<p>I am currently a high school senior applying to UT: Austin and I have a dilemma: I can't choose between majoring in Engineering (Civil/Environmental Engineering, maybe Chemical Engineering) or in one of the Earth Sciences. I have been pretty much an mostly A's, some B's AP student, but I was wondering if majoring in the Earth Sciences would be right for me. </p>
<p>I've just applied to the Jackson School of Geosciences for my first choice and the Cockrell School of Engineering for my second choice, but now I'm having some regrets and I'm contemplating about cancelling my application and filling out a new one with the Cockrell School of Engineering instead of the School of Geosciences because it might be harder to transfer to the School of Engineering later if I really do decide I want to be an Engineer.</p>
<p>I'm really into the Environment and all, and I was thinking that majoring in the Geosciences would get me a job that would deal a lot with the Environment, and I was also thinking about becoming an EnvE Engineer, but I just really have no interest in Civil Engineering at all. Also, if I could major in Chemical Engineering, I would probably do something with alternative energy. </p>
<p>The problem I have is that I'm afraid after graduating with a major in one of the Geosciences I won't be able to make much money compared to an Engineer.. And majoring in Engineering just sounds better than graduating with a major in Geoscience. Does anyone have more information about Geoscience vs. Environmental Engineering majors? I just feel so ignorant and lost while I am trying to figure out these two majors. I know that posting this in the Engineering portion of these forums will have some bias.. but I just want to know what everyone's opinion is on this.</p>
<p>I notice that UT-Austin has their Environmental Engineering program embedded within the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. That means you’ll be taking a lot of general civil engineering courses as well, especially during junior year.</p>
<p>First don’t feel loss at all–many people enter college having no clue what they want to do and many leave still without an idea. The whole point of college is to get an education and you will have time to explore your options. </p>
<p>I attended Texas and I’d advise you that it is typically better to be admitted into Cockrell than other schools since it is much easier to transfer to another school than to transfer back into the engineering college. Now don’t be to worried since you’ll have chances each semester to transfer into/out of other departments–it’s just that Cockrell has set deadlines unlike other schools where you can literally walk in.</p>
<p>Geologist, specifically in the oil/gas industry, actually make very good money relative to other industries. Of course the oil/gas industry tends to pay more than others but that is always an option. Next, why not do the best of both works and pursue a Geosystems Engineering degree?</p>
<p>Thank you for all of the replies!
I think I actually might try out the Geosystems Engineering major that you talked about earlier… I did some research on it and it sounds very interesting. I just hope that I will not have to deal with oil and petroleum throughout my whole career. I’ve also done a lot of asking around and from most perspectives, Environmental Engineering is not the most exciting major to be in. </p>
<p>I am also afraid that since Geosystems Engineering is such an unheard of major… will I be able to get any jobs or be able to go into a career when I graduate? Thank you again!</p>
<p>I don’t think you’ll have significant problems finding a job if you major in Geosytems, especially since it’s affilatead with Texas’s Petroleum engineering department, which is one of the best in the nation. As a former Longhorn, Texas has great career services and is home to one of the largest engineering expos in the nation.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure what “Applied geo-sciences” or “engineering geology” are. I think you should have a major in engineering and a minor in geology.</p>
<p>I’m sure that there has to be at least a few other people out there who wouldn’t mind some help with finding a job; especially in the geosciences field. I recently got a job with Baker Hughes, they’re a great company to work for. Head over to their jobs board and see if there’s something for you there.</p>
<p>“Having spent my entire career in the environmental field I have this to say: I managed a lot of geologists; I was never managed by one.”</p>
<p>i’ve just started working in the environmental field as a junior environmental engineer and i’m currently managed by a geologist…however, his supervisor is an engineer. </p>
<p>At my company, geologist and engineers do very similar tasks so for my particular job it wouldn’t have made a difference whether I went into Geoscience or environmental engineering. However, i think environmental engineering might be boarder. With regards to finding a job, pretty much everyone in my graduating class (2010) has found a job so you wouldn’t have to worry about that.</p>