Hello all!
I am going into my sophomore year of college as general engineer and it is getting time for me to decide what path I want to take. To preface I am currently interested in studying sustainable energy but also, I would be happy with anything environmentally focused. Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had some suggestions between mechE and chemE for my specific interests?
Thanks!
You can probably find your way into the fields you are interested in from either of the two engineering disciplines but Chemical Engineering is probably the most direct route. Choose your major by looking at the coursework and determining which kinds of courses most interest you.
I’m not sure that I would consider chemical engineering the more direct route. Sustainable energy is a very broad buzzword that covers a lot of very different technologies, and there should be ample opportunity to be involved in one or more of those industries from most engineering branches.
More than chemical, I would tend to think of mechanical, electrical, materials engineers as the fields needed. Much of the current work is making workable systems.
Well, fuel cells and batteries are areas which heavily involve chemical engineers. If you are thinking solar then maybe electrical or physics for photovoltaics but if you want concentrated solar then there is a lot of chemical engineering in that too. Finally carbon capture and catalysis for fuel production involve chemical engineers.
The energy and sustainability areas at my university mostly involve chemical engineers, certainly more than mechanical engineering. This may vary from university to university.
" Sustainable energy is a very broad buzzword that covers a lot of very different technologies" - Agreed. It’s more of an industry/product category than job type.
Maybe start with a basic question… did you prefer Physics or Chemistry classes/labs ?
If you are interested in Solar, then ME is often the engineering major asked for in the ads along with EE.