<p>I think I've finally nailed my ABSOLUTE, POSITIVE areas of interest in engineering. I'm really really interested in the nanotech stuff, and I was wondering whether someone can compare Chem E and EE in the nanotech industry.</p>
<p>The reason I'm drawn to Chem E is because I love the human body, and thus working in the pharmaceutical industry would be perfect, especially since consulting, something I'm thinking of going into, is supposed to prosper in this industry according to bls.gov. Thus the job prospects and salary should be pretty good as well (and Chem Es already earn a very good salary from what I hear...correct me if I'm wrong on that). The problem is though that I HATE CHEMISTRY so much! I like physics and math a lot more, which is somewhat lacking in this field. Also, I hear Chem E is mostly just manufacturing things and making it cost efficient to produce, and I would much rather be working on ideas on new nanoparticles and how they can be used than just manufacturing it.</p>
<p>The reason I'm drawn to EE for nanotech is because I like working with computers/electronics, and I would like to develop new technologies for things like networking, getting faster internet service, and things like that. This also has a ton of calculus and physics, which is really interesting. The thing that although I dont see too many cons, I'm not sure I would enjoy the classes because sitting at a circuit board all day sounds boring as well. I'm very new when it comes to this field, so do you guys have any ideas as to how I can get a better idea of whether I will like EE or not? </p>
<p>thanks, and sorry for the excessive posting these days!</p>
<p>I know people who have gone into PhD programs focusing on nanotech from almost all engineering majors so it’s really up to you. If you’re more interested in nanotech applications to EE type stuff then go into EE. As for the pharm industry, drug design and manufacturing is inherently chemistry based so if you hate chemistry I wouldn’t recommend it. However, you could go into making machinery for the pharmaceutical industry if you went into EE (this is in high demand now that high throughput techniques are becoming mainstream).</p>
<p>well what ones do you guys think is cooler (ie which field is the coolest for nano?)</p>
<p>btw, although I hate normal chem...I LOVE O-CHEM!! Omg, its soo cool lol. Im not even kidding. But my big concern for EE is that sitting at a circuit board all day doesn't really sound fun or challeneging (I'm naive about the second part especially, I know).</p>
<p>Good EE programs will emphasize designing circuits to accomplish something useful (e.g. amplification, signal filtering, etc) rather than simply hooking wires in a circuit board and analyzing the result.</p>
<p>And if you focus on nano, you probably won't take too many circuit courses anyway (enough to satisfy the core) - most of your EE electives should deal with semiconductor / solid-state physics.</p>
<p>umm... electrical engineering can work on mems... hence the E in Micro Electro Mechanical System.</p>
<p>and evoke is right about every engineering discipline going into nano-tech. I would say that from what I have found the biggest ones are EE, Materials Science, and Applied Physics (may or may not be in the e school). If you love physics and math, and want to do nanotech, consider your options in the physics and applied physics departments where you go to school/are looking at.</p>
<p>At MANY E schools that do a lot of nanotech, the people in the EE department doing nano are actually PHYSICISTS. Even if you major in EE and concentrate in nano, as laplace says, your electives will be in semiconductor and solid state physics classes, which are often cross-listed between the two departments.</p>
<p>So you HATE chemistry, like physics and math, want to apply your nanotech skills to electrical engineering stuff. This sounds clear cut to me.</p>
<p>The best way to find out if you like electrical engineering would be to take the introductory courses, I think. I'm an EE major, and I didn't really know if I wanted to pursue EE when I started college. But after taking the first few courses, I got really interested and was able to see myself doing it as a career.</p>
<p>We were also the ones who started biomed E. It's a great school, but we don't get a lot of press. Our engineering program is pretty highly regarded though.</p>