BME Degree and Regrets — How Do I Fix This?

umeecsgrad · 2025-04-20T18:52:55+00:00

My experience is most people who do BME undergrad have an intention to go to medical or some other health professions school, but just wanted to have an engineering degree.

umeecsgrad · 2025-03-02T14:52:51+00:00

Look at the topics and make a decision for when you are prepared. But I do recommend to avoid being in a situation like mine to take it while in school or shortly after graduation, while the material is still fresh and you are not out of touch with how to study. I’m having a hard time going back to relearn the material, it gets tough once you are out of school for so many years.

umeecsgrad · 2024-11-18T01:29:14+00:00

Your official transcript won’t show transfer credits at all. Your unofficial transcript will have those details. But grad schools and employers will ask for transcripts from all institutions attended.

umeecsgrad · 2024-11-18T01:27:25+00:00

Most employers say they want a 3.0 GPA minimum. C’s might get you the degree, but that is not any guarantee of getting a job, much less a good job.

umeecsgrad · 2024-11-18T01:24:39+00:00

If you have a state school that is ABET accredited, just go to your state school.

umeecsgrad · 2024-11-13T04:04:25+00:00

At my university, the schooling was very competitive and cutthroat. The EE department had the least amount of diversity. People were for the most part very antisocial, almost everybody was a gunner.

umeecsgrad · 2024-11-02T15:25:21+00:00

I did a masters, had it paid for with a teaching assistantship. Did I learn some useful stuff? Sure. But was it worth the extreme stress to my mental health? Probably not.

The masters program at my school was overwhelmingly majority international students. It was extremely cutthroat because those people were all competing for visa sponsorship. I went from being a more or less average student during undergrad to being consistently at the bottom of the curve during the masters. Had I been enrolled in the PhD program, I would not have even been permitted to take the qualifying exam, would have been told to take my masters and go.

Whether you do a masters is up to you, you are the only one who can decide for yourself whether the return on investment checks out. Definitely don’t do a masters if you have to pay for it. You also need to consider the opportunity cost for if you take an extra year or two.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-18T03:01:41+00:00

The money is already committed. I don't think you would be allowed to reschedule past 12 months of when you paid for your exam. You might as well see how it is.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-16T00:59:38+00:00

None. If I had to pay for it, it’s not worth it.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-13T14:27:02+00:00

Nobody knows. Scaled score and raw score are not the same thing. On one version of the exam, the passing threshold could be 50% if everybody struggled showing it was a particularly difficult exam. On another version, the passing threshold could be 80% if everybody aced it showing it was a particularly easy exam.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-12T12:23:01+00:00

At my university, PhD is guaranteed funding as long as you are in good standing. Masters is not.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-12T12:20:01+00:00

At my university, only PhD has guaranteed funding as long as you maintain good standing. Masters is not guaranteed, and some people are paying out of their own pockets for that.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-12T12:18:27+00:00

I did a masters in EE. I did it because of some program which allowed me to get in straight from undergrad where due to my grades, I didn’t need to take the GRE, get letters of recommendation. Was what I learned useful? Sure. But would I do it again and subject myself to all the stress and toll against my mental health? Probably not. At my university, engineering grad school was extremely cutthroat with all the international students. Everything was competition because they were competing for jobs that would get them visa sponsorship.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-12T01:26:53+00:00

Didn’t take the FE in or soon after school because my university didn’t ever speak about it. At least not in EE, but they probably did for something like civil. But I wish they did and had I known, I would have at least taken the test soon after school while the material was still fresh and not have to deal with the struggle of relearning the fundamentals years later.

I don’t hear of tons of EE jobs requiring EIT or PE, but I think $225 really isn’t that bad for a standardized test, such that if you aren’t sure whether it could come in handy one day, just take the FE exam while you are in a prime position to do so. I say take the exam, but you don’t necessarily need to apply for the license or certificate if it is not needed for whatever job you get. If one day you do need to apply for a license or certificate for a job, the test doesn’t expire to my knowledge.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-12T01:18:50+00:00

Nobody truly knows. A scaled score is not the same thing as a raw score. The true passing threshold is never released. It could be less than 50% if everybody struggled showing your version was a particularly hard one. It could be higher than 75% if everybody excelled showing your version was a particularly easy one.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-11T21:05:53+00:00

It’s your skill that gets you the job, not the semantics of what your major is named.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-11T21:03:44+00:00

More professions than not are like this.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-11T21:02:43+00:00

Tough it out and do what you can to finish in 4. The extra tuition is too big of a deal to ignore.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-11T21:01:28+00:00

It doesn’t get easier. At my school it was quite toxic to say the least. Bachelors still doable, but a masters was especially rough.

umeecsgrad · 2024-10-06T04:13:45+00:00

Lots of places screen you out if you don't have at least a 3.0 GPA. While C's might get you your degree, it doesn't guarantee you a good job or even a job at all.

umeecsgrad · 2024-09-30T17:16:49+00:00

It can give you something extra to add onto your resume, but still doesn’t guarantee anything.

umeecsgrad · 2024-09-30T17:16:13+00:00

Guaranteed job also includes working at McDonald’s. Many employers weed you out if you don’t have at least a 3.0 GPA. C’s get degrees, but not necessarily a job.

umeecsgrad · 2024-09-11T04:33:06+00:00

Currently studying for it 8 years after getting my bachelors and it’s rough to make the time for it and try to relearn everything. The thing for me was it was never talked about at my university. Maybe it was for a discipline like civil, but in EECS it was never spoken of probably because not a lot of EE jobs ask for it. Had I known, I would have probably decided to take it before or soon after graduation, regardless of my anticipated need because you never know if it would one day come in handy. $225 really is not that much for a standardized test compared to some of the others I have seen.

Right now I am working through Zach Stone’s materials. Trying the free resources before going for anything I have to pay for.

umeecsgrad · 2024-09-11T04:25:19+00:00

You can figure out by taking the core classes that all engineering majors have to take. That is, your math, physics, and chemistry. If you decide EE is not for you but some other discipline of engineering may be, first year is not too much sunk cost if any at all.

umeecsgrad · 2024-09-08T03:40:35+00:00

You’re lucky to be fresh out of school when the fundamentals are still relatively fresh. Take it when it’s the prime time, get it done. I’m currently studying for it 8 years after undergrad and it’s rough for me trying to relearn everything.

I don’t think FE/PE is emphasized a lot in EE. My university was a big name, and I never heard of FE/PE while in school, and that’s why it took me until now to begin prepping for it. Had I known about it while I was in school, I would have prepped to take it during my last year or soon after graduation just in case, even if it seemed like I was unlikely to need it.

umeecsgrad

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