<p>I'm a rising high school senior who excels in math and science classes (grades of 90+). For college, I was considering using those skills to pursue an engineering degree. Thing is, while I do well in math and science, I don't really worship it. If you give me a math problem I'll solve it, it just sort of clicks. I'm talented in math and science, but nothing deep or emotional. I don't think its toleration, as I don't avoid math or science at all costs; I'm not actively seeking those subjects however.</p>
<p>Would it be an incredible mistake to enter engineering? I would feel kind of bad if I didn't use my own skills to my advantage. I can persevere through thick and thin, so the workload that comes with this degree doesn't frighten me. In the world of engineering, must one be passionate about their own math and science skills? Am I in some type of denial because I want a practical degree in a terrible economy?</p>
<p>This is a question only you can answer. It’s not “denial” to want a respectable degree in face of the economic recession, but realize you’re going to be pursuing a career in which you don’t have a passion. In high school, I was “good” at literature and English. Yet, I’m not pursuing a humanities degree because it’s not what I have a passion for. </p>
<p>Now, there are a whole lot of different career options for engineers (and there are many different kinds of engineers). Some go into medicine, others onto graduate programs. It all depends on what you really like.</p>
<p>Do many really have a passion in high school? The majority of people will change their minds an insurmountable amount of times before deciding what they want to be when they ‘grow up’. </p>
<p>On the other hand, since you don’t have a passion for math, does that mean you have a passion for something else?</p>
<p>To answer the OP, No. I don’t think it is a requirement to love math. But, you are going to need to have that drive to figure things out. I am in my junior year of my second bachelors, all I do is figure things out, all day. I like that, but, some don’t.</p>
<p>Additionally, engineering isn’t purely math. You may find some things that, as they become more realistic, seem much more interesting. Applications, can be really cool and eye opening.</p>
<p>You are correct to assume that. I have a deep fascination for the arts and literature. However, I feel that I can obtain a more practical career (e.g. engineering), and then persue any creative arts on the side. After all, I have the talent in math and science and like them to some extent; I’m simply not as lovey-dovey about them as other prospective engineers are. Not to mention, I don’t believe one needs an art degree or creative writing degree to succeed in the creative market (e.g. selling paintings, publishing books.) It can help, but it’s not necessary. Creative endeavors won’t bring much money at the start regardless, so an individual usually needs a say job to support themselves. </p>
<p>I have another interest, the environment, so I am also looking into environmental engineering.</p>
<p>In the long haul, I suppose my plan is to to use engineering as a safety net career.</p>
<p>I shall await for every single Engineering major to berate me.</p>
<p>Have you considered computer science? It’s a field closer to the arts than an engineering field with pretty reasonable job prospects that does let you do a fair bit more creative work than most others.</p>
<p>Three things make a great career–love of what you do, money and location. Pick any two and it’ll be a good career. You’ll do well going in the direction of your talents but there are always “variations on a theme”. Do some career research and see if there isn’t something that really makes you excited.</p>
<p>The vast majority of people do not take true “math” in high school. Take a real analysis or algebra course once you got to college and you may find you like it a lot more than you initially realized.
Also, I would avoid using the term “throbbing love” when describing science in general.
Honestly, I only clicked on this thread because I thought it might have something to do with some crazy fetishes.</p>
<p>If you asked this question in 2006 you would have heard a lot of people telling you to stay away from engineering. Of course, that was when you could get an okay job as an art major from an average public school. Since the recession, engineering enrollment is way up, and there are a lot more people in engineering with your attitude. You certainly could succeed, although remember that taking a couple of high school science/math classes each semester is no where near the workload that it would be as an engineering major in college. You might not have minded doing some work you weren’t particularly interested in during high school, but that doesn’t mean you won’t burn out when it consumes a huge chunk of every day of your life for four years.</p>
<p>Engineering in general is not necessarily a safety net career, especially now that the huge bubble of recession-scared engineering kids is going to start graduating soon. If you aren’t passionate about engineering, you might not end up feeling motivated to do the lifelong self-education required to stay relevant in your engineering field. If that ends up being your situation, you probably won’t find that engineering provides much of a safety net for you at all.</p>
<p>First off … I think Engineering is not about intelligence and talent for Math. It’s about brutal hard work and doing example problems until your fingers fall off (if you want a good grade).</p>
<p>So many people think they can/can’t do engineering in an intrinsic sense and for the most part, that’s pretty false.</p>
<p>You can major in something you like, but may find it difficult to find a job once you graduate. Personally, I would go with engineering. It can springboard into most careers, law school, and even medical school. If you decide you want to do something else later, you can…</p>
<p>Those who are naturally talented will definitely be able to grind through practice problems faster and get more out of it though. That’s not to say they don’t have to do the same thing, just that they get more for less.</p>
<p>It doesn’t surprise me that people are acquiring more practical careers. The fact of the matter is that the economy IS NOT improving, or if it is, the average joe is not feeling it. I recall reading earlier this year that the 2 year bond yield was 0% in Germany. In simpler terms, people are fearing the worst economic crash, and are desperate to save their cash. More and more people are thinking a global meltdown isn’t that unlikely.</p>
<p>Despite the sluggish economy, the US is still in need of capable workers for many STEM jobs. Especially when the baby boomers retire down the road. Even with more students taking up engineering, I don’t think that the demand is going to be reached. Eventually, perhaps, but not anytime soon.</p>
<p>Honestly, what is someone like me to do? Get an art degree and hope for the best? Or use the skills I have and apply them to a realistic career? I’ll admit that even if the market was great, I would still get an engineering degree, in case my artistic pursuits turned out to be less than fruitful. At the very least, I would probably be happier doing engineering than, say, business or pre-med. </p>
<p>Has anyone else on CC gone (or is going) through what I’m planning to do? Some perspectives might calm me down.</p>
<p>You just have to find a way to reconcile your passions with a stable career. I do recommend CompSci, but it’s certainly not the only way.
Engineers are hurt by the recession just as hard as any others. Things are getting better, but the EU crisis is one of many factors slowing things down. Don’t think you’re going to be recession-proof just with a STEM job; look at the dismal state of hard science or the not-so-great state of Civil engineering.</p>
<p>Engineering is about designing things (or processes) using math and science principles. Would that be something you are interested in doing (as opposed to doing pure math or science)? Note that there is some room for creativity in some types of engineering jobs that are on the cutting edge of innovation.</p>
<p>As far as career prospects go, the various types of engineering are affected by industry cycles. The real estate and construction crash hurt civil engineering badly recently, though computer science and engineering has done well. But computer science and engineering did poorly in the earlier tech bubble crash.</p>
<p>Of the science subjects, biology is flooded by huge numbers of new graduates every year, resulting in poor biology-specific career prospects. The big pharma downturn has hurt chemistry graduates. But math and statistics graduates often find well paying jobs in finance and the computer industry.</p>