<p>Right now I'm in the first semester of my freshman year. My major right now is electrical engineering. I've been doing some thinking and trying to be honest with myself and I'm not sure if engineering is exactly what I want to do. I kind of chose it because I know that engineers have a really good chance of landing a job out of college and the pay is good. I do like technology and I do think it would be cool to help make new technology but I feel like I'm not that interested in it as I should be if I'm going to major in it. I've always had an interest in music and video games. I thought about becoming a video game designer for a long time, not really sure what stopped me. I'm not really sure what I'd like to do with music but I like anything dealing with music so much that I don't think I would care what it was. I have thought about audio engineering but I've never actually done it on my own so I don't think I could get into a college for it since I wouldn't have a portfolio. I think the biggest reason I didn't choose a major more along my interests was because of the salaries and employment opportunities. I'm scared that if I choose a major in music or in the arts that I wont get a job or wont have enough money when I graduate college. On the flip side I also feel like I shouldn't continue a major that I'm not particularly excited or interested in. Should I wait until after my freshman year is complete to see if I like electrical engineering?</p>
<p>I can’t answer your question, but make sure you take a good look at your second semester course selections to leave yourself flexible should you change your mind. </p>
<p>I have a son in his 2nd year of an EE degree. He really enjoys it, but says this semester is quite intense. He has a calc, a physics and 3 EE courses- so I think you have to enjoy the subject matter…</p>
<p>On the flip side. Having an engineering degree on your resume will not hurt your job prospects. I think you should set up a meeting with someone in the engineering department and chat about your thoughts/concerns.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with having an interest in something that you may not make as much money in as EE. At the very least, I think you should inquire about entrance requirements for audio engineering or some other music-related field at local colleges and universities. </p>
<p>You may not need a portfolio. I took some audio engineering extension classes at UCLA a few years ago. There were no requirements beyond an understanding of high school physics and math.</p>
<p>Okay thank you two for the responses. I’m glad to have some advice on this, it has helped me think about what to do next. Thanks!</p>
<p>i have EE (BS and MS) degrees and can tell you that they can give you a good background into audio and music. in my case, i took some classes in digital signal processing and encoding and that’s basically the math and theory behind everything digital nowadays… from MP3s to DVD, Blu-ray, and HDTV to cell phones to VOIP (as in Skype) and more. </p>
<p>generally speaking, i have found that a solid background in engineering gives you the ability to learn and understand many different fields. they teach you the basics (calculus, physics, etc) and you can take it from there to anywhere you want. </p>
<p>personally, i’ve been getting into audio recording lately and find that my EE and engineering background applies when i read/learn about spectrum, frequency response, signal levels in dBs, A/D and D/A conversion, etc.</p>