<p>Ok so I'm in my third year of mechanical engineering and I just have no passion for it. I dread going to class everyday and I can never focus. The material is so boring to me. I struggle in almost all of my mech classes. I try to study but always find an excuse not to. I have even become complacent about failing a test. I don't care anymore, my heart is just not into it. I'm not sure if I like engineering at all. My GPA is only a 3.0 and will most likely drop. I don't have any A''s in my mech courses either. I had an interview for an internship recently and the employer asked me why I chose mechanical engineering. I did not know what to say and that really bothered me. Looking back I remembered that my parents told me to pick engineering because I did well in math. I think that I was pressured into this. Anyway I feel that if I stick with this major my GPA will drop and I won't be able to get a job anywhere. I thought about switching to geology but idk. I feel like I wasted my time with this and should have pursued a different degree. I even thought about dropping out of school and joining the military. Btw I'm doing a 5 year program so I'm only half way there. What should I do? Try a different major or stick it out?</p>
<p>Switch your major but only if you have a concrete idea of what it is you like and if you have a plan for completing the degree in a reasonable amount of time. You will do better if you like the subject.</p>
<p>Frankly, from your post, you really don’t have a concrete notion of what you might change your major to. YOU need to do some self-examination, come to some decision, and then do some homework to get a plan of action. If you cannot find something you really like, then you need to decide if the military plan is a good option. Having a degree in engineering, even if your GPA is not great, is a good insurance policy and you can still go to the military after graduation. The decision you have to make is whether having a B.S. is of value to you in the long run.</p>
<p>Clearly, you also need to take into account the financial aspects. If you are putting yourself into a huge debt for this degree, that will have to be considered as part of the equation.</p>
<p>By the way a 3.0 is not a bad GPA for engineering.</p>
<p>That’s the problem. I don’t have a concrete idea of what I want to do. I thought about geology because I looked at the curriculum sheet and some of the classes interest me. Also I really like history. I can watch documentaries on ancient Egypt or Rome all day, read a book about WWII in one nigh.t But wtf would I do with a history degree? Is that crazy even to consider switching to that? And it’s just a complete 180 from engineering. If I only get my BS I really wouldn’t mind that. I don’t think grad school is for me.</p>
<p>Then just stick it out. As I said, 3.0 is respectable in engineering and you should be able to find a job. You might even discover that the work of an engineer is more interesting than studying to be an engineer.</p>
<p>Sticking it out and finishing is good advice. I am curious - why 5 a year program? Does this have a co-op built in, or some other additional study? </p>
<p>Also, could you share what you don’t like? Since you don’t know what you want to do, perhaps the forum can share some areas of ME that you had not considered, and find some electives you would enjoy. There is a lot of breadth to ME.</p>
<p>Can u see yourself doing this for the next 30+ years? If not, then switch majors.</p>
<p>If you stick it out, mechanical engineering is a flexible degree, so you will have a variety of fields you can go into once you graduate.</p>
<p>As for geology… I’m a geologist by profession. There are two main areas that employ geologists, petroleum and environmental. Petroleum geologists make spectacular salaries, almost as much as petroleum engineers, at least before oil prices started crashing. Now, who knows. Petroleum is a boom and bust field. This is just part it. </p>
<p>Environmental geology pays a tiny fraction of petroleum geology. Environmental used to be stable, but that’s not longer true. Spending on environmental geology will probably be gutted over the next few years, so the employment prospects for environmental geologists are not good in the near term.</p>
<p>Geology is fun, but mechanical engineering probably has better career prospects over a lifetime. YMMV.</p>
<p>Try hard to nail an internship. That experience on the resume could help mitigate a low GPA. But more importantly it will give you an idea of engineering work in the real world. </p>
<p>If asked about why mech engineering… you can answer that you are good at math and like the fact that mechE field has a variety of problem solving opportunities. </p>
<p>Thanks for all of the answers, they’re great. I think I’m going to stick it out and get my degree. </p>