How do you know which engineering to go into?

<p>I'm a senior and I'm thinking of going into Engineering mainly because I'm a math/physics/chemistry type of person and I want to make a good amount of money in the future without having to be a doctor/lawyer. </p>

<p>However, I have no experience with engineering (like I've never BUILT stuff), I'm simply really good at math/physics/chemistry. Could someone give me advice on which engineering major I should choose? The main factor I'm looking for is which ones usually have the highest pay. Right now, my parents suggest EE/Chemical but I wanted to hear what other undergrad/grad/engineer students have to say. Also, is it possible that someone who likes math/phys/chem will NOT enjoy engineering because he/she has never BUILT anything?</p>

<p>The amount of work and difficulty involved with Engineering shouldn't be a problem for me. I have straight A's, 4.8gpa, 800 on SAT II Math IIC, Physics, and Chem. 5 on AP Calc BC and Chemistry.</p>

<p>If you have no specific interest in engineering and pay is a major factor, EE and chemE do have the highest average pay. However, you might not be able to live wherever you want. I went to school with someone who went to work in the chemE field, but had to move to Louisiana, and in a few years he has to move to Detroit). He's pretty well off money-wise, but he'd rather live elsewhere. I think EE isn't as sensitive geographically though.</p>

<p>Perhaps you should look into each field; research them and see if anything sparks an interest. Take a look at this website.
<a href="http://www.careercornerstone.org/engineering/engineering.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.careercornerstone.org/engineering/engineering.htm&lt;/a>
Not everybody that's an engineering major in one field would like a different engineering major. For example, I was a civil engineering major, but there was no way I would've wanted to be an electrical engineering major. A friend of mine who was a chemE would never have been a civE. There are many many people like this actually, so it's important to make sure you like the major before you commit to it solely based on pay.</p>

<p>Thanks, I took a look at the site and noted some of the ones that sounded interesting/cool to me:</p>

<p>Electrical
Computer (Both Hardware/Software looks good)
Chemical
Petroleum
Mechanical</p>

<p>To me, Electrical and Computer look the most "interesting", but I also put Chemical down because I don't mind doing chemistry (I enjoy the subject).</p>

<p>As for Petroleum and Mechanical, I am not really familiar with any of it to a point where I could say they sound cool/not cool (I've never learned about oil/ tried to design stuffs). But I put them down because their salaries looked high, and at the moment it looks like I would be able to go into them w/o any dislikes. </p>

<p>Could I get some more info on ANY of the following 5 majors? Stuff like do you enjoy your life/job after choosing that major, are you happy with income, how important is going to a good undergrad school for these majors, are masters/phd recommended or "worth it", etc. would be good :)</p>

<p>
[quote]
I also put Chemical down because I don't mind doing chemistry (I enjoy the subject).

[/quote]

As I'm sure the chemEs here will say, chemical engineering is actually more physics than chemistry, but since you like physics anyway, that shouldn't be a problem.</p>

<p>Depending on what college you go to, you may get a chance to take an introductory course in one or two of the engineering fields before you have to choose a specific major.</p>

<p>I've found that happiness with income varies greatly from person to person depending on expectations. Some people are extremely happy with mid 50k, but some think it's pretty low. I've yet to meet an engineer who's unsatisfied with his or her income (I'm still pretty new though, so my sample size is fairly small), but of course everyone always wants more.</p>

<p>look into computational biology or physical chemistry maybe</p>

<p>I'm a chemical engineering grad and I've never "built stuff".</p>

<p>Another bit of advice:</p>

<p>Mechanical engineering is the jack-of-all-trades.
Electrical engineering if you're more of a math guy and don't need to easily visualize the physics of a problem to answer it.
Chemical engineering is more of a "process engineer". You can specialize in several fields, such as: biochemical, pharmacuetical, "downstream" chemicals and oil process engineering, etc.</p>

<p>Berkeley's career website has a page to see stats of what grads are doing with their major.</p>

<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Explore some of the engineering majors and look at what companies grads work for and what job titles they have. It even includes some salary info.</p>

<p>Thanks guys, the links and info were very helpful. I'll probably go for Electrical but I guess right now I should worry about where I'll apply to for college. Thanks</p>