[MTU 50]

I am in my fourth year of a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I attend Michigan Technological University and plan to graduate in the spring of 03'.

Michigan Tech graduates the second highest numbers of Mechanical Engineers in the country behind Georgia Tech. My program is a little more hands on then a typical ME degree, however, with only a few exceptions our(MET) classes mirrior the ME departments.

I'm not sure exactly what specific branch of mechanical engineering I want to go into. Testing and development are pretty interesting and I wouldn't mind working in the automotive industry. Probably not for the the Big 3 ( or actually big 2, Ford and GM), but I wouldn't mind working for a supplier or an independant company.

I recently joined MTU's Future Truck program which builds a hybrid IC engine/Electric vehicle and competes against 15 other universities nationwide. The Society of Automotive Engineers oversees the competition and sets up all of the rules. They also judge the competition. This year, Ford is the sponsor and all of the schools have to modify a 2002 Explorer. The past 2 years a Chevy Suburban was the vehicle choice for competition. I'm hoping to gain valuable experience working on this project for the remainder of this semester and both semesters next year.

Most of my Bull**** classes are out of the way such as english, social studies, and other Gen-ed courses. I understand these are important for a well rounded education, but they are also really boring to me, since I already had a pretty good grasp on the fundamentals of these courses. My engineering classes are much more interesting and fun to me. I don't give a rat's behind about business classes. They are just boring to me.