ChemE Major: Quarter Life Crisis

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Having spent a good half day scanning these forums, I suppose this "questioning my major" phenomenon is not uncommon.</p>

<p>I initially declared ChemE because:
-I was was good at chem and enjoyed it
-I was told that (at my school) it led to the broadest range of possible careers. I'm indecisive and want to keep doors open.
-You're marketable because of an exceptionally rigorous and analytical course load
-You make the most money with a bachelor's degree</p>

<p>I'm a sophomore and have taken one class (Material Balances) in ChemE. It didn't interest me that much and I found it rather challenging. I know that it is <em>only</em> one class, but I've heard that it does not get easier in later classes and if I wasn't enjoying the class, then ChemE may not be right for me because the ideas/skills are consistent in the rest of the coursework.</p>

<p>I don't want to stay in a major that (again, at my school) is the most difficult and time consuming if a) does not lead to a career I want, b) I am not interested in, c) will kill my GPA (which, according to some threads, is important to get that first job out of college).</p>

<p>I need to decide whether or not to switch because other tracks are significantly different and I need to restructure my course planning asap. </p>

<p>I have also considered:
-Civil
-Biomedical
-Earth/Environmental</p>

<p>My possible career goals are pretty varied. Generally, I do not see myself in a traditional engineering job:
-Sustainability consulting (whether it is regarding a company's policies, or something more concrete like a "green" house)
-Consulting or design on large scale design projects (buildings, bridges etc.) [obviously civil...)
-Designing/developing "smaller" products (food and beverage industry, pharmaceuticals); specifically the product itself, and not the plant/factory/reactor that makes it (which seems like the focus of ChemE)
-Consulting (as in the management side of things)</p>

<p>I want to work in an urban environment--> a major city on the east or west coast. I enjoy team-based projects, and working on something more concrete/physical (rather than a process).</p>

<p>I go from moments where I'm ready to switch (though to what, I don't know) to moments when I'm prepared just to grind through the next two years and hope that something just clicks and it'll all come out in the wash.</p>

<p>Please help! Any advice would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Seems like environmental or biomedical would be the best for you. Both professions have expected job growth, so at this point pick whether you like medical or green resources more. On the other hand, chemical engineers can specialize to green jobs. Or you could stay chemical and then get a specialized master’s.</p>

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<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook]Engineers[/url”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#outlook]Engineers[/url</a>]
See ‘job growth’ section</p>

<p>Civil/EE/ME - I honestly don’t think you can really go wrong with these, I’m sure you’ve heard this but I’ll say it anyway, I can’t think of any industry that doesn’t employ these three. They also have job opportunities in urban environments as you expressed interest in</p>

<p>I’m an ME and I’ll list some industries
-Traditional energy prod/utilization - Oil, Coal, Gas, Nuclear
-Alternative energy prod/utilization - Biorenewables, Wind, Geothermal, Hydro, Ammonia, Hydrogen etc…etc…
-HVAC consulting firms and energy efficiency assessments for buildings, new and existing construction, public and private sectors, industrial processes
-Food/Product/Materials Manufacturing Processes
-Design - engines, products, machines, list goes on and on
-ME’s may work under aliases such as Petrol E’s, BME’s , Nuc E’s</p>

<p>I should note competitiveness is important though. There are so many people graduating with ME/Civil/EE degrees and so many jobs… so it’s crucial to be competitive with your GPA and work experience so you can have your choosing of all the opportunities available. </p>

<p>BTW…I bit my tongue when I heard the ‘green’ buzzword</p>

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<p>I don’t see what is so bad about “green” jobs. It’s something.</p>