<p>Thought I’d ask a few questions here that could help confirm how/why people may end up in a certain field.</p>
<li> Did/will you graduate in the engineering major that you applied with?</li>
<li> If you changed majors within engineering, what were the reasons/classes you took that made you switch? </li>
<li> (If you have additional comments/answers…) How did you come to choose your major?</li>
</ol>
<p>im a freshman and i started off as a computer engineer...im taking a class for it right now and it isnt for me lol...i went to an adviser and talked to him about the different engineering fields and my interests/habits and found out that aerospace or mechanical engineering is better for me and sounds way more interesting [to me]...im also in a class where professionals come in and talk about their field and give us a better understanding of the different fieds and i got inspired when a aerospace engineer lectured our class</p>
<ol>
<li> Started as ChemE, gaduated ChemE (UCDavis class of '99)</li>
<li> Didn't change, was encouraged to by my advisors though</li>
<li> Hardest degree I could think off; I figure if you are going to pay good money for an education make that education worth it. My gpa is lousy, but I am sure I learned more than others who got through college</li>
</ol>
<p>I started with a niche program that is overhyped by the media (and academia). After first term, I switched to chemical engineering due to better job prospects. When I graduate, I prefer not to work as a chem eng, but I will have oil & gas as a backup plan until I get my MBA and switch again.</p>
<p>At my school, your first year is spent in a "general engineering" program, and then you apply to your selected department at the end of freshman year. Anyway, I started out in Chemical, and then moved into electrical, where I was scared off by the horrible, hurtful C++ professor. I finally ended up in Mechanical engineering, which I enjoy. It is the perfect fit for me.</p>
<p>As I said, the only way for me to identifiy which major was best for me was to try out different majors. Also, I realized it was best to loose a few classes that way at the begining of my college career then possibly a few years if I decided to switch later on.</p>
<p>I could not imagine mysefl any happier than I have been in Mech Eng.</p>
<p>Was interested in aerospace engineering and structural engineering growing up, but then started going full-tilt towards aerospace engineering towards the end of high school. Started out in mechanical engineering, looked over the course requirements, was greatly amused by the concept of classes in soil mechanics and concrete design. Suddenly remembered my lifelong desire to design cool buildings, and realized that I could actually go into that.</p>
<p>So, switched my major to civil engineering. At Rice, you have to choose a concentration within the civil engineering major, so I did what my friends did and chose engineering management. I figured I'd do project management or something. During the fall of my senior year, I'd completed all the requirements for engineering management, and then was cornered by my graduate advisor, a structures guy. He cornered me the first week of classes and asked, "Why are you not in my Structural Analysis II course?" Talked me into auditing the course, then talked me into taking it for a grade, THEN talked me into changing my concentration and taking dynamics with the mechs. I applied to grad schools at my advisor's behest and the insistence of my dynamics prof, got a fellowship to UIUC, and now I'm designing high-performance structures.</p>
<p>So, not only did I change my major within engineering, but I also changed my concentration within my major just before graduating. Worked out fine.</p>
<p>Through my first two or three years of high school, I was very interested in architecture. When I started to look at college applications for B.Arch programs, I saw some portfolios and realized I would never have the talent required to be successful as an architect. </p>
<p>Civil engineering was my next choice because of it also involved the design of buildings albeit in a different aspect. During high school, I was also considering going into urban planning and/or public policy though I didn't consider it strongly. </p>
<p>When I started college, I had planned on going down the structural engineering track, but then I learned about construction management. I think maybe in my 3rd year, I wanted to go in this direction. The combination of logistics, planning, management, and [understanding] technical design turned me on to this field. </p>
<p>And now here I am today working as a construction manager!</p>
<p>If I didn't major in civil engineering, I probably wouldn't have majored in any engineering (or any other highly technical field for that matter). All the majors I had considered revolve around construction and buildings, but not so much the engineering design process.</p>
<p>Great Thread--love reading the responses!</p>
<p>Thanks! Keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>I started this thread because I've had civil and mechanical in the back of my head as possible majors. I like CivE, ME, EE, and CompE, but after being exposed to physics mechanics and E&M, I've confirmed that I want to be in a field that uses concrete and visual concepts, so I have now narrowed it down to civil and mechanical.</p>
<p>I like ME because it gives you a broad mechanics training, which makes you versatile. I like machinery, but I think I like construction and transportation more, so I believe civil would be the better choice for my career goals. Basically, the conflict here is that I want a broad skill set, which I think ME would give me, but I slightly prefer working in the civil field. Plus the fact that both ME and CE are very interesting, all of the classes sound interesting, and I like both statics and dynamics.</p>
<p>Structural's very similar to Mechanical if you go for a grad degree. Remember how I said I'd been really interested in an aerospace engineering degree? Since I got my MS in structural (granted, it was from UIUC, but it was only a masters degree and not a doctorate), I've been offered two positions in aerospace-- one in manned spacecraft design and the other in dynamic rocket analysis. If you like construction and transportation, too, then consider going for civ, specializing in structures, and keeping your options open. Mechs don't get hired for construction and transportation, but civ/structurals can get hired for the more broad mechanics jobs in addition to the civ positions.</p>
<p>Something to consider, at any rate. Going civ/structures doesn't mean cutting out dynamics, at all. You end up with a really broad and highly applicable skill set with structural engineering.</p>
<p>Thanks aibarr, that's very encouraging to hear, especially the last part. Civil sounds like the right choice for me.</p>
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Yes</p>
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Civil is considered one of the oldest engineering field since human civilization began thousands of years ago. I have a passion for history and architectures, but realized I've got no talent in arch and there's no money in history... That's the reason why I went civil.</p>
<p>Great question.</p>
<p>I applied as different majors (but all math/science) to different schools. When I chose to go to my current school, I entered as Electrical Engineering for no particular reason. Since then, I've changed to Engineering Physics because I decided I liked physics, but the majors are almost the same. I haven't struggled too much, so inertia has kept me in the same track. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had majored in something else.</p>
<p>MechEs actually do get hired for construction, mostly for MEP positions. My company was so desperate for mechanical engineering graduates that they were considered hiring me for a MEP position. I have a MS in civil engineering and absolutely no experience/knowledge in mechanical. They ended up hiring someone with an architecture background for the position.</p>