<p>My nephew is a HS junior and is starting to think about what colleges to apply to. He is a science/math kind of kid and thinks he might be interested in engineering, but his smallish HS does not offer any engineering courses and he is not sure how to figure out whether he really wants to pursue an engineering major. </p>
<p>So for you parents of kids who are engineering majors, how did they determine that they wanted to be engineering majors?</p>
<p>Decades ago for me it came down to loving chemistry in high school and finding out that chemical engineers got good jobs with a bachelors degree while chemists generally needed a PhD. I knew I did not want to spend the extra time in school and I was much more mercenary back then.</p>
<p>Hmm our child was sort of interested, and we nudged him a bit. But he’s always had a fascination with math. Then we went to a UC Berkeley engineering day, this one professor who had written a couple books gave this speech. I kid you not, it made everyone there wish they were an engineer. My wife a teacher wished she could have bottled it up and shared it. It depends on a couple issues. I would thing engineering is more the application side of science, like putting it to use. Visit some engineering related colleges. We got to see CalTech and speak to people that built Curiosity before it landed. It was pretty neat. All those things had our son salivating.</p>
<p>Did engineering tours at the colleges they were interested in. That’s where S decided what kind of engineering he wanted to major in. D just always knew she wanted to be an engineer. Always liked to build things. She went to engineering camp in the 5th grade I think, but they have camps for older kids too.</p>
<p>I was going to suggest some sort of engineering interest camp, even if for only a week, in the summer. This past summer probably would have been better, but next summer is not too late. I know in our city, businesses often put on daylong programs for school students interested in engineering. Is there anyone in the community he can shadow for a day?</p>
<p>I’ve read the the Catapult summer engineering camp at Rose Hulman college (Terra Haute, IN) is wonderful.</p>
<p>As a general rule, engineers like problem solving. Most enjoy hands on mechanical tinkering and/or computer playing with computers. But to survive engineering curriculum a student must be strong in math/science and be willing to do 4 years of demanding academics. Most courses are required, so an ability to knuckle down and endure them all (whether they will be used down the road or not) helps too.</p>
<p>DD has a degree in engineering and a second bachelors in biology. Her first major was engineering largely due to her interest in math and the sciences. Her dad is an engineer so she had good information about the field.</p>
<p>At this point, it is highly unlikely she will pursue a career in engineering. She is looking at other options that also include her areas of interest.</p>
<p>Just because a kiddo loves math/science does NOT mean they will live engineering. Even if they get a degree in engineering, they could still change career paths. Just saying.</p>
<p>I chose chemistry over chem E and can understand how engineering is different from pure sciences. My interests swung to the biological and not the physical side of chemistry. Son started with interest in both physics and math. He chose math over either applied or theoretical physics and likes abstact more than applied math. Engineering is applied science- making the theoretical practical. At some schools, such as UW-Madison, students will take various math and sciences courses plus a preengineering/intro to it course freshman year if they choose (can’t enter the College of Engineering as a freshman). Once he is at a good math/science/engineering school (not a LAC) he can explore engineering. </p>
<p>I know schools in our area never had any engineering courses available at the HS level. Is this common is any areas? Don’t worry about getting a head start with that. College freshman year courses can be the same whether he chosses engineering or a pure science- except for the addition of a preengineering one as above.</p>
<p>The things I’d look for as far as the engineering ‘bug’ goes in a teenager include:</p>
<ul>
<li>mechanical skills & interest (not 100%, but it helps)</li>
<li>problem solving (must)</li>
<li>ability to solve a problem within the constraints of reality (i.e. not **too **creative)</li>
<li>ability to follow standard processes (some improvisation is good, but too much is not)</li>
<li>graphical / visual oriented (has no problems reading maps for example)</li>
<li>good math / science skills (not exquisite, but good enough :))</li>
<li>curiosity (must)</li>
<li>desire to improve things</li>
<li>strong work ethic </li>
<li>patience (must)</li>
<li>a fair amount of self confidence (must)</li>
<li>interest in things like science & technology museums and the like</li>
</ul>
<p>Here is another vote for Operation Catapult at Rose-Hulman as a good way to explore engineering careers. My daughter attended this summer. In her case it helped her decide NOT to become an engineer, but that was a perfectly fine outcome as far as I am concerned. They expose them to a lot of different kinds of engineering, hands on experience with an engineering project, and a lot of time spent with “engineering types”. She made some friends and enjoyed her project quite a bit.</p>
<p>As an aside, it was actually the “engineering types” that turned her off to it as a career. Just today she said, “I don’t really dislike engineering as an activity, I just don’t enjoy being around engineers”. Fair enough… better that she figured this out now than after embarking on it as a major, IMHO.</p>
<p>Also… if your nephew does decide he likes it and decides he wants to apply to Rose-Hulman, they make the application process SUPER easy for kids who went to camp. And for my daughter’s group, they offered a scholarship worth the price of the camp ($2,100 this year) good for every year of four years of attendance (they announce it at the final dinner like it is a big surprise, but I think they do it every year).</p>
<p>My son loved math and physics. He had no kind of exposure to engineering in high school though. In fact he was never one of those hands on kids who loved building or creating things. He mainly decided to start engineering in college since we had heard that it’s easier to start engineering and transfer out if you don’t like it than to try to transfer in later. He will now be starting his junior year and has discovered he loves engineering and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.</p>
<p>Intparent…my daughter said the same thing. She actually liked engineering but didn’t feel she fit in with the other women engineers she met. DD wants to do something with more people interaction.</p>
<p>John’s Hopkins also has a summer program for aspiring engineers. It’s 3 or 4 weeks in the summer. I’ve heard very good things about it. u iversity of Maryland has a 3 week credit course for high school students as part of their Young Scholars program.</p>
<p>Its funny - my first degree was biophysics and I got hired in the 70s at an aerospace firm basically doing the same job as engineers. I think we were all called Members of Technical Staff. But when I got laid off late 80s I had a heck of a time until I went back for an EE degree. These days unless you are a Caltech brainiac an actual engineering degree is often a requirement. It is for entry level at my current employer.</p>
<p>When my son was looking at engineering colleges, the recruiter made it clear that they didn’t expect HS kids to “know” if they liked engineering, because teenagers simply aren’t exposed to it in school. Some good suggestions have been made on this thread. My son liked math and physics, LOVED computers, and was a theater-tech geek. He built the sets and did the lighting. That kind of thing is the closest you’re going to come to engineering when you’re that age, and they’re good indications of your aptitude.</p>
<p>Back in the dark ages when I was choosing between engineering and physics my father (an engineer) described the difference between scientists and engineers. He said scientists look at the world and say we have this little bit of information, and all of this unknown to figure out. Engineers look at the world and say we have all this knowledge, and just this one little unknown piece to figure out.</p>
<p>An interest and skill in problem solving, and an underlying belief that every problem can be solved, is to me the big differentiator of engineers. It is a useful education in problem solving, even if you do not end up working as an engineer. I never regret my two engineering degrees, although my career moved out of engineering decades ago. I also think ready2010 is right, it is much easier to switch out of engineering than into engineering.</p>
<p>Hands on versus a love of the abstract will differentiate the two ways of being science minded. Practical thinking versus theories. It is NOT a matter of intelligence but of interest as to which a student prefers and chooses.</p>