Online engineering degrees?

[aviator guy]

I have a colleague that has expressed interest in earning a degree. He has a young family and not a lot of spare time, and knowing that I am pursuing a degree through online methods he came to me for help.

Here's the trouble - he has no post secondary education whatsoever, and he's looking to obtain an engineering degree. Yeah, I know. Good luck with that, right?

I've done some cursory searching for myself before, but engineering seems near impossible to do online and have something that's worth the cost. There are programs like ECPI that cost major $$$, a few other programs I've been able to find little first hand info on, and then there's the whole ABET accredited thing. From my conversations with him, it seems there is a possibility for reimbursement so cost may not be a major factor, and he doesn't seem to believe that the ABET accreditation is critical. He also understands the difference between engineering and engineering technology degrees.

Next up is the area of study. He specifically said that he wants to pursue mechanical engineering, but that looks to be near impossible. I also understand that for people with a large amount of experience, an engineering degree is an engineering degree.

Looks like APU has a good program: Online Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering | American Public University

Any other good options I can point him to?

[icampy]

Thats all I have found, unfortunately. Im not sure how serious an employer would take a completely onlinr engineering degree.

Between teams, projects, and internships, engineering students get some hands-on experience that helps network and gain experience.

[sanantone]

Online Programs | ABET

[dfrecore]

If he just wanted a degree, until he was able to get that ME degree, he could get something like a BALS or BSBA for fairly cheap. At least then, he'd be pretty far along in his quest for a ME degree. Most schools, when it's a 2nd degree, will accept the BA/BS for a block transfer, and all that will be left for him is the prerequisite & core/AOS courses. Not that those aren't a lot, but at least he'll be halfway through, with a bachelor's degree, which may help him check that box for now.

While he's doing that, he can make sure to get a lot of the requirements for a ME degree done through as much online courses/exams as possible. He can look at the requirements for a ME degree at whatever school he wants, and then try to complete as many requirements as possible within a BALS/BSBA. Looking at my local private university here, that would be Calc I, II & III, Stats, Physics I & II w/Lab, and Chem I w/Lab, Computer Programming, Macroecon, Microecon, Speech, Ethics. Obviously, it will vary at different schools. But, those could all easily be worked into a BALS or BSBA.

Just a thought. Kind of out of the box. It gets him a degree, and gets him a head start on the ME degree. Kind of an interim step along the way. If life gets in the way, at least he has that 4-yr degree.

[SolarKat]

Does he have a local college that offers engineering? What market/region will he be working (e.g. the Boston market is really saturated with engineers, so he'd be competing against kids from MIT, WIT, Northeastern, Olin...and hiring managers are fairly skeptical of a new engineer from an online program, in comparison)?

UND has an online ME program, but you have to go to their campus for short summer-session labs. AMU/APU's online EE is not ABET accredited (it's still too new - they actually have an ABET Past President on their Board, so I'd wager that it's coming, whenever they do graduate the first students and get the final review). ASU *is* ABET, for EE. I believe there are hefty equipment costs with both programs, though, as he'd need to have a decent bench setup (o-scopes, waveform generators, etc)...there are cheap-ish home versions, but industry will expect him to have familiarity with professional grade equipment, too, so he needs to think how he'll get that - his local IEEE and ACM chapters would be good places to start networking to find connections to help with the equipment/hands-on experience issues). For hands-on ME experience/networking, see if there's a local ASME chapter, plus join MeetUp to look for local CAD groups - he may be able to do some non-credit skill-building with SolidWorks or AutoCAD using their mentors.

One possibility for degree progress is to check local community colleges for an "Engineering Transfer" option (AS). That typically includes a lot of the math, and for ME, can include a lot of the basic physics: mechanics, statics, dynamics, material science, thermodynamics, heat transfer, possibly intro design/CAD. For the basics, too, TESU and Excelsior offer them as part of their Nuclear Engineering Technology degrees, but they're expensive. AMU/APU offers Fundamentals of MechE, but the prereqs include physics 2 and differential equations, so it's not accessible as an "intro" for freshmen. And he should take calculus-based physics, as opposed to algebra-based physics. That is an important distinction, if he's going to transfer the credit into an engineering program.

Also check local state universities for "degree completion programs" in engineering. He may be able to do a part-time/evening program...transfer in as much of the basics as he can, and then brick & mortar the upper level engineering subjects in the degree completion program. If the local schools don't have a formal program, he can go talk to the various engineering departments and beg. That might work...

If he's unsure about his path, he can start accumulating gen-eds on the cheap, as well as start the math/physics sequence while he figures out the engineering part. He may find that he doesn't much like the maths or the physics after all, and changes his plan accordingly.

Finally, it *may* be possible for him to do a masters in engineering without a bachelors in engineering. I've had friends do that (including Computer Engineering at MIT), and it's the path I'm pursuing (Controls Engineering & Engineering Design @ UWisc). If he goes that path, he'll want an undergrad degree heavy in math/phys...I would not go the generic BSBA/BALS if he thinks he might want to apply to a pure engineering masters. I'd also encourage him to talk with masters programs sooner rather than later, so he doesn't waste time doing the wrong things undergrad. And they'll probably have a list of pre-reqs for him, outside of his non-engineering degree. It really depends where/what he wants to end up doing long term. Another option, lots of math majors work in the engineering space, so even a maths degree would move the needle considerably, career-wise.

Whatever he winds up choosing as a final destination, I'd strongly encourage him to start on the gen-ed slog...get moving, in any direction. Time passes very quickly, it's easy for the degree to fall by the wayside and become a sudden hard-stop in a career later on.

[davewill]

...
If he's unsure about his path, he can start accumulating gen-eds on the cheap, as well as start the math/physics sequence while he figures out the engineering part. He may find that he doesn't much like the maths or the physics after all, and changes his plan accordingly.

...

Whatever he winds up choosing as a final destination, I'd strongly encourage him to start on the gen-ed slog...get moving, in any direction. Time passes very quickly, it's easy for the degree to fall by the wayside and become a sudden hard-stop in a career later on.

Until he knows where he's going, he's going to have to limit himself to CC or other choices which are universally accepted for GenEd.

[SolarKat]

Until he knows where he's going, he's going to have to limit himself to CC or other choices which are universally accepted for GenEd.

I think it depends on his timeline, and how he's planning on using a degree. (And, does he have any experience with engineering, however tangentially, or is it just really awesome to think about from wherever he is now.) If he doesn't have a lot of free time, or he doesn't want to sit in a classroom right now, he's probably going to have to get creative. A BS - Math, for example (the quick way, BA via TESU, or the more rigorous way, which will be better accepted when he goes for the 2nd bachelors in engineering, such as APU/AMU's BS - Math)...and then his local engineering school may be more inclined to let him just do the AOS work. Or take the BS Math, and look at options for grad school. If he's liking ME, but not the math, perhaps Industrial Design might be more appealing.

AAS CAD 100% Online - Minnesota State Southeast

UML's CAD/Computer Assisted Manufacturing certificate, 100% online

UML has serious chops in the engineering world, particularly manufacturing & robotics. This certificate requires Engineering Graphics as a prereq, which they do not offer online, but Northern Virginia Community College *does* have EG online, so it's doable. My son's engineering college (WIT) has the MEs get certified in SolidWorks (and I believe AutoCAD, too, but I'd have to double check with his roommate), so I'd wager that this certificate is a reasonable start to the design side...and as I mentioned previously, things like statics, dynamics, etc, can be taken virtually or at CCs.

Back when dinosaurs were learning CAD, my brother-in-law turned his CAD certificate into 20 years (and 5 rocket/nozzle patents) with Raytheon. So there are many ways to get into the engineering field, besides a straight ME degree. He could always start with design/CAD and math, and see if he loves it enough to go for the full bachelors. In that case, I'd say screw the gen-eds and dip your toes into something like these programs...

[davewill]

I think it depends on his timeline, and how he's planning on using a degree. ...

In other words it depends on where he ends up going, which is what I said.

[SolarKat]

*chuckle* And I gave him options in lieu of gen-eds...so what's your point. Or are you just going to niggle at all of my posts without moving the needle. (BTW, you're welcs for the detailed, well-researched post I wrote to you on behalf of your son and data analytics options. I hear there's a Manners SP2 release soon...)

[SolarKat]

If your friend is looking for inspiration as he considers ME/Eng options, I just found this graduate-level course online...pure awesome. I may take it next year.
[URL="https://continuinged.uml.edu/catalog/current_semsearch_detail.cfm?coursenum=PLAS.5530&secnum=-031"]
UML - Medical Device Design 1[/URL]