I am past the first week of classes. I am in both introductory engineering courses that are equivalent to the ones at the school I want to transfer to (and somewhat similar to freshman engineering courses at any school) and I am not sure if I enjoy them. I like math, science, and problem solving but I find programming (using software like MATLAB) and designing things to be boring and tedious, will I dislike engineering if I do not like these things? It’s environmental enginering I am interested in because I am interested in biology, chemistry, hydrology, and solving environmental issues with water quality (and to some extent problems with industrial challenges). I want to be involved in the problem solving with environmental issues but I also want to be working outside more than being indoors doing designs and using software. Environmental engineers are not directly involved with solving problems with endangered species or climate change. All this makes me think maybe environmental science, Biology, or meteorology is my calling. scientists use other software like geographic information systems and there still is some programming in meteorology too so it’s also somewhat a question If these fields are right for me too.
The thing with Matlab is that it’s a really nice tool for applying math to solve science problems. In other words, it should be essentially a much more powerful calculator for you to actually DO the science you like. That said, most intro Matlab and programming courses don’t capture this, instead focusing on syntax, and it can be quite boring. It’s good to learn it early, though, because when you get to higher level classes, it’s a nice tool to have in your toolbox.
Ok that’s good to know @boneh3ad but I still am concerned if I’ll enjoy the design part or not.
Full disclosure, not an engineer and don’t know much about the curriculum. That said, I think your issue crosses the overall spectrum of education and entry level classes. In most subjects, entry level course work is designed to give you a foundation (building blocks). Higher level courses will build on that and hopefully drill down to your area of interest.
From a career standpoint, it’s important that you have a general understanding of lots of things related to your industry. Another secret is in the real world (employment), you may find you move past functioning as an engineer and be more involved in managing an engineering company or project, etc. In that case you’re not actually doing the engineering work , but you understand it, can speak to it, etc. My older brother was a CE. He started out as a “line engineer” and then moved into running a team of engineers and then ultimately running a business unit (did very little engineering at that point). Today he’s a CEO of a biotech concern. Chemical engineering was a great background to have, but he does no engineering work.
S is a finance / accounting major. He has a job in the controller’ office (of his college). He does clerical work, menial tasks, etc. He’s mentioned to me that he finds it boring and thinks he won’t pursue accounting because of this. I’ve explained to him that the world of accounting, Big 4, etc. has very little to do with what he’s doing. He’s function as an entry level book keeper. Most CPAs don’t do that, but they understand all the accounting principles and make sure proper procedures are in place. Again, need to know the foundational material.
I started as an engineering major eons ago then switch to a dual in sciences instead. My reason was more to the fact that I didn’t perform well in my math classes and had difficulty applying them to problems. Your first two years are pretty much foundational and you don’t go deep into your Engineering discipline till year three. I’d suggest talking to your advisor about your impression of the classes you don’t enjoy now and how that would translate in your later years. Good luck
The vast majority of engineers do very little CAD type work in their day to day jobs.
@boneh3ad do you know what the majority of environmental engineers do on a daily basis?
I have no idea. The variety in the jobs that all fit under a large engineering sub-field like that is so large that the idea of “what the majority of ______ engineers do on a daily basis” really doesn’t have a lot of meaning.
I can’t tell you what they do on a day in, day out basis either. I can tell you though that there are a lot of E Sci degree holders working as baristas. An Environmental Engineering degree is more valuable. Of course, if you aren’t interested in the work, that point isn’t very salient.
Like others, I would caution you about judging the whole field based on first year courses. As @boneh3ad said, on the surface, MATLAB may seem boring. It’s because you are doing it for its own sake. It isn’t until you learn much more complicated engineering stuff that the utility of programs like that become apparent.
Entry level classes for engineering are a lot different than working as one. Also the entry engineering classes aren’t representative of actual engineering courses. You can’t begin to really see if you like Engineering until you’ve taken all the math and physics that allow you to understand complex engineering problems. I’ve gotten to apply digital signal processing and communications topics I found super boring to do in school in my internship and it’s actually pretty cool. Matlab is a great tool to make things easier.
Signals processing is one of those topics I hated in school, then really came to understand and love in grad school and beyond. There’s a lot of cool things you can do with those tools.
I just want to make sure I am in the right major before I get too far and have already spent too much time on this major or I can’t change because of financial aid.
It’s very difficult to know that ANY major is right until you are deep into it. There is simply too much foundation required before you get to a high enough level that you can have an educated opinion. For some majors, you might not even have a solid understanding until you’ve worked for a while. Make your best semi-educated, gut based decision, and run with it.
Do you even need Matlab? At my son’s school he had the choice of Matlab or c++/python the first year. He took the later for industrial engineering. He is an incoming sophomore. He heard Matlab was just OK plus its the way his schedule worked out. The later was very challenging but fun class.
Also FYI… In any profession there are baseline classes that are not so interesting and you sorta have to drudge through. But if every class in your curriculum is like that then I would switch majors. I would also go directly to the department advisor or head of the department to talk about your concerns since you seem to bring it up several times. Good luck.
Yes I have to take the matlab course for engineering but the C++ and java course for first year students is only needed for electrical, computer, or industrial engineering students.
The way I look at it is in life you sometimes have to do things you don’t enjoy. I would not base a whole career based on one class. Once it gets going you might actually enjoy the class. If this is a prerequisite for your to transfer then try to get the most out of the class as you can. From what I hear the ones that enjoy this class do well. The ones that don’t put the time in don’t.
There are certainly right of passage classes for anyone. As an undergrad I had to take a year of calculus and physics. I took more physics in optometry school. As a practitioner, I don’t use any of it. Ditto for lots of other classes.
Again, I don’t know anything about Environmental Engineering. My son is a ME. As a ME there’s a HUGE range of things one can do. Shadowing thus can have limited utility. I suspect Enviro E has some, but less of a range of what you would practice. It might be helpful to interview one or more of them.
well i dropped these courses just in case i do change majors it doesn’t mess up my financial aid and because i don’t feel like i am ready for these courses because i need to work through some of my other issues i have right now like depression from all kinds of things (including the death of my grandma this year i mentioned in another thread).
Sorry for your challenges - it sounds like a tough year. Do make sure to consult your advisor when planning your spring semester classes. I’m not sure how a change in major would mess up financial aid (which is usually based on family income), but your advisor should understand how that all works on your campus. Best of luck!
The maximum time frame part of SAP is what I am worried about because retaking classes and taking classes that don’t count towards your major is what causes students to exceed maximum time frame (150% of their program). If I changed majors those engineering classes won’t count towards Biology or environmental science but maybe for electives if I was in general studies and when I transfer to a four year school.