- #1
sparkie
- 51
- 30
So, I'm well into my career. I have an AAS in Mechatronics and used it to do controls work for a couple years. I've been an avid "computer guy" since I was about 10. Worked a paper route to buy my first computer, then a dishwasher on weekends for about four months to buy components and build my first computer when I was 12. I'm already quite well-versed in IT and have gotten my feet wet in Enterprise systems and networking.
With my degree I started in the electrical/controls department at a local manufacturing plant and within a year I was the plant's head PLC and instrumentation guy, mostly due to their desperation to fill the position, but I'll take it. So when it comes to controls and instrumentation I'm largely self-taught. The same goes with networking, though I did take two years of cisco certification classes in high school. I have never been all that mechanical, but I found I get better and better as I do it more. Then I decided I wanted to pursue an engineering degree and couldn't reconcile the plant's needs (on call 24/7) with my educational needs, so I decided to leave.
I got on with a local electrician and have been doing commercial/residential and the occasional industrial when I run into it, and of course I take on any controls work I can get my hands on. I've found that I'm quite good at it. Working at the plant, I was able to work on the 180K gallon ammonia refrigeration system and I spent days at a time out in their wastewater facility doing work and have found I really enjoy those two fields of study, along with machine control. Since my move, I have been doing almost exclusively new electrical construction. Now for my dilemma.
I have to pick a minor or technical electives. I have picked power systems as a specialization, but given that I would like to do wastewater/refrigeration and possibly beer/liquor/wine production systems as my "niche" in the industry I'm not sure which route to take.
I room to do basic mechanical engineering, as I find fluid systems quite interesting, but also feel that I can take chemistry or chemical engineering classes to get a better grip on processes that I will be controlling. Of course, chemical engineers would be designing the processes on a larger scale, but you still need controls guys to implement those processes and make them all work together. So I could use technical electives and try to take chemical engineering classes instead of mechanical engineering classes so that I would have a more in-depth knowledge of what I'm controlling.
Next, I could also concentrate of CIS by means of programming, networking and database classes to fill those technical electives, but I also run into prerequisite issues I need to look into, however with my hefty background and real-world knowledge I may be able to get the professors to allow me in their class without the prerequisite classes, and I feel that the CIS side of things would be much easier to learn via certification or in-field experience, where as with ME or CHE may not.
Do you guys have any thoughts or recommendations on the issue?
With my degree I started in the electrical/controls department at a local manufacturing plant and within a year I was the plant's head PLC and instrumentation guy, mostly due to their desperation to fill the position, but I'll take it. So when it comes to controls and instrumentation I'm largely self-taught. The same goes with networking, though I did take two years of cisco certification classes in high school. I have never been all that mechanical, but I found I get better and better as I do it more. Then I decided I wanted to pursue an engineering degree and couldn't reconcile the plant's needs (on call 24/7) with my educational needs, so I decided to leave.
I got on with a local electrician and have been doing commercial/residential and the occasional industrial when I run into it, and of course I take on any controls work I can get my hands on. I've found that I'm quite good at it. Working at the plant, I was able to work on the 180K gallon ammonia refrigeration system and I spent days at a time out in their wastewater facility doing work and have found I really enjoy those two fields of study, along with machine control. Since my move, I have been doing almost exclusively new electrical construction. Now for my dilemma.
I have to pick a minor or technical electives. I have picked power systems as a specialization, but given that I would like to do wastewater/refrigeration and possibly beer/liquor/wine production systems as my "niche" in the industry I'm not sure which route to take.
I room to do basic mechanical engineering, as I find fluid systems quite interesting, but also feel that I can take chemistry or chemical engineering classes to get a better grip on processes that I will be controlling. Of course, chemical engineers would be designing the processes on a larger scale, but you still need controls guys to implement those processes and make them all work together. So I could use technical electives and try to take chemical engineering classes instead of mechanical engineering classes so that I would have a more in-depth knowledge of what I'm controlling.
Next, I could also concentrate of CIS by means of programming, networking and database classes to fill those technical electives, but I also run into prerequisite issues I need to look into, however with my hefty background and real-world knowledge I may be able to get the professors to allow me in their class without the prerequisite classes, and I feel that the CIS side of things would be much easier to learn via certification or in-field experience, where as with ME or CHE may not.
Do you guys have any thoughts or recommendations on the issue?