I am a female junior in mechanical engineering. I’ve gotten to the point in engineering where I have to choose my track and electives for senior year. I’m having trouble choosing because I realized there’s nothing I really do enjoy about the major. I’m not sure if it’s the stress from getting good grades and giving up or if it’s the material. I feel like I could enjoy this stuff if I didn’t feel so pressured to get good grades and I could just sit and learn. I think part of what scares me about engineering is that I’m not that good at it. I did an internship as a manufacturing engineer and I enjoyed it but it wasn’t like super amazing.
I chose engineering because I enjoyed calculus. I thought about pre-med but decided not to because of how long I would go to school for and how much debt that means. I also enjoy psychology but I didn’t see myself enjoying a job in that field as much as engineering.
If you have good grades you have done the hard stuff already. IMO considering the world today, I would as a parent encourage you to finish your eng degree an then maybe you could look at Bio eng post grad options if that floats your boat. The integration of mech and bio is pretty exciting. Either way, a good eng degree means you were able to do a rigorous degree and could look at employment options many will not have in 2 yrs.
Have you thought about computers? Take a level 1 and 2 programming language, and perhaps a networking class or two. SQL is a hot language right now because of the emergence of data science and reporting. That should be enough to get your foot in the door for an entry level job when you finish your degree. You seem to enjoy doing thing hands-on. That’s the entire premise behind programming. It’s ALL trial and error.
One misconception is that you need a computer science degree to get a job. That’s not true. All you need is some proficiency in a programming language. In fact 90% of programming doesn’t require math at all. I work with programming with all kinds of backgrounds. Some have literature degrees. Some have associates degrees. Others are college dropouts. All of them are great coders.
Since you are already a junior and the year is almost over, a change in major has the problem that it might increase your time to graduation. What would your finances look like if you were to take an extra year to graduate?
“I chose engineering because I enjoyed calculus.”
Another option is to major in math. However, IMHO it is useful as a math major to have some software engineering experience and courses also. Have you taken many classes in “math past calculus” and in computer science? Do you have much experience with software?
What do your grades look like? I do know a few people who have a bachelor’s degree in engineering and then went to law school. The specific type of law that they deal with involves working with engineers.
“I did an internship as a manufacturing engineer”
This is very good. Working as a mechanical or manufacturing engineer is going to be more similar to your internship and less similar to being a university student.
Since you enjoyed your internship my best guess is that you should finish your degree and then get a job in engineering. However, there are other options that are possible.
OP, it seems a little late to switch. Is there anything at all you could switch to and still graduate on time? If not, you’ve got to stick it out. As previously mentioned, software development might be possible as a career with your engineering degree if you don’t want to practice, provided you have the right electives. If your grades are very good, banking or consulting could also be possibilities.
Engineering jobs are usually a lot different from engineering classes (but of course you need to get through the classes to get a degree & job). Hang in there. Engineers are problem solvers, and that can be helpful in many fields!