Should I be an engineer or a scientist?

College Majors
1

I already asked a similar question before, with the difference that I didn’t include engineering in it, and nobody has helped me so far.

I’m a freshman in college right now and I know I have a lot of time to figure out my major, however, I don’t want to spend more than 4 years in college (I’m planning to go to school during the summer, too)

I used to say I wanted to be a CLS before taking Intro to General Chem at my university. I really enjoy chemistry, I love the experiments we have to do, and I like the algebra that is involved, but I hate how much memorization it has. I like to think outside the box, I prefer applying existing formulas and theories than discovering new ones. Also, I’ve investigated and I realized that being a CLS is really competitive (I mean the program to obtain the license), and that you can’t probably find a good job without a higher degree in biological sciences.

I wanted to study biochem to work in a hospital lab but with no jobs as a backup plan and hating the fact that I need to memorize many things.I was thinking of changing my major to some engineering because it seems engineers have more opportunities of getting jobs right after graduation than scientists.

I didn’t choose engineering just because of the money but because I like solving problems. During my senior year in high school I took AP Calc AB and I loved the algebra it had, the derivatives and the integrals (I didn’t like trig though); as I mentioned above, I like having a base at the beginning that leads me throughout the problem to get a specific answer, and I like being able to do hands-on projects. I thought computer engineering could be a good major for me since you have to do some mathematics, use the computer, and being active, but here comes my question: is computer engineering worth? I may read that engineering offers more jobs than science but is CE better than biochem?

I like the environment that is around hospitals but I’m not as passionate about medicine as the fact of working behind the scenes to help others. Could I still work in a hospital with a degree in engineering?

My goal is to be involved in a hospital and get a good salary but I don’t wish the rest of my life doing something I don’t like. What should I do? Complete the biochem major or the engineering one?

2

If you don’t want to pursue a PhD, then definitely go the computer engineering, computer science or similar route. Hospitals need computer specialists to help protect their health data. That area is huge right now, and will only grow. Look at some of these job descriptions for ideas:

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=HIPAA+security+analyst+hospital&l=

3

Computer engineering (especially if you develop software ability) is much better than biochemistry for landing you in good paying work in four years.

(Chemistry can be fun in college labs, but the work one gets with a bachelor’s in chemistry rarely gives one problems to solve except equipment repair and time management, in my 30-year bachelor’s chemistry career experience.)

4

Before you can apply existing formulas and theories, you have to learn them. Every major has an element of some memorization and rote tasks in the beginning; your foundational chemistry classes are likely to have some memorization, but the upper-level classes perhaps less so. The same is true of engineering and science - you have to learn the concepts before you can apply them and build upon them. So expect some memorization in any science-related major you select (and many social sciences and humanities majors).

If you want to be a scientist, you will need some graduate work. At the very least, to be a lab technician or research associate you will probably need an MS. To be an independent scientist, you’ll need a PhD. So if you don’t want to go to graduate school, then a career as a scientist probably isn’t great for you. (A degree in biochem doesn’t mean you can’t work right after graduation, though; it just means you might not be able to do research work in a deep way post-graduation).

There’s no objective answer to whether one major is “better” than another one. It depends on your interests and skills. Some people would rather be a lab tech making $40K because they love being around science, and some would rather be an computer engineer making $80K because they prefer the tasks and/or the money. It depends on your values and priorities. (And making money is a good priority to have, so don’t feel ashamed of that).