[ChrisH]

I graduated from the University of California, Irvine (Go Anteaters, ZOT!!) with a Mechanical Engineering Degree. The University system did not offer an Engineering Technology degree but the Cal State schools did, so I could have easily transfered if I wanted.

I went to Engineering school to learn how to design things that wouldn't break. Either curriculum would have provided that. But at the time my perception was that ET was more of a "cookbook" approach. They taught you what formulas to use or what books to look in to find the approach to a given problem. This is fine as long as you stay with stuff that's in the book. But if you want to go beyond the book, then you have a problem.

Since I was interested in doing things that weren't likely to be in the book, I took the harder way. The only time I regretted it was my sophmore year, when I was struggling with the math and almost flunked out. Fortunately an upper classman in my dorm cleared up a few things my professors had apparently forgotten to mention and saved my butt. It is amazing how much you can learn in a conversation that takes less than an hour. Once I understood the math things went better.

Now I've been in industry for better than two decades. I rarely if ever use the math I struggled with, most of the figuring I have to do relates to volumes, weights and masses. The "analyze" function on CAD systems is a wonderful thing. But it is reassuring to know I could do it the hard way if I needed to. If I do any "higher" math, it is related to building BeachBot.

One thing I've noticed is that ET graduates, the few we have where I work, seldom rise to management. The highest they ever seem to make is lead, and usually because they are the person people go to for help in that department. There seems to be an invisible ceiling above which ETs are not allowed to go. That may or may not be important to you. It isn't to me personally, I'm not a management type. But it is something to consider for the future.

I like to keep options open as long as possible, and an ET degree may be closing some off prematurely.