Yea I talked to my prof and he quickly went over my test and I got about a 70. I think I might switch into the other section. the end result is the same just more face time per week.
I’ve always been an A student without having to study, just doing the hw has sufficed (all through HS, aos in autobody, and an as in business). I think if I would have came here right after hs in '04 things might be easier, but such is life I suppose. So in all honesty I don’t know how to study besides doing homework. So I guess I’ll put more effort into reading the chapters and doing the homework.
Thanks everyone.
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And ya know what makes me feel REALLY dumb and out of place? My partner in Thermo graduated high school at 13 and was going for biochemistry or some shit then switched.
LOL welcome to engineering school. High school was a joke. Business grad school was a joke. Engineering school was hard. You’re going to do poorly sometimes. If you don’t then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. Welcome to being out of your comfort zone.
FWIW Calc 2 was the hardest math class I took. Calc 3 was easier. Differential equations was easier. Linear algebra was easier. Applied math for MAE’s was easier…
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lol so beat him up and take his lunch money. Nobody liked doogie houser.
I think I may have been in that class lol. I took probability too and FML that class blew! I got about the same scores you did and still wound up with a decent final grade.
Calc 2 was pretty tough. Calc 3 was easy. 100% agree with what Fry said too, you can’t compare HS to engineering school, HS is a complete joke. No offense, but getting A’s in HS only means your mildly smarter than a trained circus monkey.
Edit: stick through it if you can, after sophomore year it gets easier.
If it was easy, they’d let those MET kids in the program.
Everyone has classes that don’t click for one reason or another. Could be the teacher, the material, or that dude you keep day dreaming about blowing during class. Put the time in, there’s nothing wrong with having to do it over again. Quite frankly, being an A student through HS and your early years at college isn’t really all that impressive. You’re just getting to the part where you can’t continue to skate by and get As, and just have to figure out how to get a handle on the material. Spend time with the tutors/students/TAs/etc available at the school. Work in groups, and talk through the stuff you don’t get.
If you’re admitting that you aren’t putting in all of your effort, then that’s likely your problem. Even the people that say they are giving it 100% usually aren’t.
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I wouldn’t say it “gets easier”, but more that you learn how to adjust to not being spoonfed the material. It was about my 3rd year when I actually had to study and learn stuff instead of figuring it out during the test. The early years of college are the same as HS, except you live by yourself and stay out all night. Once you start hitting the middle years you can’t skate any more and have to really put the effort in.
I got far better grades on some of the most difficult subjects at the end of my program… was actually studying though, a concept that was quite foreign to me.
It was my opinion as a Technology Education major at Buff State, that the MET kids were pretend engineers. They couldn’t make the cut for UB School of Engineering and instead acted all “hot-shot” like when we were taking the same courses as them, and some.
Stick to ME, you’ll get more out of it in the end.
I had some issues while taking the higher math classes also, but I pushed thru passed with a decent grade. One of the things I learned is to scope out the teacher before you sign up for thier course, the difference in teachers had a huge impact on my ability to learn the material. While I was at RIT math courses between MET and ME were very similar if not exactly the same so changing majors would not really help. I know they changed the curriculum just after I graduated.
haha at the MET vs ME debate. I work everyday with engineers here at CAT in Engine development tuning C15 and C18 Engines for EPA compliance. Most of the “real” engineers here have their Masters degrees in ME, hell some have their PhD in Engineering. I am an MET and I work with them just fine, doing the same exact work and collaborate with them everyday on my team. I even have the same title “Engine Performance Analyst”. Granted I am still in the learning process because I just started 9 months ago but I already earned a raise because of one project where I increased regen interval on one of our machines by a couple hours.
It really depends on the person and what they do with the degree and if a company is willing to give them the chance.
I’m gonna stand right next to you as another MET grad from RIT. Although I’m 8 years out now and doing plenty of R&D, Design, & Project/Program Management for Moog.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. I’ve seen people limited in how high they go by their degree. It’s not right, but depends on who the people are making those ultimate decisions and what their view is on MET vs. ME. I say shoot for ME as a goal, for anyone, and fall back on MET if the schooling is actually easier (I can’t say if it is). You can always be hands on in the field with an ME degree, but getting your foot in the door for a full on desk job with an MET has got to be trickier.
Performance trumps degrees over time.
My old boss (and fry’s old boss) has a BS ME in a land full of phd’s.
Think of it this way. There are a ton of graduate level imports landing great jobs.
We import from all over the world at our expense, because there are just not enough applicants with
the right experience. If you are so worried about how your degree will be recognized while you are just starting out, then plan on staying in. M.S. ME > MET & ME
The devil is in the real world experience you can apply WHILE you are in school. Also… Something you will probably not learn in engineer school is people skills. That shit goes a long way in keeping whatever job you land and getting ahead.
even phd’s get the “opportunity to pursue personal interests” if you are a square peg in a round hole.
All of this is true. The guy that ran (retired now) the facility I’m currently at had a BS in ME from Union College, while there were all sorts of degreed engineers from bigger named engineering schools and higher levels of education. However, the highest MET we have at our facility now is a “senior engineer” with no hope of getting a management position or a “technical fellow” title no matter how good they are or how long they stay. Not that his current position doesn’t pay well, nor is he unhappy…
This is a company and management view thing though; with him being “stuck”; but a very true one. Same goes for hiring, if the company/hiring person is dead set on a ME not a MET then you’re shit out. But… that being said, there are PLENTY of companies out there who look at them the same, or damn close.
I will be the first one to admit, for higher-level scientific type engineering (Aeronautical design, CFD, Theoretical stuff, jet engines, cylinder head design); a MET will not cut it; but then again, a ME won’t either, that type of stuff is typically handled by someone with a MS/PhD. For the general work that I’ve witnessed that 90+% of people with a BSME do… someone with similar experience and a BSMET can do just the same. It’s the 10% that’s the difference; the rest is all company/manager viewpoint of the degrees.
And as for being limited and kept out of management:
<– Part of my very rare relocation with Moog I negotiated a full sponsorship U of U for an EMBA starting next fall. So a MET will not ALWAYS limit your movement into management.
why did you go to RIT? did you get a full ride? why pay so much money? everyone in here please don’t tell me the program is way better, who gives a fuck, look at all the successful UB guys on here, even im mildly successful, im just getting my feet wet out of school
i’m not saying RITs not worth it, but dont fall into that category of people who give up and spend 50 grand doing it, not saying you wont do it because i was discouraged many a times and “hearted” my way through it for the better, but that tuition cost also is in the back of your mind when things arent going well.
it makes me think of an old aquaintance of mine who went to daemen (spelling?) to be a physical therapist, two semesters and 35 grand later, he said it was too hard for him
thanks for all the advice everyone. Nice to see this not being a shit storm thread, lol.
tuition is <$11k per quarter, I “pay” about $3k of that, the rest is grants/scholarships which is about half half each. I really like Rochester and RIT; The professors are great, I’m doing my best to take part of the Formula team, my family and friends are here, etc, etc. Moving to Buffalo is not an option.
I’m just gonna bust my ass more than I have been and see what happens (I usually do homework every night incl friday/saturday nights till late, I dont watch tv or go out. trust me, I have not been slacking). I think some of the problem is I have all my liberal arts classes out of the way so i am taking 4 ‘hard’ classes at once. Worst case scenario I end up a quarter behind. I really wanted to get shit done so I can co-op winter/fall and GTFO out of NY for 6 months, but that may not end up happening.
I never said RIT was the best thing since sliced bread. I know a lot of different people from a lot of different schools that have both MET and ME degrees available. There are some schools that have very shitty BMET (2 year associate) programs that give BSMET degrees a bad rap. I am only talking about RIT ME vs RIT MET because that is what I know, and I went to RIT because of the program and grants I recieved.
I’m also shooting for management and a plain ME isn’t going to get me there either. I’m part way through a Masters of Engineering Management program at Kansas State. Advice for anyone in the technical field, DO NOT GET A REGULAR MBA. It will do you very little good at a larger company, the field is saturated with candidates with a BS in engineering and an MBA, nothing sets you apart and not everyone gets to be CEO. The middle management positions are still technical and therefore your graduate degree should be too.
Doesnt UB have some Masters engineering degree thats not a full MS ME?
Something morons can get into by taking a few pre-req classes?
+1 on the work phd’s and experienced MS guys do.
I have seen some pretty “dumb” phd’s. They can damn near model just about anything, but have no idea why
some designs are completely impracticle.
The deal with graduate education is not that you learn a lot more material, its that you start to get very specific about your research. And, if you are any good you can catch free rides from graduate programs including living expenses.