Is Engineering Worth it?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Sorry if this seems a little ranty; I'm speaking from stream of thought.</p>

<p>I applied to all my schools for undecided engineering because it seems to fit my interests and strengths perfectly: math, technology, and some science. Though recently, I've seen a lot of negativity online towards engineering, such as: people complaining about the ridiculous workload, little reward for all the effort, difficulty finding decent jobs and internships, long hours for jobs, salaries that start decently high but tend to plateau faster than other careers (true?), etc. I know a majority of the people on this forum are still in or applying to college, but for those of you studying engineering currently or who have jobs, is all the work really worth it?</p>

<p>If it makes a difference, I am most likely going to attend the University of Michigan, and am mostly interested in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and possibly Chemical Engineering. Outside of several poorly taught high school engineering classes, I have little experience with the field, and my backup major, if I don't like engineering or cannot handle the workload, it most likely Computer Science. I took AP CS in high school and enjoyed it more than most classes, even with a mediocre teacher, but I don't really know if I would enjoy staring at lines of code for hours on end for a career.</p>

<p>As far as workload goes, I understand that college will be a major step up from high school no matter what I study. Personally, I was able to get a high gpa in high school while rarely studying, and got no more than an average of about 1 hour of homework a night (there were occasion when I had a lot of work, but it was usually a result of poor planning and procrastination). However, I've seen a lot of engineering students claiming to spend 40+ hours a week on homework and studying, not including classes (or at least, I wouldn't think so), and it just seems ridiculous. I want to have a social life in college, even if mostly on the weekends, and I definitely want to participate in some activities, but the intense workload is discouraging. At the very least, is most of the work interesting, or is it mostly tedious and frustrating?</p>

<p>To the people who graduated or know people that graduated with engineering, do you think it is worth it. Does the massive amount of work justify the potentially exciting jobs (I don't care too much about money so long as I can live comfortably and can afford to throw money around here and there, which I'm sure most engineering jobs would allow). I realize that I'll have a year or two in college where I can switch fields relatively easily should I dislike engineering, but I also understand that the college experience will not give me and accurate view of the workplace.</p>

<p>Sorry again if this was a bit ranty, and thank you in advance for any replies.</p>

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<p>Every job is “hard”…I know many a secretary or retail worker that works incredibly hard for very little pay. If you enjoy engineering you will do well. Actually, it is one field where there are many internships available.</p>

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<p>I think it is worth it. I am 35, I already have a B.S in Econ and I am back in school studying Engineering because I really want to be here. </p>

<p>If you are choosing Engineering simply because you want a job that pays above average and you don’t really want to sacrifice your time and your social life, I think it will be hard.</p>

<p>I spent the entire afternoon here at the library studying for a screwed up General Chemistry for Engineers test- If I get a 50 or a 80 on this next test, I will still end up with a C, so if I told you that all the classes are fun and interesting, I would be lying to you! it can be very frustrating!</p>

<p>There will be a lot of frustrating moments, so the only things that keep me going are my personal pride, the fact that I really want to be here and also the fact that I like the challenge.</p>

<p>If am able to find a job that pays well at the end of this journey, it sure it would be nice. but so far I have no regrets about my choice.</p>

<p>Engineering forced me to reevaluate my study skills, my time management skills and it is something that will make you doubt how capable you really think you are, it will test you to the limit!</p>

<p>As far as it being fun and interesting, so far it has not been but I like what I am studying and that keeps me going. People who don’t like what they are studying or don’t have a legitimate interest in their major ain’t gonna make it.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>