Going from a BSIT to ether BSEE or MSEE

themagicone

Just curious if anyone went after a BSEE or MSEE after getting a BSIT. I really want to do Electrical Engineering but with no prior college or finishing high-school getting admitted into 4 yr b&m school was out of the question. I'm on track to finish my BSIT at WGU in 2012 (35-40 cu/term, 3 terms or so). So know I'm looking at my options. I'm thinking all I really would need to do is get caught up in Calculus and Physics - then may be go straight for the MSEE. Or, it might be better to go for BSEE then MSEE. Only thing for sure I know is that a BSEE is pretty much useless, you can't become a licensed engineer until you have the MSEE - and that is where you make the big bucks. Any opinions or suggestions?

veritas_libertas

Why would you want to get another BS? Just get caught up some more in Calc and go for the MSEE.

earweed

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Why would you want to get another BS? Just get caught up some more in Calc and go for the MSEE.

I kind of have to agree with Veritas. If possible go speak to someone at a school which has the BSEE and MSEE programs and find out if it would be possible to go into the MSEE program with just a BSIT. You may need to take a few classes extra besides just Physics and Calculus. My original major ( which I didn't complete) was electrical engineering.
There is additional math on top of the calculus and depending upon what your emphasis is going to be while going for your MSEE you may want to see about just enrolling in some undergraduate classes in EE that focus on what your emphasis will be in. They may even require you to do this.

veritas_libertas

earweed wrote: »

I kind of have to agree with Veritas. If possible go speak to someone at a school which has the BSEE and MSEE programs and find out if it would be possible to go into the MSEE program with just a BSIT. You may need to take a few classes extra besides just Physics and Calculus. My original major ( which I didn't complete) was electrical engineering.
There is additional math on top of the calculus and depending upon what your emphasis is going to be while going for your MSEE you may want to see about just enrolling in some undergraduate classes in EE that focus on what your emphasis will be in. They may even require you to do this.

I was going to mention that as well. From what I understand (My Father-In-Law has a BS in Electrical Engineering) MSEEs are very well respected. If you decide to go for it I think it will be worth it in the long run.

rogue2shadow

I was in the exact same scenario with Cybersecurity. Veritas is completely right; in the interviews I've been in, the second bachelors just looks like a double major to them (as it technically would be). At the end of the day, you still mark the box as "Bachelor's degree" for the highest level of education attained. If the Masters requires an extremely high level of knowledge, get work in that specialty or self study and then go for it; the program will be a lot easier.

wd40

I disagree with other posters, I was in a technical school studying Industrial Electronics for 3 years, then I finished a 2.5 Years diploma in Telecommunications Electronics, and we took a lot more than maths and physics.

You do not want to have Masters without knowing the basics, because it will make you look "stupid".

About self study, you will need a lot of time to self study all these big engineering books.

veritas_libertas

wd40 wrote: »

I disagree with other posters, I was in a technical school studying Industrial Electronics for 3 years, then I finished a 2.5 Years diploma in Telecommunications Electronics, and we took a lot more than maths and physics.

You do not want to have Masters without knowing the basics, because it will make you look "stupid".

About self study, you will need a lot of time to self study all these big engineering books.

I would say we actually agree with you

There will be a lot of Math and Physics.

themagicone

Humm... There is a lot to think about. My problem is I personally found any online schools like WGU that offer pre-engineering. I'm taking the BSIT as just a way to have a degree, not necessarily to have a job in IT or w/e. May be I should just jump around the degrees at WGU to get what I need - the teacher BS in Mathematics goes up to Calc 3 and even some higher stuff. Then I would need to find some Physics classes. I can do a year of undergrad to get caught up for the electrical classes for the MSEE.

Or the other option is to completely drop out of WGU and enroll in a B&M for the BSEE followed by the MSEE. But doing that I wouldn't get my BSEE until at least 2014, w/ wgu I'll be done in 2012 at the latest.

Is it normal to be 26 and have no damn idea where or what I want to do in life? LOL I still can't make up my mind.

veritas_libertas

Ah, yes...

I changed everything at 25 and started pursuing IT work. I'm glad I did but let me give you some good advice. If you don't know what you want to do don't spend money and time wondering.

Out of curiosity, do you want to be IT? If you do then what you degree is in does not matter nearly as much as it would in other professions.

themagicone

The only thing that interests me in IT is being a network engineer, working back haul and the such. I don't see myself doing any help desk or things like that. I HATE office politics and always loose at the game - I've been fired now like 3 times cause I don't play nice. I'm a person that gets things done and if that makes X person look bad, so what - I'm there to do my job and I do it, usually much better that others in the same position. Ok I'm done ranting and gloating... Still undecided on what I want to do.

earweed

I have to agree, too.
At 24 I had no idea so I jumped into the military to try to get my head straight (didn't help..lol).

veritas_libertas

themagicone wrote: »

The only thing that interests me in IT is being a network engineer, working back haul and the such. I don't see myself doing any help desk or things like that. I HATE office politics and always loose at the game - I've been fired now like 3 times cause I don't play nice. I'm a person that gets things done and if that makes X person look bad, so what - I'm there to do my job and I do it, usually much better that others in the same position. Ok I'm done ranting and gloating... Still undecided on what I want to do.

Well all jobs require some political and conversational abilities

I honestly think (this is only my opinion) it would be a waste of your time to jump into a MSEE at this point. Start pursuing Cisco certifications and you will get into network engineering much quicker. How far are you in your degree plan? If not that far then take the security path and get some Cisco certifications.

bellhead

The hardest part to a EE degree is the required math and physics classes...You don't get the dumbed down business calculus you get the real deal math...

At the University of Cincinnati where I went for a while. All engineering majors had to take 20 hours of Calculus, 20 hours of Physics, 2 linear algebra classes, 1 differential equations, and usually a stats math.

To gain entrance into the master's program you probably wouldn't need to take these classes but they will require you to take the GRE and may require you to take a certain amount of math classes if you don't achieve what they consider an adequate math score.

Also remember there are scholarships and stipends available if you want to finish the degree, the time frame is usually 18 months full time. The scholarship and stipend will cover tuition and give you about $2k a month to live on. The work you would do for your stipend will be either research oriented or teaching.

Many Community colleges will hire people with a Masters in engineering to teach technical classes.

Also the point about becoming a licensed engineer? Where did you here that?

It is possible to become a "licensed" Professional Engineer or PE with only a bachelors, but the Masters is easier than the PE exam that is why many engineers will opt to do the Masters.

The PE is almost like the bar or a medical board for engineers. Here are the requirements...This comes from Wiki...

1. Graduate with a degree from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accredited four-year university program in engineering.
2. Complete a standard Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) written examination, which tests applicants on breadth of understanding of basic engineering principles, and optionally some elements of an engineering specialty. Completion of the first two steps typically qualifies for certification in the U.S. as an Engineer-In-Training (EIT), sometimes also called an Engineer Intern (EI).[3]
3. Accumulate a certain amount of engineering experience. In most states the requirement is four years, but in others the requirement is lower.
4. Complete a written Principles and Practice in Engineering ('PE') examination, testing the applicant's knowledge and skills in a chosen engineering discipline (mechanical, electrical, civil, for example), as well as engineering ethics.

themagicone

Well I should add that, while yes I would like to be a network engineer, my dream job would be designing/building control system for electro/mechanical equipment. I've always wanted to design the control system for a roller coaster, not sure why... That or robotics/automation would be cool. I look at where I want to go and where I am and it seems I can't get there so I settled for the BSIT/network engineering.

veritas_libertas

themagicone wrote: »

Well I should add that, while yes I would like to be a network engineer, my dream job would be designing/building control system for electro/mechanical equipment. I've always wanted to design the control system for a roller coaster, not sure why... That or robotics/automation would be cool. I look at where I want to go and where I am and it seems I can't get there so I settled for the BSIT/network engineering.

I can understand that, I wanted to be an Ethical Hacker but my skills are just not there. I struggle with math and programming so it's not happening

I would strongly encourage you to finish of the BS, and then pursue Cisco certifications. We have a lot of great Cisco engineers here that could give you great advice on that.

themagicone

Veritas - you said you joined the military at 24 to figure things out and didn't help, I can relate - I tried that at 16, left for boot camp 2 months after turning 17. I was still 17 when I left the military. Damn worst mistake of my life.

veritas_libertas

themagicone wrote: »

Veritas - you said you joined the military at 24 to figure things out and didn't help, I can relate - I tried that at 16, left for boot camp 2 months after turning 17. I was still 17 when I left the military. Damn worst mistake of my life.

Actually it was Earweed

themagicone

Woops sorry... I got messed up.

IT_FAN

A master degree will show an employee that you are capable on learning at a higher level more than having two B.S. degrees.

Army Veteran + BSEE(Purdue) + Certifications = ME!!!!

Zartanasaurus

In order to jump from a BSIT to a MSEE you're going to need:
1) High GMAT/GRE scores
2) High GPA
3) Calc up to Calc III, Prob/Stat, Physics and Chem classes
4) Core EE classes you'd usually take at the BS level. Go here and see what their required courses are for non BSEE majors.

themagicone

Department of Electrical Engineering | The University of North Dakota

I did find that, not completely online but a good chunk of it is. So to finish the BSIT (going to be hard, but not too bad) or jump ship and go to the BSEE? If I wanted the BSIT w/ the BSEE (which yes, I understand is pointless - but WGU does give you certs) it'd be best to do the BSEE first then the BSIT as the BSEE would transfer better to the BSIT than the other way around. The calculus and physic scare me a lot though, I had a hard time figuring out pre algebra and scraped by with a C- in college algebra 10 years ago. Humm...

Zartanasaurus

themagicone wrote: »

Department of Electrical Engineering | The University of North Dakota

I did find that, not completely online but a good chunk of it is. So to finish the BSIT (going to be hard, but not too bad) or jump ship and go to the BSEE? If I wanted the BSIT w/ the BSEE (which yes, I understand is pointless - but WGU does give you certs) it'd be best to do the BSEE first then the BSIT as the BSEE would transfer better to the BSIT than the other way around. The calculus and physic scare me a lot though, I had a hard time figuring out pre algebra and scraped by with a C- in college algebra 10 years ago. Humm...

EE really isn't for people who are bad at math and science. Why do you want an EE degree?

themagicone

I love working with electricity, controls, automation. Give me a vfd to debug and I'm in heaven. Determening proper brake slope for a machine doesn't hit end stops is fun, well at least for me it is. Ladder logic.... funner yet.

earweed

I personally did all the math and science part but had a lot of trouble with the and never really had a passion for any particular area of electronics. Quite frankly from what I just read you would probably really enjoy physics (at least parts of it) and the math is just a tool you will have to learn in order to do the physics. Newton actually pioneered Calculus (yeah that Newton with gravity) in order to have a way to communicate the laws of motion (Forces, acceleration, and velocity) The only way to really learn the math is to practice it just as you might practice anything in IT in order to learn it.

As far as a distance learning engineering program you could also look at UAHuntsville Distance Learning