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Earning an associate degree in engineering means you’re going to be more hands-on than engineers who have earned their four-year bachelor’s degrees. With an associate in engineering, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to peer within a machine or structure so you can learn how it works. You should also be able to work as a member of a team, helping to manufacture, test, and assist with the operations of an engineering firm.

At your level, you’ll be tasked with problem-solving issues in the projects that will be assigned to you. Because there are many more jobs than engineers, you can expect to be hired relatively quickly.

Entering college at the community college level allows you to keep costs down on what is often a very expensive undertaking. You’ll learn similar skills that students in a bachelor of engineering program do; however, you’ll get less technical and theoretical learning, focusing more on practical and hands-on experiences.

Engineering Degree & Career Paths

PROS

• You’ll find out that an associate degree in engineering is highly career-focused. This kind of degree program allows you to earn a higher salary, simply because your education is all relevant to your career.

• You’ll also benefit from the flexibility of an associate in engineering degree. You have the option of choosing face-to-face, online, or hybrid classes (hybrid programs are a combination of face-to-face and online).

• Most significant of all, the cost of an associate degree is much more affordable than that of a bachelor’s or master’s degree. When you graduate, you’ll have about half the debt that an undergraduate engineering graduate has.

• You’re also less likely to have to work while you are in school, though this isn’t true of every community college student. Because you don’t have to work to earn for your tuition, with work study or trying to start paying back school loans early, you are more likely to graduate than you are to drop out of school due to expense.

CONS

• As affordable as an associate degree in engineering is, you still won’t have the same amount of knowledge and theory that a graduate of a four-year engineering degree program has. They learn how to use both analysis and modeling to find solutions to problems and create engineering designs.

• Graduates of a bachelor’s degree have the knowledge and skills needed to take part in designing the infrastructure of bridges, roads, and buildings if they earned a civil engineering degree: just one of the degree specializations open to them at that level. Even more significant, engineers with four-year degrees have the ability to identify new techniques, methods, and theories as they solve problems in engineering.

• Your associate degree will focus more on getting you ready for a specific work than it will providing you with theory that could take you into a variety of positions. You’ll be able to consult on the development of electronic designs and also take part in research and design implementation, but you won’t usually be able to work without supervision or lead a team.

• The biggest disadvantage is that you will enter an engineering firm as a technologist. If you completed a two-year degree, you are a technician. This contrasts with four-year graduates who are entry-level engineers.

Certificate Vs. Associates

There is a difference between a two-year associate degree and a certificate that might enable you to enter the engineering world. Because each certificate is so focused, you’ll only learn one small part of a large field. On the flip side, you’ll quickly learn the skills you need now so you can begin working as a specialist. Earning certificates and listing them on your resume is also a good practice, however, you may not be able to earn most certificates without at least some preparatory education. After all, engineering is a complicated career, requiring an in-depth educational background.

If you decide to earn an associate of applied science (AAS) degree, you will gain a much broader knowledge base. A two-year degree also makes it easier for you to return to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering, which a certificate cannot prepare you for.

What Engineering Associate Degrees are Available?

• Associate of Applied Science Mechanical Engineering Technology:

This degree focuses more on the “science” of engineering, focusing away from general education and onto the things which will help you succeed in a position as an engineer. Students take courses in computer aided engineering analysis and design, computer aided drafting (CAD), computer numerical control programming (CNC), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), and engineering mechanics. However, it may be difficult to earn a bachelor’s degree in the future, since you will have skipped over most of the necessary general education courses you will need to complete.

• Associate in Engineering Science:

This program is intended to be an equal to the first two years of a bachelor’s degree in engineering. This program was created for a high level of structure, emphasizing science, math, and engineering. Because the general education courses are taken in an undergraduate program, students in this program focus most on engineering courses, but will prepare you to earn a bachelor’s degree in the future.

• Associate of Arts in Engineering (AAE):

This program meets lower-division general education rules for a four-year university so that you can easily transfer to a bachelor’s degree should you choose to at a later time.

• Associate of Science in Engineering (ASE):

Students in these programs learn about engineering design processes and the materials that are used to make equipment and other devices specific to the program. The hands-on learning is based on both scientific and technological principles.

Admission Requirements to Enter an Associates Program

Students who are in high school and want to enter a 2-year associate degree program in engineering must complete the mandatory high school subjects as required by their state. When they are ready, they can apply for admission to each school in which they are interested. Most schools need to receive all official high school, GED, or home school transcripts or certificates before they will make admission decisions. For the same reasons, you should also submit ACT or SAT entrance exam scores to each community college you are considering.

How Long Does It Take to Earn an Associate Degree in Engineering?

This will vary depending on the community college and degree type you choose. You are required to complete all required courses in your major. If your degree program requires you to take some general education courses along with your core courses, then your time in school will likely last longer.

These programs usually consist of at least 60 credit hours. An AS in engineering or engineering technology may take as few as 18 months or as many as 24 months. If you are an adult student with a job, you may be enrolled in a flexible program that takes up to three years to complete.

Engineering Associate’s Degree

There are many community colleges that can prepare you for a brilliant career in engineering. Some of these two-year programs are designed to provide a bridge to a state university's school of engineering. As such, these programs often offer a prescribed, term-by-term, course of study to groom you for success. With that said, many students complete their associate's degree in engineering and then embark on lifelong careers in the field.

One chief advantage of starting out at a community college is that you can make up for any academic shortcomings you might have. In high school, you might not have realized that you wanted to pursue engineering so didn't take the higher math or science courses. A community college can help you get back up to speed for an engineering career.

As You Work Towards Your Associate's Degree, You Might Take Some of the Following Courses:

• Electrical Fundamentals, I

• Co-Op Education: Engineering

• Calculus, I & II

Engineering Bachelor’s Degree

When you graduate with an undergraduate degree, you will be prepared to launch a brilliant career. You can start working on becoming state licensed and think about attending graduate school. Your license and graduate school aspirations will depend on how well your undergrad school was accredited. That is, it must be ABET-accredited to qualify you for licensure and likely for most graduate schools. However, if you wish to steer in a new direction, an MBA program likely won't need ABET credentials and can set you up for management positions with a focus on engineering projects and companies.

Another benefit of a bachelor's degree is that you can focus on the specific area that intrigues you. You could major in civil, aerospace, mechanical, or industrial engineering for instance. You will need a total of +-120 hours to complete your bachelor's degree. Along the way you might take courses that include, but are not limited to:

Here Are a Few Sample Courses:

• • Solid Mechanics Design

  • Viscous Flow and Heat Transfer

  • Fundamentals of Photovoltaics

  • Mechanobiology

  • Concrete Materials

  • Urban Hydrology

Engineering Graduate's Degree

These days, a graduate degree is more and more important. That imperative extends to Engineering. When you arrive at the decision to add a graduate degree to your growing list of credentials and achievements, you may need to decide whether to take a more academic or professional track. That is, there are graduate programs that focus on thesis work, teaching, and a life in academia or research. Other programs focus on professional life, including technological innovation, corporate environments, and management.

When you decide on graduate school, you'll probably wish to enhance the knowledge and skills you have developed in your chosen field, such as mechanical engineering. However, you could decide to apply your engineering skills to the world of business and add an MBA to your resume. Many financial wizards started off with engineering degrees. Nonetheless, if you dive into an MS in an engineering field, you can focus on one of the following areas:

Here Are a Few Sample Courses:

• Aerospace Engineering

• Bioengineering

• Computer Science

• Electrical Engineering

• Energy Systems

• Railway Engineering

• Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Fields of Study

Aerospace Engineering: With a degree in Aerospace Engineering, you can truly go where no one has gone before. Even if you spend your time working on airplanes and terrestrial-bound flying machines, you will be at the forefront of transportation technology. Some Aerospace Engineers are even starting to design prototypes for civilian aircraft that may someday replace automobiles. Courses include:

• Mechanics of Aerospace Structures

• Aerospace Dynamical Structures

• Aerospace Decision Algorithms

Bioengineering: We don't often think of ourselves as systems or subject to engineering, but Bioengineers certainly do. As you study this field, you will need an extensive knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to create things like prosthetics, medical devices, and even pharmaceuticals, among other exciting projects. Courses include:

• Conservation Principles

• Modeling Human Physiology

• Circuits and Systems

Computer Engineering: We take computing for granted, but we are just starting to understand what is possible with this powerful technology. Where most computing programs tend to focus either on hardware or software, as a computer engineer, you will be steeped in both. You will have a full working knowledge of circuit boards as well as the software that inhabits them. Sample courses include:

• Programming

• Computer Systems Engineering

• Computer Security

• Distributed Systems

Engineering Physics: Since physics tackles questions related to time, space, matter, and energy, this field of study might be the very backbone of Engineering. Graduates with this degree are found in diverse fields such as: nuclear medicine, astronomy, solar energy, coastal science, and laser science, among others. As you progress in this field, you might take courses such as:

• Electricity and Magnetism

• Thermal Physics

• Mechanics and Relativity

• Quantum Physics

Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering: We were brought into the nuclear age by engineers in the NPRE field. Nuclear and radiological engineers help in solving problems or advancing industries and civilizations; for instance, those in this field help design nuclear power plants, work on energy policy issues, and create nuclear propulsion plants for the U.S. Navy. A few courses you might take include:

• Modeling Nuclear Energy Systems

• Neutron Diffusion Transport

• Radiation Protection

• NPRE Design

Engineering researches manage the design, optimization, maintenance, along with creation of tools as well as systems. Students may be able to learn about a substantial variety of subjects, including math, format, and also even advanced analytic. Education and finding out in the United States is generally offered by the public market, with control as well as funding originating from 3 degrees: state, neighborhood, as well as government, because order.

Acquiring an associate level in style suggests you're probably to be extra hands-on than designers who have gained their four-year bachelor's degrees. With a partner in design, you'll have the understanding and capacities to peer within a gadget or framework so you can figure out exactly how it functions. You ought to additionally be able to work as a participant of a group, assisting to manufacture, examination, as well as assist with the procedures of a style company.

Considering that there are much more work than developers, you can anticipate to be utilized fairly without delay. Getting in college at the community university degree permits you to maintain prices down on what is frequently an incredibly expensive task. You'll discover equivalent abilities that pupils in a bachelor of engineering program do; however, you'll get much less technological and also scholastic finding, concentrating much more on useful and also hands-on experiences.

The cost of an university education nowadays is sufficient to make the most well-to-do pupils gulp. So it deserves thinking of your degree as an economic investment in your future, not merely the next obstacle you have to conquer in order to land that very first job. Among one of the most beneficial degrees are the ones that not just offer an immediate reward after university nonetheless additionally handle those who seek them lasting career complete satisfaction and likewise the possibility of profits development.

A number of specialized place near the top of the checklist when it concerns high-earning college programs. For instance, degrees in petroleum engineering prepare you to create systems for extracting below ground oil and additionally gas down payments.

Even those with just a bachelor's degree produce a regular mid-career wage of $77,600. Other top-paying degrees include systems engineering program that concentrates on the tracking of electric, mechanical, along with other complicated system well as aquatic layout and additionally aerial layout. Graduates with a degree in chemical layout will make a typical incomes of $66,000 to start, in addition to $87,000 at the mid-point of their profession.

There are several careers within the computer in addition to info tech area. Companies are ready to pay huge bucks for individuals that recognize precisely just how to configure software application, deal with computer systems, and control data. According to the job-search internet site. The common individual with a computer technology degree will get entry-level settlement of someplace in between $45,000 along with $52,000.

It is among the reasons why a degree in math is the entrance to a broad variety of satisfying work. As an example, an actuary assesses financial threats for financial investment along with insurance provider. Actuaries gained a wage of $108,350 in 2019, according to the BLS. Actuaries require to pass a ladder of certifying tests, both throughout as well as additionally after college, to get to the highest degree of their area.

Both actuaries and also statisticians have fantastic employment development potential customers with a 20% anticipated development rate for actuaries and also a 30% development cost for statisticians in between 2018 and also 2028. Science-related job mean numerous of the most well-compensated settings in the labor force. A bachelor's degree in aeronautics or astronautics, for example, will certainly generate a typical wage of $69,365 at the beginning and additionally $94,500 by mid-career, according to the net. Scale, majors in public accounting can do specifically well, making common beginning incomes of around $60,000. In 2019, the average salary for an accountant with a bachelor's degree was $71,550 according to the BLS. Nonetheless, public bookkeeping professionals that prepare monetary statements for people as well as likewise business while employed at an audit company would be asked for to find to be a certified public accountant CPA, which is a four-part test on various book-keeping concepts, policies, methods, as well as also terms.

Jobs with an Associates in Engineering are plentiful and offer you a variety of careers that will allow you to help the public and benefit your employer at the same time. Whether you choose to work for yourself or as part of a larger company, there are jobs to fit your schedule.

The first thing that everyone thinks about when they think about engineering is engineering technician, which requires a degree in electrical or mechanical engineering. In the field of electronics, there are a multitude of opportunities including engineers, who design and manufacture of electronic systems and products such as cellular phones and computers. In the field of civil engineering, you might become a landscape gardener, construction engineer, or some other related career. If you're more interested in becoming an aerospace engineer or space scientist, then you have other opportunities that are related to this career.

There are other options available to you in the field of engineering, including the engineer's job of computer science. As an engineer, you are responsible for developing new concepts that will lead to better products and processes that the public can use. Computer science is very diverse, but there are a variety of jobs in this field that will allow you to pursue different interests while earning a degree in this field.

There are also jobs in computer science that will make you wealthy over time. If you don't care about creating a better life for your employers, then you can go into computer programming or web development. This could be a rewarding career if you like to think outside the box. There are a variety of companies that offer these jobs, and you can apply for them in your local area or online.

You can also work as a computer technician and repair technician. You might be responsible for taking data from computer systems, fixing computer systems, or installing new software. You might also work in the area of computer networking, where you will work with other people who need access to the internet. This is a fun and fulfilling career, and it pays well.

If you love writing, then you might be interested in becoming an engineer who writes technical books and has a company that sells them. There are many companies out there that have these types of engineering jobs, and you may even be able to write a few articles for them to market the company's products. You can also create a website and sell e books or other writing on your own, and make money from this online business.

Another option in the field of engineering is to work as a computer analyst. These individuals look at the various technological aspects of the business and work with other engineers to see how these changes can make the business run more smoothly. There are also jobs that involve working on the customer support issues, which include troubleshooting computers that are being used in the office or in other companies.

The opportunities for jobs with an associates in engineering are varied, and there are many things that are available to you in this field. It is easy to find a job in this field, and you can use technology to your advantage to gain a job in the future. Keep in mind, though, that many of these jobs require skills such as communication and organization, which will need to be mastered before you can be successful.

You can gain experience in the field by doing certain things. One option is to take classes at a college or university. If you already have a degree, it might be helpful to get some additional information so that you can get a job. Another idea is to work on internships for several companies in order to show your skills and have a chance to earn money while doing it.

There are also plenty of career options available in this field. If you have a lot of computer skills and are interested in writing, then you might be able to work for a consulting firm or work for an insurance company. Some companies require you to do clerical work, which is a great because you can apply your knowledge in the areas of computers, networking, software, and more to help out there.

The opportunities for jobs with an associates in engineering are all over, and you should not have any trouble finding one that will work for you. There are many careers that you can pursue, and there are many different types of jobs available, including jobs with an associates in engineering. Take some time to look into these options and find the one that works for you.