Engineer Survey: Engineering Vs Engineering Technology

[Mark Pierce]

I have both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degrees. At the time I went to school, the field of Computer Engineering was new enough not to have it's own degree, but that's probably what I would do today given my interests. I really wish there wasn't so much difference in the approaches, they both have their advantages.

If forced to generalize, a two year technical degree will severely limit your career to being a technician. A four year technical degree is more usefull in manufacturing, especially in the process or quality engineering roles. An engineering degree is understood by more people, and will likely prove for easier entry into design and research positions. In my experience, it's how a person applies themselves more than the degree that determines success.

In regards to the math. If you choose to avoid engineering, never tell a potential employer that you couldn't handle calculus. They're looking for people to solve problems. Many engineers believe that any problem can be solved with enough effort (managers are even more so). That colors their opinion even though they had difficulty understanding the math when they were in school. Say rather you like being more hands on, that the courses looked more interesting, etc. instead.

I recently found this quote that describes engineering fairly well:
Herbert Hoover Quote

[Jeremy Roberts]

I graduated this past December with a degree in Computer Engineering (Computer Science and Electrical Engineering) with a focus in Embedded Systems from Georgia Tech . If given the choice again I would choose to purse engineering as opposed to a technical degree. I enjoyed the coursework over my four years there. In addition to obtaining the math and theory, I was given the opportunity to apply this knowledge to practical applications through numerous labs and projects. Approximatly half of all the major courses I took were either labs or had a project component.

I would not purse a techincal degree since my goal is to eventually work in the area of research, design and development. I have gained a lot of my techincal/hands-on experiences through FIRST as well as by self-learning through many personal projects (I am sure this is the case for many of you as well).

All in all, the decision comes down to what you enjoy and what you goals and plans are for the future.

[Chris Fultz]

The choice is what do you really like to do and where are your strengths. If you enjoy the theory and design - a pure engineering curriculum is prpbably the best. If you are more practical, hands on and want to understand how to apply the theory, rather than how to develop the theory - then technology is for you.

If you are undecided, I would choose the pure engineering option because it will be less limiting in your career. There are companies and jobs that will require the pure engineering degree.

Regarding the school, and to a limited extent the degree - a top school and the right degree and solid grades will open doors. Some companies only recruit from the top xx number of universities because of the cost of recruitment activity. So, if you have a choice, go to a top 10 or 20 in the field you are choosing. Don't assume because you have heard of a school (like because they have goos sports teams) that they are one of the top. Many of the best engineering schools are unknown to the general population but well known and respected within engineering companies.

That said, once you are in the door, you will have a short honeymoon period and then your progression through the company (or out the door) will be based on your performance and abilities and considerably less on where you went to school.

I have a Technology degree from Purdue. The main reason for me choosing Technology vs. Engineering was that I started in the Construction Tech program and then decided to change after about 2 years. If I had switched to Engineering, I would have almost started over and I really didn't have the time or money for that. By switching to Technology, most everything tranasferred. If I could do it all over again, I would probably choose Engineering, mainly because I think more doors would have been opened earlier in my career. I do think the Technology degrees are more accepted today than 20 years ago when I graduated.

From a career perspective, my early choice was to move away from the design / analytical option and into project engineering and other business and management roles. The technical background gave me a good foundation. I added an MBA from Indiana University to help develop a strong business understanding and the combination of degrees has helped me considerably.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I graduated from Bradley University, (Go Braves! but soon to be something else) My degree is Electronic Engineering Technology but I attended Bradley when only two other schools had EET programs. I helped Bradley achieve the very first accredidation for that curriculum (at a time when only two other schools in the US had EET programs). I was told that EET would be a more hands on approach to electronics and that the math wouldn't be as hard. After three semesters of applied "technical" calculus, I am not sure that was the case although the problems were real world examples. Although I don't use the calc much, it makes reading technical papers easier and it gives me an insight as to what the engineers are trying to achieve. My original interest was to go into a manufacturing setting but I ended up in broadcasting. I found that there is truth in the belief you will be helping engineers make things practical. I helped EE and ME students all the time at Bradley and have continued to do so all my life. I like what I do because I am not tied to one discipline everyday nor do I work with only one person or group.
My son is attending Bradley now in ME and hopes to be able to design things that people will find easy to use. Since he is an outdoors (Boy Scout) kind of guy, I am guessing he is going to design great outdoor gear, climbing, hiking and camping stuff. I felt that the EET program allowed time for me to pursue other classes that EE and ME students didn't have time for. I have found that technical writing, shop classes, computer programming, and other applied subjects have been of immense help.

[KenWittlief]

wow what an interesting topic. I think my exerience is a little unique. I started out taking electrical engineering at a community college, and after the 1st semister I was feeling swamped. Halfway through the 2nd I wasnt doing so well in calc2 and a couple other classes, so I decided to drop them and sign up for an associates program in electrical technology the next fall.

I didnt make it back to college the second year. I enlisted in the Coast Guard and served in search and rescue stations for 4 years. After that I decided to go back to college and give engineering another try, and I was able to get into SUNY Buffalo.

The big difference then was that computer engineering was really starting to take off. I took the required courses for electrical engineering and computer science for the first two years, but then I had to pick one major, and choose EE. The coursed I took were pretty similar to what is called a Computer engineering degree now, but I have a BSEE.

I really struggled with the math, and the last required math course (differential equations) I got a D! but a D is passing and that was all I needed :^)

I took something like an IQ test when I was a senior and learned my natural aptitudes were more geared towards being an artist than an engineer - for me, math and equations are like eating rust.

But having gotten through the BSEE degree I discovered that Im very good at something most companies call system engineering - thats someone who understands the whole system, the HW, the SW the interfaces to the user, the requirements of manufacturing, testing... someone who can grasp the big picture - and Ive had a very successful career so far because of this.

But one thing about engineering that nobody has mentioned yet. In engineering school you learn how to take what you already know, how to learn things you dont know (on your own) and how to extend that knowledge a little bit further - to take an idea, or a system, or a product to the next step - how to build on your past experience and understanding to come up with something new.

So in a way, engineering is about breaking away from the educational system, and being able to expand knowledge and technology independantly.

Engineers solve problems. The more you have learned in college (math, physics, control system theory...) the bigger the impact you are able to make - knowledge is like tools in your toolbox - the more you have, the more you can do.

[appolo78]

The difference between Engineering and Technology is not that one is more hands-on or practical than the other. Rather, the fundamental difference between the two is that Engineering is more about developing/design systems while Technology is more about supporting those systems.

As such, Engineering and Technology are complementary fields. Engineers need to start from a theoretical framework in order to develop/design systems while technicians need to understand how those systems work in order to support them.

That fundamental difference between Engineering and technology not only explains how or why engineers tend to rise to management but also gives engineers a career advancement advantage because engineers by designed manage the implementation of their systems, which are to be supported by technicians.

[JesseK]

I graduated in '05 with a Electrical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech (go Yellow Jackets!). We had a very mean joke about the difference between Engineering and Engineering Technology degrees (a scantron) but that's simply because the Engineering Technology students we saw at the university next door got to goof off while we pulled all-nighters on some project or another. My real point here is that while there is a difference in the degrees, there are also differences in the universities that teach the degrees.

There are some hands-on skills that EET's have that I had to learn on-the-fly, like proper soldering, large circuit digram analysis, environmental factors, etc. Yet these days there's a plethora of resources for that type of stuff if one's up for it --like YouTube and cheap books from Amazon.