<p>This coming fall I am going to have a really light semester while I finish up at CC (only 2 classes), so I figured I'd take an extra class just for my own enrichment and I was thinking about taking Statistics. Is knowledge of Statistics helpful for a mechanical engineer?</p>
<p>Knowledge of statistics can be very useful for many disciplines, not just engineering. So yes, it can be helpful. However, I don’t believe majority of mechanical engineers end up working a job that requires it. It will probably come down to what you are interested in. But in my opinion, learning math never hurts.</p>
<p>Shoot, statistics was a required course for me to graduate in ME when I took it.</p>
<p>Statistics (and probability) is useful to many of the engineering fields. Also, you need a firm base in statistics to take other engineering-related statistics courses like experimental design ans statistical quality control. I don’t have a M.E. degree but I would guess those courses could apply to M.E.</p>
<p>My only question/issue about taking a statistics course at a CC is will the course be calculus-based?</p>
<p>Your 4-year school may just accept it as a free elective if the stats course is not calculus-based.</p>
<p>Statistics is required for aero where I am at too, but I have definitely not used it in like any courses. In my statistics class, we did more manufacturing related engineering problems as an application and didn’t apply it to anything else. Still, I can imagine it is valuable if most engineering disciplines at UIUC have to take it.</p>
<p>Also, what GLOBALTRAVELER is hinting at, which I agree with, is to try and take a calculus based stats course if you can at your CC. It is a lot more interesting than taking one that isn’t.</p>
<p>There isn’t a calculus based option. It’s not required by the 4year or CC anyway, so it doesn’t matter to me whether it transfers, it’d just be for my own personal enrichment. I’m just trying to decide whether I should take that class, a non-engineering/science/math class just for interest or if I should use the extra time to brush up on previously learned concepts so I’ll be ready for the change when I transfer.</p>
<p>Statistics is super valuable in general and definitely applicable for ME. In our Analysis for Design course we had to learn some statistics to understand how to apply it in a manufacturing environment, as a poster above mentioned. </p>
<p>It’s also good to know in case you decide to switch careers at some point.</p>
<p>Knowledge of statistics is helpful to all people anywhere at all times, I only wish I had time to take a proper statistics class.</p>
<p>Edit: don’t take a non-calc one. Take a calc-based one. What little I know of statistics is built on calculus, so a non-calc class would be pretty…limited.</p>