Need serious, practical advice on deciding major...

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Hello!

I was recently admitted to Petroleum Engineering at UT–Austin. However, I am not sure that I want to become a petroleum engineer. All admitted students have an option to switch their major under UT’s application status website. Recently, I have been incessantly thinking about what time of engineering discipline I would be interested in studying for four years, and coupling that with job prospects I have been researching. Usually, I am decisive and can come to a reasonable conclusion making decisions at the margin, but I have been unusually vacillating over this dilemma. I have outlined what I believe to be the pros and cons of each discipline I am thinking about. Any insight on my current position would be greatly appreciated.

Petroleum Engineering (UT degree Plan: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/attachments/PGE2014-2016_SAC.pdf )
Pros:
-Starting salary of $95k-$150k ( http://www.engr.utexas.edu/ecac/salaries )
-Selective department: About 455 students and shrinking.
-Enrollment:internship ratio is less than 5.
-Make $170+ mid career (Under Houston Metropolitan Area: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172171.htm )
-Going to top school for PetE, in a state that has an economy dependent on O&G. Talk about maximizing resources!
-Viable segue into finance/consulting due to quantitative intuition and invaluable knowledge of industry.
-Most valuable bachelors degree available. No need for graduate study. Four years of college → $120k salary.
-Could be an exciting job, never a dull moment.
-I’m already admitted into PetE!!-- avoiding hassle/uncertainty of internal transferring
-Plenty of opportunities for internships
-Did I mention the $$$?
Cons:
-Do I really want to study petroleum in college…?
-Boom/Bust cycle. I have heard that now is the best time to be studying PetE though… boom when I graduate?
-Parents take out loans for a degree that is limited and unstable.
-Very linear and specialized (see Degree Plan for third and fourth years).
-14 on 14 off for drilling engineers? Could be a reservoir engineer, but not sure if I would like this…
-Family Life?
-If I get into it and don’t like it, this could be a problem…
-Could be relocated to some godforsaken land, but hopefully you actually have more control over this than from what I have heard.
-Can pretty much only work for O&G or take a job in finance ( ??) …nothing wrong here?.

Mechanical Engineering (UT degree plan: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/attachments/ME2014-2016_SAC.pdf )
Pros:
-Broad field: From materials to automobiles (this sounds cool), MEs are everywhere.
-I’d be interested in working for NASA, or a cool auto company like Tesla? (am I being realistic?)
-UT is also a top 10 MechE school.
-I can still make big $$$ in O&G, BUT not as easy/straightforward to get into.
-Interesting field with a varied degree plan, covering many cool classes.
-Not working for oil company??
Cons:
-Starting salary is a cool $72k, but caps out until management, then it doesn’t get much better unless I go into O&G.
-1200 undergraduate students are studying MechE at UT-- more competition.

  • about 250,000 MechE in US… my dad tells me they are a-dime-a-dozen, but I have kind of tuned out familial influences.
    -More difficult to get an internship. (as opposed to PetE)
    -More difficult to get a job. (as opposed to PetE)
    -4 years of cooler classes→ sub-par career?
    -Would have to attend grad school to bolster resume (Probably going to grad school anyway…)

Chemical Engineering: (UT Degree Plan: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/attachments/CHE2014-2016_SAC.pdf )
Pros:
-Cool to study I guess. I have always liked chemistry (not sure if this has any real bearing though)
-Starting salary from $75k-$100k
-Could make $150k+ mid career, maybe more as a manager.
-Reasonable hours, 8-5ish
-UT is #6 in ChemE according to US news (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/chemical-engineering-rankings)
-Flexibility in job market.
-department: 755 students.
-Salary less than PetE, but more job security and arguably more valuable degree.
-Possibility to work Upstream, but most likely downstream, and I am okay with that.
-Houston/Dallas are a ChemE hub for O&G.

  • more Job security.
    -best grad school options?
    -Viable segue into finance/consulting also.
    Cons:
    -I have not been admitted into ChemE…it was my first choice but I was offered my second choice instead (for the better?)
    -Would I get tired of chemistry in the curriculum? Maybe?
    -Very difficult to transfer into, would definitely need a 3.9+ GPA the first year.
    -Is ChemE an exhausted industry?–> Only 33,000 practicing Chemical engineers (another BLS reference).

Electrical Engineering-- I recently starting think about this, don’t know much about it. No real passion here.

Future Goals:
-make $$$ (although this seems ridiculous, coming from a humble beginning has put things in perspective for me, and I have put aside the cliche and vacuous truisms.)
-I take things very seriously, so whatever I do I will push for nothing less than excellence.
-A powerful and rewarding position.
-A family :slight_smile:

So yeah. I am interesting in studying a lot of things. I know that internal transfers are difficult, but if I figure out what I want to do, I will be steadfast in achieving that. Sorry for the wall of text, but I just had to tabulate everything that is jumbled in my mind. I hope this can help others who are fickle about their future/major. If you have read everything thus far, thank you!

2

On the subject of Petroleum engineering, I understand that starting salary is amazing ($100k+ as a 21 year old is fantastic I’m sure) but any company that hires petroleum engineers also tends to hire ChemEs in the same proportion. I go to Rice and we don’t have a PE program but the O&G industry is still the number 1 employer. Between PE and ChemE starting salary, if they’re doing the same job, they’re going to be paid near equal amounts.

About ChemE I would say if you like chemistry, ChemE might be a little bit of stretch. You should check the degree plan at your institution but here at least once you get past Orgo I/II it’s a lot of physics. It’s about reactor designs and building containers that carry out chemical processes more than about the processes themselves. If you could switch I would say ChemE is the way to go. It has the added benefit of also being super flexible.

MechE is another flexible major. And on the subject of the starting salary, that’s still a fantastic wage. Now, overall O&G pays more across the board but because there are so many more of them you’re getting a lot of different wages factored into that. “Hard to find a job” is odd to hear. Most jobs that are looking for an engineer usually will look at a MechE but there are a lot of them and those positions usually aren’t MechE exclusive. That being said, if you don’t want to live in Houston and don’t want to work in O&G anymore where’re you going to go with a degree in PetE? Admittedly, I think it has a good outlook for at least the next 10-15 years but you’ll be mid -stride in your career by then. You won’t be first on the lay-off list for sure but you also want to work for a company with staying power and lasting vitality.

So, in summary:
ChemE
MechE
PetE
Elec

If you hadn’t expressed zero interest in Elec I would’ve put it above PetE.

Also, remember, you don’t have to work in a cubicle forever. If you work for a company with a clear idea of promotion you should be fine and that plateau of wages shouldn’t mean much to you.

3

You admitted yourself that studying Chem E would eventually land you working for the same O&G companies as studying Pet E, yet at a lower level/pay/prestige. Is this even a question? Regarding the Mech E, I agree with your dad they’re a dime a dozen. Stick with Pet E. You will have more options than you think even if you don’t like the engineering path after all. You can go into patents, or use your quantitative skills in many types of jobs like analytics or investments, or head into real estate or environmental, etc. It will likely use more chemistry than Mech E, and you said you love chemistry. I just did a search for Pet E jobs and it came up with some jobs in places like Colorado, Utah, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – not just Texas – plus there could be opportunities abroad. Also, you did say your goal was $$$… Here’s the geographic profile of where the jobs are, per your own link, and it includes some of the most beautiful states in the USA: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172171.htm#st

4

Let me add that since financial security is a major goal, along with ideally some free time on your hands, you should study Rich Dad Poor Dad books, and How to Be Rich by J. Paul Getty (the billionaire in oil), and many other inspiring books by and about wealthy people. You will learn that what you should do is live frugally while making your money in Pet E while it lasts, and invest your savings into real estate and business investments that will make you even more money. Eventually you won’t need your “job” because you’ll be managing your investments or own businesses full time. My ex made a goal at a young age of living off his investments by age 40 – what he called being “financially secure” – and he succeeded. So can you. Good luck!

5

Here is some practical advice. Don’t think about the money or job prospects. Assume that you will be good enough to make plenty of money.

Imagine having to practice your profession for 40+ years. Every day, 5 days a week, 8+ hours a day. It could be a life sentence of hard labor with no parole if it’s a field you don’t like.

What excites you enough that you’d want to do it every day for 40+ years?

If you had all of the material wealth imaginable, which would you want to do anyway?

6

Do you NEED to know right now? Although some (like my son) know what they want to specialize in before freshman yr and was admitted directly (at his school, a “pre-major” where he was able to start taking special classes from day one)-most schools still have a general first year curriculum which allows all eng students to sample all programs before committing (at the end of the first or second year, depending). So you may have a full year before you have to make this critical decision. You’re being analytical (as engineers tend to be) but I hear that financial outcome is heavily weighted in your decision making process and may be pulling you in a direction your heart doesn’t want to go. Take a breath and find your passion this next year! Engineers across the board make relatively a lot of money, and follow the financial advice from above posters!