I dropped out of Engineering school last year with over 100 credits, now what?

[Elephent]

I'll try to keep the background brief. Essentially due to a combination of COVID, untreated ADHD, and having never learned proper study and time management habits, I've completely lost the confidence and motivation to finish my degree. My transcript is essentially a Frankenstein's monster of 100-300 level engineering credits across Mechanical, Architectural, and Civil disciplines as I changed majors multiple times in an attempt to spur motivation. That, coupled with a ton of W's and F's littered between the passing grades. 7 years later and I was staring down the barrel of another 4 semesters at minimum to create a 'whole' degree so I instead dropped out. It's been a bit over a year since and I have a steady factory job, no debt (thank god), and am getting married soon, but I'm not satisfied with where I'm at. I'd like to go back to school and get a degree of some kind to help me find a better job with more potential for an upward career path, but I don't really know what to do.

Your Location: Nebraska, United States

Your Age: 26

What kind of degree do you want?: I'd like to get an Associate's degree related to engineering in some way, maybe Drafting/Design or a manufacturing related degree. I'm not opposed to finishing my Bachelor's in engineering either, depending on the timelines.

Current Regional Accredited Credits:

University of Nebraska - Lincoln Total Credits: 73
CHEM 109 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I A-
CLAS 210 ANCIENT ROME A-
FINA 260 PERSONAL FINANCE A-
MATH 107H HONORS: CALCULUS II C
CHEM 110 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II B- 
CSCE 155N COMP SCI I: ENG & SC B- 
MATH 221 DIFFERNTL EQUATIONS B
MECH 223 ENGINEERING STATICS B+
PHYS 212 GENERAL PHYSICS II C+
ECEN 231 ELECTRICAL ENGR LAB A
MATH 314 LINEAR ALGEBRA C-
BSEN 206 ENGINEERING ECONOMICS B-
MATL 360 ELEMENTS MTRLS SCI B
MECH 321 ENGR STAT&DATA ANLYS C+
MECH 373 ENGINEERING DYNAMICS C
JGEN 200 TECH COMMUNICATION I C+ 
CERM 132 CERM:NON-MAJ HANDBUILD A
MECH325 MECH ELASTIC BODIES B
AE 1010 INTRO TO ARCHITECTURAL ENGR B
CIV 310 FUILD MECHANICS A-
CIV 341 INTRO TO STRUCTURAL ENGR B

University of Nebraska - Omaha Total Credits: 22
AE 4940 SPECIAL TOPICS IN AE IV B- (this class number repeats but this was STUDIO 1 and the next is STUDIO 2)
AE 3070 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LAB B-
AE 4940 SPECIAL TOPICS IN AE IV B
CONE 2110 CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS METHODS B
ECEN 2110 ELEMENTS OF ELECTRICAL ENGR B+
CIV 319 HYDRAULICS LAB B+

(unsure of where to put this but its what's on my unofficial transcript)
AP credits from high school - 8
MATH 106 CALCULUS I
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY


Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None

Any certifications or military experience? None

Budget: I don't have a specific budget in mind. I'd like to spend as little as possible but I wouldn't mind spending more if it meant getting done faster or getting a 'better' degree. I'm currently debt free and make more than I spend with good credit so I'm not opposed to taking out loan if I have to.

Commitments: I work full time between 40-50 hours per week. I have a fiance that I spend most of my time with and our wedding is coming up in fall but we've gotten most of the planning done already. Nothing outside of that.

Dedicated time to study: I could study 2-3 hours per night and on weekends

Timeline: As fast as possible. I'm not well versed in schools with generous transfer policies and their timelines, but if there exists such a place I can get in and out with an associates in 1 term that'd be ideal. If no such place exists, and it's going to take closer to 12-18 months just for an associate's, that is where I would lean more towards a bachelor's program, especially if one exists where I can get out sooner than 2 years.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: My workplace offers $2,500 per calendar year tuition assistance.

[jg_nuy]

Hi -
You can check out the Pierpont AAS BOG for the quickest and cheapest route for the associates - you can use Sophia for anything that you might be missing:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

Here is a link for the Area of Emphasis, which it looks like you have more than enough credit for a couple of technical ones - you'd need to pick one:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pi...f_Emphasis

---

For the bachelor's, I would suggesting looking at TESU:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:TESU

[bjcheung77]

@Elephent, Welcome to the board, good intro post with all the info in the addendum and template! Ladder that Pierpont BOG AAS with an emphasis of your choice, as long as that emphasis is available and acceptable at Pierpont, you can ask for the Design, Drafting, Engineering Technology, or something similar. In addition to TESU, even though you only have a few hours a day to work on your studies, you should compare your options with UMPI BAS with a minor or two of your choice, plus the 4 classes that can go towards the MAOL. I suggest reviewing this thread here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...on-to-MOAL

[CenterSquarEd]

You probably have the right credits to be pretty close to a B.S. in Technical Studies from TESU. There’s an Architect/Design area of study, but your credits might make the Engineering area of study a better fit.

[ltw900rr]

If you wanted to continue on your engineering track, ASU offers engineering programs online that have ABET accreditation.

ABET had several online programs listed on their website also ( I had no clue so many were on the online list).

My youngest son is working on his Mech E degree in person, and I can see you passed many of the classes that he said were difficult and it looks like you completed the math side of Engineering also (depending on what program you majored in). You definitely have the knowledge and skill to finish an Engineering degree if you are willing to put in the work.





https://asuonline.asu.edu/study/engineer...lsrc=aw.ds

https://amspub.abet.org/aps/online-search

[davewill]

I'd go a little further on the TESU suggestion. I suggest that you go ahead and apply and send in your transcripts. It just costs $50 and doesn't obligate you to actually attend. You will get an academic evaluation, and be able to see how your current credits plug into their various engineering degrees. Depending on how well your courses fulfill the area of study, you might just be a few months of online courses away from graduating.

They'll only do two transcripts without actually enrolling, so don't bother sending the AP courses for now. They should work fine, so you can send them later when you're ready to enroll.