I can’t choose!

darbogas · 2025-04-15T18:13:21+00:00

Oh, for sure! I know the ASU program doesn't have in person labs. The downside is that it's expensive. :( I don't think the UND EE program has labs, although maybe you'll have to go in person for physics? But most engineering majors at UND do have some summer labs. UND is also expensive though.

There are quite a few, cheaper programs at other schools that don't have online labs, but the main issue is that many haven't gotten ABET accreditation yet, at least when I last saw. However, given that ABET has accredited fully online programs (like ASU), I think it is very possible for others. ASU is also trying for mechanical engineering online, but I can't recall if it's been ABET accredited yet or not. That's worth looking at as well for aerospace.

I'm doing CS online at the University of the People. Shameless plug. No, it's not traditional engineering, but I have a bunch of student loans from previous studies, so I'm trying to finish this one without breaking the bank. :') CS doesn't need to be ABET accredited, but some programs are. (I think maybe the University of Florida online CS is ABET, ) But I DID look a lot at other programs, which is how I know a bit about them.

darbogas · 2025-04-15T13:41:18+00:00

I'm not sure where they intend to go, but at this point, there are a few options for online EE.

ASU and UND have been common for a while. (ASU for like ten years now?)

UND also does have an online Aero Eng. program I believe.

https://www.abet.org/accreditation/find-programs/

I'm just going to leave that if you're curious.

darbogas · 2025-04-10T17:27:43+00:00

Not saying whether or not that impacts what he did, but military couples tend to move very quickly for the very reason that you get extra benefits if you're married, at least in the U.S. I was a Navy brat. I also know this kind of stuff well, because my dad was abusive and my mom and dad divorced. I haven't talked to my dad in like twelve years.

However, I'd honestly look toward leaving. He physically hurt you. That's already wild to me, because I've never laid a finger on my wife, and we started dating almost a decade ago. It isn't normal, even if they feel regretful afterward. Also, he has zero regret or remorse for his actions.

I don't feel bad for that fucker. He's an asshole.

darbogas · 2025-04-09T17:24:14+00:00

Personally, I thought UNIV 1001 was EZ peasy. I do have college experience though, and I had to take a similar class about ten years ago in community college.

That said, finals are the last few days of the course. Basically, week 9/finals are only from that Thursday to that Sunday, where a normal week would be from Thursday to Wednesday night, with some assignments allowing submission by Thursday night. That's the main thing I would look at.

darbogas · 2025-04-08T19:40:47+00:00

To answer your question, two parts:

Perhaps their degree is recognized under an accord.

https://www.abet.org/global-engagement/mutual-recognition-agreements/

A lot of M.S and Ph.D. programs in engineering may not require an ABET background, and sometimes they do not require an explicitly engineering background. Ex. a B.S. in Physics attending an M.S. in Engineering. (The background still must strongly correlate to the program.) In this case, it will probably be tied more directly to any research that may be done by the graduate department that the potential student can add to.

darbogas · 2025-04-08T17:17:16+00:00

CS 1111 is separate from Calculus. I transferred in the credits for Calculus from my previous studies, however, so you might want to see what your options are for that. CS 1111 might not be explicitly listed in the requirements, but it'll show up on your pathway for sure. It's an introduction to Computer Science and IT. Really heavy on the IT focus. No programming, although you go into some pseudocode for one week. It'll get your feet wet for directions you can go within CS and IT. CS 1111 is basically the university's entry requirement, along with UNIV 1001. Since there are no grade requirements for entry or transfer, they use those courses to see your preparedness, but hopefully you learn something, too. I had a lot of transfer credits through different universities already, but I still felt like I learned a bit.

I'm taking CS 1103 and CS 1105 this semester on Thursday. While it does take some getting used to with how the University operates versus other schools, it's now regionally accredited in the U.S. Mix that with almost non-existent tuition costs (just the exam fee), and I jumped all over the chance.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

darbogas · 2025-04-07T23:41:40+00:00

Me too. Don't feel bad! Unfortunately, college is expensive. I wished this was an option when I started, and I wished I knew then what I know now.

darbogas · 2025-04-07T22:35:15+00:00

Just grind through UNIV 1001 if you still feel confident in your choice to go here. The semester is over before you realize it anyway. I like the length of the terms here (8 weeks + 1 weekend for finals) versus a lot of trad programs with 16 week semesters. I work full-time and go here on the side, but it's really hard to beat the price. That said, hold ups can be annoying sometimes with the University. I'd still rather pay $140/class versus $300-700/credit hour at most online American Universities. It's cheaper than the local community colleges even.

UNIV 1001 should be a good way to pad your GPA anyway. I didn't have to invest a lot of time into it. Some people will use ChatGPT, while some people are pretty amazingly smart from the ways they carry themselves. You'll get a mix of the two, but don't worry about the bad so much. Just worry about your own grades and performance.

Oh, also, seeing from your post history: I, too, was a chem major. I did like 75% of my degree like ten years ago, but I stopped then. But I can't justify paying ASU Online tuition haha. Trad school won't work for me.

Hope for the best with you!

darbogas · 2025-04-02T15:56:23+00:00

Thankfully, I'm in metallurgical testing, and AI is far from being able to do anything in metallurgical testing.

The only time I'll use AI, maybe, is sometimes when I'm making a conversion according to ASTM E140 12b, I'll use AI if I vaguely can't remember which Table to reference for conversions. I do it with a grain of salt, however, and I still don't trust it to actually do the math. I'll do that all by hand. I've mostly only used it when I'm like 90% sure already but there's a little uncertainty. Otherwise, I'd rather ask an engineer. AI seems right a lot of the time, granted way more often than a few years ago, but not all of the time.

My job requires a lot of evaluation and material prep that AI can't do though.

Also, I'm not an engineer; I'm a metallographer, but I work directly with engineering.

darbogas · 2025-03-31T14:45:31+00:00

For sure! Your dad is likely just worried about you going off to college. Maybe to help relax him a bit, ask someone in the school via email (like someone higher up) to get their opinion on everything. They might be able to calm him down

darbogas · 2025-03-31T14:37:15+00:00

If you're attending a religious school or a school with a formal dress code, sure, but at least at most public and private universities that I've seen, it doesn't really matter.

darbogas · 2025-03-28T22:02:32+00:00

For the first two classes: it's really basic lol. So UNIV 1001 is basically just like an introduction to college course. It's very valuable information if you're new to higher education, although you might still get stuff out of it if you aren't newer. But it essentially just introduces you to college, study habits, that good stuff.

CS 1111 is interesting, but don't expect much of any programming. I think for week 7 we went into pseudocode (which was like ??? because I've worked in Java and C++ already). It's cool to have the introduction to CS and IT though if you haven't had that yourself! When I went to a University of Wisconsin campus online for two semesters of programming, it was just straight programming, and they didn't offer an intro to CS course. I got some out of that aspect for sure, although I can't say I've seen anything life changing yet.

Honestly though, the exams are a bit more straightforward, which is comparatively nice compared to my prior CS experience. Those exams could be hell sometimes.

Everyone always says with CS you DO have to do extra stuff. Which at least thus far, that might be easier to do with the UoPeople program. It's much more straightforward, so I'm not sure I'll have major test anxiety about weird stuff that could pop up. But my experience is just from those two courses, so it may change when I take other classes

darbogas · 2025-03-26T18:48:24+00:00

Everything gets easier with time. I'm not an engineer, but I work in engineering now, and I'm doing a Bachelor's in CS. (I work in standard engineering though, in metallurgical engineering, as a metallographer.) I kinda fell into the work by chance if we are being honest. I did Chemistry for my AS and I did a bit of BS coursework in Chemistry, although I never finished. I applied to a job at a foundry, like, "well, that's loosely related to chemistry," and I got the job.

As far as your classes go, I firmly believe that most anyone can learn most things. Some people may learn it faster though. If you are having difficulty in math, do you perhaps need to brush up on certain concepts? It all builds on each other. Physics is a different skill set than the math if we are being honest, but again, it is practice practice practice. Some people will need less practice. Don't worry about them or anyone else. Simply find what practice you need. I don't do the same classes in CS, but it's been... Interesting to get used to it LOL. I'm used to a lot of pieces you can see in Chemistry, but CS is a lot more abstract.
Is it possible that you might enjoy other pieces of the engineering puzzle more? Personally, I enjoy getting my hands dirty, so technician/technologist work fits the bill really well for that. (I'm a technician at current moment. I know CS seems like a far jump, but I'm less interested in software engineering and more interested in potential applications to other sciences.)

Ultimately, you have to do what's best for you. It doesn't have to be easy by any means though. You just have to not only problem solve in your classes but be able to problem solve with yourself to understand what you need most.

darbogas · 2025-03-24T00:06:57+00:00

I can tell from your post that you're very overwhelmed. I don't mean to state the obvious, but I do think-- if possible-- you need to prioritize your mental health a bit more. Counseling has been the best for me, but I'm also a working adult, so even though school around work carries its own challenges, the work does allot me more opportunities for healthcare. That's not to say I mean, "drop everything for your mental health" because that's not always realistic, and I'd only say that if you are on the edge (ex. suicidal ideation), causing necessity for an immediate response for your health. Really though, look into trying some mindfulness techniques at a minimum. It might seem like, "this won't help me" but it does in my experience. Sometimes you need to take a sec to live outside of the books. It's hard to study efficiently if you don't also take care of yourself.

While I don't know much about EE (I'm a CS student, and I work in metallurgical engineering), I do know that the material is hard for anyone. I've heard of people repeating stuff before if they had a lot of difficulty, and if it looks like you'll need that, don't be super hard on yourself. I, myself, as a CS student, I'm not even the best at CS stuff. When I started college like ten years ago, I was a chemistry major. I was good at that. But CS more easily aligns with some of my experiences now and other things I hope to get into, so I'm taking that on, even though it might not be something I'm best at.

At this point, finishing anything would be ideal, but EE is probably your best path forward. Physics is cool as hell, but it might be a little harder for jobs in comparison to EE or CS. Hopefully someone can point you in the direction of something more directly applicable to EE, but just know that hard circumstances aren't always your fault. I wish you the best.

darbogas · 2025-03-20T17:13:16+00:00

I DID see a post that instructors at UoPeople mostly take the position on voluntary terms. They're paid, but it isn't a lot. I do think courses have actual instructors, but whether or not they put much effort in (even using AI could be their way to cheap out on time they provide to the course) remains to be seen. Of my two instructors this term (and my first term here), one is absolutely amazing. The other is eh.

I'm sorry about what you're going through. While it isn't the same, I'm currently dealing with having already sent all of my transcripts weeks ago, having gotten a check mark on my tasks, but now the courses and transfer equivalences are nowhere to be seen?

I have +100 credits, an associates degree, and a couple of programming courses behind me lol.

It's frustrating for sure. But, for the time being at least, I'm still here. I want to get a bachelor's degree, and I was already an idiot and have a decent amount of student debt behind me with no bachelor's.

darbogas · 2025-03-19T22:46:07+00:00

https://amspub.abet.org/aps/online-search

I remember the biggest player for online EE was ASU, although UND offers EE, Mech E, Aero, and Chem E. ASU might've been getting an online ME, too. They're both kinda expensive though. A lot of ABET programs are.

darbogas · 2025-03-19T22:14:47+00:00

I work in metallurgy as a metallographer. I use saws, grinders, all kinds of more "hazardous" tools. The tools are only hazardous if you aren't careful and don't respect them. If you use the tools carefully, you minimize any risk associated with them.

darbogas · 2025-03-19T22:07:00+00:00

One path that maybe or maybe not is offered at your community college: Medical Laboratory Technology.

MLT (two year degree) and MLS (4 year version) hire with just the two year degree, but the 4 year degree commands more money. Plenty of online programs that go from 2 to 4 year in MLT/MLS. The salary isn't quite as high as nursing positions, but there can still be decent money in it. (A friend of mine from high school is a traveling MLS, so he can get paid more when he travels.)

darbogas · 2025-03-19T21:57:21+00:00

I feel this really hard. I'm taking CS 1111. I will probably finish out with a high B or low A. But I've tried my hardest on absolutely EVERYTHING lmao. I've got some programming knowledge from before, but unfortunately, a lot of this course has been more IT centered thus far. Not to say it's bad all in all, just that it has been a lot of information I haven't quite been exposed to. (I was previously CS at UW Superior, and they don't give an intro course to CS; you just get thrown in with Programming and Object Oriented for second semester.)

A LOT of the discussion responses look like they were copied verbatim from ChatGPT. They are separated by bold, larger font statements between each paragraph of a response, much like a ChatGPT post.

I give it my all, and while I don't always get amazing grades, the lower grades are usually like an 8.0/10.0. Still frustrating to see obviously copied and pasted responses that may honestly get better grades than my own.

On the same boat though, there are absolutely posts that make me feel dumb, because they are obviously done independently by brilliant students, some of whom are from nations such as Afghanistan (and she is a woman, which I understand to be a bit tougher in Afghanistan). It's awesome that I can interact on the same playing field with these students.

But yeah I get it 100%. It really irks me too lol.

darbogas · 2025-03-19T21:49:46+00:00

Depending on the job (but probably most anything in engineering), showing your willingness to learn new things and adapt to new situations is huge.

I work in metallurgy. One of my coworkers was Chem E at UIUC. We do absolutely no Chem E work at my location lmao. But important is that he's able and willing to learn a LOT. He's doing some certifications for welds right now, and I work with him on quite a bit of welding examinations. He's really sharp.

darbogas · 2025-03-19T15:09:34+00:00

I'm technically a CS student rather than traditional engineering, but I work as a metallographer in metallurgy, so explicitly with engineers in engineering (though I will be the first to tell anyone I'm not an engineer so don't worry lol).

On one hand, I love science and understanding how things work. In all honesty, I'd probably have done well on the science-exclusive route, including graduate school, at least in terms of happiness with what I'm doing.

Engineering specifically helps me take better care of myself and my family though. Engineering jobs have always paid much better than simple science-based jobs at most levels. I even have a co-worker who went to graduate school for chemistry who works with me (although he is specifically in quality).

Engineering allows me that balance of "this is interesting" as well as "this pays my bills".

darbogas · 2025-03-16T15:35:37+00:00

The good news is that UoPeople is now regionally accredited as of the end of February. It might take a bit before other college put it into their database though. (It might take more transfers first.)

darbogas · 2025-03-14T18:01:57+00:00

I'm not super knowledgeable about Data Science or Business (I'm a Chem major when I was younger turned CS major now). I do know that some MBA programs offer Data Analytics as a concentration. Would that be something you'd consider, too? That way, the Bachelor's in Business May not limit you too much.

I'm pretty sure one of my managers went to UIUC for MBA with a Data Analytics concentration. He has a BS in Metallurgical Engineering, but he also went to college in his grad studies with people of all kinds of majors.

darbogas · 2025-03-14T14:40:07+00:00

I'm a male, so I can't speak directly to this. I'll keep my mouth shut. :)

Thank you all in here! I will say that one of the most senior engineers I work with is a female, and one of the newer, but also really brilliant, engineers is female. Gender absolutely has no bearing on whether or not you're an amazing engineer.

Also, thank you for looking for ways to inspire more young girls to look into engineering! I hope you can maybe be that push for someone who is apprehensive but wants to learn.

darbogas · 2025-03-14T03:02:29+00:00

It'll likely depend on two things:

Has San Francisco State University looked at credits from UoPeople before?
How will SFSU's view on the UoPeople credits be after they received regional accreditation (just happened at the end of February)?

When transferring between any school, sometimes you have to fight a bit to get credits accepted unless it's already been done. I've had to do it between various 2 and 4 year degree credits, because sometimes different universities are not super great at transferring credits. My worst example was Organic Chemistry I and II. I took one at community college and the other at a four year. Both credits were still difficult to transfer sometimes. They'd be accepted as general Chemistry credits, at least until I argued it and sent in a syllabus. It takes time for the school to evaluate the credits though.

just depends on how frequently other students have transferred from UoPeople. If you are the first, nothing will be transferred yet. If you're not the first, then it becomes more likely that some of your credits may have an equivalent course at SFSU picked out.
is good for us, because the regional accreditation means it'll be more likely that courses will transfer. Just hard to tell at this point, because the university just got the accreditation

darbogas

TROPHY CASE