<p>I currently attend Carnegie Mellon and after taking the into to ECE course, I realize that ECE isn't what I thought it would be. In fact, I hate half of the curriculum, and I find a lot of it boring. So I've always loved Physics, so I've chosen to switch to Mech E, and my parents were behind me up until earlier tonight, when they said they did their research and they say I have to stay with ECE at CMU, or transfer out with no guarantee if I transfer out that I will get support from them. Their reasons are:</p>
<p>1) They think Mech E is a bad field. No job opportunities because BLS said it was growing at a 6% rate, SLOWER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, and he believes that means I won't get a job when I graduate.
[Engineers[/url</a>]</p>
<p>2) They think CMU is not any good in their Mech E program (probably read an outdated rankings where CMU was not top 10, but #12 so they didn't see it on whatever ghetto sites they checked that only show top 10). Took me 1 minute to check USNEWS and see it's #9 now.</p>
<p>Now I'm putting this all together to make my case and present it before them tomorrow. I could use any suggestions or information you guys can provide to help me reach my goal of staying at CMU and pursue MechE. They have forced my Sister to do Speech PAthology though she wanted to do Pharmacy (but she wasn't very good at Physics) and she hates it, and she says I should do whatever I can to not end up like her, because she hates where she's heading in life now.</p>
<p>If my parents don't want to pay for such an expensive school like CMU if I want to do MechE (they are fine for ECE) that's fine, but the reasons they won't aren't valid, and I want to prove it to them.</p>
<p>This is very important to me because if I don't put up a decent case, and they shoot me down, I will probably just transfer out and get a job and pay for mechE at a local school/CC myself. I've always pleased my parents, but enough is enough.</p>
<p>CMU’s career survey that you already found is the strongest ammunition that you have. If they do not accept that, then it is really more about your relationship with your parents than the actual job and career prospects of your possible majors.</p>
<p>it might help if you tell your parents that a good mechanical engineering degree depends on what you specialize in. i’m thinking about switching into mechE (freshman right now in environmental, about to post a thread about it haha), mechE is the “liberal arts” of engineering for a reason, sure a lot of workers at airplane engine plants like Pratt & Whitney get laid off or worried, but you could specialize in biomedical (def. growing), materials science, many options, i would focus on that if it helps, facing similar issues with pressure to go electrical, not happening haha</p>
<p>Note that both electrical and mechanical engineering are broad subjects with many subareas, some of which may interest you more than others.</p>
<p>Mechanical: mechanics of materials, biomechanics, robotics and mechatronics, manufacturing, control systems, thermodynamics and energy conversion, aerodynamics, naval architecture, fluid mechanics, and acoustics.</p>
<p>Electrical: circuits, power systems, fields and waves, signals and systems, communications, optics, robotics and mechatronics, control systems, integrated circuits, bioelectronics, embedded systems, digital systems, and computer architecture.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus has given you some excellent advice. ME is a broad field. Much of the work involves electronics, CS, and information systems (someone has to build the factories, machinery, and assembly systems and the equipment enabling software to interact with the physical world). Employment prospects are solid. The BLS data shows ME is one of the largest engienering disciplines (that means many employment opportunities) and median salaries are competitive with other popular majors (EE). The BLS forecast of below-average % growth (compared to other engineering disciplines) still represents more total jobs than all the EE areas listed. A BS ME will also provide a solid foundation for working in disciplines forecast to have higher growth rates as well.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for you tiger cubs! Who makes a case and presents it to their parents? Are your parents offering sage advice or are they holding a board meeting? When my brother changed majors he called our dad and told him he was thinking about changing majors from the same thing Dad major in to another area of engineering. Our Dad said, “Okay it is your life, If that is what you are good at.” What a relief! Imagine that, permission to do what is best for you and live your own life on your own terms.<br>
And please take a grammar class. The correct phrase is “I am in dire need of”</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I really appreciate this. I am just about wrapping up my case and will present it to them tonight, and my sister will be there to support me. Fighting tooth and nail, all the way.</p>
<p>Tiger parents? Is that what they call them? I know they have my best interest at heart, they just don’t understand that I will live with decisions made from here on out.</p>
<p>and @MomfromKC, I realized that error (of several errors in my post) only after a couple hours when I checked back. I do use proper English when typing an essay/email or speaking, I just fail to proofread anything I type outside of those areas and I usually make silly mistakes. =)</p>
<p>As a working EE dealing with engineers from all over, I would expect every CMU graduate to be successful. They have some of the best students, best professors, and best curricula of any school in the world. Their job and graduate school placement statistics don’t lie.</p>
<p>I find the rankings skewed toward larger schools (like Michigan and Berkeley) and schools with agressive PR. I have a 13 year-old (I know, way early) looking into Mech E and his top 2 are MIT and CMU. Anything else is a distant 3rd.</p>
<p>So your folks are looking for a sure thing? They should invest in guns, gold, and arable land, not your education (I know, still a pretty good investment bet). Employment prospects for ECE and ME should be roughly equivalent, but way better for a CMU grad than anyplace else you could end up trying to do it on your own.</p>
<p>Engineering education is already cross-discipline. Regardless of your major, you will learn about machines, computers and circuits. That broadness of knowledge makes you useful. The concentration in one area makes you valuable. Mastery of that one area, the intersection of capability and desire, makes you the most valuable. The variable is desire; given that you desire ME and not ECE, you will be more valuable pursuing your passion than pursuing your parents’ passion.</p>
<p>So BlizzBlazer, best of luck convincing your parents. Let us know how it turns out.</p>
<p>Just change your major and don’t tell them until graduation :)</p>
<p>I had a friend who told his parents he was majoring in Physics while majoring in Women’s Studies. They were ****ed, but he did what he wanted to do. It’s your life, it’s unfair for your parents to try to dictate how you live it. </p>
<p>PLUS ECE and MechE are both great majors with solid job prospects and starting salaries, it’s not like you’re switching to Philosophy or something.</p>
<p>Oh good, I never know if I should correct people on the internet, because many of us, myself included, speak much better than we type. OTOH I sat through way too many classes taught by people who massacre the English language everytime the open their mouths. Sorry I should have let it pass. </p>
<p>Good luck with your parents. They really need to accept their new role of advisors rather than dictators. Remind them that they want to be the people you come to because they are so wise, not the people you lie to because they are so foolish.</p>
<p>BB,
Why do you hate some courses and why are you bored with them? I suggest you make the effort to make them challenging. If you want to change majors, OK but don’t fall into the trap. </p>
<p>From DS experience at CMU, Meche, freshman. He slept through a lot of classes. Pulled down A’s. How are your grades? Make the classes interesting. </p>
<p>DS did Meche. Joined a buggy club (Fringe). Built a buggy. Worked (3 years,~10hrs/wk) for a ME prof who became his advisor. Did one summer with advisor on a project. Did one summer building designing test fixtures for Xerox. Went on to grad school (Toronto) in CS because prof wanted someone who didn’t have a undergrad CS degree. Did 3 internships with Microsoft in input/output devices (minor amount of software but big amount of mechanical). Did 2 years in making robotics (making parts and designing feedback and controls). As a hobby he does engineered mechanical art that uses circuits, firmware, hardware. </p>
<p>He now designs and makes smartphone apps, which do take mechanical skills in design and software skills for implementation. </p>
<p>You may show this to your P’s.
Also use CMU’s graduate survey.</p>
<p>Also, tell them that the BLS is outdated. Making life decisions based on 4 year-old data (gathered before the biggest recession since the Great Depression) is silly, especially when the job prospects and income level of both fields are not that far apart AND differ based on region. 10 year outlooks in the tech industry are only so valuable because it fluctuates so rapidly. 10 years from now, MechE might have way more growth than EE.</p>
<p>“Tiger parents” is usually a reference to parents who micromanage their kids’ lives, even after they go to college (using their contribution of college costs as leverage). The stereotypical tiger parent tries to force the kids to go into what they consider a prestigious high paying job (e.g. medical doctor) and is obsessed with college prestige and rankings, even if the ranked-slightly-higher college that they prefer is not as good an academic or non-academic fit for the student. Going to a state university (other than maybe Berkeley) is considered a failure or let-down from their point of view (and you can probably guess what going to a community college means).</p>
<p>Just want to say as an alumni from the engineering school of CMU all of my friends in MechE generally really enjoyed their classes, didn’t have a difficult time finding summer internships, and had great job opportunities upon graduating. What LongPrime’s son did in getting involved in Buggy is also a GREAT opportunity that’s unique to CMU and really gives you a lot to talk about during interviews.</p>
<p>If you have any interest in robotics at all, CMU is also a great place to be. You could always try striking a bargain with your parents if you do something like a mechatronics concentration where you’re doing ME, but you’ll still pick up a bunch of useful ECE skills. (No clue if this field at all interests you, though.)</p>