Hello,
I am currently a junior in highschool and I love math and science. I have thought about being engineer a lot. I still have physics to take but for a student who has never been exposed to any type of engineering, it is good idea to enter the field? Also, is engineering more physics or math based?
Thank you
I can’t provide a lot of info on this since I am not fully in college yet, but I would suggest asking this on the engineering subforum found here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/
I would also try emailing some college professors at a local state university to ask them about the course path for engineers, which types of people usually have the best experience with engineering as a major, etc.
thank you!
There’s no need to email professors to find the course paths for engineering. Colleges typically list the requirements for different degree programs on their web sites.
Engineering encompasses a number of disciplines, some weighted more heavily to math, some to physics, some to chemistry, and so on.
You might start looking at http://www.abet.org/, which is the organization that accredits engineering degrees at colleges and universities. Here you can see some of the different types of engineering degrees and look at some of the schools that offer them. Attending a school that is ABET-accredited in the engineering discipline you plan to study is very important when looking for jobs upon graduation.
@Betudo I highly recommend you read this link
http://typesofengineeringdegrees.org/
It summarizes every common type of engineering degree out there, because some of them are vastly different. I was reading through this while helping my younger brother decide which of these he was more interested in and I learned a lot.
Hi! I’m a sophomore engineering student at Cornell that initially planned to do premed. The resources listed above are great, but I hope I can offer a personalized perspective on the matter (what I think about engineering and why I changed from premed).
Like you, I loved math and science in high school. Liking the subjects and being good at them is usually a precursor to being a potential engineering student. I do think, however, that more goes into it than simply liking the subjects. Do you want to pursue these subjects to a higher level? Do you like doing problems OR do you like thinking about situations that involve using the concepts? Engineers don’t simply solve equations: they model, assess and then solve. Additionally, engineering math is different based on your major. I’m a CS major, so while we need a good background in calculus, linear algebra and differential equations, alot of the math we do stems from discrete mathematics (modular arithmetic, probability, proofs, etc). If you’re a mechanical engineer, for example, then you’ll be doing alot of calculus and physics based work. You don’ t need to know specifically what engineering field you want to delve into right away, but it’s good to get a sense of what you may or may not enjoy.
Anyway, I switched from premed because I was really interested in math and wanted to pursue further; I respect the medical profession and did well in my anatomy/biology classes in high school, but I really wanted to get into the core of mathematics and its applications. I didn’t feel doing premed was my best option to pursue this goal, so I applied to the engineering school and took a CS course to see what the program entailed (I never programmed prior to college). I really enjoyed the mesh of critical thinking, analysis and mathematical knowledge needed to program, and found myself not just developing my math knowledge, but my ability to analyze situations and find solutions.
All in all, I think if you like science and math, engineering is a good field for you. More specifically, engineering HAS a place for you. Whether it be mechanical engineering or CS, anyone who has a passion for these subjects can find their place.
Thanks everyone for your amazing response! I will look into which field of engineering I would like to probably do!