Engineering vs. Engineering Technology

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Posted by Jim Meyer.

Engineer on team #67, HOT Team, from Huron Valley Schools and GM Milford Proving Ground.

Posted on 10/23/2000 7:33 AM MST


In Reply to: Engineering vs. Engineering Technology posted by Matt Leese on 10/16/2000 5:24 AM MST:



About 3 months ago I received a phone call. It was a friend of a friend and he was asking me for hiring info at GM. He informed me that he had a Bachelors degree in Engineering Technology (4 years) from one of the satelite campuses of the University of Nebraska located in Omaha. He seemed to be an incredibly bright guy with nearly a 4.0 GPA. He chose engineering technology over a classical engineering degree because he wanted to do more hands-on type of work. He was calling me because he had graduated a couple of months prior, and still could not find a job. He really wanted to get into the automotive industry because of his passion for cars. He informed me that he had all but gotten a position with Visteon (A large automotive supplier once owned by Ford) only to have his hire blocked by Human Resources because he did not have an 'Engineering Degree'.

Just some information that I thought would help.

I myself got a Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of Nebraska (main campus in Lincoln) an do a fair amount of hands-on work. Right now there is a transducer that I designed on my desk that is most likely a one-of-a-kind. I guess I'll find out when I try to patent it.

I do want to emphasize that there are many jobs for classical engineers where you get your hands dirty. A co-worker of mine, who just started here, just finished designing and building a banding maching for Velcro. This banding machine is really no different from a robot competion. He was given limited resources; time, money and space, and the only requirement was it had to applying bands to Velcro rolls. I can name countless other friends of mine doing hands on work with classical engineering degrees.

The jobs you want are out there, you just have to find them!

Hope this helps,

Jim Meyer