<p>Hello peeps, I have a question you hopefully can help me with.
Lets look at ME and CE which one of these has the most physics?, and which does require most math?
And a personal question: Which one of these do you guys find more interesting, and why?</p>
<p>They're very very similar in terms of physics and math course requirements, as well as physics and math applied in upper level courses. </p>
<p>I find civil engineering more interesting because I've always been fascinated by skyscrapers, buildings, highways and construction. My first interest was actually architecture, but when I realized I didn't have the talent for it, the move to civil engineering was pretty natural. I know quite a few civEs who followed this path; some made the transition earlier than others.</p>
<p>You really have to figure out what you're more interested in personally, but if you're deciding between these two majors, you have some more time to decide. Courses for the first two years are usually identical between civE and mechE, and a few of the third year courses are similar as well, so if you do decide to switch majors later on, you might not have to stay in school for more than 4 years.</p>
<p>After looking at the course tracking for both, they require the same math and physics the first 5 semesters. MechEs take more fluid/mechanic/thermo classes, while CivEs focus on structure and the chosen specialization (geosensing, transportation, water resources, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction, public works and civil engineering materials). The first two years for most engineering degrees is extremely similar so it's not a problem if you decide to change departments. </p>
<p>I have always been interested in buildings, construction, and transportation. I was considering architecture but it seemed like too much drawing and design for me. If you cannot decide which engineering is right for you, do some online research and take an intro to engineering class (i'm in one right now even though i fairly set on civil). Otherwise you can visit each department and talk to some people involved.</p>
<p>Within CivE, I only find structural engineering interesting. Within MechE, I find many things interesting. Personally, I like MechE more, but I'm actually a ChemE major.</p>
<p>Hmm... why are you a chemE major then?</p>
<p>mechE is definitely a broader field than civE, so there's a lot of options on what you want to do after you get your degree. Anything from HVAC, cars, robotics, to aerospace. civE is a bit more restricting in the sense that if you stay in this field, you'll most likely be working with infrastructure of some sort in some capacity. Then again, there's nothing preventing you from going in a completely different direction like law school with any engineering degree.</p>
<p>Steevee: I really have to agree with you. All the other things in civil engineering except strcutral engineering doesn't seem so fun. </p>
<p>In civil engineering which branches require a lot of math and physics ecxept structural?
Can you do structural engineering within the mechanical engineering field?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Can you do structural engineering within the mechanical engineering field?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Maybe if you get into plant design, mega structures/machines, or project management.</p>
<p>There are basically five concentration within civil engineering: geotechnical, structural, construction, transportation, water resources. </p>
<p>Geotechnical isn't all that different from structural engineering; in both fields you'd be designing a part of a building. Structural engineers are only worried about the superstructure, while geotechnical engineers are only worried about the foundation. For tunnel construction, it's mostly geotech. </p>
<p>Transportation engineers deal with highway construction for the most part, and traffic engineers analyze traffic. Traffic engineers usually work on studies or environmental impact statements for developers. </p>
<p>Water resource engineers... well to be quite honest, I'm not all that sure what they do. I assume they work on dams and pipes.</p>
<p>Construction engineering, which is the field I'm in, do the actual building of all the above mentioned infrastructure. You'll either be working for a heavy civil contractor or a buildings contractor. Heavy civil includes pretty much everything except buildings: roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, etc. Building contractors build... buildings. Self-explanatory. The thing to keep in mind with construction engineering is that it isn't typical engineering. You don't really design much; you're involved in the building process mostly. What I love about this field is that you're not in front of a computer screen the entire day. You also get to be part of the building process, which is an amazing feeling when the project gets done. In the design engineering fields, everything's on paper, and you don't really get attached to any one project, so it's not the same. You're usually working on multiple projects simultaneously. </p>
<p>Of course, that's only my opinion. Some people prefer to work exclusively in an office setting. Some people like a lot of math and physics, which you won't find in construction. A lot of people don't like getting their hands dirty. So yea, there are plenty of reasons people don't like this field, but I love it.</p>
<p>You won't find too much physics and math outside of structural engineering, and even structural engineering you won't find that much of it. For the most part, you're designing based on the steel design manual and the concrete code. So you're not really starting from scratch with pure physics. You also won't find much calculus... there is some in structural analysis, but it's minimal. There is some in geotechnical engineering though. This isn't to say that there isn't a lot of math and physics behind all the concepts and equations you're using. It's just that you won't be dealing with these pure subjects. Keep in mind this is coming from somebody who only took design courses in school, and not somebody with industry experience. I have a feeling it's pretty similar though.</p>
<p>If you like structural engineering, why would you try to do it through the mechanical engineering dept though? Mechanical engineers do get involved with structures, but only with colossal projects, and not buildings.</p>
<p>ken, I meant to say that I like MechE more than CivE. I should've split those two thoughts up.</p>
<p>xes, have you thought about any of the other engineering majors? chemE, EE, etc? Or have you eliminated them already. EE is always popular at many schools.</p>
<p>Yeah, you should consider other engineering disciplines as well. Most of them require math and physics, just different. You take several calculus courses in all of them, along with statistics, algebra, and linear algebra (with some deviations from this). The physics is different in other fields. You deal with electromagnetism in EE, fluids and thermo in ChemE, just to name a few. Physics in engineering is pretty much math anyway.</p>
<p>If you get your masters in structural engineering (division of civil) from a good program, there's basically no end in sight to the sorts of structures you can design... submarines, engines, oil rigs, roller coasters, stadiums, rockets, payload, airplanes, lunar landers, shuttles to Mars... Get some seismic experience in and you'll end up knowing how to deal with things that experience random excitation, which covers pretty much everything you'll ever need to know. You can pretty much get any job you'd like.</p>
<p>Structural engineering basically merges with mechanical engineering at the top ranks, but you end up knowing a whole lot about how to design buildings.</p>
<p>...And the coolest treehouse, EVER.
<a href="http://www.xkcd.com/212/%5B/url%5D">http://www.xkcd.com/212/</a></p>
<p>So... get a degree in civil engineering, an advanced degree in structural engineering, and literally rule the world. I'm not even kidding about this.</p>
<p>Yeah I have considered the other engineering diciplines aswell. But I want to use the math for problems I can "see" and for that ME or CE looks best.</p>
<p>What I find is that in ME you have CFD, hydraulics, pneumatics, thermodynamics, mechanical design etc.. All of which seems very intence in it's use of math and physics, am I right? The only equal thing I seem to find in CE is structural engineering, is this field as big as all of the ME fields combined?</p>
<p>ken285: Thanks for the long and informing post. But I dont think construction engineering is anything for me, I'd like to work in an office.</p>
<p>CasualObserver: "submarines, engines, oil rigs, roller coasters, stadiums, rockets, payload, airplanes, lunar landers, shuttles to Mars" hehe I find this very hard to believe, all of these seem to require very much specialisation.</p>
<p>With a master's degree in structural engineering you can choose what type of structures you want to specialize in. All the options listed: roller coasters, submarines, etc. are possibilities.</p>
<p>Submarines, oil rigs, roller coasters, airplanes, etc all require specialization in the project team definitely. Engineers as individuals don't necessarily need specialized schooling though. Chances are (if you're a structural engineer), you'll work alongside mechanical and aerospace engineers if you work on aircraft. Nobody would expect you to have the expertise to do that by yourself.</p>
<p>Are there as many job offers with a bachelors degree in structural engineering as there is with lest say a bachelors in mechanical engineering?</p>
<p>I used to study CivE before I changed my mind and graduated with EE degree. I really liked what CivE do and everything I learned in school was really more fun in comparison with EE. I later chose EE because it was much easier to find work as an EE. ME's and EE's find work easily, but you won't get paid as much as CivE's with PE certs. If you want to be a StrE, you should take a FE or PE exam and get certified as soon as possible. There aren't many types of jobs, but you will get paid much more after you get your PE cert. You don't have to go to grad school as StrE if you got a PE cert. As a ME or EE, you will have to go to grad school as most well-known companies recommend.</p>
<p>Actually, there's absolutely no need to get your PE cert as a structural unless you specialize in civil structures. PE stamps are basically to get things past a building department, and you don't go through a building department for things like submarines or airplanes.</p>
<p>Also, get a masters... Only takes a year and a half, maybe two years at the high end (some programs are only ONE year!), you can often get someone to pay for it, and you learn things like finite element analysis, which'll really open the doors to those other disciplines.</p>
<p>And yes, everything's a structure, when you get right down to it. A structural engineer looks at one thing: what stuff does when you apply forces to it. If you learn the tools available to look at stuff and figure out what it does under various types of loads, then you can pretty much do whatever the heck you want to. I was skeptical, too, but then I went through it. Ridiculous number of open doors. Subs, ships, shuttles, spacecraft, stadiums, roller coasters, skyscrapers, rockets, treehouses... Structures, all. Get a masters from a good program and you're in.</p>
<p>I disagree with DCguy, but only to a certain extent; I think the availability of work in each profession varies regionally. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Are there as many job offers with a bachelors degree in structural engineering as there is with lest say a bachelors in mechanical engineering?
[/quote]
I don't have any numbers to back this up, but I'd be very surprised if there are more structural engineers than mechanical engineers. Mechanical engineering is a VERY VERY broad field and sets you up for a large variety of careers. I think it's the most versatile. There are aerospace engineers, automotive engineers, HVAC engineers, robotic engineers, biomechanical engineers, etc. You can get jobs as any of these with a mechE education.</p>
<p>While you only need a PE for civil structures, civil structures make up an overwhelming percentage of structural engineering jobs. It also makes you a lot more employable. Even if you start off with non civil projects, you never know if you'll have a change of heart in the future.</p>
<p>the average salary for mechanical engineer is higher than the civil engineer (from Georgia Tech average salary report). Mostly because civil is government job I think. ME deals with things that are not flying and building. If you want to get into architecture area but want engineer on your tag, go with civil engineer.</p>