<p>Firstly, I am a student from the caribbean, and this september I'm going to a canadian university to study chemical engineering, while at the same time migrating to canada. I was one of the best students in my high school, and since I liked math + chemistry, I decided to do chemical engineering. However, after looking at some of the threads on this board and in other places on the internet, I have seen only terrible things about engineering as a career
(low salary, high risk of layoff,). I am not sure what I want to do as a career later down the road, and for some reason this has been depressing me for a few weeks and I just feel like there's a heavy weight on my shoulders. I also just feel like later down the road, my friends that chose the medicine/dental/law routes will be much much better off and i'll be hopping from job to job making a **** crap salary and wondering where the **** I went wrong, even though I was the smartest in high school.
Meh... overall I just feel like complete CRAP... like i've wasted all my time in high school taking a harder courseload etc; and hoping it would pay off... and i've now realized IT WONT!
i've talked to my parents about it but they say it's just me getting scared since i'm leaving home soon... but i dont know..... it just feels like i'm lost in the world, and everyone else is moving on and i'm just here, the only one stuck in a hole... :(
I didn't really know what else to do, so i decided to post here for some advice/comments...</p>
<p>First thing - don’t think you have to make an absolute final decision about what you want to do with your life before you even leave for college. College is a time for many to explore interests and decide which path to take. Consider being undecided to start, focus on finishing your general education requirements, and take some of those math/science classes that will position you for engineering or medicine or other paths that might ultimately be yours. Believe me, all of your work so far wasn’t wasted. It will prepare you for your future success.</p>
<p>the thing is, engineering in canada is something thats very structured and not like in the US system where you can choose classes etc;
I’m considering a switch to actuarial science after first year, but I’m not too sure on anything yet, really.
oh, and in the country i’m coming from medicine is a program that you go straight into from high school, which is why it probably isn’t that much of a possibility for me ( since med schools in the US/Canada require ECs/MCATs/interviews etc;)
I think patent law might be a possiblity if it interests me… what is the total requirement for going into law school? is it just LSAT + GPA or are there essays and interviews?</p>
<p>Don’t know what threads you’ve been reading, but most of the threads I’ve been reading talk about engineering grads having a lot of success jobs at VERY good starting salaries. In 4 years the economy will be in a different place than it is now. So look with great optimism to the future!</p>
<p>My husband started out in chemical engineering. After one semester, he realized it was not for him and changed to Mechanical Engineering which suited him much better.
He has worked for the same company in the nuclear power industry for 28 years now.
He says there will likely be good job opportunities for young engineers in the power industry as many who currently work there are nearing retirement age.</p>
<p>ellemenope: the starting salaries are good, but they cap off really early at 90-100k.</p>
<p>Engineers do have good starting salaries. Actuarials have amazing starting salaries. I wish I could find the recent article on the shortage of Actuarials to post. The bottom line is to not worry about your future possible career at this point, you seem to have a very diverse set of interests which is a great start. Be patient and you will find something you love. Good luck</p>
<p>Stop sabotaging yourself. Stop second guessing yourself. Stop letting your insecurities depress you. No one cares you were the smartest in hs. You’re not in hs anymore. Enjoy your last days at home. Your family wants to see you enthusiastic and looking forward to college. Man up.</p>
<p>My D will be starting an engineering program at a U.S. university in a few weeks. For the most part, she doesn’t get to choose her classes. I think she had one elective and she chose a foreign language class. She was somewhat undecided between chemical and biomedical but is going to pursue the latter; she hopes to be a physician/researcher but figures if healthcare changes so much that she doesn’t want to practice medicine, engineering will be a successful “fallback” career- and something she’s interested in. </p>
<p>You are going through a tremendous number of changes right now. It must be incredibly stressful going from the Caribbean to Canada and it will be a big adjustment. College is a big adjustment for everyone. Does your college have resources for international students? </p>
<p>You have a lot of opportunities ahead of you and plenty of time to make those choices. Let us know how things go when you get to school. You have a great opportunity before you- try and make the most of it!</p>
<p>starwarsfan:</p>
<p>Don’t let the opinions of random people on CC (many of whom are HS students and aren’t giving an informed opinion) be your sole source of info regarding a career. There are lots of more reliable resources available for this. </p>
<p>Generally speaking (I don’t know the details for ChemE), engineering is among the highest starting salaries for college grads. Regarding the idea that they cap off at some level - discount that. As one moves along in their career they’re expected to seek additional knowledge (especially in engineering), become a more senior technical person in the area (warranting a higher salary), and become a lead and possibly enter management along with an increase in salary as well. In engineering one can’t be static or they’ll find themselves passed up but most engineers aren’t static.</p>
<p>But don’t use this as your only info - do more research yourself including discussing the subject with some profs once you’re in college. Just make sure your info is coming from reliable informed sources.</p>
<p>There’s ways around this - join a startup and get stock.</p>
<p>Don’t be negative before you even begin. You can go to law school with any major (including engineering), or get an MBA. Patent law is specialized, and almost all are engineers, but you can go into any field you like after law school. Law degrees are not specialized. I knew engineers who went on to med school too. Ed Lu the astronaut studied engineering. I am sometimes sorry that I didn’t study it myself.</p>
<p>BTW anyone who thinks they will do well in medicine is ignoring the obvious downgrade that doctors will get after the government takes over healthcare reimbursement.</p>
<p>hmm… i really need some more info on engineering as you say, since i don’t think there are many 45 year old engineers making less than 90k. My problem is im extremely pessimistic… unfortunately :/</p>
<p>I don’t really want to be rich or anything, just upper-middle class or so, enough to have a nice house in a suburb, and to be able to take nice vacations etc; </p>
<p>baaaah pessimism >>>>> me</p>
<p>My spouse has a degree in engineering and is a pilot. Many of his classmates do work as engineers (& like their work) but many have gone off into other fields as well.</p>
<p>You say you like math and chemistry. Then by all means try CE. I suspect you’ll do quite well and you may like it! If you do not, then having done your best in your classes will help you make a smooth transition to something else.</p>
<p>It’s very natural to second guess yourself with such big changes in your life but try not to pre-judge things before you try them. Go in with an open mind and heart. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Lots of engineers go on to become top corporate officers and managers, including Jack Welch [GE], Philip Condit [Boeing], Lee Iacocca [Chrysler], Robert Goizueta [Coca-Cola], Andrew Grove [Intel], William Hewlett [Hewlett-Packard], Amar Bose [Bose], Michael Eskew [UPS], Tom Usher [US Steel], William Swanson [Raytheon], Dick Kovacevich [Wells Fargo], Chad Holliday [DuPont], John Dasburg [Northwest Airlines, Burger King, DHL], Mike Duke [Wal-Mart] and Edmund Pratt [Pfizer].</p>
<p>Others have become prominent astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, Frank Borman, Jim McDivitt, Ed White, Roger Chaffee, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, David Scott among others ), inventors (William Hewlett & David Packard [computers], Seymour Cray [supercomputer], Ray Dolby [audio systems], George de Mestral [Velcro], William Coolidge [X-ray tube], Rudolf Diesel [engine], Robert Goddard [rockets], Jack Kilby [integrated circuit, handheld calculator], Steve Wozniak [Apple computer], Karl Benz [gasoline-powered automobile]), politicians (Jimmy Carter, Herbert Hoover, Boris Yeltsin, Yasser Arafat, Michael Bloomberg), film directors (Roger Corman, Frank Capra), football coaches (Tom Landry), military/naval officers (Adm. Hyman Rickover), artists (Alexander Calder), philosophers (Ludwig Wittgenstein), and television stars (Bill Nye “the science guy”).</p>
<p>It’s not a dead-end career.</p>
<p>^^ I can’t believe you missed - “Mr. Bean” (Rowan Atkinson - Electrical Engineering).</p>
<p>don’t think you are going to be stuck as an engineer the rest of your life.</p>
<p>You can start on a technical side and move to the business side in the same industry.</p>
<p>I am in a high tech field, and the best executives are the ones with technical degree who later migrated to the business side. I myself came out of the technical field, got an MBA and now on the business side of the same industry.</p>
<p>The best consultants I worked with that my company paid through the nose for are the ones with technical undergrad degree which was later combined with MBA. The best McKinsey consultant I worked with was Ph.D. in physics, and he was doing all sorts of business related consulting - mostly in the tech industry. I believe in the tech side, there is simply NO better combination as engineering undergrad and MBA. In the high tech field those without the technical background and just a business degree are mostly (not all) light weights when it comes to weighty issues with long ranging implications.</p>
<p>I have deepest respect for engineers.</p>
<p>I hate to say it but I kinda agree with your mom. You are about to cramatically change everything in your life, and it’s absolutely normal to second-guess yourself and your plans. Truth is, you don’t know yet what you really want to study or what you really want to be. Go to school, take a bunch of courses, and then decide. You can become an engineer, a lawyer, a doctor, an actuary – and still do your undergrad in four years.</p>
<p>You certainly don’t have to decide before you set foot on campus.</p>
<p>^VeryHappy, I like your typo - cramatically - kind of stressed, crammed etc.</p>
<p>Huh – must have been a Freudian typo.</p>