Hi so I’m an incoming freshman going to UCSB for chemical engineering in the fall, and have been really conflicted lately as to if im cut out for engineering. I enjoy and am pretty good at math, chemistry, and physics… But people always emphasize how hard engineering is and how a majority of people end up dropping out or completely losing a social life, which I really don’t want to do. Ive been researching the economics major, and see it as my next best option, but I’m trying to convince myself that it’s not for me and to plan on engineering. It’s very discouraging that all my peers are going to UCLA, Berkeley, etc and I’m going to UCSB and am somewhat regretting not applying as an Econ major to have given myself a better shot at getting into those schools considering how competitive engineering is. Any positive words/advice?? Thanks
Have you considered “easier” engineering majors? Like Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, and financial engineering?
Yes engineering is hard, but it isn’t impossible. Try it out before you bail. Be organized and proactive in your studies. If you still struggle, then change majors. Good luck!
I know lots of recent engineering students that had solid social lives and did well in school, and found excellent jibs. As @eyemgh says, if you are truly disciplined in when to study and don’t procrastinate or allow distractions, you will have time to go out with friends, date, whatever it is you want to do in your social time. It is all about balance and not letting the people that have less work than you (easier majors, possibly) convince you to ditch your work and go with them before you have your work done. Get used to telling them you will call/text and see where they are so you can catch up with them later, or save it for the weekends mostly. You will have more personal time than you think, even as an engineering major, if you get into the right habits from the start. Easier said than done for most, so know up front you have to really resist temptation to pull it off. Some people I know used a “trick” where they considered their study time to be a few extra classes in their schedules, even if the classes were at odd times, and they rarely skipped “class”.
Besides, as he also implied, it is a lot easier to change from engineering to econ than the other way around. But don’t quit before you even started. If you try engineering and love it, then you did the right choice from the start. If you struggle with it despite trying hard, or succeed but just don’t like it much, then you switch.
@rexreece, I saw your other post in the UCSB forum and then this. My advice: this summer, talk to some adults who work as ChemE’s and find out what their job is like. Think about whether its right for you. If not, or if you’re not willing to do this, then switch to something else frosh year when you are at UCSB. In fact if you know you are going to switch then you don’t even have to sign up for the recommended 1st quarter ChemE classes. There is no hold on your records that requires you to take Calculus, Chem, etc. You can sign up for any class you like that you are eligible to enroll in, so if you’re going for Econ then look at what they start out with and sign up for that.
I’ve seen other posts over the years from frosh engineers and pre-meds that are worried about losing their social life and the workload. They usually end up changing majors. I’m not going to say what you should do, give you lectures on what college is for, etc. You sound like a lot of kids that are good at math/science and steered by parents and teachers into engineering without any thought about whether the career is actually a good fit for them. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but it sounds like you haven’t done enough research to know. You are right about the dropout rate and workload. Because its hard to get in as an engineer, just about everyone accepted could succeed. They quit because they decide it isn’t worth it or the right career for them.
You don’t have to be a genius to make it thru engineering. But you do have to put in a lot of study time & take part in student activities related to engineering to get internships. Kids that know its what they want find the motivation to do it, to head to the library when their friends are sitting around having some beers and watching TV or whatever, to do problem sets on a nice weekend when their friends are playing. It already sounds like you are questioning if you have that level of committment. The only way to get it is to find out what real ChemE’s do. If its what you want you won’t mind giving up some of the pleasures of college. If not, then change now and don’t waste time.
I will echo what Mikemac said. ChE is hard and it takes diligent effort to make it through. If you enjoy it, you can succeed in the major. Lake Jr. is a ChE major who declared it somewhat to my surprise. No pushing or pressure from his parents. He always loved the sciences and investigating how things work. Find your own source of motivation. Don’t wait to email a UCSB ChE professor and ask questions about his/her work and ChE generally.