<p>Come september I would be pursuing a chemical engineering degree (co-op), which is 5 years long, yet I am so sure about which career I want to do. I have heard alot of stories about engineers going into different, non-engineering careers after graduation, and I wanted to know what are the most popular non-engineering paths for graduates. ( alot of people say something like 50% of engineers never end up in engineering but im not sure if thats true.)
Basically, alot of the disadvantages of engineering are giving me second thoughts about a career in it ( low job security, very early salary cap, etc;).</p>
<p>I know lots of engineers end up in business fields, with or without an MBA. The combo is VERY employable, in industry or in consulting.</p>
<p>if you’re an engineering student, you learn quantitative and problem-solving skills that make you marketable in a whole variety of fields</p>
<p>so don’t feel constrained to chemical engineering - and if you don’t like your classes, switch to something you do like; that’s the whole point of college</p>
<p>i’m an engineer in a business field (consulting) and lovin’ it</p>
<p>Tenebrousfire, would you care to expand upon your experience as a consultant? How did you get into it? How is it different from typical engineering jobs? (in terms of work, compensation, etc.) I’m curious about that field.</p>
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Low job security in comparison to what? From my observation, engineering is one of the most stable field in terms of career.</p>
<p>How would a major in engineering (currently leaning toward CivilE) translate if I were to pursue an MPA or MPP later on down the road?</p>
<p>rheidzan:</p>
<p>law, or actuary?</p>
<p>actuary is definitely more stable. FIrst off you have quantitative skills and actuaries are highly sought after in the first place. </p>
<p>Too many lawyers in america today - just look on TV and every other friekn ad is for a lawyer.</p>
<p>law isn’t so great unless you do something highly specialized like international law for example</p>
<p>I second actuary… Although… if you have an engineering undergrad, you can become a patent lawyer and it’s pretty specialized.</p>
<p>
Exactly my situation. I made a thread about it (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/734676-opinion-needed-mpp-mpa.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/734676-opinion-needed-mpp-mpa.html</a>), but so far not a lot of people responded/commented on it… I’m honestly not sure what MPP/MPA can do unless we go into politics or working for gov’t…</p>
<p>eh i thought about becoming a patent agent (which is what you can do as an engineer prior to law school) but decided against it</p>
<p>what do you wanna know about consulting? i applied during on-campus recruiting and i find that a lot of my quantitative / data analytics skills are useful</p>
<p>and consulting depends on the type and the staffing model (if you travel or if you sit in an office near home the whole time)</p>
<p>if you show sufficient interest / desire in your career path to pursue the mpp / mpa, don’t think the undergrad major matters very much - i might get one down the road</p>
<p>you get a decent amount of respect for completing a engineering degree, period. if you also have people skills, and a mind for business, you can do quite a lot.</p>