<p>I dont know which to major in at UCSD. I've been thinking about this for a while. I need some insight. First of all i dont want to be limited to one field and i think that both are generally broad. I want to go to grad school and get my masters and PE someday. Can someone compare the job securites and outlooks. Also the courseload. And any other differences or similarities. To me structural seems to be more design and construction and mechanical seems to be more about robotics and machinery. I like both. I figured that a structural engineer may be able to get a mechanical engineers job and vice versa. I dont know what kind of job i'd want in the future. I've been interested in automobile manufacturing, aerospace, architecture, etc. But then i'm not sure if i'd want to be working for a major corporation. Maybe start my own firm. I'm going crazy. Help me decide!!! I'm still researching btw.</p>
<p>If you want to start your own firm, I think Structural would be more advantageous.</p>
<p>But if you are interested in such a broad variance of engineering fields, as you mentioned, I think ME would be more advantageous because an ME degree is so broad and applies to so many industries in so many ways (Mechanical Systems, Controls, Thermal Systems, ect.)</p>
<p>But this is just what I hear. I'm still in college, so it's not like I'm the "voice of experience" on issues related to the workforce.</p>
<p>If you are looking for broad go Mechanical Engineering. Structural Engineering is much more focused.</p>
<p>does structural engineering teach you enough about mechanics and that sort of stuff to do the jobs that mechanical engineers do? Or if i really want mechanical engineering can i major in that for grad school? In middleschool i used to want to be an architect then I wanted to be an engineer and work for NASA but i thought that Aerospace engineering might limit me because i keep changing my mind. I think that a structural engineer may be able to work for NASA but would they be able to do the stuff that mechanical and aerospace engineers do?</p>
<p>Okay, as the structural engineering grad student of the bunch, I guess I should put in my two cents...!</p>
<p>Once you get past a certain point in both mechanical and structural engineering, they're essentially the same thing. High-caliber structural engineers can go on to do architecture, bridge design, infrastructure design, design and analysis for NASA, materials analysis at think tanks for the government, and <em>tons</em> of other things. I know a couple of people working for national laboratories trying to figure out how metals fracture on airplanes and such for the government, and they got their degrees in structural engineering.</p>
<p>You went through essentially the same train of career goals that I did when I was in middle and high school, and I finally settled on doing an undergrad degree in civil engineering and a graduate degree at UIUC in structural engineering. If you want to do your undergrad in structural engineering but still want to keep your options open, you can take electives in things like thermodynamics and fluid mechanics and vibrations/structural dynamics, and then you'll easily be able to do graduate work in either structural or mechanical engineering. You might be able to do essentially the same thing by doing a mechanical engineering major and taking some design courses in structural engineering, but that might be more complicated than doing things the other way around.</p>
<p>As a civil engineering major with a concentration in structural, I found I was easily able to take upper-level mechanical engineering courses in dynamics and such, and was actually the best student in the class, beating out all the mech eng majors... And if I can do it, then I'm sure that anybody can. Both majors give you plenty of options because both give you a solid and comprehensive understanding of how to design systems.</p>
<p>I went to school as an aerospace engineer. I switched majors freshman year for some of the same reasons you have mentioned. I feared that it may limit some of my options, and that job opportunities were also limited.</p>
<p>I think you would be much better off doing an undergrad degree in M E and then grad work in Structural rather than vice-versa. Of course a structural engineering degree is valuable, so please don't interpret this wrong. If structural is what you want to do, then a graduate degree in it is a great career move. But I would still be leary that you may close some doors for yourself by doing structural engineering as an undergrad.</p>
<p>I think any of the four "old-school" engineering degrees are the ways to keep as many options open as possibly (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical) from an undergraduate standpoint. Aibarr is right in that there is a level of overlap between Structural and Mechanical, and I think the arguement could be made that in the areas of overlap, a Structural may have an upper hand over the Mechanical Engineer. But even if you pick up some extra coursework on the side in Thermal/Fluid systems (as Aibarr had mentioned), I still think a structural engineer is not as well qualified as an ME to deal with Thermal systems. A structural degree is more concentrated and specific, and an ME degree is broader.</p>
<p>It's just my opinion, but I think you're better off starting broad and going narrower by doing an undergrad degree in M E or C E as an undergrad, and then looking towards Structural for grad school if that's what you're interested in.</p>
<p>Seconding psuKinger on definitely going to grad school, and on the gambit of options that result from the old-school fields. Good post. =)</p>
<p>"I think any of the four "old-school" engineering degrees are the ways to keep as many options open as possibly (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical) from an undergraduate standpoint."</p>
<p>Absolutely! (EE all the way ;))</p>
<p>Regarding the last post; are they really as versatile as you say?</p>
<p>If you decide to major in chemical engineering during your undergrad, can you still go to grad school for something like Structural engineering even though the two fields are different?</p>
<p>I really like chemE right now and I don't feel like switching.
However, for grad school; I want the option of studying a different kind of engineering if I want to.</p>
<p>As far as graduate schools are concerned; are the job prospects for a UIUC, UMAA, or Cornell graduate the same as an MIT graduate? I have a feeling Aibarr would know quite a bit about UIUC since he goes there.</p>
<p>i would second the suggestion that you do structural as grad degree...</p>
<p>*she. I'm a she. =) </p>
<p>Anyhoo... the job prospects are <em>definitely</em> good for UIUC, UMAA, and Cornell grads. They're definitely as good as MIT's prospects, for graduate students. What someone was saying on the other thread was completely correct, in that the differences between programs at the level of Cornell/MIT/Berkeley/UIUC are very small. They're all extremely good programs, and you'd be highly recruited as a grad student from any of those schools.</p>
<p>"If you decide to major in chemical engineering during your undergrad, can you still go to grad school for something like Structural engineering even though the two fields are different?"</p>
<p>No, I don't think I would recommend doing undergraduate work in Chemical Engineering if you hope to do graduate work in Structural Engineering. This was not the point I was trying to make, but I can understand how you might draw that conclusion.</p>
<p>What I meant was, that if you want to do Aerospace, Industrial, or maybe Nuclear or Structural Engineeirng, an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering might be the way to go. Similarly, if you're interested in Computer Engineering, a good way to keep your options open might be to do an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in electrical engineering courses most pertinent to the Computer Industry. Likewise, if Structural or Architectural engineering is what you want to study, you might be well-served by doing an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Finally, if you're interested in bioengineering, or perhaps even Materials Engineering or Nuclear Engineering, you might be well-served to study Chemical Engineering as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>As you can see, there is some overlap. But no, I don't think a Chemical Engineering degree puts you in a strong position to pursue Structural Engineering. Likewise, I don't think Mechanical Engineering may be your best move if you want to eventually be a Computer Engineer.</p>
<p>What you have to understand is that in many ways, Aerospace Engineering is nothing more than a specific application of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering is very broad (relative to Aero), and encompasses issues that are not covered in an Aero degree. Aero's study exclusively mechanical engineering principles (fluid mechanics, stability and controls, thermodynamics ect.) that pertain to flight, without worrying so much about how a refrigerator runs.</p>
<p>Yeah but chemE contains many of mechE's aspects: fluids, thermo, heat transfer... I heard chemE is even more versatile than mechE because in addition to mechE, it builds on extra courses on chemicals.</p>
<p>Can anybody else verify the above post by psukinger? What if a chemE wanted to complete his masters in mechE? Logically, it should be possible.</p>
<p>I'm in MechE and my brother just got his ChemE degree. In my opinion, if he wanted to do grad work in MechE he would have to take a lot of undergrad courses. He took courses in fluids, thermo, and heat transfer, but his ChemE department focused on those subjects in relation to ChemE while my MechE versions of the classes focused on a more broad picture. There was a lot of stuff in my fluids class that my brother didn't learn. Also, he hasn't taken any courses in statics, dynamics, strength of materials, stress analysis, etc. </p>
<p>Just from looking at the courses that are offered in each major, MechE seems to be more broad and versatile than ChemE. ChemE is a very important field because those engineers figure out how to produce drugs, food, etc. on a mass scale. But MechEs are responsible for designing and maintaining all of the equipment that is used for that purpose. A cheme might say, "We need to pump x number of gallons of solvent from this tank to that tank." It is the meche's job to design every piece of machinery (tanks, pipes, valves, etc.) to get the job done. I'm sure some chemes are involved in this design process but the general cheme college curriculum doesn't teach cheme students how to physically design machinery.</p>
<p>Ok I pose this question to all of you. I am a rising sophomore and my practice math score is around 650. I want to increase that to a minimum 700+. If I prep three hours a day for apporximately 1 month can I achieve this goal. If not, how long do I need to prep to increase my score. Thanks.</p>
<p>that's probably a question to ask in the SAT forum (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9</a> ).</p>
<p>it's difficult to say, however, since some people may get 700+ with only 1 or 2 (or 0!) hours of studying, while others may actually need the 3 hours a day for a month. personally, i think pumping 90 hours seems a bit much...start out slower and see if it's helping. after all, you don't want to burn yourself out and realize you need to study for more time.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>"Yeah but chemE contains many of mechE's aspects: fluids, thermo, heat transfer... I heard chemE is even more versatile than mechE because in addition to mechE, it builds on extra courses on chemicals."</p>
<p>I was simply trying to make the arguement for an undergrad degree in M E, Chem E, E E, or Civ E instead of Aero, Comp, Nuc, Ind, Struct, ect.</p>
<p>I do believe it could be possible to work on an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering after a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, but only if you intend to focus on the Thermal side of things. The Machine Dynamics side of things would probably be quite foreign to a Chem E.</p>
<p>But again, I was only arguing in favor of the "classic four" instead of the numerous new specialized engineering degrees.</p>
<p>Agreed. Makes sense.</p>
<p>I believe in order to be flexible and do practically any engineering of your choice in graduate school, you have to major in an undergrad. major called General engineering. Only a few select schools in the country offer it though.</p>
<p>is that similar to 'engineering science' and 'engineering physics' programs?</p>