Dude if you are willing to pay for you graduate degree you can get sail past SOME EE schools in the US. Not the top tier, but the middle tier is a breeze. Some schools are feeling the crunch from funding and they basically let in anyone that's willing to pay their tuition. Some EE programs are having trouble attracting undergrads. What's the solution? Let everybody into the graduate program! Gotta pay those tenured professors. Here's my personal opinion of I.E. Smart guys that aren't scared of math and computers; good at B.S.; good at presentations.
You are really going to ask me what the P stands for? This is the difference between you and the EE friends of yours. They wouldn't ask a question like that. For the lazy future engineer: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/WhatisaPE/index.html Just kidding
LOL. FE = Fundamentals of Engineering, PE = Professional Engineering. What's an IE? What do you guys even do? That major wasn't even available at my college (UT)
Since you have an industrial engineering degree, you should go get an MBA, then become a badass in operations management.
isnt Industrial Engineer just a euphemism for Garbage Man? Physical.. duh. but really. if you were doing fine in EE then you shouldve stayed in EE. i know plenty of smart guys who couldnt hack EE at UT. no shame in admitting your friends are smarter than you.
I was in a pretty similar situation, but rather than try to resolve the "inferiority complex", I decided it was better to switch it up and change courses. I started out as an mechanical engineering (ME) student...took those aptitude tests in high school/middle school, talked myself into believing they were right and took it as sound advice. Started ME coursework being an immature 18 year old; wrong mind set, wrong approach, bad habits...ended being forced to drop ME. I wanted to change course at that point, but didn't like the idea of starting over, so I took the "easy" way out. Insert Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET). Talked to advisors/peers and decided that was the route I would take since most of the ME courses would transfer and I would be able to be accredited (FE/PE), as ME majors are, in the future. Moved along just fine, but like you I developed the inferiority complex (ME vs MET) and it bugged me quite a bit but I chugged along with thoughts of future accreditation and ended up graduating months after McCain said that the "fundamentals of the US economy are strong". Long story short, I spent months on the job market learning about how engineering companies thought about MET degrees in comparison the ME degrees, decided I couldn't spend the rest of my life being held to that standard (kinda complicated) and jumped from the ship. Now I'm back in school, working on something new and I'm doing pretty good. Probably not the answer you were looking for but yeah. MBA is very sound advice. Work for a couple years, get and MBA and move into upper management; profit. That is sanitations engineer.
Well, I'm screwed. My college is not listed under the accredited programs in order to take that exam.
Dude, you're going to be a freaking engineer! Work hard and your salary five years out will be higher than 99 percent of people with ANY college degree will ever get. Then, when you top out as an engineer (salary curve for engineering starts high but is very flat), you either focus on loving your job and accepting that the money is what it is, or you go get an advanced degree in business or law and you make big money doing stuff that only people with engineering degrees can do. Heck, you don't even need the advanced degree to move into management or start your own business. Lots of options. Stop comparing yourself to your immediate peers and get some freaking confidence in yourself. Forget about the rat-race within a rat-race, you're already winning the game of life compared to the rest of society. You're going to succeed in a career that will provide comfortably for yourself, a spouse, and a family, for the rest of your life IF YOU MAN UP AND WORK HARD. Focus on working hard at what you know and learning to love what you do on the path that is right for YOU, and forget about the status of your degree or school among your "peers". Twenty years from now, when your spouse is hotter, house is bigger, and life is better than your "peers", all they'll have to comfort themselves is that their piece of paper is better than yours. Who would you prefer to be?
Actually, yes you do. In order to become a Licensed Professional Engineer in any state, you have to take the P.E. in said state. Before you can qualify to take the P.E., you have to pass the F.E., which you typically take in your junior or senior year of college. Once you pass the F.E., attain your Bachelor's in whichever engineering field you want to pursue from an accredited university, and then work under a licensed P.E. for 4 years, you then apply to take the P.E. It is a right kick in the balls, and one of the hardest exams you will take. Not impossible to pass, but definitely something you have to work hard for. Trust me, I'm studying for my P.E. in Civil Engineering which I am taking in April.
my decision was easy... my goal was to make money out of college. If you go to any tech job fair almost 90% of the engineering jobs that pay a decent salary are for CS and EE degrees.
"Engineer" and "Licensed Professional Engineer" are two different things. For EE's, most industries do not require a PE and you can do fine without it. Certain industries, like utilities, require a PE for a certain level of promotion (ie becoming a senior engineer) but you are generally considered and engineer and have the title of "engineer" if you hold a BS in engineering.
My title is "engineer" and I am 2 years out of college without a PE. I work for a major transmission utility company and will require a PE eventually if I want to be promoted to Senior Engineer. This is the industry standard.
