What to Expect in an Online Engineering Degree Program

[LevelUP]

What to expect in an online engineering degree program
https://www.zdnet.com/education/science-...ee-online/

I tend to think that this specific degree is best to do at a school with a proven track record for getting students jobs in the engineering field. Also some things you will need to do hands-on.

Thoughts?

[Pats20]

I think “to each his own”. What might be the best for one may not be for another. Some people do better in the seat while some do better online.

[bluebooger]

"I tend to think that this specific degree is best to do at a school with a proven track record for getting students jobs in the engineering field. Also some things you will need to do hands-on."

engineering and any health degree should always be hands on

nursing can be online as long as you were a medic in the armed forces or a paramedic in civilian life and have had a few years experience AND your nursing degree requires 3 months hospital rotations

[MNomadic]

engineering and any health degree should always be hands on

Those aren't always mutually exclusive.

[Pats20]

Nursing degrees and health technician programs have clinical rotation requirements that must be met.

[ss20ts]

All degrees have courses where butts in seats makes no sense. English101? Please! Many gen eds you can learn on your own. In fact many of us on here have done just that! Many have completed a number of science and math courses on their own. Is that for everyone? Nope. But also not practical for everyone who is interested in a college degree to live anywhere near a college that they can get into and afford. Most of the country is spread out and not near a college. Let alone one that offers engineering and STEM programs.

I live in a really small town - 3500 people. There's a private college in the town next to me. It's over $60,000 a year to attend. It's a basic liberal arts college. Not alone can the vast majority of the nation not afford such a college, they wouldn't even be accepted. Then there's the issue of their classes are only held during the day which doesn't work for many people including college age students who have to work or help take care of family members.

[rachel83az]

I've been pondering this for a few hours. I get that nursing should be hands-on. You have to deal with people, sick people, on a regular basis. You need a practicum to ensure that you can actually do the job. Fair enough. But what about engineering requires you to be hands on? Isn't most of it computer-aided these days? What's the difference between staring at the computer from home and staring at the computer while in a classroom? Biomedical engineering is the only "engineering" I can think of where you should be in the classroom for most of your major. You need access to things like centrifuges and so on. It'd be kind of impractical to try to set up a DNA lab in your own living room!

[MNomadic]

I've been pondering this for a few hours. I get that nursing should be hands-on. You have to deal with people, sick people, on a regular basis. You need a practicum to ensure that you can actually do the job. Fair enough. But what about engineering requires you to be hands on? Isn't most of it computer-aided these days? What's the difference between staring at the computer from home and staring at the computer while in a classroom? Biomedical engineering is the only "engineering" I can think of where you should be in the classroom for most of your major. You need access to things like centrifuges and so on. It'd be kind of impractical to try to set up a DNA lab in your own living room!

"Engineering" is such a broad term now anyways. Sure, lots of projects require a hands-on component but for a software engineer, that means hands-on-the-keyboard, which of course can be done anywhere.

[Insert Name]

Nah. Online classes, with a 2-4 year mandatory externship installing whatever type of systems you want to engineer.

Don’t mind me. I’m just the guy that has had to fix too many prints on the spot because a motor is inside a wall, or a valve can’t be opened because the stem is against another pipe, or a controller and a device use two different analog signals.

Sorry for the jokes, if not appropriate. The reality is most engineering is done remote anyway, and I have met more than a couple engineers who couldn’t work a multimeter, turn a wrench, or take a water sample. So I am not sure exactly what is being taught “hands on” that can’t be done through zoom, or simply “read the material.”