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Help for 2nd year Engineering Stream selection!

 
Old 04-28-2016 at 01:50 PM   #1
Adp_Triton
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Help for 2nd year Engineering Stream selection!
Hi
I’m a first year Engineering student and will be choosing my 2nd year stream in a few days. I have quite some interest in programming(especiall y in controlled systems), and at the same time, attended a hackathon recently where I was exposed to robotics(we handled Arduino and blueberry pi to make a device), which sort of caught my eye. Seeing something I program actually interact with the real world in real time was very fascinating to me. As such, I am divided b/w Mechatronics and Software Embedded, and would be very thankful if seniors or anyone with knowledge/experience in these fields would guide me in choosing my Engineering stream. If you can, please do touch upon the subjects of future prospects, how well organised the course is in Mac, certain pros and cons, job opportunity etc of each. Thanks in advance!
Old 04-28-2016 at 06:01 PM   #2
GeorgeLucas
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You like only software? Take Embedded one.

You like mechanical and electrical engineering and you want to diversify your education? Take Tron.

Frankly most employers still don't care about Tron, and you always have to work twice as hard to get their attention. At least with Embedded one you are master of one trait.
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Old 04-28-2016 at 08:29 PM   #3
Adp_Triton
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Is tron not very sought after by employers? I had actually heard of the opposite
Old 04-28-2016 at 10:51 PM   #4
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From whom?

Let's put it this way, why would employers hire tron students for electrical engineering or mechanical engineering position when they can hire actual electrical or mechanical engineering student, that did not cover the fields only partially?

Because of this, in tron you gotta have your marks at least B to show that your knowledge is worth something, otherwise the employers will pick a person from a more specific field, even if the student has average below B. Simply because a student from mech eng with C+ average probably still knows more about mechanical engineering than a tron student with B- or B average.

Also, because tron students only cover the soft eng, elec eng and mech eng partially, their job options are limited to positions that require those particular few topics that they are familiar with.
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Old 04-29-2016 at 10:21 AM   #5
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Haha, this guy and his utter hate and absolute bias against his program, lol. It is just plainly sad. My friend is acing the program, a perfect 12.0, and he absolutely loves it! PM me, I will send you his contact info. He will love to tell you about this program.
Old 04-30-2016 at 12:56 AM   #6
GeorgeLucas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ralts40(4) View Post
Haha, this guy and his utter hate and absolute bias against his program, lol. It is just plainly sad. My friend is acing the program, a perfect 12.0, and he absolutely loves it! PM me, I will send you his contact info. He will love to tell you about this program.
^ This guy has been burning thru accounts like a forest fire. Don't listen to him.

Also I didn't say anything about it being hard. It has shitty courses (non-tron software and thermo), but it's definitely not hard to do well in Tron. I judge it based on how many job options there are directly marketed to Tron students and the fact that in 10 years only 2 universities offer degree in this program.
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Old 04-30-2016 at 12:11 PM   #7
Bhaltair
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If you want to take a wide range of programming in controlled systems, especially PLCs and robotics, I would recommend majoring in Electrical.

George is dead on. Tron students are well-rounded in software, electrical and mechanical. The idea is great but employers are hesitant in hiring someone who are not well versed in their specific field. The program is still underdeveloped.

If it means anything, I applied to Mac because of the Mechatronics program. I've decided to reach out to several engineers prior to choosing my second year stream. The letter I've received below was the day I've decided to go Electrical. It was from someone who has been employed by a globally recognized company in industrial automation.

He took the time to point me in the right direction when I've encountered a fork in the road. I hope this might help others who have ran into the same dilemma.

Quote:
"I remember the conversation we had and I had the chance to talk to a few of our Electrical and Mechanical Engineers regarding this topic. I should say they all agreed with me: I still believe that considering your interest in Control Engineering and Automation technology, the best for you is to enrol to an Electrical Engineering program.

Unfortunately, the Mechatronics programs in Canada have not been developed properly and are not aligned with the industry requirements in the field of control and automation. I have dealt with a few professors involved in the Mechatronics programs in Canada. Their perspective of Mechatronics is mostly based in theory and they are not interested in the real Industrial Automation technology. They expose the students to a wide range of topics but only scratch the surface. As a result the information would be useless for the student to apply in the real world. They would do not focus on the technologies that are useful in the industry and are used to develop, commission and trouble-shoot production lines.

On the other, after being involved in the Skills Competitions at Provincial, National and International level, I realized that the "Mechatronics" named is not well known in North America like it is in the rest of the world. The terms "Industrial Automation and Robotics" is used instead. So people would not realize what you have studied and that would make finding a suitable job very difficult. To make matters even worse, the Mechatronics graduate would not be able to present enough useful knowledge in the various fields he claims he has studied.

Studying the Electrical Engineering you would obtain in-depth useful knowledge in Control technology and provides you a solid foundation to specialize yourself in the fields you mentioned (vision processing, robotics, PLC, HMI, Closed-loop controls, programming, etc.).
A key factor to select the best program is to check the Elective courses offered in each University. You may not want to necessarily take all those Elective courses, but shows you which program has a better potential for you to focus on the Control topics that you are interested.
The Electrical Engineering programs also would pave your way to various Control technology topics at a postgraduate level (Master degree programs)."
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Old 04-30-2016 at 03:50 PM   #8
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One thing Tron is good for is paving a way for a masters program in either software, electrical or mechanical. Especially the latter two, as they always require to know at least something of the 3 fields, and Tron students do just that. Tron is also not as competitive to get in, so it's not a bad idea to do that to get into a masters program.
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Old 04-30-2016 at 04:15 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GeorgeLucas View Post
Tron is also not as competitive to get in, so it's not a bad idea to do that to get into a masters program.
Didn't tron have a 10+ cutoff just last year?
Old 04-30-2016 at 04:50 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justicebeaver View Post
Didn't tron have a 10+ cutoff just last year?
Yup! A 10!!!!! Dont listen to sad people, they will always be sad. If you see any tron posts, George is the first guy to trash it, always. That should tell you everything!
Old 04-30-2016 at 05:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Didn't tron have a 10+ cutoff just last year?
And it was below 7 when I got in. Every year it's different.
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Old 04-30-2016 at 10:31 PM   #12
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I don't know much about tron besides having looked at the courses they take. But to me it seems like a mishmash of programs without really focusing on anything in particular. Seems like a great programs if you wanna have options later on, but I can't really see how you can get good at one thing when you're focused on 3 different areas at the same time. Just my opinion.
Old 04-30-2016 at 11:21 PM   #13
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I can only speak from the perspective of electrical engineering, but if you're interested in things like control systems or robotics, electrical would also be a good choice. I've taken these courses and can give you info on them if you'd like. (Side note: robotics in elec is actually medical robotics but they're not much "medical" involved tbh). Mech eng has some control systems courses but from what I've heard, they're not as intense as the elec ones. Mech eng also has a mechatronics course and a robotics course, which I'm pretty sure you can still take if you're in elec eng (however, the two robotics courses conflicted this year). I'm not sure if it works the other way around, but you can always check the course calendar.
Since it seems that you're interested in software as well, maybe mechatronics would be the best option for you. There are many software courses that are required for that program, but I can't comment on any of them.
I highly recommend taking a close look at all of the required and technical elective courses for the programs you may be interested in. The courses are what make up the program so it's important to make sure you like what you're learning. Since it's hard to understand what the course descriptions mean until you've actually taken the course, you might want to ask people who have already taken them to get a better understanding of what you will get out of each program. Also, some programs give you a lot more options (i.e. fewer compulsory courses), so keep that in mind.
But remember that you only get out what you put in. If you know that your interests lie in mechatronics, for example, don't be afraid to take it. There may be bad courses along the way but we've all had our fair share of bad courses. Also, it's great that you're already getting involved in things like hackathons, because sometimes these things are more valuable in the long run.



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