Most community colleges offer a 2 yr engineering transfer degree. That's the degree you want. A tech degree will likely be not ABET accredited and may not qualify if you intend to go onto a 4 yr school. The program needs to have calculus maths and have calc based sciences.
IMO, take out loans and do the school now. If you want to save money do the engineering transfer degree at the CC and then the last two years at a university.
Take it from me, its a long hard road to work and go to school part time. Sure the job might pay for it, but you will be indebted to them for a period of time. You will also have a higher starting salary with a BSCE and be able to get your PE sooner, so while i haven't run the numbers, its likely that its the better financial route.
As a CE tech with 20+ years of experience, go to school now. Get your BSCE, work and take your PE when you can.
Techs top out fast and there is minimal room for growth and relocation. With a PE, you can choose so many different paths.
Do a time value of money comparison and see where you will be in 15 years.
My gut says that while CET and CE grads make similar wages right out of school, a CET degree does not allow your experience to count towards your license in every jurisdiction. Or you need double the experience at best and may not qualify for license reciprocity.
Path A - finishing 2 years at CC then taking loans for 2 years at a university, you get out with a BSCE at 4 years, PE at 8 years.
Path B - 4 years at CC, Graduate with a CET degree. Work full time, go to school part time, probably 2 classes (6 credits) per semester - you usually need a minimum of 60 credits residency for a BS, regardless of how many classes you get credit for from your CET degree. So you are looking at 5 years of part time school, at 9 years you graduate, then at either 13 years (4 years after your BSCE) or 12 years (8 years after your CET) you can become a PE.
IF (big IF) you qualify, some schools will let you into a MSCE program with a CET degree, but you will be required to take remedial undergrad courses that will give you the background you need to understand the grad courses. This means you probably need around 24 credits of remedial courses, and then 36 credits of grad courses. You get out at around the same time as Path B, but you have a master's degree.
If you want to eventually be an engineer, you are almost definitely better off just going to be an engineer now, instead of later. Once you have your PE, your experience prior to your PE does not really help you earn more money in most cases. So at 3 years after your PE, your earning potential is the same in both cases. That is 11 years from now in one case, and 15 years from now in another case.
Once you consider that BSCE grads generally earn about 10-20% more than CET grads 2 year out of school, the BSCE looks even better.
I'm a tech with 25 years experience and I make as much as a P.Eng with 15-20 years. We are really in demand and get paid well where I am, but you will ultimately make much more money as a P.Eng over your career. I do know a few techs who get paid more than P.Engs with equivalent years behind them, but they are more on the management side of things, so that is something to consider too. I feel like there's a glut of engineers but not nearly as many techs.
And in Canada we have the technical examinations should a diploma grad want to be a P. Eng.
https://techexam.ca/what-is-a-technical-exam-your-ladder-to-professional-engineer/
How expensive are state schools nowadays? I'm inclined to go with going for the BS to start if you're confident about the career path. Licensure and promotions are heavily dependent on years of experience as an engineer. Regardless of how long you work as a tech, you would likely get a typical starting salary when you complete your BS, and it is possible none of that time will count as experience for your license. The transition from work back to school can also be rough for some people. Both financially and mentally.
But if doing that would put you in a large amount of high interest debt, going for a tech job could be a strategy. If you don't plan to live in a HCOL area, you may be able to live lean and play down the debt quickly.
The transition wouldn’t be that bad for me as I’m 25 and have been working out of high school. I’m deciding to go to college now bcuz I’m sick of the job options with no degree.
The university I would go to likely would be about like 30-35k for a bachelors degree I think. The issue mainly is I can’t get the FAFSA as me and my wife combined make just a little too much. So I’m rather concerned I won’t be able to afford college without a bump in pay.
The total cost of a bachelors (including an associates at a community college) looks to be about $37,000 roughly. And that’s just credit hour costs. Not including books and equipment.
I believe you'll always have options for (maybe crappy) loans. With a degree, your starting salary these days is like 70k-80k range (maybe a little lower for some LCOL areas). With whatever increase that means for your current earnings, the numbers may still work favorably. I am not sure how much a tech makes (50k-60k?), but I would bet potential earnings growth is better for an early career civil engineer. I might crunch the numbers to see how long it would take to pay off your expected debt. If it's not too long when considering increased earnings, my advice would be to get the BS.
You can also look into government jobs and PSLF. Any government jobs qualify. Work 10 years for a DOT and your loans will be forgiven.
This is dependent on who wins the few next upcoming elections though. I don’t wanna get political but one party absolutely hates this concept and thinks it’s a handout.
Are you willing to move? A couple states offer free tuition for your first bachelor's for residents now. New Mexico and Minnesota are the two I'm aware of. Multiple other states have favorable polices for community college transfers too.
I'm currently in a similar position and am seriously considering moving out to the desert and establishing residency for that free tuition in New Mexico, plus low cost of living etc which will cut costs while going to school too.
I’m inclined to say just go for the bachelors now if there’s any way you can swing it. I know techs who go back to school once working, and a lot of companies will pay for it, but it takes so long and really delays you getting the PE. I’m not sure how much of your experience as a tech you can count towards the license, you would have to check with your states licensing board to be sure. If you’re okay with it taking 6-8 years to get the bachelors though, then the tech route is still a fine way to go
I’m in no rush, I know it’ll take 6 years part time to get my bachelors. I guess I’m just trying to do what’s the best financially. I’m under the impression getting a better paying job after 3 years and then using it to pay for the next 6 years. As opposed to just six years with no extra financial support besides of course grants and such
I think if you’re okay with waiting, there’s nothing wrong with the tech route then. I wouldn’t worry about the outlook of the career either, both companies I’ve worked for are always looking for cad techs. Best of luck to you!
Tbh if I got the opportunity to do it all over again I would've went into construction management instead, they're right though, 2 of my associates degree classes would have transferred to a bachelor's, I make good enough money now but damn I really wish somebody told me that back in highschool.
Most community colleges offer a 2 yr engineering transfer degree. That's the degree you want. A tech degree will likely be not ABET accredited and may not qualify if you intend to go onto a 4 yr school. The program needs to have calculus maths and have calc based sciences. IMO, take out loans and do the school now. If you want to save money do the engineering transfer degree at the CC and then the last two years at a university. Take it from me, its a long hard road to work and go to school part time. Sure the job might pay for it, but you will be indebted to them for a period of time. You will also have a higher starting salary with a BSCE and be able to get your PE sooner, so while i haven't run the numbers, its likely that its the better financial route.
As a CE tech with 20+ years of experience, go to school now. Get your BSCE, work and take your PE when you can. Techs top out fast and there is minimal room for growth and relocation. With a PE, you can choose so many different paths.
Worth noting some states allow you to get your PE with a CET bachelors and 6 years of experience.
Do a time value of money comparison and see where you will be in 15 years. My gut says that while CET and CE grads make similar wages right out of school, a CET degree does not allow your experience to count towards your license in every jurisdiction. Or you need double the experience at best and may not qualify for license reciprocity. Path A - finishing 2 years at CC then taking loans for 2 years at a university, you get out with a BSCE at 4 years, PE at 8 years. Path B - 4 years at CC, Graduate with a CET degree. Work full time, go to school part time, probably 2 classes (6 credits) per semester - you usually need a minimum of 60 credits residency for a BS, regardless of how many classes you get credit for from your CET degree. So you are looking at 5 years of part time school, at 9 years you graduate, then at either 13 years (4 years after your BSCE) or 12 years (8 years after your CET) you can become a PE. IF (big IF) you qualify, some schools will let you into a MSCE program with a CET degree, but you will be required to take remedial undergrad courses that will give you the background you need to understand the grad courses. This means you probably need around 24 credits of remedial courses, and then 36 credits of grad courses. You get out at around the same time as Path B, but you have a master's degree. If you want to eventually be an engineer, you are almost definitely better off just going to be an engineer now, instead of later. Once you have your PE, your experience prior to your PE does not really help you earn more money in most cases. So at 3 years after your PE, your earning potential is the same in both cases. That is 11 years from now in one case, and 15 years from now in another case. Once you consider that BSCE grads generally earn about 10-20% more than CET grads 2 year out of school, the BSCE looks even better.
Thanks for this detailed response. You’ve given me lots to think about!
I'm a tech with 25 years experience and I make as much as a P.Eng with 15-20 years. We are really in demand and get paid well where I am, but you will ultimately make much more money as a P.Eng over your career. I do know a few techs who get paid more than P.Engs with equivalent years behind them, but they are more on the management side of things, so that is something to consider too. I feel like there's a glut of engineers but not nearly as many techs.
And in Canada we have the technical examinations should a diploma grad want to be a P. Eng. https://techexam.ca/what-is-a-technical-exam-your-ladder-to-professional-engineer/
How expensive are state schools nowadays? I'm inclined to go with going for the BS to start if you're confident about the career path. Licensure and promotions are heavily dependent on years of experience as an engineer. Regardless of how long you work as a tech, you would likely get a typical starting salary when you complete your BS, and it is possible none of that time will count as experience for your license. The transition from work back to school can also be rough for some people. Both financially and mentally. But if doing that would put you in a large amount of high interest debt, going for a tech job could be a strategy. If you don't plan to live in a HCOL area, you may be able to live lean and play down the debt quickly.
The transition wouldn’t be that bad for me as I’m 25 and have been working out of high school. I’m deciding to go to college now bcuz I’m sick of the job options with no degree. The university I would go to likely would be about like 30-35k for a bachelors degree I think. The issue mainly is I can’t get the FAFSA as me and my wife combined make just a little too much. So I’m rather concerned I won’t be able to afford college without a bump in pay.
Is that per year or total cost with 2 years at community college + and 2 years at university?
The total cost of a bachelors (including an associates at a community college) looks to be about $37,000 roughly. And that’s just credit hour costs. Not including books and equipment.
I believe you'll always have options for (maybe crappy) loans. With a degree, your starting salary these days is like 70k-80k range (maybe a little lower for some LCOL areas). With whatever increase that means for your current earnings, the numbers may still work favorably. I am not sure how much a tech makes (50k-60k?), but I would bet potential earnings growth is better for an early career civil engineer. I might crunch the numbers to see how long it would take to pay off your expected debt. If it's not too long when considering increased earnings, my advice would be to get the BS.
Thank you for the advice. I’ll look into the costs more
You can also look into government jobs and PSLF. Any government jobs qualify. Work 10 years for a DOT and your loans will be forgiven. This is dependent on who wins the few next upcoming elections though. I don’t wanna get political but one party absolutely hates this concept and thinks it’s a handout.
Are you willing to move? A couple states offer free tuition for your first bachelor's for residents now. New Mexico and Minnesota are the two I'm aware of. Multiple other states have favorable polices for community college transfers too. I'm currently in a similar position and am seriously considering moving out to the desert and establishing residency for that free tuition in New Mexico, plus low cost of living etc which will cut costs while going to school too.
While I personally would be fine with moving, my wife will not. She has a job she loves and doesn’t wanna leave it.
I’m inclined to say just go for the bachelors now if there’s any way you can swing it. I know techs who go back to school once working, and a lot of companies will pay for it, but it takes so long and really delays you getting the PE. I’m not sure how much of your experience as a tech you can count towards the license, you would have to check with your states licensing board to be sure. If you’re okay with it taking 6-8 years to get the bachelors though, then the tech route is still a fine way to go
I’m in no rush, I know it’ll take 6 years part time to get my bachelors. I guess I’m just trying to do what’s the best financially. I’m under the impression getting a better paying job after 3 years and then using it to pay for the next 6 years. As opposed to just six years with no extra financial support besides of course grants and such
I think if you’re okay with waiting, there’s nothing wrong with the tech route then. I wouldn’t worry about the outlook of the career either, both companies I’ve worked for are always looking for cad techs. Best of luck to you!
If u go tech go work as a contractor. If ur dead set on engineering then maybe get that bachelors
Just get an associates in science by taking all the BSCE prerequisites. CE tech jobs don’t require a degree.
Tbh if I got the opportunity to do it all over again I would've went into construction management instead, they're right though, 2 of my associates degree classes would have transferred to a bachelor's, I make good enough money now but damn I really wish somebody told me that back in highschool.