Is Architectural Engineering a legitimate choice??

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm starting my college search now and am interested I am definately more of a math person. I like to design things but am not particularly interested in the more artsy side of it. I came across the major of Architectural Engineering and thought it sounded like a good fit for my interests.</p>

<p>I have, however, seen some people saying that Architectural Engineering isn't a legitimate field. Is this true? Will I have good options after college if I decide to have this major? Should I restrict my search to the fairly limited number of good schools that offer Architectural Engineering or look at a different option?</p>

<p>Also any ideas for good schools? I'm top 10 in my class of about 300 with a 4.0.</p>

2

<p>Architectural Engineering is indeed a "legitimate" career -- one that is closely related to architecture or other fields of engineering.</p>

<p>If you are specifically interested in obtaining an AE degree, I suggest you look first at ABET-accredited programs. Here's a list of these schools:</p>

<p>AEI</a> AEI</p>

<p>But you may also want to consider other engineering majors such as civil engineering (if you are most interested in structural engineering aspects) or mechanical engineering (if you are most interested in mechanical/electrical/plumbing). That would give you a much broader list of schools to look at.</p>

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<p>The architectural engineering field does not exist in industry. It's too broad. What you'll find is some companies specializing in structural engineering, some in MEP (mech/elec/plumbing), and some in construction management. You won't find a company that does everything. If you do, it's likely going to be a huge corporation with a very divided organizational structure, meaning you won't be doing both anyway.</p>

<p>I've always heard good things about ArchE at Penn State.</p>

4

<p>Anything to do with planning and bulding structures is not a stable career field. Like right now with the state of the economy like it is. I suggest you pick a career that has more options. When the economy is slow, you may be in fear of losing your job.</p>

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<p>
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Anything to do with planning and bulding structures is not a stable career field. Like right now with the state of the economy like it is. I suggest you pick a career that has more options. When the economy is slow, you may be in fear of losing your job.

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<p>I disagree. With $80 billion in financing coming for infrastructure, there is plenty of work building structures. What is slow right now is buildings in the private sector that depend on borrowing money from banks. This side of the business is very dependent on the overall economy. </p>

<p>With civil engineering, you can go into either infrastructure or buildings. One may be in poor shape, but the other one won't be. You'll also find plenty of jobs in government, which is pretty stable. CivE is probably the safest engineering profession in terms of employment.</p>

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<p>
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Anything to do with planning and bulding structures is not a stable career field. Like right now with the state of the economy like it is. I suggest you pick a career that has more options. When the economy is slow, you may be in fear of losing your job.

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Except for defense, environmental and health sector, nothing is stable if the economy is not performing well...</p>

<p>
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I disagree. With $80 billion in financing coming for infrastructure, there is plenty of work building structures. What is slow right now is buildings in the private sector that depend on borrowing money from banks. This side of the business is very dependent on the overall economy.

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Don't forget that gov't also gets impacted (although not as bad) since tax revenues plummet when the economy is not doing well...</p>

7

<p>
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Don't forget that gov't also gets impacted (although not as bad) since tax revenues plummet when the economy is not doing well...

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<p>Yes, which will result in fewer projects. That usually doesn't mean you'll lose your job though.</p>

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<p>I was an architectural engineering major. It was wonderful! I knew I wanted to be a structural engineer, NOT a general civil engineer. This major allowed me to concentrate on building design, rather than highways or water treatment plants. I was required to take two semesters of architectural design. That was very eye-opening. I learned that I should stick to engineering, not dabble in architecture! I made mostly As, but got a C in the first semester of that class. I also took classes about plumbing and construction materials, which I couldn't have taken as a pure civil major.</p>

<p>I went to the University of Texas, which is highly rated and a fabulous place to go to school. I was a female valedictorian with an excellent high school record (non-weighted average of 98.9), so I could have gone anywhere I wanted. I've never regretted choosing ArchE or UT.</p>

<p>I met my husband in engineering graduate school in UT, and we started our own firm 10 years ago. It's an interesting profession, and we make a good living.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision! If you have more questions, feel free to ask me. I still know professors at UT who would be happy to speak with you, too. Oh, they also do lots of research. When I was working on my thesis, I had undergraduates assisting me.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the quick input. Judging from the last post, it seems like ArchE would be a pretty good choice for me.</p>

<p>One thing I was wondering is if I were to major in ArchE, would I have the opportunity to land a job in civil or structural engineering if I decide I like one better than the other?</p>

<p>I think Texas might be a little far for me as I live in Maine. (By the way, MaineLonghorn, are you also from Maine, and if so whereabouts?) I do have Penn State on my list though. Any other school suggestions?</p>

10

<p>I guess it all depends where you live. I know in the south we are just starting to feel the economy slow down since oil prices have crashed and burned. Do what you love to do. Only you can make that choice.</p>

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<p>I guess it all depends where you live. I know in the south we are just starting to feel the economy slow down since oil prices have crashed and burned. Do what you love to do. Only you can make that choice. Will government pay though, it sure won't. Will you have a secure job, yeah you sure will. My buddy just graduated from school last year in civil engineering. He ended up securing a job with a refining company oddly enough. His dad is a civil engineer who works for the state. He is nearly making more than his dad right now and he just graduated year before last. Get a government job if you want to serve the community and aren't concerned about your salary.</p>

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<p>My school (Milwaukee School of Engineering) is one of the few that offers an ABET accreditted AE program. First of all I'll tell you that 100% of AE's are placed within 6 months of graduation here (98% placement for the school overall). </p>

<p>AE is a good major for those interested in civil engineering but want to focus on designing buildings. </p>

<p>To answer your question, yes AE can go into structural or civil engineering. AE is really just civil engineering with a closer focus on buildings. My school offers a masters in structural engineering that many AE's move into also many AE's here double major in Construction Management.</p>

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<p>rswan, yes, I'm in North Yarmouth - where are you?</p>

<p>Penn State's a great program, also, so you can't go wrong there.</p>

<p>I would not pick a major based solely on the current economy. When I was in school, petroleum was THE field to go into. The students thought they were all going to be rich. Then oil prices fell by half and they couldn't find jobs. But later the economy picked up and they did great. Structural engineering IS cyclical, but we've always found jobs, even in a small state like Maine. Stuff always needs to get built. We do a variety of projects - houses, schools, office buildings, industrial complexes - so when one area lags, another gets busier. We didn't do any industrial at all for awhile, and now that's what's keeping us busy.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot eeverybody. Longhorn, I'm living in Brunswick, so pretty close.</p>

<p>One thing that might sound stupid is what exactly is ABET because it keeps coming up and I'm not exactly sure what it is.</p>

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<p>ABET is the accreditation board for engineering programs. A lack of ABET accreditation may be a problem for you if you want to get your license and design structures at some point. If you want to do that, your masters degree program had better be accredited, or you're not going to be able to get licensed. Ask each architectural engineering program whether they're ABET accredited or whether they're accredited through architecture or what, and how easy it is for their graduates to get either engineering or architecture licenses so that they can actually practice. I'm sure they have a standard answer and that there's a workable solution, but that's one of the many dangers of the more non-traditional fields.</p>

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<p>Architectural engineering has been an accredited major for a LONG time. My dad graduated with that degree in 1960! He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1998 and was one of the first Americans given honorary membership in the Russian Academy of Engineering. </p>

<p>From Wikipedia:</p>

<p>Programs accredited by ABET, and that are members of AEI, are denoted below.</p>

<p>California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (ABET, AEI)
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (ABET, AEI)
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL (ABET, AEI)
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS (ABET, AEI)
Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, WI (ABET, AEI)
North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC (ABET, AEI)
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (ABET, AEI)
Penn State University, State College, PA (ABET, AEI)
Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN (ABET, AEI)
Texas A&M University, Kingsville, TX
University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO (ABET, AEI)
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (ABET, AEI)
University of Miami, Miami, FL (ABET, AEI)
University of Missouri at Rolla, Rolla, MO (ABET, AEI)
University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE (ABET, AEI)
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (ABET)
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (ABET, AEI)
University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (ABET, AEI)</p>

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<p>
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Architectural engineering has been an accredited major for a LONG time.

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<p>Sorry; I just realized that my post implied that architectural engineering wasn't an accredited field! No, I just meant to say that since architectural engineering isn't as established a field as civil engineering, that accreditation may need to be something you specifically <em>ask</em> a program about. Most people take it for granted that their civil engineering undergrad program is going to be ABET accredited, but I'd be hesitant to do that with architectural engineering... best to just check and make sure, first.</p>

<p>I'm still hesitant to out-and-out recommend architectural engineering as a fabulous choice if someone wants to get into structural engineering. I'm glad it worked for you, MaineLonghorn, but you also followed it up with a structural engineering graduate degree. That'd be what the OP would have to do, too, and I'd just want to ask some very specific questions of the AE programs regarding accreditation and where their graduates end up before enrolling. It's probably a very good choice, it's just not the <em>traditional</em> choice, and when you make a non-traditional choice, that can put some mild headaches on your schedule down the road. Not necessarily a bad thing if you don't mind explaining your degree to people who don't know what it entails when you're first establishing your career, but it's something that the OP should be aware of.</p>

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<p>
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I'm still hesitant to out-and-out recommend architectural engineering as a fabulous choice if someone wants to get into structural engineering.

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<p>I would recommend it. My school has a structural engineering masters program that many AE majors go straight into.</p>

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<p>
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I'm still hesitant to out-and-out recommend architectural engineering as a fabulous choice if someone wants to get into structural engineering.

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Wouldn't that typically be the case with civil engineering as well?</p>

<p>I've looked at Penn State's ArchE program and their curriculum incorporates just about as much structural courses as my civE program did. They were probably able to did this since their program is a 5 year program. I'm not sure if this is standard or specific to PSU.</p>

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<p>
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Wouldn't that typically be the case with civil engineering as well?

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<p>Well, not really, because the industry is very used to people getting an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and then going into structures. It's the normally-accepted path. I'm not saying it's the best path (though I think that everything else I learned in my undergraduate years in civil engineering has served me well as a structural engineer, and I've retained a lot of marketability from having a civil engineering background now that there's temporarily not a lot of money in structural design), but it <em>is</em> the "normal" path.</p>

<p>There are probably a lot of advantages to going into architectural engineering first and then pursuing structural engineering (I'd really love to have a better insight to architectural motivations while I'm designing things), and there may very well be just as many structural engineering courses in an architectural engineering curriculum as there are in a civil engineering curriculum, but there just aren't that many architectural engineering curricula out there... Certainly not as compared to civil engineering curricula. So, you may have to explain what your background is a little more, and you might lose the interest of a few firms who don't want to take any risks (or, worse, who consider their architect clients to be little more than "necessary evils" and aren't interested in hiring anybody who values artistic vision... it's obviously usually not <em>that</em> bad, but most of us in the industry have been aggravated by architects at one point or another!), but those are the only real sources of my hesitation.</p>