Gave up engineering for accounting...worth it?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I'm currently a freshman in college and I'm caught in a dilemma of choosing the right major.</p>

<p>I've always been interested in pursing a degree in civil engineering my whole life. In high school, I took all the AP Chemistry, AP Physics and AP Calculus just to get prepared for this demanding major in college, and I got into one of the nation's highly-ranked engineering programs. My parents were proud. </p>

<p>Just two weeks before college, I suddenly had the idea of switching major from engineering to accounting. Because, to be honest, I'm sick of doing all the math and science stuff. 4 more years of this? No way! Also, my parents supported my decision of giving up engineering to pursue a degree in accounting. They said accounting was a practical major and it would open many doors once I graduate. I took their words to heart. As a result, I spent my first two semesters to take all the pre-business courses...I didn't give a crap about the entire civil engineering courses trait. </p>

<p>A week ago I met up with my advisor for the 1st time, who said she was a little bit shock that I gave up engineering for business. Because, she said, I had many advantages such as high placement of math and physics and other humanities stuffs that had already been tested out or exempted from APs, while other students are still struggling with getting these done. I got a head start in pursuing an engineering degree, and would be able to "spread out" my schedule a bit so it would not be as demanding as other students. However, since I started out with all the pre-business classes, it is kind of late to switch back to engineering, meaning there's no way I can graduate in 4 years if I go back to civil. </p>

<p>This is like a wake-up call! I have been told my whole life, that only engineering degrees worth the money that you paid for tuition! And, engineering degree is highly-regarded in job markets. And, my school's engineering program is not too shabby either! And, when I was little, I swore I would never ever study anything business-like! What am I doing with my life???</p>

<p>Sorry for such a long post. If you did read the whole thing, I commend you on that. So, my question is, is it stupid to give up engineering for accounting? Is it a wise move to switch back to engineering? Or should I just stick with accounting? Thank you very much.</p>

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<p>It is only stupid if you really wanted to do engineering and switched because you thought you could make more money or did it just so you could do less work. If you did it because you legitimately were interested in accounting, then no, it isn’t stupid.</p>

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<p>I have been told my whole life, that only engineering degrees worth the money that you paid for tuition!</p>

<p>You have been giving other peoples’ opinions too much weight in your own decisions. First, let’s deal with the comment you made above. Whoever told you that appears to be ignorant of everything outside of engineering. Accounting is definitely a practical major with excellent employment prospects. Your AP credits should have helped advance you in your business degree, e.g., you wouldn’t have to take a full year of science or the business calculus course(s). What did you think of your preliminary business classes? Did you take Intro Marketing, Intro Economics, Intro Accounting or other business classes? If so, did you like it?</p>

<p>Look back at the reasons you decided to switch out of civil engineering - “you were sick of doing science and math”! That is the most telling comment. Don’t let your advisor convince you to do something that you had already lost interest in. Your math aptitude is irrelevant. There are business majors with high math aptitude so it’s not as if you are the only one. Granted, there are a fair number with significantly lower math aptitude than the average engineer.</p>

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<p>You will graduate. You will get a job. </p>

<p>Every business day for the next 45 years you will get up in the morning. You will go do work for at least 8 hours, likely more. You will return home. The following day: the same. The day after that - same, the day after that - same, the day after that… Yada Yada Yada. </p>

<p>What could you get paid to do that you would want to do anyway. That’s really the question that you should be asking yourself. All of the rest of your post is gibberish. </p>

<p>It’s your life. You own it. It will follow you wherever you go. Nobody else has to live the 45 years that I just described. Just you. Your advisor goes back to his life that he probably enjoys, no worries. FORTY-FIVE YEARS!..</p>

<p>What do you want to do every day for the next 45 years! Forget about money, you’re going to make plenty of it. Personally, I love being an engineer. I’m working on a problem now that I just can’t put down. I think about it constantly. It’s hard but cool. I make slow but steady progress, and it really excites me. I can’t believe sometimes that they actually pay me to do this. I’d want to do it anyway. This does not feel like work. That’s me. I love math. </p>

<p>What gets you excited?</p>