<p>I just finished my freshman year in civil and I have an internship at a civil and land surveying firm lined up for the summer, but Im thinking about switching to mech next year and want some advice. Either way, as far as the summer job goes, Im sure experience in an engineering firm would be useful regardless of if I choose to be in mechanical when I go back to school because I could use the experience regardless.</p>
<p>Civil (structural):
-Closer to architecture (what I originally was going to major in)
-Diverse enough that if I get sick of structural or find it boring, I can switch to water or highway engineering (even though I dont know how much Id like other alternatives)
-You can work abroad in upcoming countries like Brazil or South Africa developing infrastructure
-I dont like how it leads to construction supervising Im not big on going into management at the moment (but thats not to say I wouldnt when I need money to support family in the future)
-You dont get to do innovative design/come up with anything new worth talking about; structural and road design at least are basically rehashing the same workable designs into different scenarios.
-You dont get recognition/pride/ownership of your work. Like if all goes well, then the architect did a great job. If it fails, the engineer is to blame.</p>
<p>Mechanical:
-Seems like true engineering compared to civil. Theres constant innovating and designing (call it the wannabe architect side of me, but I like the idea of designing something, following it through, taking pride in the finish product)
-Im realizing that I find drawing detention basins and wall sections in AutoCAD really dull. I liked part drawings and object views in my drafting class in high school which seem more mechanical.
-Potentially work at big companies like Porsche or Boeing and work on some really cool projects that you can take credit for working on.
-Ive never planned on being a mechanical engineer and I dont know how well Id do, I just like the idea of it. From what I see with my friends in mech do, I feel like Im able to do what they do with Solidworks
-Less opportunity to travel?</p>
<p>Alright, so it probably seems like Im deadest on hating civil and wanting to go to mech, but understand that even I know that Im looking at it from the point of wanting to switch so Im really thinking of the negatives of civil and the positives of mech so I may be getting a jaded picture. If you guys could give me some advice based on your experiences in civil or mechanical engineering and what youve done in either (working or in school and how you made your decision to follow on), that would help me get a clearer idea.</p>
<p>if you are really creatively-inclined, i say you should go with ME–i’m very design and product oriented (i make my own music after all, and enjoy listening to it), so i want to be able to do the same for my future career. people can do whatever it is they are told to do: however, being able to put my personality in my projects will benefit me in the long run (at least thats how i think now)</p>
<p>Mechanical is a more general engineering degree so if you are unsure, then Mechanical may be a better choice. You can go lots of different ways with a Mechenical Engineering degree.</p>
<p>When you say construction supervision, what do you mean? Most civil engineering majors won’t be managing construction projects. However, a significant number will spend some time on construction sites during their careers for inspections.</p>
<p>I agree that civil engineering designs typically aren’t discussed among the general public. That’s mainly because the general public aren’t typically consumers of civil engineering services. Government agencies and architects are the usual clients.</p>
<p>I disagree on pride. It’s something that comes from within yourself, not anybody else. My first project was a brick wall rehabilitation on the side of a highway, and I’m proud to have been a part of it. Nobody else besides the people who worked on it would probably even think about it.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about individual recognition, no you’re not going to be recognized by the general public, because 1) as mentioned before, it’s not a consumer product, and 2) it’s a team effort. If you’re talking about team recognition, those within the industry know who’s better than others.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that AutoCAD and SolidWorks are only tools of the trade, not the trade itself.</p>
<p>You can work on big projects in civil engineering too. You can work on miniscule projects in mechanical engineering as well. It works both ways for all fields.</p>
<p>Do you have to decide now? In my school at least, the curriculum was very similar for the two majors. You can probably change majors next year and still not lose any time. Your work experience will help you make up your mind.</p>
<p>FYI, my degrees are in civil engineering, and I’m working in construction management.</p>
If you’re worried about future jobs prospects, go mechanical. It’s more flexible than civil.</p>
<p>However, all things being equal (in a good economy, unlike today’s where majority of civils are hit the hardest) I’d choose civil.</p>
<p>I used to work for MTA on a couple of LA light rail projects (gold line and expo line) as a design engineer and construction manager. And lemme tell you, when that light rail goes into operation, I felt soooo good. When my friends ask me what I do for a living, I can easily point them to the rail and they’re like whoaaaa…</p>
<p>When I was an intern, I helped designing the I-405 widening. It’s a 9 miles additional lane near UCLA/west LA area and they’re currently constructing it. During the closure of 405 for demolition, it got a lot of media attention and people call it carmagedon.
[Maitre</a> D’, More Carmageddon, Please: Diners Cheers To 405 Freeway Stunt : LAist](<a href=“http://laist.com/2011/07/18/carmageddon_dinner_stunt.php]Maitre”>http://laist.com/2011/07/18/carmageddon_dinner_stunt.php)</p>
<p>To recap, in today’s economy condition and possibly for the future where we’re seeing a structural change in economy and in infrastructure investment, I would go for mechanical for job security. After all, not many people got as lucky as I did and a lot of my civil friends are unemployed.</p>
<p>However, if it wasn’t for this current economic depression, I’d go for civil again… no regrets…</p>
<p>FYI my degrees are in civil engineering and ms in env engineering…
I kindda skipped the part where I used to work for one of the largest wastewater treatment plant in the world (Hyperion in LA) just cuz it’s disgusting…</p>
<p>I know nothing about mechanical engineering, but I can tell you about structural! Everybody else on this forum knows it, but since you don’t I’ll tell you that my husband and I met at grad school at UT-Austin and have owned our two-person firm for almost 13 years now. We run it out of our house and have a fantastic quality of life, on a wooded lot next to a river in southern Maine.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I chuckled when you used the word “boring” to describe structural engineering. That is the one word I would NEVER use! Every project we get is different. We design everything from large houses on the coast of Maine to prisons to hospitals to projects for defense contractors that require us to have classified status. We’ve helped restore 200-year-old barns, donated our services to design a roof for a school in the Dominican Republic, helped people sue contractors for shoddy work, designed rock anchors to stabilize huge dams, etc., etc. Every day brings something new. Having said that, you do want to be careful not to work for a huge firm that will have you designing the same connection over and over all day - shudder.</p></li>
<li><p>We DO get to innovate. We designed a wonderful public market and were instrumental in helping the architect design the exposed roof structure. The building got an AIA award. Wood Design magazine also did a big story on it, and we provided a lot of the article for them. GOOD architects request our input and advice. We try to stay away from the other ones.</p></li>
<li><p>As far as pride goes, our kids know every building we’ve designed in the area. They love telling people, “That’s Mom’s (Dad’s) building!” We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last year by eating at a restaurant at the top of one of the taller buildings in Portland (not that tall, ha!). It had a 360 degree view of the city, and we could see a LOT of projects we’d worked on. It is a very satisfying feeling.</p></li>
<li><p>While I think it’s important for structural engineers to have at least a little construction supervision experience to understand the real world, we do very little of it in our office. I’d say a few times a year, we have to go out and write reports on the progress of a job, but that’s about it.</p></li>
<li><p>I learned AutoCAD in 1989 on the job and do all our drawings because I enjoy it (feels like playing video games to me). I’ve also learned the BIM program Revit, which is a great skill to have, because not many drafters up here know it yet. My husband, on the other hand, has never used CAD. I THINK he could print out a drawing if he had to, but that’s about the extent of his CAD knowledge. We do work for a large A/E firm here, and two of the engineers use CAD a little, but the others don’t at all.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>So that’s my cheerleading session. We’ve done fine financially - we have made much more money working for ourselves than other people. We got about 13 years experience before we went out on our own, though. There is a LOT to learn. That’s the other thing - it never gets boring because codes, materials, computer programs, etc. are always changing and you have to keep up with it all.</p>
<p>rheidzan your light rail project is like my dream lol
I’m doing transportation in civil right now about to graduate soon, hopefully I can do something like you did.</p>
<p>This questions is also very generalized, but what does a typical mechanical engineer do?</p>
<p>For example, I consider a typical civil engineer to work for a firm that deal with surveying, planning for average sized homes/businesses, then drawing proposed plans for those.</p>
<p>That’s interesting. I guess it all depends on what part of the country you’re in. When I think of structural engineers, I think of those designing bridges and medium to large buildings. Of course, I live in an urban area. Many residential houses don’t require an engineer to design the structure.</p>
<p>One more thing I’ve just learned that I may need to consider since I want to do structural engineering. In my school’s mech program, I take…</p>
<p>-Engineering Statics
-Mechanics of Materials</p>
<p>In the civil program, I take…</p>
<p>-Statics and Mechanics I
-Statics and Mechanics II
-Structural Analysis</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem like civil would provide any stronger of a background structures-wise that mechanical would and I would have to get a masters in structures if I did want to pursue it. Here’s the curriculum by the way…</p>
<p>Is Wentworth in the process of pursuing accreditation for these programs? If not, transferring would be a necessity for civil and probably desirable for mechanical.</p>
<p>Classico, structural analysis is an important part of structures curriculum. It would be a big hole if you didn’t take it - you would need it before taking grad school classes. Also, usually undergrads in structures take classes such as steel design, concrete, design, and perhaps timber design or masonry design. I know at UT-Austin, you couldn’t pursue an MS in structures until you had taken a lot of structures classes. A pure ME major wouldn’t be allowed to major in civil, at least that’s my understanding. I looked at your curriculum and noticed the “civil engineering electives.” That’s where you would take the structural design classes. Oh, you’d also want to take a class in computing related to structures. Really important for structural engineers!</p>
<p>We’ve actually done quite a few structural designs for homes in Maine. It’s amazing some of the mansions that rich people can afford. HUGE!! And now they’re using SIPs (structural insulated panels), so we help with the construction details. [SIPA</a> | Structural Insulated Panel Association | SIPs.org](<a href=“Structural Insulated Panel Association”>http://www.sips.org/)</p>
<p>Even a two-person firm like ours does a lot of large buildings. When you think about it, even in a big firm, a lot of time there’s one senior engineer working with a junior engineer and drafter. DH and I can put out a lot of output, especially since we’ve developed an extensive standard detail library over the past 13 years. Since we’re own bosses, we can also buy whatever software and other resources we need. We use the same programs that gigantic firms do. That’s why larger firms use us - they know our designs will be compatible with their software.</p>
<p>Wentworth is currently in the process of going for ABET accreditation. 2011-12 was the first year for Civil, Mechanical, Biomed, and Electrical Engineering programs at the school (it was mainly engineering technology programs prior to that), but they have had just straight engineering programs in the past that have been accredited (at least Civil has had one prior to 2002, I’ve heard from my professors) so they have no reason to believe that they won’t be accredited with out class’s graduation in 4 years.</p>
<p>Mainelonghorn, sadly it looks like I have only two electives (listed at the bottom of the curriculum, neither related to structures) to fill my two junior electives. I don’t know how senior electives work (it says grad electives) so actually those may have structures as an option.</p>