<p>So far my GPA is 4.0 and I honestly feel like it will stay that way. I've planned for a while now to complete this degree and then get an undergrad BS in mechanical engineering. Graduate school is a definite possibility as well. I'm considering EE for that so that I can have an educational background in mech and EE. I'm working on this degree in hopes that it will help me move up through management. What's everyone else's opinion on this? I'm not doubting my decision, I'm just curious about everyone else's take.</p>
<p>I am going to be real honest with you about engineering moving into management…</p>
<p>That specific degree will do absolutely nothing for you. First, it is an AA in Management. Your first employer in mechanical engineering will not care one bit about freshman/sophomore management courses. </p>
<p>Let me give you the path for engineering management. Now I am speaking from a software engineering viewpoint so other EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS please chime in:</p>
<p>1) You will need about 7 to 10 years ENGINEERING experience before thinking of management.</p>
<p>2) Additional education that will be considered will be either a M.S., M.Eng or even a MBA. The M.S./M.Eng can either be in your engineering major or in engineering management or systems engineering.</p>
<p>3) May need licensing for some engineering areas.</p>
<p>4) May need other industry certifications like Project/Program Management Professional (PMP).</p>
<p>Here is why…you must have experience in BOTH actual engineering and LEADING other engineers before being able to manage engineers.</p>
<p>Recommended path: Get your B.S…build up experience…obtain engineering lead roles…get a M.S./M.Eng/MBA.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply and the honesty. I have one more question that requires a little more complete honesty.</p>
<p>Should I drop this community college after my spring semester and go to the university? If this degree isn’t going to do anything for me, I don’t want to waste any time. By summer I’ll have have SOME transferable classes. Nothing engineering related; just English classes, oral com, social science, etc. at that point I could start working on the rest of the core classes at the university and start my engineering major.</p>
<p>I’m assuming I can. I mean, there’s a two year associate of arts degree in general studies that people take and then transfer to the exact university I’m going to.</p>
<p>I get two grants as well so I can afford it.</p>
<p>If you plan on going the community college route for your B.S.M.E. degree (which is not a bad move at all), you need to complete the following courses:</p>
<p>Calculus I
Calculus II
Calculus III
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Physics for Engineers/Scientists I (mechanics)
Physics for Engineers/Scientists II (electricity/magnetism)
Chemistry (I don’t how many courses for M.E.)</p>
<p>And probably also…</p>
<p>English Composition
Intro to Computer Programming
2 or 3 Social Science courses
2 or 3 Arts & Humanities courses</p>
<p>There MAY be some sophomore-level mechanical engineering courses to take before transferring but be CAREFUL because some schools have them as 200-level courses and some school have them as 300-level courses and won’t transfer 200-level courses from a CC to satisfy 300-level course at a university.</p>
<p>I checked my school’s course list and they’re not offering all of those. However, they do offer the transferable social sciences, arts and humanities, both needed English Comp courses (titled ‘written communication’; transfers to English 101 and 102), and chemistry with lab. They have physics, but not with names like you listed. There’s physics with lab courses though. The only calculus that I saw was “technical calculus”. You have to have taken trig to get into that.</p>
<p>At the end of this Fall I will have taken Applications in Algebra (Which covers more than the offered college algebra course does), a social science, the first English Comp, and an IT 101 class. I’ve taken other courses (like Applied Professional Math and Intro to Business), but they don’t transfer, so I’m told. I need to think of 5 classes to take this Spring that will either transfer or at least help me learn more for the university. I’m thinking English Comp 2, Applications in Trigonometry (because I haven’t taken a trig class yet, even in high school; I’ve only studied trig at home), an arts class, and I’m not sure what else. I’ll need two more.</p>
<p>JonJon, does the Physics listed have a prerequisite (or at least a recommendation) or Calc 1 for Mechanics, and Calc 2 for E&M? If so, that’s what you want to take. </p>
<p>Another class to take might be General Chemistry. And if you haven’t taken Economics that might be good to take.</p>
<p>I’ll add my 2 cents worth about a management degree for an engineer. </p>
<p>Not only is it not worth it, it would be grounds for me to round file your resume. I was an engineering manager in big aerospace (now retired). When I had a job opening, it would be for an engineer. There were other departments, outside of engineering, in my company that would look for management majors. I was looking for someone who was really committed to learning and doing engineering. I viewed a degree in management as proof that you weren’t really looking to do engineering and why would I want to waste my time (and others in my group) and the companies money for someone with interests elsewhere.</p>
<p>A few classes in management that would be relevent (like ones that would involve people skills or cost management) would be OK. But anything too much more and NO.</p>
<p>Once you learned the engineering, the company offered classes thru NMA that were geared toward learning what you needed to learn to be an engineering manager. The culmination was a certificate. That certificate was part of the company’s selection process for new managers.</p>
<p>The physics prerequisite is MAT 145, which is Applications in Algebra (I’m taking that now), or MAT 135 which is College Algebra.</p>
<p>The chemistry requires MAT 145 or MAT 150, which is Applied Professional Math (Already taken that)</p>
<p>Calculus 1-3 along with E&M 1-2 (and of course some others) fall under the math and physics minors at the university. I guess I’ll take those there since they aren’t offered at the CC. I wanted to minor in both math and physics later anyway.</p>
<p>There are some econ classes that I’ll take a look at. Also, I found these MFE (Manufacturing Engineering Technology) courses; There are some I didn’t list because they either wont be offered during the Spring or I wont qualify to take them because of their prerequisites:</p>
<p>MFE 103 - Entrepreneurship for Manufacturing
MFE 120 - Intro to Manual Machining
MFE 220 - Computer Aided Design 1
MFE 248 - Statistical Process and Control</p>
<p>I’m glad to get responses from someone who has experience related to my question, so thank you. I’m starting to see more and more why I should move away from the previous decision to study industrial management. I’ve been so excited about engineering that now I’m happy I don’t have to wait an extra two years to get started on it. I’m just hoping I can find one more semester worth of classes to take before I transfer to the university next Fall. The more transferable classes I can take at the CC, the more money I end up saving in the end.</p>
<p>I found 4 so far that I think I’ll take during my next (and final CC) semester:</p>
<p>ENL 115 - Written Communication 2 (Equivalent/Transfers to ENG 102.)</p>
<p>MAT 146 - Applications in Trigonometry (It does transfer; Would also be helpful.)</p>
<p>ART 101 - Intro to Visual Arts (This transfers as well and will be needed.)</p>
<p>MFE 220 - Computer Aided Design 1 (Not sure if this transfers, but even if it doesn’t and it ends up being a filler to make me full time, it will be a useful filler)</p>
<p>As a quick note, the link posted is to an A.A. in Management Technology. I am not sure what the heck that really means but it is certainly not a management degree. It is probably mean either for tradesmen moving into supervisory roles (like a technician taking on a position that requires them to deliver presentations and reports to management) or for people who want to work as administrative assistants and the like.</p>