<p>I don't really understand the difference between the engineering disicplines; they all seem so alike. Is there anyone who knows what makes them seperate? Also, what's the difference between aerospace and aeronautical engineering? I know civil is considered a really stable career option, but what about the other disciplines?</p>
<p>Parts of your question is really vague but if you clarify it I can help some more. Aeronautics deals with flight vehicles, Astronautics deals with space vehicles, and Aerospace deals with both. Mechanical engineering is what I like to call a "jack-of-all-trades" engineering. Technically a mechanical engineer deals with motion and aeronautics, astronautics, and aerospace are specializations within mechanical engineering. A mechanical engineer can always get a good paying job because the field is so wide. You may not like what you do sometimes but you should never be unemployed.</p>
<p>Aerospace anf Aeronaut, Aero anything probably has to do with aircraft design.
Astro-anything = space ships.</p>
<p>Mechanical = anything that moves, exchanges heat, etc. An incredibly broad field ranging from jet engines to nanotech. Obviously important in the defense industry (which can't be outsourced). I guess you could make cars but german cars are better.</p>
<p>Biomed = biomechanics, medical imaging, tissue engineering, genetic engineering, fun stuff like that.</p>
<p>Electrical = stuff that needs electricity, ie almost anything. Very tough major. Highest starting salary.
Comp Eng = computer hardware (a mix of EE and CS). Work for Intel, AMD, IBM, etc.
Comp sci = computer software. People are scared of this field these days. Beware of outsourcing.</p>
<p>Civil/structural = buildings. As long as we're doing construction...
Salaries are lowest for civil, however. GPAs tend to be higher, though.</p>
<p>Applied Math Applied Physics Engineering Mechanics = science-type stuff. Go to grad school and do research.</p>
<p>Chem Engineering = reactor design, work for petroleum companies, industry, etc. Very high starting salary.</p>
<p>Material Science = inventing cool new material stuff like teflon. Or kevlar. Or new alloys to stick onto tanks. Polymers, ceramics, etc. Analyze and do stuff with materials and their properties.</p>
<p>like thomaschau said, electrical is the hardest but highest paying. i would like to add that it also is the most boring and tedious. if you enjoy or can stand looking at circuit boards and schemas all day long, go for it, and good luck</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarifications. :p</p>
<p>I think chemical is at least as hard as electrical, it usually requires more classes. Chemical also has slightly higher starting salaries. Electrical engineering is not all circuit boards, it also includes a lot of nanotechnology, semiconductor devices, optics, signal processing, communications and sometimes computer engineering, all of which, in my opinion, are much more interesting than circuits. Chemical engineering can also include nanotechnology, bio-engineering and environmental engineer. Aerospace engineering and aeronautics are really a sub-specialty of mechanical engineering, even if they have a seperate department. Most schools have electrical, mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering. The other engineering majors are more specialized and inter-disciplinary, and are often more common for a graduate degree.</p>
<p>how's the starting salary for materials scientists?</p>
<p>don't expect to be making more than 60 k and don't expect less than 40 k, thats usually the range for all engineering majors. altho civil and naval people may get paid less.</p>
<p>Civil can get paid less, but also can fit into more jobs because their education is broader and not so specific. Also, from what I've seen alot of project managers are civil engineers are are making some pretty nice salaries. </p>
<p>What about systems engineering? What do they do?</p>
<p>thats only the starting range</p>
<p>My father was a systems engineer, although his undergrad degree was in electrical. He worked on all sorts of interesting projects - many classified military projects often dealing with missile guidance, breeder nuclear reactors, washing machines, a fly-wheel bus system, BART, an automated supermarket, the lunar landing module, etc. He always had something exciting to tell us about one of his projects.</p>
<p>So how much can an engineer expect to make after 5 years of expierence?</p>
<p>specifically a BME</p>
<p>As a general rule of thumb, unless you change jobs, count on a 5% pay raise a year at the most. Sometimes less, rarely more.</p>
<p>Peg</p>
<p>The hardest engineering major depends on the school you attend as the rigor for the various majors varies from school to school. At Georgia Tech (at least before they recently changed to semesters), aerospace engineering was widely regarded to be the hardest major there... Even harder than EE or ChemE.</p>
<p>Nothing in particular to add, just gonna voice my perpetual objection at furthering the image of civil as being the "easy" major and the lowest-paying gig.</p>
<p>Signed,
The Broken Record</p>
<p>So I am considering one of the following: Chemical, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering. What are the pros and cons? Chemical is kind of my first choice, but I am scared of pchem and organic :(. Is mechanical eng. mean taking more physics?</p>
<p>The pros and cons of each depend on your own personality and strengths/weaknesses. Nobody can help you with that.</p>
<p>That said EE and ME are indeed much more physics-oriented. You will be using DFQs, integrals, dynamics, and/or electromagnetism up through your upper division courses.</p>
<p>As for getting into ChemE... I would't wanna do that personally, only because I can't stand chemistry. But if you are a chemistry buff, have a good work ethic and are genuinely interested in the field (and know for SURE you are..not just a hunch)then you needn't worry about Organic Chemistry or Physical Chemistry. Your strong interest will carry you through.</p>
<p>I must repeat that a strong interest in math and science is not enough to ensure your success in engineering(although it is highly recommended). You must genuinely LOVE the particularly field you are going to get into. You do that by finding out ahead of time what professionals in your field do through books and talking to people in the actual field. I would also become familiar with what the general curriculum is all about before taking courses in it. If you already have some previous knowledge/experience in the field (maybe your parents are in it) that will give you some perspective.
You don't want to jump blindly into a major and commit until you are sure that ,that is what you want to do for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Of course CE is not the easiest.. That honor goes to Industrial Engineering (or Imaginary Engineering as it is lovingly referred to at GaTech!).</p>
<p>If you compare Mechanical and Chemical, which one is harder, and which one pays better?</p>