rooms. This is a field where a PE needs to sign off on everything. They have 12 managing directors, each who runs a business area, and oversees a group of engineers and engineering managers. 2 of their 12 managing directors have engineering technology degrees. This is a well-respected firm with a national reputation that pays their engineers very well and has engineers who are very good.</p>
<p>7) There are almost no grad degrees in BSET. You can often get into a masters in engineering program with a BSET if you have taken the BSE math sequence and the calculus-based physics. You can get into MBA programs with either BSE or BSMET degrees.</p>
<p>8) Companies are telling me that they cant find engineers, despite the unemployment rate. I turned down work last year with a company desperate to find a hydraulics engineer and a welding engineer, both who would earn over $100K if they had 10 years or so of experience (and this was in a low, low cost of living area). They certainly would not have cared whether the person had a BSE or BSMET degree, as long as the person had the experience in hydraulics or welding required. One client told me that todays unemployment rate doesnt apply to engineers. Engineers who started their careers in the 1970s and 1980s are retiring, and there are not enough kids going into the field to replace them, amazingly enough. The shortage will continue, and I think that people with either BSE and BSMET degrees will have people begging for them, unless they have terrible academic records, or are jerks.</p>
<p>9) My research has indicated that BSETs have starting salaries of usually about 10% less than BSEs. RIT has both programs, and lists a starting salary of $50K for BSMET grads, and $55K for BSME grads.</p>
<p>10) Ive recently been exploring the difference between BSE and BSET for my son. Hes been accepted now into both BSE and BSET programs. After discussing the curriculums at various colleges, hes decided hes going to take engineering technology, because he feels hell be bored with the abstract courses in engineering. Engineering technology courses start right away with hands-on courses, and he learns better that way. Hell be better off working late in a lab than working late doing proofs, will have more fun in school, and be more likely to graduate if he goes BSET.</p>
<p>11) My brother-in-law has a BSME from an elite engineering school, and he reviewed the BSMET and BSME programs at RIT. He said that they would be more likely to hire the BSMET at his company, because the person would be more hands-on and more prepared to jump in right away and contrbute. He said that unless youre designing rocket nose cones, the theoretical courses they offer in a BSME degree arent that helpful, and havent been helpful in his career. He said that he wished they had had a BSMET program at his college, because he would have enjoyed it more.</p>
<p>12) You cant become a professional engineer in some states with a BSET degree. Most states do allow you to become a PE with a BSET degree, however, although usually youll need a couple more years of work experience before you can become a PE. Most engineering jobs dont require that you have a PE, however, although some do, especially civil engineering jobs.</p>
<p>13) It doesnt take long after graduation for your work experience to eclipse your degree. I cant tell you how many times Ive seen electrical engineers working as mechanical engineers or materials engineers. 10 and 20 years out, your work experience will have long since eclipsed what type of degree you have. </p>
<p>14) In sum, you will be limiting yourself a bit (and Im not sure how much) if you have a BSET degree. You will not face unemployment because of it. You are also limiting yourself if you dont have a law degree, an MD degree, or a Masters in Social Work, depending on your chosen field. I have a psychology degree, and that hasnt stopped me from being successful professionally (and I earn more than the average engineer and the average engineering manager, despite my inferior degree).</p>
<p>If you can get an BS in electromechanical engineering technology by getting only 39 more credits, I would get that degree, rather than starting over. Companies love electromechanical expertise, because everything mechanical has an electronic connection or PLC or motion control unit somewhere. Youll also have good hands-on experience from the Navy, and companies love that hands-on experience, and the Navy programs train people very well. I would get the degree from the best school you can, and avoid the for-profit schools that advertise on TV all the time. ODU should be fine.</p>
<p>Regarding education, the biggest thing I can tell anyone is how limiting not having a bachelors degree of some type can be when someone is trying to change companies or find a new job, even if they have worked their way into a solid management position. Id get your BSET degree and start enjoying life.</p>