Engineering: Pitt or JMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the school matters to an employer, they are not going to hire someone from JMU or Pitt. For most employers, engineers are assumed to be competent because engineering programs are very rigorous (failing out large percentage of students) and have to comply with professional requirements.

Both are excellent schools.

[Anonymous]

One offers a general engineering degree and the other has more defined and specialized areas to major in. Not sure how employers will feel about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whats the financial impact? Im from PA and would say Pitt but not at full price vs in state JMU. I will be honest, no one outside of VA has heard of JMU and they HAVE heard of Pitt, but that all vanishes after job 1.

Do you have any idea just how many OOS students are at JMU? Plenty of people outside of VA have heard of it.

Lots of New Jersey kids at JMU.

[Anonymous]

JMU is a great school not sure how the job market would be for that type of engineering degree vs a specialized one. Not sure if Pitt is worth paying an extra 20k though..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the school matters to an employer, they are not going to hire someone from JMU or Pitt. For most employers, engineers are assumed to be competent because engineering programs are very rigorous (failing out large percentage of students) and have to comply with professional requirements.

JMU bills itself as a large liberal arts school. This was communicated to me and DD on a campus visit earlier this year. It is primarily a bachelors level university. Nothing wrong with that. I guess you could say that the engineering department at JMU is maybe a fledgling program that provides a well rounded engineering education that is closest to traditional mechanical engineering. Throw in some sustainability courses for good measure. Pitt is a PdD granting research university with a college of engineering with multiple departments. I suppose if one is interested in mechanical engineering then it could be a valid comparison. Otherwise Pitt would be the clear choice and yes employers know Pitt.

[Anonymous]

Pitt

[Anonymous]

In state pick JMU

[Anonymous]

If loans are involved pick JMU, if not then pick Pitt.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Both are great schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whats the financial impact? Im from PA and would say Pitt but not at full price vs in state JMU. I will be honest, no one outside of VA has heard of JMU and they HAVE heard of Pitt, but that all vanishes after job 1.

Do you have any idea just how many OOS students are at JMU? Plenty of people outside of VA have heard of it.

Lots of New Jersey kids at JMU.

Florida, Georgia, NC, Ohio, NJ, NY, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee - these are just some of the states my JMU student has friends from.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the school matters to an employer, they are not going to hire someone from JMU or Pitt. For most employers, engineers are assumed to be competent because engineering programs are very rigorous (failing out large percentage of students) and have to comply with professional requirements.

JMU bills itself as a large liberal arts school. This was communicated to me and DD on a campus visit earlier this year. It is primarily a bachelors level university. Nothing wrong with that. I guess you could say that the engineering department at JMU is maybe a fledgling program that provides a well rounded engineering education that is closest to traditional mechanical engineering. Throw in some sustainability courses for good measure. Pitt is a PdD granting research university with a college of engineering with multiple departments. I suppose if one is interested in mechanical engineering then it could be a valid comparison. Otherwise Pitt would be the clear choice and yes employers know Pitt.

DP. Just wanted to comment re: the bolded. JMU offers plenty of graduate degrees.
https://www.jmu.edu/grad/programs/areas-of-study.shtml

[Anonymous]

Not sure if Pitt is worth the out of state costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the school matters to an employer, they are not going to hire someone from JMU or Pitt. For most employers, engineers are assumed to be competent because engineering programs are very rigorous (failing out large percentage of students) and have to comply with professional requirements.

JMU bills itself as a large liberal arts school. This was communicated to me and DD on a campus visit earlier this year. It is primarily a bachelors level university. Nothing wrong with that. I guess you could say that the engineering department at JMU is maybe a fledgling program that provides a well rounded engineering education that is closest to traditional mechanical engineering. Throw in some sustainability courses for good measure. Pitt is a PdD granting research university with a college of engineering with multiple departments. I suppose if one is interested in mechanical engineering then it could be a valid comparison. Otherwise Pitt would be the clear choice and yes employers know Pitt.

DP. Just wanted to comment re: the bolded. JMU offers plenty of graduate degrees.
https://www.jmu.edu/grad/programs/areas-of-study.shtml

Thank you. I didn't phrase that well at all. JMU does have a number of master's programs, but the number (and types) of programs combined with the relatively small percentage of the student body that is in graduate school, led to my poor wording. The main point is that JMU is a regional university vs. a university that is concerned with PhD level research (e.g., Pitt).

[Anonymous]

I think they would have no problem getting a job in the DC area going to JMU instead of Pitt.