<p>My son believes that he would like to pursue engineering, and has been accepted into a few engineering programs/colleges. I am part of the crowd that believes 50% of kids will change their minds, but that is besides the point.</p>
<p>My question is...if you entered college with a declared engineering major, and changed your major later on, what did you end up pursuing?</p>
<p>My Econ professor said he started as an Engineering major… and then switched to Econ.</p>
<p>Business is a common. I hear they have an open bar at the finals exam and have a 2 drink minimum policy…</p>
<p>One went into elementary education.</p>
<p>Many drop out.</p>
<p>Your son is picking a good major. He just needs to find the drive to complete it. He can do it, but he’ll need your encouragement.</p>
<p>I already changed my major from engineering even though I haven’t been admitted to college yet lol</p>
<p>I knew only a few people that switched out of engineering during undergrad. I can think of two that went into business and one went switched to math.</p>
<p>About half of my Materials Science & Engineering friends started as Chemical Engineering, though.</p>
<p>Similar things here… Apparently all the people who can’t handle the other Engineering fields switch to Industrial.</p>
<p>I went into school as Electromechanical Engineering but later switched to Mechanical Engineering Technology.</p>
<p>D’s roommate’s switching even though she’s doing exceptionally well after her first semester. She’s just decided that even though she’s good at math and science, she’d rather do something with psychology or sociology … working with a non-profit, perhaps. Fits her very people oriented and cause oriented self better.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>biochemical engr -> physics/chemistry.</p>
<p>partly i realized i hate biology, partly because the physical sciences gave me a lot of leeway in terms of electives. means i didnt have to waste a year taking classes on reactor design (i want a class in the topic, jsut not that heavy a focus through all my years) and can take whatever electives and classes that interest me. also gives me the opportunity to graduate within 3 years. </p>
<p>another thing i found was that engr departments tend to be in their own little world in terms of classes and research. a lot of the chemistry and physics faculty members all knew good classes and research in the engr department. on the otherhand, i found the engr professors to think that only they offered relevant classes/research in their areas (which overlap significantly!) and didnt bother going to the physical sciences.</p>
<p>The running joke amongst people who go to GaTech (which is a lot, from my school) that do engineering is that they decide to change to a much easier major and get paid about the same (college of management).</p>
<p>Of course, nothing gets done with those gosh dern project management degrees…</p>
<p>I always think it’s interesting when a 20 or 21 year old person decides they want to go into social work because they are cause oriented. And it’s usually a pretty accurate description.</p>
<p>But, when a person is 35 and has 3 kids, cause oriented often evolves into money oriented and the glamor of helping society has worn off a little.</p>
<p>Me? I feel I help society through engineering by designing and developing new technologies and machines that make our life easier, more comfortable, safer, and more environmentally friendly.</p>
<p>These are good insights. I just hope that the Intro to Engineering course that most colleges seem to require does an adequate job of informing him of the coursework and career realities, because we have no experience with this field. He just knows that he is strong in math/science and is always coming up with ideas for new products.(most are pretty far-fetched):)</p>
<p>^^^^
D’s intro to engineering class at UF helped her tremendously in picking which engineering discipline will work best for her. She came in as ME because her dad’s ME and he was telling her it’s the most broad. She discovered pretty quickly that she didn’t want to be ME (she cares very little about machines of any shape or form). She whittled down every discpline until she got to Chemical Engineering, which she offically changed her major to a couple of weeks ago. This prepares her for doing research in the medical end of engineering or med school, whichever she eventually chooses. So … she’s happy knowing the major she’ll graduate with … now she’s going to start working with a prof on research and volunteering at the hospital and see if she’s interested in Ph.D, MD/Ph.D or MD. We’ll see how it all shakes out in the end. :)</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>If you are unsure what to major in, starting with engineering is probably the best option. I would actually give that advice to anyone entering college. Reason being that an engineering degree is arguably the most marketable degree you can possibly have and if you start out in engineering you actually have a chance to finish in time, if you don’t start there, it will be difficult to finish in time.</p>
<p>I agree with Vienna. I don’t know of another bachelor’s degree that leads to better employment than engineering. We joke about business majors, but in reality most business majors don’t get great jobs. But most engineers do unless they decide to do something besides engineering.</p>
<p>Vienna and bigtrees, that is good to know. My DS has been scared away from engineering by people telling him unemployment horror stories. He is now going to look at pharmacy but at schools that also have good engineering programs. I will have to tell him your viewpoint.</p>
<p>I’m a structural engineer, so the economy does affect me. I met my husband in grad school, and after graduation the same firm hired both of us as junior engineers. We were both laid off the same day four years later. We were each laid off a few times in the 90s, but we always found work soon, without relocating. In 1999, we started our own firm that we run out of our house, and it’s been lucrative and rewarding. I help DH as needed, but I’m around for the kids, too. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend engineering as a career. It’s exciting to see things you’ve designed go up!</p>
<p>One of my female friends in college switched from nuclear engineering to law. My roommate switched from mechanical engineering to nursing (and when she turned 30, went to med school!).</p>
<p>Most importantly, I would tell your son to stick with something he ENJOYS. Eight (minimum) hours a day is a long time to endure if you’re miserable, no matter how much money you’re making.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people switch out of engineering, but have you heard about people who switch in? There are several transfers from the school of arts and sciences that I’ve met who are trying to catch up because there are a lot of engineering prerequisites that they missed out on. (Summer courses are now necessary for them.) I know it’s far easier to switch out than to switch in, which is why it’s recommended.</p>
<p>I’d say the introduction to engineering may be helpful to a degree, but it’s still very difficult to decide anything as a first-year. Everyone around you has doubts about the major except for the few who are totally committed to it. I am wavering between chemical engineering, materials science, and chemistry all the time. For parents, I’d highly suggest not pressuring the kids too much, because I know some friends who are out of their minds stressed about majors and all that; it’s really not doing them any good.</p>
<p>What’s the point of your question?</p>
<p>Switching majors from Engineering to something else happens more often than not. The average % that stay in engineering at most of the schools is around 35 - 40%. </p>
<p>That is one reason why my D is at Rose Hulman they are around over 80% graduation rate. There is only 3 schools in the country that are that high for graduation in Engineering, Rose Hulman, Olin and Harvey Mudd.</p>