More engineering worried...Help me think this through

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>As I sit here and wonder about my future careers, I once again come to a standstill when I consider the plusses and minuses of an engineering major. As ive stated on here, my concern is regarding level of difficulty in engineering classes and gpa. Please let me first reiterate that I personally dont care about grades all that much, id rather learn and get a worse grade than get a good grade not learning anything. Nevertheless, I have a problem.</p>

<p>Im not sure if engineering is the field I want to go in. In fact, I dont think it is. I want to do something with engineering, but I dont necessarily want to be an engineering. Its hard for me to know what i want to dow ithout any exposure. Patent attorney, businessman/consultant, maybe an energy or some sort of environmental analyst. I love wearing a shirt and tie or a suit, I love the idea of having meetings, a laptop, an attache, wingtips, etc. But id like to apply engineering somehow to what i do, its just how i think. In any case, these things mostly require grad school. As Ive said before, im worried, just from the horror stories about engineering that ive heard before, that It is too hard to maintain a gpa that can compete with nonengineer applicants. So is it worth even studying engineering? If I might want to go into law or business, should i just not even struggle through engineering and risk the chance of not getting into a good grad school? This has really had me thinking and im honestly just not sure what to do. Should I go in as an eng. major and then transfer if i find its too harsh on my gpa? Should I stick it out? Should i just go into accounting or poli sci or something else id like but not engineering? Im just really confused right now and i dont know what to do</p>

<p>On a side note, does anyone have any info on what an environmental engineer does/how much they can make? My mother had told me about a kid she knows that dose environ consulting making hundreds of thousands a year traveling all over: something that sounds very appealing to me. I also was watching Syriana the other day and one of the main charachters is an energy anaylst. that looked pretty intetresting too, and im assuming it relates to env. engineering. Any info?</p>

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<p>As sakky have stated a million times, engineering is the most versatile degree. You can go be a lawyer, businessman, doctor, scientist, or whatever with an engineering degree. You can't be an engineer without an engineering degree though.</p>

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<p>
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On a side note, does anyone have any info on what an environmental engineer does/how much they can make? My mother had told me about a kid she knows that dose environ consulting making hundreds of thousands a year traveling all over: something that sounds very appealing to me. I also was watching Syriana the other day and one of the main charachters is an energy anaylst. that looked pretty intetresting too, and im assuming it relates to env. engineering. Any info?

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<p>I never hear much about engineering consulting on this forum. It's always management consulting. And i cant find anything on google about it...</p>

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<p>I mean ill i hear about is how impossible engineering is. I cant even comprened how ill be able to do. i know engineering is the most versitile degree but if you graduate with a 2.8 in engineering dont you just kinda loose that versatility? im just really worried that i wont be able to compete in the grad school market</p>

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<p>no one has said that engineering was impossible...let's face it we are not all genius' here. If you are hardworking and dilligent then you will make it through. Even low GPA graduates of engineering have been able to find good jobs...the key is work experience, not GPA.</p>

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You can't be an engineer without an engineering degree though

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<p>Well, actually, yeah you can. You may be able to get an engineering job with a related science or math degree. It's not common, but it does happen. </p>

<p>But the way I see it is, math or science majors are also extremely difficult, and in certain cases, may actually be harder than engineering. Physics, for example, might arguably be the hardest major of all. Hence, the way I see it is, if you're going to choose a difficult major anyway, might as well choose engineering. Otherwise, might as well major in something like Leisure Studies (yes, there really is a Leisure Studies major at some schools). </p>

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but if you graduate with a 2.8 in engineering dont you just kinda loose that versatility?

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<p>Well, you'll have more versatility than the guys who have a 2.8 in one of the liberal arts, especially a 2.8 in something like Leisure Studies. </p>

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im just really worried that i wont be able to compete in the grad school market

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<p>If all you care about is getting high grades for the purposes of getting into grad school, then fair enough, go to an easy school and major in an easy subject.</p>

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<p>
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Im not sure if engineering is the field I want to go in. In fact, I dont think it is.

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Then you probably shouldn't go into it. Engineering is a rigorous major that requires a lot of work. If you're not ready for this commitment going in, then it may be a problem.</p>

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I love wearing a shirt and tie or a suit

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In the US and some other countries, it's becoming increasingly rare that engineers (or everyone else) have to wear ties, white shirts, etc. (thank goodness). Of course, you could wear a tie if you want to but it's not the norm. Regardless, it's not a reason to pick a major.</p>

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Patent attorney, businessman/consultant

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Note that the term 'consultant' is bandied about quite a bit. It doesn't really mean anything in itself. 'Electrical Engineering consulant', means something for example but when it comes down to it, you're really an engineer who happens to work for a consulting firm (or your own). Note that the first thing many people do when they get laid off is become 'consultants' meaning basically, they're available for small jobs until they find a 'regular' job. I'm not saying this is all consultants, just many of them.</p>

<p>If you're not really interested in engineering, likely to not enjoy the engineering/math classes required, and want to be a lawyer other than a patent attorney, then you should probably select another major. You could also start in engineering and take a few classes and then determine whether you like it or not and if you don't like it, switch out. At UCLA and UCSD about 35-40% of engineering admits end up switching out - frequently due to the workload and rigorous courses.</p>

<p>The other option you should consider is to just go into college as undeclared and try out different types of courses to see if something clicks. A lot of people don't know what to do as they enter college which is natural because 'you don't know what you don't know'. If you choose this option, bear in mind that some colleges (UCSD/UCLA among them) are very difficult to switch into engineereing from the L&S college.</p>

<p>Good luck in whatever you select.</p>

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<p>the thing is that i like math and science, and i like engineering. I just dont think id specifically want to be an ENGINEER. I want to take the skills of an engineer and apply them to more of a business setting. Thats where I came up with patent law. Does that make sense or am i looking at this the wrong way?</p>

<p>Im just wondering how one becomes a successful patent lawyer which means going to a good law school for job opportunities which means getting a very high ugpa. It just doesnt seem to connect to me since law schools apparently dont care about your major, even if you wanna be a patent lawyer, or so ive heard. </p>

<p>As ive said, im approaching this as a naive high school student. I dont know what engineering classes are like so i dont know if i can handle them. Im sure I can but all ive seen is discouragement. it just worries me a bit</p>

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<p>If you like math and science and are good at it, you're probably compatible with engineering. Although engineering is more rigorous than say, PoliSci or history (not that there's anything wrong with that), there are still plenty of people who do it.</p>

<p>There are many career avenues open to engineering grads. These include being an engineer of course, but also include product management, sales engineering, management of various engineering-related departments, project management, etc. An engineering degree is actually quite versatile. Note that if you do pursue engineering, you'll probably have a better idea of where you want to focus by the time you graduate; especially if you did some internships.</p>

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<p>Look, a lot of people are in engineering with out wanting to be engineers... what you enjoy to study and do as a hobby doesn't have to be your job! I like engineering as far as academia is concerned but for a living, I'll take my engineering degree, all my knowledge and go elsewhere!</p>

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<p>Having an engineering degree helps in being a patent attorney but is not required. Having experience in engineering design helps also, but is not required. As a patent attorney, you will not be working with math. You will be reading, reading, reading, and writing and re-writing drafts, patents and patent applications. The subject matter has some technical content but also a lot of "legalize" to protect the patent holder from potential lawsuits. Eg, the same small amount of technical content will be represented over and over in various contexts. You will be a laywer. You will be be paid for billable hours. You might also be involved in suits and settlement negotiations.</p>

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<p>you need an engineering (or science) degree to sit for the patent bar</p>

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you need an engineering (or science) degree to sit for the patent bar

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<p>False. Read the USPTO requirements. There are several ways to meet the requirements, of which having a engineering/science degree is only one. Another way is to have taken a certain number of technical college credits (but not enough for an actual degree). Yet another way is to actually work as an engineer for a number of years. {One might ask how do you work as an engineer without a technical degree, and one answer to that is computer programming or information technology - there are a lot of software engineers and IT workers who don't have technical degrees}.</p>

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<p>The current USPTO exam eligibility requirements are documentedhere. Acceptable applicants fall into three general "categories":</p>

<p>"Category A: Bachelor's Degree in a Recognized Technical Subject." This includes engineering, computer sciences, most physical sciences, some biological sciences.</p>

<p>"Category B: Bachelor's Degree in Another Subject." In this case, your degree must be supplemented by college coursework or training equivalent to a bachelor's degree in Category A. The rules are very complex.</p>

<p>"Category C: Practical Engineering or Scientific Experience." But this doesn't literally mean work experience -- it means passing a standardized test, the "Fundamentals of Engineering" (FE) exam. The eligibility rules for this exam vary widely by state; they often include work experience under licensed engineers, but this is not universal. For example, at least one state (NH) allows anyone to take the FE exam, with no education or experience requirements at all. </p>

<p>So yes, you can definitely qualify for the Patent Bar without an engineering or science degree, via Category B or C. But you can't qualify simply by working as an engineer for several years, unless you also pass the FE exam.</p>

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<p>If you like Math and science then enginnering might be one of the best things to major in. I seem to have done my best in the math and sciences so that is why I chose engineering. When I chose to major in engineering I wasnt even sure what an engineer did or if I would be good at it. Dont let CC fool you. Therer are alot of people that go into engineering that dont get the best grades, me being one of them. Like alot of people have said engineering is very versatile so you can still be a lawyer or pretty much anything. I havent gone to college yet but if enginering doesnt work out then I can just change my major. I have no idea how hard the classes will be at MSU. I would say go for it and major in engineering. You seem like you get good grades in school. Just remeber that everybody isnt a genius. Your classmates in engineering classes will be regular people and all people graduating with engineering degrees will be regular people. </p>

<p>Sakky Why havent they gave you a moderating position or something. You have a ton of posts and everyone of them is very informative.</p>

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<p>fine but you neverthelesss still need a very strong scientific background. So eng. major is the best/easiler/most practical way</p>