Best engineering college?

ClareBear

theCzar wrote:

why is it always NUIG, and not UCG or GU or something? NUIG sounds stoopid.

oh nevermind

I've always wondered why NUIM and NUIG are that way. Why are those two National Universities of Ireland and the others are University College Dublin etc....

Tar.Aldarion

its because Nuig,NuiM etc qualify to have the N lol.they were ucg etc but now there are different specifications.Nuig etc have very high standards for irish etc with their lecturers.just recently a professor who speaks fluent irish was denied a promotion because of their standard of irish---ridiculous . but i think getting the 'N' before their name and having it there gives them like grants and bonuses etc or something to that effect. plus doesnt N-U-I-G roll off your tongue,then again GU has its charms lol.anyway current location NUIG :P

*Angel*

Intel wrote:

Cool Mo D,

Im currently in 1st Civil and Im going to transfer to Chem Eng. Whats your low down on the whole course. Do you find it interesting, as most if the 1st Chems seem to find it boring?

What are the options in UCD in the 3rd&4th years to specialise in?
And finally, what are the job prospects?

Any help would be appreciated!

Is the Civil course any good in UCD? or are you only changing because you don't like the material, cos I want to do the civil course next year.

Nukem

I have the luxury of bein a picky b*tch. Primarily because im taking the long way around for my MECH Eng Degree. Spent 3yrs in CIT (Cert&Dip) its good but one thing that blazed through is the straight degree students new more in terms of theory but in a work shop or CAD(and the like) Cert Dip students would come out better.

In UL im finishing my degree - nice place lot different to CIT. CIT is 9-5/6 everyday with role call and manditory labs but in UL its up to you and you have bout 60% less work but way more work IMO.
All depends on how you see yourself working,better on your own at night or flat out all day.

Elec i have heard UCC is the way.

Cool Mo D

Intel wrote:

Cool Mo D,

Im currently in 1st Civil and Im going to transfer to Chem Eng. Whats your low down on the whole course. Do you find it interesting, as most if the 1st Chems seem to find it boring?

What are the options in UCD in the 3rd&4th years to specialise in?
And finally, what are the job prospects?

Any help would be appreciated!

Well,

I wouldn't worry bout the first years, they only do 1 chem eng subject, and the rest are the same as the rest of the engineers (least thats the way it was last year) The course is intersting enough, the problems are a feckload of labs and assignments all year. If you stick your head into eng 125 its full of chems, slaving away over hot computers and moaning. Some of the subjects are bastards though, like physics and thermodynamics, watch out for them.

There are NO options in 3rd or 4th year (im pretty sure..) You will do all your classes with all the chems the whole way through. When you finish, chances are youre gonna be workin in a chemical plant of some description, or designing chemical plants. If the thought of sexy chemicals gets you all hot and bothered, chem eng is for you! As far as I know the job market is good, and the pay is also good.
Anyway, I recommend doin chem eng, cos its where all the cool kids are at

Intel

Sound Cool Mo D,

Really helpful, you must be in 2nd year so?

yeah physics and thermodynamics have already gotten on my nerves! :rolleyes: but I checked the physics syllabus and its all pretty much all radioactivity and nuclear physics which I'm v.interested in.

<<If the thought of sexy chemicals gets you all hot and bothered, chem eng is for you! >>

theCzar

eurrgggg, Chemistry is icky

Intel

*Angel* wrote:

Is the Civil course any good in UCD? or are you only changing because you don't like the material, cos I want to do the civil course next year.

Well first year is very general and the only 'true' civil subjects I'm doing are Materials Science, Fluid MEchanics and Graphics(Draughtsmanship &AutoCAD)

Basically the reason I'm changing is cos I only found out when I came to UCD that there was such a course as Chem eng. I really enjoyed Chemistry for the LC so thats why I did it.

If ur thinking of coming to UCD i would suggest doing undenominated, as you decide which discipline to go into at the end of 1st year. You get to go to the labs of the others branches,enter competitions and go on trips etc...which the others(the people who entered a course straight) are excluded from.

*Angel*

Intel wrote:

Well first year is very general and the only 'true' civil subjects I'm doing are Materials Science, Fluid MEchanics and Graphics(Draughtsmanship &AutoCAD)

If ur thinking of coming to UCD i would suggest doing undenominated, as you decide which discipline to go into at the end of 1st year. You get to go to the labs of the others branches,enter competitions and go on trips etc...which the others(the people who entered a course straight) are excluded from.

Thanks for the help! I know for sure that I want to do Civil although I do have undenominated as my 2nd choice on my CAO as a backup (I think it's more points though) The subjects really seem like my kinda thing so that suits me.

One more thing, is there an option of doing a language with an engineering course, it says nothing about it in the prospectus.

blondie83

Oh you can yeah. when I was in 1st year - back in the day (God I feel old!), it was mandatory to do one. Now i think you have to do a language in 1st year if you didnt get an honour in a language in your Leaving cert. At any rate you have the option of doing a language in both 3rd and 4th year - just for fun like, it has no bearing on your final grade, and you can drop out any time. I did Japanese level1 last year and really liked it! Would have done level 2 this year except it conflicted with training would definitely recommend it though, easy enough to learn and looks good on your CV!

*Angel*

Sounds good, thanks!

StupidLikeAFox

Right, just to update considering i started the thread!
I put down mechatronic eng. in DCU as first choice on the CAO. It seemed very broad and also the work placement seems logical. I also quite like DCU. So thanks anyways for those who helped

2tel1

Engineering is VERY long and VERY boring. Luckly I dont do full electronic eng. and eng. science, there just an annoying part of my course but let me tell you, you'll have long hours. Be prepared for a sausage fest too. If you lazy you wont enjoy the course. Be prepared to chat to f*ck all women too. I'v seen classes with a 100% male populatoion...

So many people rush into this course just because it sounds good, and drop out after a year. It pays well in the end, sure, but you really have to have a good head on your shoulders.

Intel

One more thing, is there an option of doing a language with an engineering course, it says nothing about it in the prospectus.

The best thing about UCd ,imo, is the applied language centre. They offer a wide range of languages. I just completed Chinese1 yesterday evening and I would highly recommend it.
The courses are subject to demand but any undergraduate can do an open module language course. Unfortunately there's no Chinese 2, but there's Japanese1&2,Spanish1&2, Czech1&2etc I think there website is www.alc.ie or www.alc.com or somethign like that anyway, just put it into google and see what you get.

Roll on Italian 1 next yr!

rainbow kirby

www.ucd.ie/alc

*Angel*

Thanks Intel and rainbow kirby you were very helpful!

Novo

I agree with 2tel1. engineering is very long and very boring with lots of lectures compared to other courses. I am doing elec engineering in UCD and all you hear off people is how much they dont like the course.

In 2001 there was between 50-60 people in first year of electronic/electrical engineering. This has dropped every year and in 2004 i think there were only 13 or 14 students in first year. Make sure it is the right course for you before you do it.

theCzar

"very long and very boring" is a bit harsh, if you're not interested in something, it's always going to seem that way.

yay elec eng. ahem.

blondie83

1st couple of years can be a bit boring at times, but it does get more interesting in 3rd and 4th year. It gets more specialised, so you've more of a chance of seeing what areas you might like to eventually work in, and what areas you'd want to stay far far away from!

Tar.Aldarion

ahem. yay elec & comp!

aodh_rua

I did computer engineering in Trinity and I lecture on the third year course there at the moment. I think that the Trinity degree is good if you want to get a feel for a couple of disciplines rather than going directly into a stream. A common fault people usually highlight with Trinity is that the course is very theoretical and not as practical as an IT course. I think this can be true, but at the same time, I don't think Trinity's philosophy is to produce vocational graduates, it is instead producing graduates with a broad foundation and good analytical skills. For my the course I did, this means you come out better suited to consulting rather than a job as a programmer. I suppose you have to ask yourself what kind of engineering job you want as well as what kind of engineer.

TE0N

I am currently in 1st year of Mech Eng at Queens. Mech eng appealed to me for its broadness - I could work in almost any manufacturing sector and if you want to specialise you could always do a masters in something else ie aero eng, motorsport eng, petroleum eng, civil etc, but i dunno if you could do an E&EE masters. Also, the only subjects that I had an interest in was maths and physics. Downside, IMO, the best jobs jobs are abroad.

I chose Queens for its research into two-stroke engines, and for their strong performance in the Formula Student competition over the past few years. (top in the UK last year, i think). Plus they have one of the first turbocharged F1 engines (Ford Cosworth) sitting in the Ashby building lobby, I recall my astonishment at the sight of 1000bhp at the open day last year. (I know its a pulling trick).

Now that i am here i find the lecturers friendly and approachable, and the facilities/labs are excellent. no regrets.

Subject wise - I presume we study the same as most other mech eng degrees. We are doing an Electrical Engineering module, but its only the basic understanding, other subjects include eng dynamics, thermo, further maths, fluids, materials, eng design etc. the range of subjects in the first semester was pretty good, a good mix of practical (first hand use of machinery, manufacturing processes/techniques, such as CNC machining, sand casting etc, measurements) and theory. 2nd semester is more theory/labs. It can be boring, but what degree isnt, (thats what i tell myself).

I cant compare to other unis, but if you need any more info just ask.

spideog7

Hey
I'm doin the leavin this year I put Electronics in UL top of the list.
Not so sure now though (damn you all you made me question my abilities!). I was always interested in Electronics or Electrical Engineering even though I find Physics boring - not awfully difficult but too much learning by-heart stuff you don't no (what your learning) about (and I'm lazy a ass ...)
I'd rather more practical stuff (even though i no you need to understand how things work to use them)
Anyhow I think there is a question there some place!
BTW
Is there many similarities between the Electronic and Electrical courses
I was talking to a guy who did Electronics and works now as a Computer engineer is that possible between the above 2 ?
(comment on anything relevant)
Thanks for your time.

spideog7

2tel1 wrote:

If you lazy you wont enjoy the course. Be prepared to chat to f*ck all women too. I'v seen classes with a 100% male populatoion...
QUOTE]

Ya with Ref to the above there
I go to an all boys school :mad: so it can't be much worse !!!

blondie83

It's okay spideog, I know some guys who do elec in UL and there are a few girls in their class! They said it was a pretty good course to do - has theory and practical work and a 9 month work placement thing at the end of 3rd year. As regards physics yeah I remember learning off all the definitions, dont worry there will be none of that! Elec eng tends to focus more on understanding the stuff (some of our proofs are up to 5 pages long, so you cant really learn that off!). Were you in anyway interested in the electrical/electronic/quantum parts of the physics course? I'm not talking about learning off the formulas or that, but the actual finding out how the stuff works and all that? Personally I found the heat and mechanics parts really boring, which is why I didn't go for mech! At the end of the day you've gotta go for something that interests you

About the comp eng thing, yeah a lot of electronic engineering is computers, less so on the electrical side. In UCD electronic and electrical only split at the start of 4th year though, so everyone has a good grounding in programming and all that. I'm not sure how it works in UL, but I'd say they do a good bit of computers too.

theCzar

blondie83 wrote:

...

Well said!

As regards to Electronic/Electrical, as blondie says, in UCD they only split in 4th year, and even then they're made up of 50% the same courses. Basically doing either qualifies you for either.

Electronics deals with computers more, we do a lot of work on understanding them, so branching into computer engineering is quite easy

interestingly, i hated the electrical side of the physics course (because i didn't really understand it, and neither did the teacher), whenever i said this, i got funny looks since i had electronic eng on the CAO... I'm delighted with my choice...

I went to an all-boys school as well, so of course having any girls at all in your course is a step up! Besides, your friends in other courses can introduce to a wider spread

spideog7

Sound
Thanks a million thats all good info. and it helps me relax a little about my choices
now I have to study ......Mmmm maybe after the Simpsons!
I mean Horizon of course!

Tar.Aldarion

for electronic engineerin i believe you do programming for two years of your course so thats some anyway.elecronic and computer eng has programmin for all 4 years.

Dave!

Anyone got any comments on IT Tallaght? I'm leaving my computer science course in UCD and thinking that Electronic engineering in Tallaght is the way to go (I live nearby too, which is handy )

Funsterdelux

Well its not where you do it thats important, its how you do it.
Put simply, well if one is not the May West at it in the first place then it matters but if one has a flare for it, then one can do it anywhere.