- #1
ZenOne
- 119
- 0
I am currently a mechanical engineering student at a Canadian university and what I have experienced thus far is leaving a sour taste in my mouth. A year and a half in and the only lab I have is mechanical drawing, however, we don't even get to enjoy taking apart the objects we are drawing--we just run through it because of time constraints. There are no labs or projects in most classes (including thermo, statics, dynamics, fluids etc) and it is VERY theoretical--memorizing formulas and calculating integrals seems to be the only thing we should be concerned about.
When I was considering the school they prided themselves on a "hands-on/real world" experience, however, I'm ALMOST halfway through and my hands have not been dirty yet.
I know how to do derivatives, integrals, DE's etc (A or A+ in all applied math classes) but this is just absurd now.
The reason I am mentioning the above is that there is a school in Montreal known for a more "hands-on" approach. They do all the same classes but 90% of classes have labs (statics, dynamics, fluids, materials science, thermo etc) and many classes involve having to solve (by design and in many cases building a physical object) problems. The only catch is it is a French school. I am perfectly bilingual but I was wondering how much the aforesaid would affect my marketability job-wise. I think it should be noted, however, that they MAKE YOU take (and in most cases help you find) 4 work terms in which the school guarantees a pay of $13000 CAD (for 4 months).
Would the jump be beneficial to my future as an engineer in terms of "hands-on" training--do engineers truly just sit around doing integrals and derivatives all day (I have 5 friends who are mech. eng. and they all say NO)?
If it matters at all the school always comes in top 5 in those international/national engineering competitions (building robots, mock bridges etc).
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
When I was considering the school they prided themselves on a "hands-on/real world" experience, however, I'm ALMOST halfway through and my hands have not been dirty yet.
I know how to do derivatives, integrals, DE's etc (A or A+ in all applied math classes) but this is just absurd now.
The reason I am mentioning the above is that there is a school in Montreal known for a more "hands-on" approach. They do all the same classes but 90% of classes have labs (statics, dynamics, fluids, materials science, thermo etc) and many classes involve having to solve (by design and in many cases building a physical object) problems. The only catch is it is a French school. I am perfectly bilingual but I was wondering how much the aforesaid would affect my marketability job-wise. I think it should be noted, however, that they MAKE YOU take (and in most cases help you find) 4 work terms in which the school guarantees a pay of $13000 CAD (for 4 months).
Would the jump be beneficial to my future as an engineer in terms of "hands-on" training--do engineers truly just sit around doing integrals and derivatives all day (I have 5 friends who are mech. eng. and they all say NO)?
If it matters at all the school always comes in top 5 in those international/national engineering competitions (building robots, mock bridges etc).
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.