becoming an electrical engineer from an electrician

colt123

hi all
iam a qualified electrician and I would like to become a electrical engineer and I cant seem to find any part time(nights) courses (as cant afford to stop working) to train as an engineer I have only looked on line iam going to ring around colleges tomorrow to try find out more. anyone trained as electrician gone on to become an engineer have any advise for me on how I go about everything like enrolling etc...

all help much appreciated

taytobreath

D.I.T do a part time elec engineering course

frankmul

Do you want to do electrical engineering specifically or are you looking for a qualification in engineering, some to to add to your electrical qualification.

2011

colt123 wrote: »

iam a qualified electrician and I would like to become a electrical engineer and I cant seem to find any part time(nights) courses (as cant afford to stop working) to train as an engineer I have only looked on line iam going to ring around colleges tomorrow to try find out more.

To become an electrical engineer you need to graduate from an electrical engineering degree course.
Any accredited level 7 worth doing will take 3 years of full time study (therefore 6 years part time).

Any accredited level 8 (honours degree) worth doing will take 4 years of full time study (therefore 8 years part time). Normally the requirement to be accepted on a level 8 is that the applicant will need to have achieved a reasonable grade in honours maths in the leaving certificate.

I have been told that many of the part time courses are no longer available due to a lack of numbers.

My advice is to only consider doing an accredited degree (you can check this with Engineers Ireland).

The number of electricians doing this has soared since the collapse of the construction industry and soaring cost of living. I know many that did this full time and collected the dole (not legal, but in my opinion it should be).

anyone trained as electrician gone on to become an engineer have any advise for me on how I go about everything like enrolling etc...

To enrol you need to fill out a CAO application form (soon I think).
If you are a mature student (over 25), course entry is achieved by passing an interview.
This is not difficult, there are no technical questions. They just what to see if you have the right attitude and if you seem committed.

By the way "Free education" is a myth.
Although there are no college fees as such there are registration fees and these cost several thousand a year.

My personal preference would be DIT, this has more "lab work" and therefore suits someone with a trade background better.

I have no idea of what part of the country you are in, I am guessing that you are not too far from Dublin.

colt123

2011 wrote: »

To become an electrical engineer you need to graduate from an electrical engineering degree course.
Any accredited level 7 worth doing will take 3 years of full time study (therefore 6 years part time).

Any accredited level 8 (honours degree) worth doing will take 4 years of full time study (therefore 8 years part time). Normally the requirement to be accepted on a level 8 is that the applicant will need to have achieved a reasonable grade in honours maths in the leaving certificate.

I have been told that many of the part time courses are no longer available due to a lack of numbers.

My advice is to only consider doing an accredited degree (you can check this with Engineers Ireland).

The number of electricians doing this has soared since the collapse of the construction industry and soaring cost of living. I know many that did this full time and collected the dole (not legal, but in my opinion it should be).



To enrol you need to fill out a CAO application form (soon I think).
If you are a mature student (over 25), course entry is achieved by passing an interview.
This is not difficult, there are no technical questions. They just what to see if you have the right attitude and if you seem committed.

By the way "Free education" is a myth.
Although there are no college fees as such there are registration fees and these cost several thousand a year.

My personal preference would be DIT, this has more "lab work" and therefore suits someone with a trade background better.

I have no idea of what part of the country you are in, I am guessing that you are not too far from Dublin.

I take it that 3 and 4 years for accredited level 7/8 are if you are starting out start from secondary school? how much does been a qualified electrician knock of as id be starting from a level 6? I don't now much bout all this college craic as I left school after leaving cert and done my apprenticeship I never planned on going to college

iam from county Meath so close to D.K.I.T and D.I.T.
iam 26 so will qualify as a mature student do is still fill Cao form or how do I go about it ? Is there any grants or systems to help mature students?

colt123

frankmul wrote: »

Do you want to do electrical engineering specifically or are you looking for a qualification in engineering, some to to add to your electrical qualification.

what other engineering course are there for electricians?

2011

colt123 wrote: »

I take it that 3 and 4 years for accredited level 7/8 are if you are starting out start from secondary school? how much does been a qualified electrician knock of as id be starting from a level 6?

In general you will be exempt from a single module in first year if you are a qualified electrician.
The syllabus for an electrical engineering student has far less in common than that of an electrical apprentice than you would imagine.

There are some level 7 courses that you will find that will allow "advanced entry" to year 2. During the boom it was possible to graduate from one of these courses and get a job in an engineering type role on the basis of this course alone. From what I have seen this is no longer the case.

Basically, the easier the qualification is to obtain the less employers will rate it.

iam from county Meath so close to D.K.I.T and D.I.T.

Given the choice I would go to DIT, but I have connections with this college so my opinion is biased.

iam 26 so will qualify as a mature student do is still fill Cao form or how do I go about it ?

Yes, fill out the CAO form.
I would strongly recommend that you go and visit the college you select and talk to the department head.

Is there any grants or systems to help mature students?

I am not sure.
You would be better off asking the college to advise you on that.

what other engineering course are there for electricians?

You should decide what role you would like and based on that select a suitable course.

Remember some courses are designed primarily to keep lecturers/instructors/teachers employed and are unlikely to result in advancing your career. If you pick the wrong course you are at nothing regardless of the marks you attain.

frankmul

colt123 wrote: »

what other engineering course are there for electricians?

Have a look at this, know that it is out of date but it might give you an idea of what was available. I agree with 2011's advise, pick a course that would suit the job you would like to be doing in the future.
http://www.fetac.ie/fetac/documents/Progression_from_FETAC_Adv_Cert-Craft_to_HE_Courses.pdf

Dufftronic

DKIT is an excellent college. I did phase 4 and 6 there and have nothing but good things to say about it. best of luck.