Tough decision in choosing between two majors

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I orginally posted this in the "Other College Majors" part of the forum and someone recommended me to post it here. It's a long post, but it needs explanation, and I made a few changes. </p>

<p>I will be a sophomore in college in a few weeks and I'm in the process of changing my major. I've done a lot of research and talked to the academic advisors in the departments with the majors I'm interested in. I narrowed down my options to pursue a degree in Geology or Materials Science and Engineering. Now, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding which major fits my career goals the best.</p>

<p>I like geology because I am interested in mineralogy and petrology. I would like to do research in mineralogy someday even if the jobs are hard to come by. I'm more than willing to get a master's and a doctorate degree and do some undergraduate research so I have a better chance of doing professional research later on. I'm hesistant on choosing geology because I will take classes like structural gelogy and surficial processes which don't seem very interesting. Also, there is a seven week long field camp during the summer of my junior year, but it is a little offputting because it would take away time for me to do an internship, research, and/or take classes. Geologists can also work a lot outside depending on what they do and who they work for. Even though I like being outside, I would not enjoy working in freezing or rainy conditons unless the work I do is very fascinating. Many of the entry-level jobs I've been looking at don't spark me as interesting enough for me to work in those conditions. I'm fine with toughing it out until I find something better, but I don't want to be miserable either. </p>

<p>Now for materials science and engineering. The program at my school allows me to specialize in two materials: metals, ceramics, electronics, polymers, and a proposal based specialization that consists of three upper level courses from any science and engineering department as well as math. I'm going to pick ceramics because I'm interested in the optical and chemical properties of them which would be similar to what I would learn in mineralogy, which is a plus. My other specialization would be a proposal based specialization based around earth materials or something so I can take mineralogy and petrology as a couple of my main courses as long as my proposal passes within the committee that approves it. I also have free technical electives I can use them for if the proposal doesn't pass. The fact that I have flexibility in which course I want to take is a good reason why I'm interested in Mat E over the other engineering majors at my school. If anything else I could do a geology minor, but the remaining courses I would need to take would be the lower level introductory and general geology classes that probably wouldn't be too beneficial. They are supposed to serve as a preparation for the more advanced topics, but I was told I can start taking mineralogy right away. Now, I'm hesistant on materials science and engineering becase of the general mechanical topics. I'm more of a science guy rather than engineering, but the program at my school seems more like science than engineering. However, I'm sure I can handle the engineering topics fine.</p>

<p>I guess what I'm trying to ask is what major would be best if I wanted to pursue a career that involved mineralogy and earth materials. If I did geology, I'll have probably have more knowledge in mineralogy, petrology, and additonal knowledge such as the environmental factors that affect them, but I'll be cluttered with classes like structural geology and sedimentology. If I did materials science and engineering, I'll probably have less direct knowledge of mineralogy, but I'll have better knowledge in materials and solids that I can apply to mineralogy. I know I'm going to be making the decison in the long run, but any insight including professional advice is greatly appreciated. If all else fails, both geology and Mat E offer other choices that interest me such as GIS in geology or being a materials consultant with a Mat E degree. I apologize if this post is too long, but I have a lot on my mind right now concerning this, and I should make a decision soon.</p>

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<p>I’m bumping this thread as I really could use some insight here.</p>

<p>I’ve heard that its’ better to start off with engineering and then switch to something like geology if I change my mind later compared to the other way around. Is this largely agreed on by many engineers?</p>

<p>Also, I’m thinking if I do Mat E and specialize in geology courses throughout my undergraduate I could go into a geology graduate program later on if I didn’t want to do Mat E. Some engineering knowledge may help, but I might lack more specific knowledge in geology that people who did geo for their undergrad would have. Anybody have any experience or know somebody who has that did this?</p>

<p>If I did geology, I would consider a math minor because it would help if I decide later on that I would rather do geophysics than mineralogy/geochemistry or vice versa instead of specializing in the physics or chemistry parts right away.</p>

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<p>Well, let’s see what information I can give from the geology side - not an engineer, so keep that bias in mind.</p>

<p>Mineralogy and petrology typically go together - you utilize studies of mineral compositions to say something about the rocks you’re studying, and consequently about the environmental conditions under which those rocks formed, presumably with the goal of having some generalizable idea of how the earth system works. It would probably be tough to avoid structural geology in this situation, because you really need both to understand the setting in which you find your samples. Then again, you may like structure more than you think - as someone who is into material sciences, you may enjoy thinking about how various rock types respond to differing pressure, temperature, and strain rate regimes. Anyway, your sophomore year in college is WAY too early to specialize to that degree, so try a bunch of classes before you lock yourself into one thing that you HAVE to do. Having preconceived notions of what a class should be like tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, so keep an open mind. Worst case: you don’t like the class, and now know that you don’t want to do that for a career. Still solving a good problem there.</p>

<p>Anyway, this particular field of geology is much heavier on the lab side than the field work side, in general. However, field camp is something you would just have to deal with - it’s generally a requirement for grad school, which you would absolutely need to do to pursue this field. Also, it is completely awesome. There will be plenty of time for internships in grad school, if you end up going the industry route. In academia, there really aren’t internships anyway - they’re called postdocs. I do, however, highly recommend scouting out undergraduate research opportunities. Look into the REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program for this. This experience, more than anything, will tell you if scientific research is what you want to do for a career - it’s tough to get better than actually getting your feet wet. And if you like it, it looks great on your grad school applications.</p>

<p>To me, the fundamental question you should ask yourself in deciding between the two is, what do you like to do? If you are a curious person who likes to answer questions and focuses on the big arm-wavey picture, you should be a geologist. If you are a practical person who likes to make things work and are detail-oriented, become an engineer. It’s a cliche, but that cliche is there for a reason.</p>