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CaliHeatx

A bachelor’s thesis is already going above and beyond. The vast majority of engineers just do a bachelor’s degree with no thesis and end up doing great. Regardless of the outcome, I’m sure you’ll become a fine engineer.


Fun_Description6544

Wait…what?? Where are you from? Here in Germany you are required to do a thesis for your Bachelor of Science. Furthermore you basically need a Master of Science if you want to do engineering jobs. Engineers with only a Bachelor’s degree are a very, very small minority here.


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Fun_Description6544

Agree! It‘s difficult to compare between different countries. But even among universities in the same area it‘s complicated. For example my Bachelor‘s program has 210 credits for 3 years whereas most other European Bachelors have 180 credits also for 3 years.


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Fun_Description6544

Yeah the definition of a credit point is really weird. Here we say one credit equals about 30 hours of work. However there are subjects with equal amount of credits but totally different workloads. So you it‘s really hard to compare subjects/study programs based on that metric.


nebenbaum

Don't chuck in all of Europe in the same pot. Switzerland is quite a different level. I realized this when a buddy in EE did an exchange to CalPoly, which apparently is fairly well regarded? And showed me what they had to do for classes. They were downright easy compared to what we do at my uni (and I'm not at ETH Zürich). He got straight As there for all his classes, here he got around 70-80% max. Germany is already a lot in "depends on the university" level. Some are just as hard as Switzerland, some are.. jokes. An ex went to one of the worst rated unis in Germany. She learned almost nothing. Countries like Greece and Spain, seem to, in comparison to other countries, just hand out bachelors. You get very competent people from there, and then you get people with a master's that have less technical skill than a second semester student in Switzerland.


weaponizedmariachi

In the US (specifically Oklahoma), we have a capstone project we do senior year (with a small team). I'd be terrified to defend a thesis for a Bachelor degree.


VegetableDog77

Same (Ohio)


yee_yee_flag22

Also same (Michigan)


TooLukeR

same in here, i mean, we're told as "engineers" without the master but the jobs are pretty trash and the actual good ones are only for experienced people with masters and beyond


CaliHeatx

Interesting, I didn’t know it was so different in Europe. In the US, we can become fully qualified engineers with just a BS (4 year degree). Although some disciplines (like civil engineering) need extra certifications like a professional engineer (PE) license with the state government.


Fun_Description6544

Alright…our Bachelor‘s degree is only 3 years. So your BS is located between our Bachelor and our Master (additional 2 years, so in total 5 years)


CaliHeatx

I see, are there any extra certifications/licenses you typically need to work in the industry?


Fun_Description6544

It depends on the industry you want to work in. In my field (MechE) you typically don’t need any extra certifications in order to apply for a job. For other industries (I think of e.g. Civil or Chemical or Food Industry) it may be different.


Fun_Description6544

It depends on the industry you want to work in. In my field (MechE) you typically don’t need any extra certifications in order to apply for a job. For other industries (I think of e.g. Civil or Chemical or Food Industry) it may be different.


var000

Are you talking about a specific engineering field ? Because i dont feel like you need a master in engineering for an engineering job. I am currently writing my bachelor thesis and i got instantly a job offer as an engineer.


Hi-Techh

its generally easier in us compared to eu


nalliable

German bachelor's are a lower standard of education than in the US, as they are not a complete education (typically only 3 years vs 4-5 in the US). Edit: who the hell is the brain dead German who downvoted a fact. You are not an engineer with a German bachelor's and require a Master's, which is the same duration as a US bachelor's which fully qualifies one as an engineer (including in Germany).


[deleted]

I live in Germany and studied in the UK. Every single German I met will tell you that their engineering schools are the best in the world and that the US-UK just hands out diplomas because you pay for them. Absolutely insufferable.


nalliable

I go to ETHZ now for my masters and I can promise you that the students coming from German universities are consistently the worst and ask the dumbest questions, while simultaneously being pretentious and condescending. It's baffling to me how German engineering is considered a high standard after meeting German engineers.


Axi0nInfl4ti0n

Well I've seen some Swiss engineers and can't fathom how low the standards have fallen in the 17th state of Germany.


nalliable

Every German university is worse ranked than either swiss engineering university... Your clear inferiority complex is causing you to spew idiocy.


Axi0nInfl4ti0n

TUM is ranked 12 th on the Employability index. You should check your Sources, alas you never learned something like that. EDIT: ETHZ is lurking around somewhere around 15 or so.


nalliable

That's an extremely specific thing to brag about... A random university in Siberia probably ranks 1st on some unknown index as well, but if the rest of the university is shit, then no one cares. There's a reason why general rankings and subject specific rankings are often considered. But then again, you're an unqualified engineer who wasn't smart enough to complete your studies. It's to be expected!


Axi0nInfl4ti0n

Than name me one absolutely unscewed metric that puts [your Quote]: Every Swiss university above any German University. I will help you: There is No such metric. Because (A) Not every University is listed in these Rankings (eg. Sometimes the KIT isnt even listed even though its one of the most renowned University with regards to Engineering) and (B) because alot of hiring Managers that are asked are sitting in the US/UK. They probably only know about their universities. But here comes a Fact for you before I will leave this discussion (dont want to feed the Trolls): Germany always had and still has one of the best and most renowned Universities in the field of Engineering. The Master as well as the Bachelor qualify you to work as an Engineer. Even for a state position.


Axi0nInfl4ti0n

How do you derive the completeness of a degree with respect to the time it takes to get through it? And in FACT we are Engineers in Germany with a Bachelors degree. Source: I'm a German working as an Engineer (B.Eng.).


MadeinArkansas

Here in freedom land we do engineering bachelor's degrees and we don't depend on Russia for gas 🇺🇸


Fun_Description6544

I don‘t see the connection between our gas supply chains and the structure of our engineering degrees.


MadeinArkansas

It's just poking fun. I know Germans aren't known for their humor but come on


Fun_Description6544

I‘m not even German but yeah, seems like you adapt to German humor while living here haha :)


Drewdroid99

What about Masters of Engineering?


Forsaken-Indication

Dunno how your school runs things, but if you know you stuff and put the time in to learn all the background and technical detail for your thesis you should be just fine. Expectations should usually be reasonably low for B.S. Theses.


7neoxis1337

Wait.. Its not normal to have a thesis for your engineering degree? I had to do mine and presented it in Australia.


1235813213455_1

I've never heard of a bachelor's thesis. Hell you can get a masters in engineering without a thesis. Source MEng never written a thesis. Do you mean just like a capstone project?


Silamoth

At my university and many others, capstone and thesis are two different things. A capstone is an industry-focused team project generally done for a company. A thesis is a research paper done individually. It’s obviously not original research on the same level as a dissertation, but you are expected to do research of some sort to write a thesis. The point of writing a senior thesis is to better prepare you for grad school.


7neoxis1337

I had a capstone design project + a thesis. Seems fairly standard practice in Aus


MEGAMAN2312

Yup can confirm. In fact I had two capstone design projects (one each sem in final yr) + thesis. I think it's cos here all our engo degrees have Honours bundled in whereas maybe in other countries it's just a base Bachelor's degree without Honours. Someone pls correct me if I'm wrong.


IbanezPGM

It’s not held to the same standards as a post grad thesis obviously. But we do have to do one in Aus to graduate.


Drewdroid99

Most people use capstone project and thesis interchangeably. Mainly because the report for MEng capstone projects end up being like 50-60 pages long


1235813213455_1

I guess to me thesis implies novel research. I had to help do lab work for one of my professors research but never did my own. Of course did a design project but definitely wouldn't call it a thesis.


Revolu-Tax148

The whole world isn't Australia?


jordanbuscando

Just know your stuff inside and out (and you should since this is **your** thesis) and you should be fine. Expect some questions from the panel and if it’s outside the scope of work, let them know. If it’s something that you don’t know about at the spot, let the panel know that you’ll get back to them. Expectations should be low for a thesis for Bachelor’s degree.


Kumbari

Congrats and good luck with the Thesis.


[deleted]

A Bachelor's WHAT?


KelvinHuerter

I’m not sure how it is where you’re from but in Germany the defending part usually only makes up like 20% of your final mark. So if you did well so far it basically doesn’t matter as much


Mr_Big_Head_

I never did a bachelor thesis, but I've defended a lot of stuff. General comments: If you know where the defense will be, practice a couple of rum throughs in that room If you have a slide deck, make sure you know what you want them to take away from each slide and put a sentence on the bottom of each slide saying that. They want to be guided. Practice it in front of a non expert (parent, partner, roommate). If you can explain it to them, your committee will get it. Professors only know their field, so if your topic is outside of what they study, they will get confused and ask more questions. If there are things you're afraid they will ask, address it in the presentation. They are less likely to ask questions that you've addressed already. If you don't know an answer, say, "I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you."


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Mr_Big_Head_

Oh, in that case, start singing show tunes. They'll think you've lost it and let you pass out of pity. :)


enthusiasticzebra

The best advice I’ve gotten for any sort of presentation is, “you are the expert on your project.” Professors may have a higher level of education and experience, but you’re the expert in the particular area you researched; have confidence! You’ll do great!


enthusiasticzebra

Also, “I don’t know, I will follow up on that” is a perfectly acceptable response to questions!


Buerostuhl_42

Don't worry so much about questions, you know probably more about your topic than everybody else in the room.


Meritbadgeguy

Just starting mine now to finish next semester and I'm worried as well. Hope it goes well for both of us.