Originally Posted by AngryBean

lol, one course is still more than software :p

English please.

* Ownaginatios makes a laughing utterance *

Well you see my good sir, that one course is still one more than we individuals in the stream of software engineering take.

Seeing as we take no courses related to civil engineering, that means that mechatronics engineers have infinitely more experience than us on the subject.

----

Is that better?

Originally Posted by Freija

He means one civil course taken in tron is still more than the amount of civil courses taken in software.

Why would software engineer need civil?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Are you currently employed now that you finished? What and where are you working now?

It said that Mechatronic can work in power generation, so that means you can work in OPG once you are done? Or do they favor electrical engineer more?

Yes I am currently employed as a Specifications Technologist at Maple Leaf Foods. Many of my friends who graduated have landed jobs all over the place such as the manufacturing industry, telecommunications industry and, as Dillion hinted at, most predominantly the software industry.

I would think OPG would favor Electrical Engineers, but that does not mean there are no opportunities for Mecahtronics Engineers in the company. It depends on the position really.

Originally Posted by AngryBean

That's the thing about mechatronics, its new. Software eng was made in the 90s, only by the end of 90s there was a solid market for it.

he advantage is mechatronics engineers learn more about mechanical/civil related engineering stuff

Dude, the only course that has anything to do with civil is 2p04.

but at the moment - they don't.

That is true, but again, I think it's because it's new and it's not supported by the university, at all. Like there's no club or project where tron students can show their skill.

Two years ago when I went to the Career Fair at Mac the reps had know idea about Mechatronics Engineering, but over the past few months more and more companies are catching on.

There are also a few clubs you can join! Just off the top of my head there is the McMaster Robot Racing Team and the McMaster Mechatronics Society is working on a Sumo Robot Competition!

Last September, OPG had an opening for exactly a Mechatronics Engineering co-op position.
The start date is on January 2013.

just to sum up the important points here.

- software eng is an outdated program that was popular around the 90s but no longer is relevant.
- mechatronic eng is an ambitious program that fails to satisfy due to poorly organize curriculum.
- OPG prefer electrical eng but there was one position available last year. for a usual class of 60 mechatronic, that means the odd of landing a job is 1:100.

what stream of eng is mcmaster well known for in the industry? for example, if you want comp science, you go hire a waterloo student. what is the equivalence for mcmaster?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

j- software eng is an outdated program that was popular around the 90s but no longer is relevant.

Completely wrong. Software engineering is the #1 industry right now in terms of job prospects. I think the guy meant it took until the late 90s before it really picked up.

- mechatronic eng is an ambitious program that fails to satisfy due to poorly organize curriculum.

Ehh, I wouldn't be that negative about it. More like it just hasn't matured yet.

- OPG prefer electrical eng but there was one position available last year. for a usual class of 60 mechatronic, that means the odd of landing a job is 1:100.

Not necessarily. An electrical engineering position would likely take someone who graduated from mechatronics engineering if they proved to have enough knowledge for the position.

what stream of eng is mcmaster well known for in the industry? for example, if you want comp science, you go hire a waterloo student. what is the equivalence for mcmaster?

It's really not as black and white as you're making it. Places will hire students from everywhere. Waterloo students may have a slight advantage since their program forces them to have lots of work experience, but it doesn't mean they automatically get the job over all other applicants where they apply.

That being said, the industries not doing so well at the moment I believe are materials and chem. A lot of those people end up having to work overseas to find a job. Electrical and computer isn't doing too well either due to pressure from lots of graduates in developing nations who are willing to work for cheaper. A lot of electrical/computer graduates tend to get re-purposed as software engineers in the workplace.

I think the other streams besides that are doing alright. People in eng phys can pretty much work in whatever field they want.

Like I said above though, software is doing the best right now .

Agreed that software is the single largest job market right now. For example I am Biomed but on a Coop now for a purely software agency. One thing not mentioned so much is that McMaster Engineering wont teach you much about programming, no matter what program. Once you enter the workplace/coop you WILL be expected to learn a lot more quickly. Do yourself a favor and start developing your own apps. Learning low level can be expensive due to the required hardware (and I dont just mean a Pic...I mean full custom kits). However Development IDEs are either freeware (Eclipse for Java + Android SDK for Android apps) or free to students (Visual Studio 2012 via dreamspark) and can be a lot of fun. These extracurricular activities are what will get your resume noticed.

I think this unregistered guy is one of them trolls who get here once in a while.

mechatronic eng is an ambitious program that fails to satisfy due to poorly organize curriculum.

What exactly does it fail to deliver? Can you not build robots when you graduate? Don't you have knowledge on how to to assemble majority of a robot's internal works?

software eng is an outdated program that was popular around the 90s but no longer is relevant.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First of all, Ownaginatios got what I meant right. Second of all, the way the technology is going for fool proof social network crap, who do you think stands behind all that? Mechanical Engineers? Civil Engineers? Liberal Art students? No, software engineering is a backbone of today's technology.

OPG prefer electrical eng but there was one position available last year. for a usual class of 60 mechatronic, that means the odd of landing a job is 1:100.

So there's only one company that hires us? Go home.

what stream of eng is mcmaster well known for in the industry? for example, if you want comp science, you go hire a waterloo student. what is the equivalence for mcmaster?

Emm, engineering physics comes to mind, which is not offered in waterloo... retard.

Dear waterloo students, please stop coming here and start trolling threads just so you can advertise your university. Thank you.

Dear admins, please stop allowing people without registration to start trolling threads so they can advertise their universities. Thank you.

EDIT: Also, oooo, computer science is so challenging that you have to hire a stack up waterloo student. The program is in fact so hard to get in to, that it's offered in almost any university out there....

Originally Posted by qwerty91

Agreed that software is the single largest job market right now. For example I am Biomed but on a Coop now for a purely software agency. One thing not mentioned so much is that McMaster Engineering wont teach you much about programming, no matter what program. Once you enter the workplace/coop you WILL be expected to learn a lot more quickly. Do yourself a favor and start developing your own apps. Learning low level can be expensive due to the required hardware (and I dont just mean a Pic...I mean full custom kits). However Development IDEs are either freeware (Eclipse for Java + Android SDK for Android apps) or free to students (Visual Studio 2012 via dreamspark) and can be a lot of fun. These extracurricular activities are what will get your resume noticed.

Exactly this.

What 90% of the engineering students here fail to realize is that being an engineer pretty much requires being interested in your field of study. I almost don't know anyone who looks into new things out of pure interest.

If you look at it as just being a job, you'll be surpassed and looked over in no time.

Don't listen to all the idiots who go "hurr it's all about who you know".

wow. that was an angry reply. i don't mean to offend, I just misunderstood. thanks for the clarification guys. i go to mac, here is proof.

w3.speedtest.net/result/2284144823.png

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thank you for all your honest replies. I don't wanna take a risk by entering a sub-par and underdeveloped stream. I think I'm going to pick something that has better foundation and structure.

Thanks. I feel better for having read that.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

wow. that was an angry reply. i don't mean to offend, I just misunderstood. thanks for the clarification guys. i go to mac, here is proof.

w3.speedtest.net/result/2284144823.png

I was going to reply eloquently, with proper deliberation, but ...

wat

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Exactly this.

What 90% of the engineering students here fail to realize is that being an engineer pretty much requires being interested in your field of study. I almost don't know anyone who looks into new things out of pure interest.

If you look at it as just being a job, you'll be surpassed and looked over in no time.

Don't listen to all the idiots who go "hurr it's all about who you know".

I agree. I am getting the feeling OP is just trying to figure out what discipline of engineering is in demand and most successful and using that as his/her base criteria for selection. This is the wrong way of going about it. If you are not interested in it you will do poorly and be miserable.

I don't get the mentality of this generation/culture. Sometime you gotta do what you gotta do, like arranged marriages.

Are you going to reject it just because you don't love the person?

No! You make it work! Eventually love will bloom over time.

Same with a career. Make sure you pick one that will obtain the most respect and monetary compensation that fit your skills set. Eventually you will learn to love the job.

This doesn't apply to everywhere, but not everyone know what their passions and drive is of yet. If you don't know, just pick respect and money. It won't steer you wrong.

To be honest, I have never really seen a job posting online which particularly requires a Mechatronics degree. What I mean to say is that employers particularly mention Computer Science / Software Engineering as a required degree and in some cases a related degree, this is where Mechatronics Engineering comes in. And since Mechatrioncs engg is offered with different focuses in different schools, I personally think that this program is not mature enough at this point since I guess employers don't really know about it too much.