Trasfering schools
 

So I've been thinking and I've decided to switch my major from business management to mechanical engineering. I really want to get into maybe designing engines or working for an automotive company doing something of that nature. Unfortunately, very few credits transfer from business to engineering so I'm a little screwed. If I change majors my first year of school would pretty much count as nothing. I'm currently going to school at Iowa State University which is really great but really big at the same time. I think I might like something a little smaller. If I switch majors I will more than likely have to move to an in-state school for financial reasons. ISU is about $24000 a year. So I am looking for a medium sized school that is well known for its engineering programs. I was thinking about NDSU. Any comments or suggestions would be fannnnntastic! Thanks
-Brian

Also, if you were a mechanical engineer in college what are you doing now?

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Well, I am a MechE undergrad here at the U of M. When it was time to go to college, it was between NDSU and U of M for me, although I didnt think I had any shot at getting into IT here at U of M so I pretty much applied just to see how I would do. Well sure enough, like 3 months later I got accepted into the IT here at the U. That was a difficult decision. Both the U and NDSU have good, reputable engineering programs. Then my brother gave me some advice. As he put it, it would be fairly easy to transfer out of the U into NDSU if I didnt like the U but going the other way would be much harder. He said, and I believe him, that the quality of education you get here and you will probably be a bit better off with a MechE degree from here than from NDSU. Dont get me wrong, NDSU is a great school but I chose to go here. If I were to do it again though, I would have gone to NDSU for sure. Its a tough choice, but dont let the size of the U be one of the deciding factors. Trust me, after you have wandered around a day or two, the size really shrinks. All your engineering classes will be in the mall area, you wont ever have to set foot on like half of the grounds. Either way good luck man, and if you want to start a car company in oh, say, like 3 years let me know!

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If physics, calculus and differential equations are your thing, definetly give an ME program a try. But i will tell you this right now, its probably going to be 4 times the workload of a business program. Join the fun! :)

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I started in MechE and changed to international business. You will need to like working behind a computer, possibly in a small office. But it would be rewarding because you can see what you are designing.

I couldn't handle all that math, and I hate chemistry with a damn passion, so for me, it was a good choice to switch away from mechE.

I was at NDSU for that though, and NDSU is a sausage festiva. Cold as hell and 30mph wind every day. But if you like country music and lifting weights, you'll be accepted with open arms.

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Hope you like math! It is a long, frustrating road you are looking down. I did it, I'd do it again, but be prepared to not give up no matter what!

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Yea I won't lie, I'm not a huge math pro or anything like that. But I was really relying on my strong passion for engines to carry me through. I know I will have to study like no tomorrow and it will be really tough, but in the end I know I'll be doing something I enjoy a lot more than management.

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Several of my friends at ISU were ME majors. At a bare minimum you take:

Calc 1, 2, 3
Differential Equations
Calculus physics 1, 2
Statics/fluids/etc.
Some others I can't remember.

I love math, so the calc and diff eq were fun, but physics sucked so much, they got into electron tunneling, relativity, just weird advanced physics which I don't care about much, and not relevant to the degree.

If you want to design engines and work for an automotive company, get on a formula 1 team if they have one where you go. It'll take a lot of free time, but my friend is the head engine guy at ISU and he talks to all these design guys from Honda, etc at every meet. Pretty good 'in' if you ask me.

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Yea for sure. But like I said, doing ME I will more than likely need another 4 (possibly 5) years before I graduate. This is something I don't think I could really afford here at ISU. While I know it's a great school especially when it comes to the engineering programs, I think a school like ndsu would fit my budget a little better. I also know a number of people that go to school there. I guess what I'm asking is are there any other schools in mn that would be better to attend for a ME degree than ndsu? Also, for all you ME's out there, what are you currently doing?

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Yeah, I thought I had a strong passion for engines, cars, jets and all that awesome mechanical stuff, BUT, what i've found out is that cars are my hobby, and I already know enough about cars to enjoy my hobby nearly to it's full potential, I don't need a degree for that. I had to take a couple years off to figure out what I might like to do for a career. One way I did that was work at jobs I found to be undesirable in the long run. You could try that too, if you want. There is absolutely no shame in working for a couple years to build some savings, credit and workplace experience.

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Thats really great advice. As you can probably tell, I am trying to learn more about ME and what jobs it has to offer out of school. I am planning on working at a dealership this summer either selling cars or being a lot person. I have worked with sales a lot and it's something I'm really good at. I just don't have a passion for it like I do for mechanics. I try to picture myself 10 or 15 years from now and I don't want to be selling cars or working some crappy job you barley need a diploma for. I want to have some kinda of impact on the production of a certain car.

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You can go a hell of a lot farther with sales that working at a car lot. Get into inside/outside sales in a larger company, most require a degree. The money potential is huge. I also went for a ME degree for a while. I started talking to some engineers and decided I didn't want to sit in front of a computer all day, so I changed fields. If you get in a small company you can get hands on still, but I want to see how well the parts I design work when they are done.

I ended up getting out of school for a while and getting into the job field. The real killer with that is the financial aid goes down the crapper once you start making some money and it makes school difficult. Basically you have to keep a job and go to school, which is a pain.

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I understand that. I've been working as a tele-marketer during school and it's really not that bad. I talk to alumni everyday about what they are currently doing. Most of them are engineers that I speak with, so I hear a lot of good things obviously. Where could I go with sales? You said I can get in a larger company and still have that hands on experience? That's what I want right there, but idk what job that would be or how to get there. Like I said I have a pretty good nitch for selling things. But I don't want to be one of those people that don't know what the heck they are selling. For example, when I was car shopping with my dad I would ask the salesmen questions that they had no idea what to say. I want to really be involved and make a difference. I have thought about becoming a sales rep, but again I don't know too much about that profession either.

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There is a good spot for sales engineers too. Technical sales people are becoming more common now, it helps with product differentiation. Sales has huge profit potential, but there will probably be travelling involved (on the companies dime of course!). It definitely has its perks, especially when younger. Engineering and sales are on 2 different ends of the spectrum, you have to decide which way is best for you to head down. Do you want to deal with people or sit at a computer?

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maybe focus a job search with those who offer to pay for their employees to go back to school. Look into online classes to free up normal working hours and make sure any schools you look at are acreddited so credits transfer with ease and you don't lose money. This can allow you to also have flexibily of a smaller school, get a solid GPA, and use it to transfeer into other schools as you see fit.

Sales and Business can be tought if you have the mind set. I foiled out of school after 1 year when I went right out of high school. Now I'm half way finished with my BSBA in Finance and have a path to also get my BSBA in Business Management and move to my Masters in Finance or Business after that. I plan to work in Finance/Accounting for 5-10 year during all this school till I can work and network my way into my own business again or into a VP positon in a company like the one I work for now. The best thing is, my work is paying for everything but my books right now, so it was the perfect time to go back and I'll milk it for everything can.

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If you say it that way, I'd rather deal with people in a professional manner than sit in front of a computer.

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That's awesome! So how did you manage to work for or even find a company that would pay for your schooling? I've heard of that before but idk how to find a business like that. Also, as VP what do you do specifically? What company is it?

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Most companies are willing to pay for additional training and schooling, as long as you stay with them X amount of years. That is how my company does things.

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I went through Ajilon Temp Agency and just got lucky. My only experiance was doing the books for QPR, and that year was enough experiance to get in at the time. They had the benefit of Tuituion Reimbursement and I am taking full advantage of it. When I first started there was no rules to it, I could leave at any time after getting my degree. Now I only have to stay a year past or pay any funds I'm gained through the program in the past year back upon leaving. Go to a temp agency, and talk to them. Talking about your goals can make a huge difference. If they don't pay attention to you, move on to another agency ot branch. You have to feel good about the people you rely on. A VP can have many duties but it's mostly decision making and allocation at my company. For me, that's a goal, where I'll need to know how everything works from the ground up. Just don't be afraid to to take your time.

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Once again, great advice. I'll speak with my advisor about how to get in touch with some temp agencies and see what they offer. I have quite a few ins to working at a dealership and possibly selling cars this summer. I don't believe any of them would offer tuition reimbursement, but after what I've been hearing about business management/salse I think becoming a vp or a sales rep sounds like something I wouldn't mind doing. They both bring in the money as well and that's definitely not a bad thing :) If you don't mind me asking, what company is it you work for? And did you just take whatever job was offered and decided to work your way to vp?

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I work for ATK inc and no, I was looking for something withing accounting. I don't want to get you mixed up, but I'm not a VP. I still work in the accounting area. I'm setting my goals for VP in the next 10-20 years. LOL

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Ooo haha ok. I was gunna say your the vp and your still going to school haha. I have a meeting set up with my business advisor tomorrow, so I'll have a good talk with her. I'd really like more information about sales representatives and what they actually do. I'm up for traveling and talking with different people, just not sitting in a store selling hondas all my life haha. I just spoke with one of my friends about having a business pay your tuition, and he thought you had to take less credits and actually end up in school longer. Do you work full time while you go to school?

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Taking less credits will depend on how much they pay for during a specific time frame and how much of a work load you can handle.

I work full time, and generally take 8-12 credits every 16 week semester. I also go all year round. I'm about 2 years away at that pace to reach my goal, but I'usually take more during the winter months.

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A sales rep goes out and tries to sell their product to the dealer. If you were a car rep, you would go to the car dealerships, tell them about the new models and how great they are going to be. Then when you have them all Wowed, then you have them sign an order. Of course everything has to be sold, so there are tons of different things to sell.

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Im an ME major at UMN with a minor in Mathematics.

If you can do Calc 1, then Calc 2, DiffEq and Multivariable are pretty simple in my opinion. Phys1 is really easy too, Phys 2 gets a little complicated though. Also I only needed one semester of intro Chem so I wouldnt worry to much about that.

I wouldnt plan to major in ME if you have a big social life on the weekdays, I usually come home from school, and do hw till its time to go to sleep mon-fri.

But if your technically minded all the stuff your studying ends up being really interesting, so doing all the hw isnt soo bad at all. Plus at the UMN there are LOTS of places to go for help.

I just transfered in to UMN this year from a different school in michigan, and ill be graduating in 5 years total, and thats with studying abroad for a semester and getting a minor in math.


Not sure how usefull all that was, but I really recommend UMN!!
If you think youll enjoy the things you will be learning than go for it, if not then I wouldnt bother.

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http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm

try this site, it has a general description of hole list of careers.

Figure out where you want to be in like 10-15 years, and see if you think that whatever career path would still be interesting then.

Heres the flow chart for the ME courses needed to graduate:

http://www.me.umn.edu/education/pdf/ME_flowchart.pdf

If those courses look interesting then go for it!

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Thanks so much for your help! I met up with my business advisor for a while this morning and you guys are definitely a lot more help than she was. I'm planning on meeting up with an ME advisor later today so I'll see what I can find out there. Thanks for the links as well, I'll check those out more in depth as soon as I get out of class :)

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Sorry, I'm a bit loss in all the postings. Are you still planning to be a ME major or have you started to get into Business? There's a variety of VP type positios in Business. But like the admin said, becoming a VP in the area of Finance / Accounting will definitely take awhile. They look for outstanding employees, to managers, then to VP. Of course, I hope to become an audit manager within the next 10 years (if i get lucky), but its something that I'm aiming for. If your planning to go the SALES route, your definitely gonna need to be a sales oriented guy. Alot of business sales reps get paid by commission, and on top of that, if your not doing so good with sales, expect to get canned. Currently Right now, i'm working at Wells Fargo. Over at WF, tuition reimbursement is also an option. Of course, you need to work there for 6 months first, and then have a certain progress level to meet requirements. In addition, you need to work part time, 15-20 hrs a week i believe to get part reimbursement, or full time 40 to get a higher reimbursement rate. The hard part about this is that your not going to be able to go to school during the day, expect night classes / online courses. In addition, I don't know if tuition reimbursement works for positions such as tellers. Depends on what position I believe. But if your into sales, and your into your senior year or have graduated. There's a really great intern position here that helps step your way into becoming a full time sales rep. (Traveling, commission, and so forth.) Where i'm at, its not the general banking, its more of the SBA credit / loan area.

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In addition to these steps, if you do plan on getting into business / sales / management, you don't necessarily need to get a Bachelors in these fields. Whatever undergrad your in, you can still go into your master in these fields. Many colleges nowadays offer these masters programs in the evenings as well for the working person. Although, some do not. For example, St. Thomas offers there masters of science in accountancy program but you'll be in the traditional hours with your cohorts. Then they have a guaranteed paid internship with the big 4 accounting firms. when your done there, you take your cpa test and your set to go. (Not advertising for them, but just an example)

In these aspects, each business aspect is different then others. Sales / Marketing / Gen. Business / Accounting / Finance / Economics and so forth, you will develop a different mindset. If you major in finance or other fields instead of accounting, and get into the accounting career, you may indeed need to spend extra class time to get your CPA, if you want it.

Personally, I like accounting and finance. Finance with the sales and business integrated (personal finance / investments / analyst positions etc..) to the accounting (all the book work / documentation for a company)

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That's kinda funny, I'm actually sitting in my accounting class right now. I wasn't really planning on doing book work or any sort of accounting, just not something im passionate about. Any I may have been a little unclear about what I'm doing now, but I'm just finishing my freshman year at ISU. I took mostly business generals these first two semesters. It looks like about 1 semester of classes would switch over to ME if I decided to. I am planning on speaking with the ME advisor in a little bit and get some first hand experience about what ME has to offer. TurboDomestics those links were very helpful and provide a great amount of information! I'll definitely reference that site when I speak with the ME advisor.

I guess what I'm thinking is even though sales is something I am good at, my passion is really with mechanics. I think it would be so cool to sit down and work on a project with a group of guys designing or critiquing engines/transmitions/etc. I understand that most engineers get the opportunity to test their final results and that really excites me about that profession. I am going to try and get a hold of some engineers that work for mitsu and see what kind of jobs they offer for MEs and what I could do to get to that point.

As far as having a business pay for my tuition or part of it. That would be really great, but I don't really think I would want to sacrifice a "real college experience" for night classes and a extra heavy work load. I am currently working while I'm here at school, but not much more than 16 hours a week, so that's not too bad. I'll post up later tonight after I speak with the ME advisor. Thanks again so much guys. You have all been very helpful and I look forward to replies every time I log on :)

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Well i've spoken with both of my advisors and done a lot of thinking. I have decided I am going to go with what I'm more passionate about- Mechanical Engineering. I understand the job market has just been exploding with new jobs in the past few years and it is planned to continue to do so. I will obviously start up some summer classes at north hennipen cc this summer to start my "catch up" process haha. Hopefully I can continue to gain knowledge about the profession and end up with a job I really love. Thanks again for all your help and comments. I am still open to new ideas and comments if anybody has any for me :)
-Brian

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I hope you're not going to do Mechanical Engineering here at Iowa State as the quality of undergraduate instruction is very poor. I can tell you specifically what ME classes are like as I have 10 regular class days left before graduation and I have taken 3 ME classes. I have also had 2 AE classes with ME students. If you want additional proof, as the ME adviser how the ME Department did on their last ABET review.

Regarding cost, keep in mind that College of Engineering students have to pay an additional surcharge fee. I've been here long enough that my fee was rather small but you younger folk are really going to get raped.

Regarding the job market, I would not necessarily say that the job market has been exploding. For example, both Polaris and Boston Scientific have recently had major layoffs in the Twin Cities. Everything depends on if you know your head from you ass in terms of being able to find a job. If you're set on wanting to get in with an automotive related manufacturer, the first thing you had better be doing is becoming active the Formula SAE team. Note how I said becoming active, not joining. Employers are smart enough to know that there are countless kids who join a club to simply list it on their resume and never actually do anything with the club.

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Yea I've read about that SAE team a little bit and it seems pretty friggin cool. I have pretty much made up my mind that I am transfering to NDSU and pursuing ME. I'll do my calc class and chem class this summer at NHCC so I can start to catch up a little.

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Ahhhhh this is a very satisfying 2 year old bump. I just aced my diffy q final and I'm pumped! I still don't really like math, but I've managed to get through calc 1,2,3 linear algebra, and diffy q! woot woot poty starta

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sweet deal broham