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I realized that all of the classes which I loved theoretically (such as surface/colloid chem) were deathly boring in practice. There are many engineering equivalents to what you are describing
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Very true. To get an EE degree, for example, you take tons classes based on applied math (often pretty advanced math, such as differential equations in operator notation, fourier/Lapace/z-transforms, etc. But in industry circuit problems are solved by using a computer program, Spice. Sure, its important to have an understanding of what the circuit is doing, but just like in the examples given earlier the day-to-day work often is quite different from what you did in school.</p>
<p>I advise everyone, not just engineers, to find out what jobs are like BEFORE they get too far down the path. Prospective lawyers (to give one example) ought to work in a law firm; many kids turn to law with a liberal-arts degree not because they've always had a longing for the work, but because its perceived to pay well and they don't know what else to do with their degree. </p>
<p>The ironic thing is that while exploring careers can be easy in college ar too few take advantage of it. Here is where a little (or big) parental nudge can be so important. College bring speakers to talk about career fields, offer free testing, have alums willing to talk about careers with students, and help students find internships. There is a well-known book, "What Color is Your Parachute" that champions the idea of figuring out your interests and doing informational interviewing to find out what people do in various jobs.Nobody is threatened when someone calls up and identifies themselves as a college student wanting to learn more about a career area; try that in your 30's and there's more reluctance to meet since people are afraid its a pretext to get your foot in the office so you can pump them for job leads. </p>
<p>The problem with vocational degrees (accounting, engineering, etc) is that you have to make a committment at such a young age! Engineering is impacted at most state U's so the only way to get into it is to apply as a frosh. A 17-year-old kid has to make this decision so early. And even if they like the academic challenge the job itself is usually quite different from what it was like in school. That's why internships are so important early on to check if the field is really a fit.</p>