<p>Im a rising high school senior and im good at math but im not great. 780 SAT math 2, A-'s in Honors math classes (pre calc honors), and 740 on regular sat test (2 wrong, shit curve). 760 chem sat. Have not taken a physics course yet. will take one in senior year.
I saw a lot of job postings and it seems that lots of job postings, even ones that are titled as Industrial Engineer, want mechanical engineering degrees. I like the idea of optimizing efficiency, and I like that Industrial is closely tied to business. However, mechanical does not seem TOO different, and it seems to have better job prospects, but on the other hand, most people do say that mechanical involves a LOT of math, and I dont know if I can handle that. My question is based on the info I provided (if you need more, just ask), what do you think would be a better major to pursue?</p>
<p>Whichever one sounds more interesting to you. You’ll have solid career prospects with either major, as long as you do well in your classes and try to land an internship or two along the way. It really only comes down to the classes you take. If you major in ME, you’d have to take Strength of Materials, Dynamics, Thermo, Fluids, Vibrations, Control Systems and stuff like that. As an IE, you’d have to take Probability and Statistics, Optimization, Stochastic Models, Simulation, Engineering Economics, Inventory Control, Production Planning, etc. There’s a lot of overlap between the two as well. Both degrees involve a lot of math. I was an IE major.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have a strong math ground. It’s surprising you have not yet had physics. See how you like that - it may help you refine your college preferences. </p>
<p>@colorado_mom the thing with our school is that in frehsman year, you have to take Biology regular, and in 10th grade you can take either Chemistry or Chemistry Honors. I took chem honors and got an A. In 11th grade, you can take AP Biology, AP Chemistry, or Physics honors. I took ap chemistry. 12th grade is when I am going to take physics, but I feel like I wont be able to decide college majors that late. The real, tough physics start kicking in 2nd semester at our school (which is in January), so I wont have a proper judgement of my interests by the time college apps are due (in december/january)</p>
<p>@colorado_mom the thing with our school is that in frehsman year, you have to take Biology regular, and in 10th grade you can take either Chemistry or Chemistry Honors. I took chem honors and got an A. In 11th grade, you can take AP Biology, AP Chemistry, or Physics honors. I took ap chemistry. 12th grade is when I am going to take physics, but I feel like I wont be able to decide college majors that late. The real, tough physics start kicking in 2nd semester at our school (which is in January), so I wont have a proper judgement of my interests by the time college apps are due (in december/january)</p>
<p>@toesockshoe You could just wait to enroll in fall semester after you get an idea of what you want to do, you may even decide you don’t want to do engineering and could go to a better school for a non engineering program.</p>
<p>That said, the difference between the two is that, in general, MechE is more flexible then IndusE though Industrial has quite a few business courses in it as well (good answer <a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/question/index?qid=20120326220513AARdkaw</a>)</p>
<p>Keep in mind though many people, like myself, have had misconceptions about engineering. I for one thought engineering was very hands on, turns out most of your time is spent in a cubicle with very little hands on for most jobs. A lot of R&D is handled by the associates degree guys with the BS and MS guys giving them blueprints and over watching them. </p>
<p>@Ultimablade so are you telling me not to apply right after summer, when everyone applies? what would i do then for the 6 months?</p>
<p>@toesockshoe You could work or relax for those 6 months, although im not saying you should (you will probably lose 3-9 months of math ability) it could be an idea if you are not “ready” for the workload required. Because once you are in engineering school it is nearly impossible to work and have a social life/relax and keep good grades because of the workload. Most students I know of rarely get a day off from school and homework. And a good job can teach you skills needed to manage and do the work in a way high school cannot.</p>
<p>toe - Proceed with your plans to apply to engineering schools, but include some schools that also have non-engineering majors. You won’t have to make your final decision til late April. By then you will have had lots of exposure to Physics. Good luck! </p>
<p>And don’t let anyone scare you too much about the engineering workload. It is tough, for sure, and some kids don’t want to work that hard or can’t do well in the courses and drop out. And some people just decide it’s not for them and that’s okay. My kids both graduated in engineering, worked hard but were able to have active social lives. It can be done. Good luck!</p>