What second BS would be good for someone with a BS Electrical Eng?

[atlbraves49]

Long story short, I graduated in 09 with an EE degree from a good school. I went into an unrelated field for a few years and decided I missed engineering and want to get back into it. Getting a job has been impossible since companies want fresh out of college, or experienced, and now I'm neither (just 1-2 years co-op experience).

So I've decided the only way to get back into the job market is to go back to school and do more co-ops... What degree would best complement the EE degree?

I've been considering Biomedical or Chemical. Looking for suggestions before I actually apply for one..

 

[phyzguy]

Long story short, I graduated in 09 with an EE degree from a good school. I went into an unrelated field for a few years and decided I missed engineering and want to get back into it. Getting a job has been impossible since companies want fresh out of college, or experienced, and now I'm neither (just 1-2 years co-op experience).

So I've decided the only way to get back into the job market is to go back to school and do more co-ops... What degree would best complement the EE degree?

I've been considering Biomedical or Chemical. Looking for suggestions before I actually apply for one..

Why not go for an MS instead of a second BS?

 

[atlbraves49]

Why not go for an MS instead of a second BS?

Combination of things.

1. Being out of school for 3 years I feel it may be a bit of a challenge since I'm sure some skills were lost after not using high level math/physics for that amount of time.

2. I did look around and the schools I looked at require 3.0 in Engineering courses for the last 2 years of the degree. I had a 3.0 overall but struggled a little at the end, so I don't meet this requirement.

If you know some schools that don't have that requirement, please let me know... At this point I looked at some in NY and some in Texas.

 

[austinuni]

1. Being out of school for 3 years I feel it may be a bit of a challenge since I'm sure some skills were lost after not using high level math/physics for that amount of time.

You could take some refresher courses either before starting your MS or during your MS. That's what I did before starting my MS, though one professor discouraged it. I am glad I did it that way and it worked well for me. I had poor grades as an undergrad (less than 3.0 overall), but I think my work experience and recommendations helped get me into the MS program.

An MS would make you far more attractive than a second BS, and the MS would be easier to finish than a second BS (IMO). You could do the MS part-time; it'd be harder to do that with a BS.

A Computer Engineering or Computer Science MS degree would work really well with a BS EE, assuming you liked computing. You can get into a lot of different areas with that combination -- hardware design, software, hardware/software co-design, etc. It's difficult to find good people who have both software and hardware skills. But you really have to like it to be successful.

 

[atlbraves49]

You could take some refresher courses either before starting your MS or during your MS. That's what I did before starting my MS, though one professor discouraged it. I am glad I did it that way and it worked well for me. I had poor grades as an undergrad (less than 3.0 overall), but I think my work experience and recommendations helped get me into the MS program.

The thing is, my "work experience" is completely unrelated to engineering, so I'm not sure that would help me. Also I guess I need to find a program that accepts people who didnt have 3.0 in their last 2 years of engineering courses. The ones in my hometown and current region, have that requirement.

An MS would make you far more attractive than a second BS, and the MS would be easier to finish than a second BS (IMO). You could do the MS part-time; it'd be harder to do that with a BS.

yeah the MS is definitely the better option imo, but I don't know how to find/get into a program that don't have grade requirements.

A Computer Engineering or Computer Science MS degree would work really well with a BS EE, assuming you liked computing. You can get into a lot of different areas with that combination -- hardware design, software, hardware/software co-design, etc. It's difficult to find good people who have both software and hardware skills. But you really have to like it to be successful.

That does sound interesting, and definitely something I would consider.

Any suggestions on schools that might consider someone in my situation? originally from NY (so SUNY UB, RIT, etc), and now in SE Texas (so U of H, A&M, UT)

 

[austinuni]

The thing is, my "work experience" is completely unrelated to engineering, so I'm not sure that would help me. Also I guess I need to find a program that accepts people who didnt have 3.0 in their last 2 years of engineering courses. The ones in my hometown and current region, have that requirement.

You'd be amazed at how well you can pick it up again. What harm can it do to just try a few refresher courses, and just see how well it works? Then apply to the MS program if you think it's manageable.

In graduate school, there's way more flexibility in what courses you can take. I mostly forgot all the calculus I took, but did really well in grad school anyways after being out of school for a few years.

As far as the requirements, ignore those for now! Pick some schools that you really like, go visit there and try to arrange an appointment with the graduate admissions director in the Engineering dept. Have a chat with him/her for 15 minutes (they are really busy, so keep it short), explain your goals, make sure they specific as you can make them, and mention that you don't meet certain admissions requirements, and see what they say. The worst they will do is turn you away. But they might just encourage you to apply anyways, and they could waive the requirements.

I have had incredibly good luck when I've talked to professors in person, and explained what I was after. They really want to help you! When you meet them in person, you will have a far better chance than if they had only seen your record on a piece of paper. That goes not only for admissions, but also for getting an assistantship, or doing well in a class.

Any suggestions on schools that might consider someone in my situation? originally from NY (so SUNY UB, RIT, etc), and now in SE Texas (so U of H, A&M, UT)

Sorry I can't help much with that, but you might look at UT-Austin. There is a significant presence of computer-oriented companies in Austin so you could possibly get some additional co-op experience during the Summer.

 

[atlbraves49]

You'd be amazed at how well you can pick it up again. What harm can it do to just try a few refresher courses, and just see how well it works? Then apply to the MS program if you think it's manageable.

In graduate school, there's way more flexibility in what courses you can take. I mostly forgot all the calculus I took, but did really well in grad school anyways after being out of school for a few years.

As far as the requirements, ignore those for now! Pick some schools that you really like, go visit there and try to arrange an appointment with the graduate admissions director in the Engineering dept. Have a chat with him/her for 15 minutes (they are really busy, so keep it short), explain your goals, make sure they specific as you can make them, and mention that you don't meet certain admissions requirements, and see what they say. The worst they will do is turn you away. But they might just encourage you to apply anyways, and they could waive the requirements.

I have had incredibly good luck when I've talked to professors in person, and explained what I was after. They really want to help you! When you meet them in person, you will have a far better chance than if they had only seen your record on a piece of paper. That goes not only for admissions, but also for getting an assistantship, or doing well in a class.

I really hope that's the case, because you're right, a Masters is the better option. Thank you for boosting my hope at least a little bit. I was a bit disappointed when I read the GPA requirements for some of the schools I was considering.