Engineering, architect, building.... curriculum advice(X-Post)

[Based on Faith Academy]

This is a cross post per the advice of some very helpful ladies.

 

 

My eleventh grade son has decided that for the last two years of school he would like to focus on engineering or becoming an architect.

Those are the things he wants to focus on in college. I want him to take a course in one or both over the next two years.

I think they would both be great electives. As we are in NYS we can not go out and take any such courses at a school.

Any ideas of books or sites to visit? Do you think you could apprentice something like this? I would like him to be able to

see what goes into the work. He loves building things and creating electrical things from other objects.

 

Any advice would be welcome.

[TechWife]

My son will be taking a mechanical drafting course through the community college this fall to help him get a bit of a feel for industrial design. It would probably be helpful for your son to do something similar.

[amy58103]

First, architecture and engineering are two very different things.  Architecture is much more "art" based, while engineering is much more "math/science" based.  While there is some overlap, recommendations for the two paths will be a bit different.

 

Most architecture programs I have seen require a drawing portfolio be submitted along with the college application.  I would take a look at the requirements at some possible schools and figure out what is needed.  If he doesn't have much drawing experience, I would find a class or two for him to take.  Things focusing on line-drawing and sculpture would be beneficial.  Oak Meadow has some courses that might be helpful.  I would also suggest an art history course.  MIT offers a nice History of Architecture course on www.edx.org that seams to run every fall.  A course or two in drafting would also be beneficial.  Most local community colleges offer drafting courses, so I'd check these out.  I really like courses that start off with hand drafting and then transition into computer-aided drafting.

 

Every "intro to engineering" course I have seen looks like a complete waste of time.  Instead, I would look for design competitions/clubs for him to participate in.  I highly recommend this bridge design competition:  www.bridgecontest.org.  There are numerous robotics competitions around.  Or you could buy him robot kit to play around with ... I really like the MAKE Rovera Kits; one of these kits could easily be an elective course in Robotics.  Drafting would be very useful.  If he has a couple of semesters from a community college in drafting completed, he might be able to get an internship with an engineering firm.  Although he will be competing with college students, so this might prove to be difficult.  You could also call around to engineering firms and see if he could shadow an engineer for a day, although at my firm I know that we wouldn't allow this for liability issues ... engineers tend to be very lawsuit lery, LOL ... but it never hurts to ask!

[Beth S]

 

You could also call around to engineering firms and see if he could shadow an engineer for a day, although at my firm I know that we wouldn't allow this for liability issues ... engineers tend to be very lawsuit lery, LOL ... but it never hurts to ask!

 

My dh is a mechanical engineer, and does field questions from interested high school children of his friends.  I always recommend talking to adult friends in the field the child is interested in, even if you cannot set up a shadowing situation.  (Dh's work is proprietary, and can't be shared casually with others.)

And make sure your son is keeping up on the college-prep Math track and Science track.  It is ideal to have exposure to Calculus as a senior in high school, and at least one year of Physics with lab.  Which can be done at home, or you may need to buy a course or get help from a tutor/knowledgeable friend.

 

Mainly look to see what college(s) he's interested in, and make sure you are meeting their requirements.

 

We, too, discouraged our son from pursuing architecture due to the flooded job market and the graduate work required.  Instead he's halfway through his 4-year civil engineering degree, and loves it.  He had a summer internship at a transportation consulting firm, and continues to thrive in the field, post-homeschooling.

[cassiemc]

Check with the EPA in your state. We found very helpful people there. They told us about an internship our son can do his junior year.