Is Engineering hands on?

I am a high school senior and I am pretty good at math and I enjoy solving problems. I also love to work with my hands, so as a result I don’t want to sit at a desk all day writing emails and approving projects. I really enjoy fixing things and i’m not very creative nor do I like designing things. I am wondering if engineering is a good path or if pursuing a technical degree would suite my preferences more. If engineering is a good path is electrical better than mechanical? Or vice-versa?

Engineering can range from sitting at a desk all day to working on the shop floor doing things a large portion of the day. The average probably tends to fall more toward the former, though. That said, for the most part it isn’t just sitting there “approving projects” unless you are a project manager or some sort, and even then there is more to it. Typically the jobs fall more into the design and analysis side.

You might also look into engineering technology programs. The resulting careers tend to be more hands on than more traditional engineering programs, they generally use less high-level math, and they typically get paid a little less. But again, they are more hands-on.

If you were to poll every engineering graduate student who got a job in their field, what you’re probably going to find is A LOT of them work in front of a computer all day.

We have software that can plan out a satellite missions, model 3D objects, tell us how fluids will move around an aircraft, tell how us the signals will come off a cell phone, and so on. There is so much out there!

So even if you went into mechanical engineering which is very hands on, you can expect lots of autocad, solidworks, matlab, etc in a job because the systems are so complex that we need software to design them.

BUT this does not mean that it’s true for everyone because it definitely isn’t. If your someone who literally NEEDS to work right in front of whatever your building (as opposed to a computer simulation, model, etc) there are plenty of opportunities out there for you. Testing and manufacturing are two options that will include many hands on components.

To just get to the point, of the two you mentioned, mechanical engineering will be more hands on (I’m an EE recent graduate and I work with a lot of ME’s).

If you pursue ME, then when you start applying for jobs, keep your eyes open for jobs that have hands on components because plenty won’t be. If you CAN’T find a job that’s super hands on. You may just have to deal with the computer work to begin (everyone has to pay their dues), but you will move up in your job and be able to really decide what you want to do.