Hello guys/girls, i’m really struggling right now basically, i’m from Quebec and here we have CEGEP ( it’s like college) where i did i two years program which is based on physics/calculus/chemistry/biology, this program leads me to university. Alright so now i’m struggling to decide between the engineering side ( mechanical or computer science) and the finance degree. I would like to get some thoughts from people who were in the same situation as me. First, i love the aspect of engineering that we create something to help people. But when i look at engineering job it seems so borring i don’t know why, i feel that if i go in mechanical i will be in a cubicle doing the same thing over and over again (HVAC) which is not that much exciting, i know there’s other field than HVAC but when i check job available i see a lot of it. Well between the two, i think computer science would fit me better since i see my self starting a business in software development. But i’m also scared to be stuck with non-social people.
I feel like engineering is more dead end than finance, correct me if i’m wrong but i don’t think that you can progress that much in an engineering company and since there’s not much place to progress, you dont have the feeling of pushing yourself to progress and achieve a new promotion in the company.
For the finance part, i love money, i love to be safe and intelligent with my money ( investment, budget, etc) and i feel like this field can be really rewarding if you work hard or land a good job like private equity. ( investment banking doesn’t interest me at all). WHich leads me to my other fear, i read a lot about finance job and most of people say that the hours sucks, plus sometime it’s not even paid hourly which would cause me a big problem. Well, i’m not sure about finance since i love to have a good work/life balance and i don’t want to regret what i didn’t do because of work on my death bed. Sorry for my bad english, my main language is french, i wish someone can lead me to the good path. thanks a lot and have a good day.
Engineering is about problem solving. It is definitely not about designing HVAC unless you are talking about engineering from the perspective of the manufacturer.
CS at a university level is often taught within the engineering school, and shares a similar problem solving approach. CS can encompass many disciplines from design to coding. CS is applicable to many areas, even finance and PE, and especially so for those with extensive math skills.
An undergrad engineering or CS degree does not preclude a career in finance, in fact, engineering --> MBA is a fairly common career path.
I think you should talk to practitioners in these areas to get a better idea of what they actually do.
CS would offer the most opportunities, and it gets applied to almost everything these days.
The idea that CS people are all non-social is an unfortunate and false stereotype. I’m a programmer and maybe 20% of the folks I work with are nerds, introverts or jerks, but most people are pretty normal. You’ll be mostly around guys at work, if that’s an issue.
Have your cake and eat it. Finance jobs are increasing being filled by engineers and CS people. These majors are valued for their quantitative analysis skills:
The Death Of The Banker
http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/29/the-death-of-the-banker/
Why do investment banks hire engineers instead of people from commerce streams
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-investment-banks-hire-engineers-instead-of-people-from-commerce-streams-as-they-have-more-knowledge-about-the-sector