Future Civil Engineering student, school options

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I've always wanted to get a degree in engineering and I've recently been extremely interested in getting a BS in Civil Engineering. I do, however, have a few questions about universities in order to help me move on with this decision.</p>

<p>There are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration for schooling. I'm currently part of the NJATC Electrical Apprenticeship in San Francisco, and as a result I usually work from 6a.m to 2p.m daily. This limits my school availability to either late afternoon or night classes. Is that a viable option for an engineering student as far as classroom settings go? I'm having a hard time imagining schools offering all the classes I would need at those times. </p>

<p>Due to my schedule, I looked into Distance Learning programs and found University of North Dakota to be the only ABET accredited school that offers a BS in Civil Engineering. I don't believe that UND is ranked high as far as engineering is concerned, but is being ABET accredited enough? Will I hurt my chances of future employment by getting a distance learning degree from UND (also taking into account I will have 5+ years of field experience in electrical construction by the time I finish the degree)?</p>

<p>I really want to go back to school for Civil Engineering, however I am a little concerned about my schedule. I expect to work full time while I attend school. I know that with the distance learning program I'd be able to complete the degree without problems, but I am worried about the pedigree. I'm also not sure that schools such as Berkeley or SFSU offer all the classes I'd need at the times I'd need.</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.</p>

2

<p>An ABET accreditation is a minimal guarantee and you can take it at face value. Clearly you have constraints that make it impossible for you to study full-time. Getting an Engineering degree part-time will be a challenge and it will take extra time but if that is your situation, then you have to find the program which can best fits your needs.</p>

<p>University of North Dakota is not as highly ranked as some other schools but if it is the one which offers you the right kind of degree, you should go for it. The biggest concern with doing the degree via distance learning is that you are not located in the area where your university is well known and where the companies which hire its graduates are located. If you have a job right now and you can see the possibility for you to move up within the same company then this becomes less of a concern. You might want to discuss this with your supervisor and determine if they encourage you to pursue a B.S. in engineering. You might find that they are even more flexible in giving you time off for studies and make it possible for you to attend a local university.</p>

3

<p>I do have the option to move up within the company and they seem to be happy to have me. All the top people are project managers with construction management degrees (mostly from CSU Chico) and I really wanted the civil engineering degree to have the option to do engineering where they couldn’t. I’m not necessarily worried about finding a job in North Dakota, as I feel I’d be able to find one in San Francisco without issue.</p>