Dual major ME/MFG to BS? Or MS ME?

[Piezoneer]

I'm wrapping up my first two years at the Community College and I'll have an AS in MET and an AS in MFT. I like the manufacturing and I see good work with it and want to continue with it. My dilemma is whether to go to the expensive private Uni or stick with the State/Regional for the rest of my undergrad work. I also want to pursue a MS in ME with concentrations in Aero and Materials. Is it worth it to go to the private Uni for 2 years and continue onto the MS or transfer when I'm ready for grad school? GPA is 3.3 atm.

 

[daric soldar]

Like others have stated on the board, as long as the university you are attending for your undergraduate engineering degree is ABET accredited, it's not a huge deal where you go. Your graduate degree, however, will depend much more on what university you attend (especially if you want to go into research).

My question to you is, do you plan on getting a BS in MFT or MET? My local university has a great Engineering Technology program in many areas, but it is not very common to graduate with a BS in an Engineering Tech program and go on to an MS program in a traditional Engineering Science program.

If your goal is to get an MS in Aerospace Engineering or Materials Science/Engineering, I would suggest getting a BS in a traditional Engineering Science degree (not a tech), or getting it as a second BS. If you want to stick with the hands-on/manufacturing side, stick with an ET degree. But I would warn you that although many ET programs provide great training, many employers consider it as 'not an actual engineering degree'. The place where I work hires many ET graduates and pays them well, but it is one of the few companies of which I know that does this.

Good luck.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that in many Mechanical Engineering BS programs, you're able to take courses as Technical Electives that count toward your degree that involve hands-on labs. I have a friend who likes manufacturing and machining and is planning on taking advanced MFG labs.

 

[Piezoneer]

Thanks for the great reply. I am finished with the ET degrees and will be going for a traditional ME BS and hopefully fill it with concentrations that I find interesting. You confirmed my suspicions that the undergraduate education is largely similar to the 35k+ tuition private institutions. I have no problem paying a premium for the recognizable name on my MS. Any advice on what a concentration like Aerospace will require in terms of maths and physics? Is calculus based physics important for that, because my school only offered non-calc based physics. I'm planing on at least another 3 years of school before hitting the job market. Is it realistic to think I can get a MS in ME in that time? I'm used to 18-20 credit hours with lots of labs. Thank you again for your time.