Uncertain about Chem. Eng vs. Other options

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I'm currently enrolled in a HS in Canada, and I'll be beginning my final year early this fall.
I'm torn between an undergraduate degree in Poli. Sci, and then going to Law School, or doing Chemical Engineering instead.</p>

<p>Last year was not a very good year for me academically, as I had many personal distractions (that I'd rather not go too deep into). Though, I excelled academically in previous years, getting 90's in Arts (such as English, Law...),mid 80's in math and mid - high 80's in sciences.</p>

<p>The Arts, (Law in specific) is my passion. Though, due to job prospects, I've decided to abandon that dream and go into Chemical Engineering instead. I'm not terrible in the sciences, though I do not particularly enjoy them. I quite like the theoretical stuff, and reading research articles in Nature Mag., but Chem. isn't really my strong-suit. </p>

<p>I supposed what I'm worried about is if I can cut it in Engineering. I can do well in sciences if I really apply myself, but I don't see myself hitting high 90's or even mid 90's in my final year. High or mid 80's is probably what I am expecting to be able to achieve this year. On top of not getting amazing marks, I'm not passionate about it. But I really can't see myself doing anything else, as this pays quite well as an undergraduate degree. I'm not the type who'd risk it and do an arts degree (which is why I dropped Law). I like to play it quite safe.</p>

<p>I hear about many people getting into engineering (who are brighter than myself) and end up dropping out because it's too difficult. I just don't want to waste a year or more (of my time and money) on a program that I may end up dropping out of.</p>

<p>What would be your honest opinions of my chances of passing Chem. Eng, without being particularly "amazing" at it, and lacking the passion for sciences?</p>

<p>Thank you so very much for reading all of this (please excuse this for being terribly long),</p>

<p>S</p>

2

<p>Perhaps you should sit down and meditate on this matter. </p>

<p>I understand the pressing needs of securing a stable future vs. the desire to embark on an intellectually fulfilling journey. My opinion is, there is little reason to choose one over the other; one may balance these two needs as best possible. </p>

<p>It is possible to study Law while simultaneously acquiring practical skills that will not leave you entirely “defenseless” in the job market.</p>

3

<p>I don’t consider Poli Sci a real degree. You realize already law is a terrible option. I’d do Engineering or stay home. Yes I know this will incite controversy, but these are my honest thoughts.</p>

4

<p>Andrewsky, I do agree with you. Though, I’m quite concerned about how many people quit; and since I’m not amazing at science I worry how tangible of a choice ChemEng. is for me. Are there any other majors that you’d suggest for a job?</p>

<p>Also, do a lot of engineers these days have to get masters to be competitive?</p>

5

<p>“I don’t consider Poli Sci a real degree. You realize already law is a terrible option. I’d do Engineering or stay home. Yes I know this will incite controversy, but these are my honest thoughts.”</p>

<p>Well, Engineering is certainly the new “Liberal Arts”.</p>

6

<p>Sorry, but what do you exactly mean by that? Is engineering becoming easier to get into, or something?</p>

7

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<p>I would like to know about this too.</p>

8

<p>Technically you only need a Bachelors in Engineering to be competitive. There are exceptions such as Biomedical Engineering where a Masters is preferred.</p>

9

<p>Why is engineering the new liberal arts degree? Well, for some jobs, employers are just looking for people who are smart. Liberal arts students will often claim they have strong critical thinking skills and are good at solving problems. Well, it turns out that Engineering majors have incredible, quantitative problem solving skills along with technical knowledge. This gives Engineering grads a leg up if they are looking for positions in sales or what not at large corporations that sell physical products. In other words, if companies are just looking for people who are smart, they’ll hire Engineering majors. </p>

<p>I am not really sure that the dropout rate is much higher for Engineering than it is for liberal arts. But then again, people who start in Engineering are generally smarter and harder-working. Please be advised that attaining a liberal arts degree is no joke. A big part of the problem is that most of the academic writing in fields like History, English, and Political Science is actually a steaming pile of bs. The language they use is purposely unclear in many cases. So it takes a lot of talent to decode and reproduce this type of bs. Good old-fashioned plain speaking is not how things are done in liberal arts. </p>

<p>Engineering requires you to sit down and study very dense, dry, technical texts. But in a way it is easier because there is a right answer, and there is a legitimate purpose behind it. </p>

<p>Here’s the perspective I’m coming from: I’m 21, have a BA in History, took the LSAT, but decided not to go to law school. Job prospects are atrocious and the field doesn’t interest me. Now I’m more or less a second semester Engineering student at another university. </p>

<p>Whether or not you can do a Chemical Engineering degree, I don’t know. No college degree is easy. Chemical Engineering may actually be the hardest undergraduate degree there is. I’d say if you are interested in the field, you have a little natural ability, and you can dedicate 60 hours/week to your studies, you can do it. Also make sure that you are set up so that you won’t have a nervous breakdown. When you’re doing Chemical Engineering, you don’t want to be homesick or have to worry about the hassle of moving from dorm to apartment to house to apartment to house every few months…Do not get arrogant. There are 18 year old freshman in my Calc 2 for eng. class who emailed the professor the first day asking him if they could “test out” of it…They think they’re geniuses, people who have a clue think they’re idiots.:wink: The professor rightly sent them an email telling them he’ll think about it when they get a 100 on the first test…</p>

<p>A Masters isn’t necessary right now in general. A lot of the talk about the superiority of graduate degrees comes from college advisors. A University would love you to get a BA and an unfunded MA in Political Science. There’s a lot of money in it. For some reason, you never hear people talk about how a Bachelors can be worth a lot more than a Masters. The subject is super important. I’ll take a BSE in Chemical Engineering before a Phd in Modern Dance, thank you. And don’t even think about a Phd in Poli Sci. Job placement is under 50%.</p>

10

<p>I don’t know the situation in Canada, but in the US the legal market is over-saturated. Law grads are having a real tough time finding jobs. </p>

<p>If you are not interested in the sciences, don’t do chemical engineering. It’s a lot of physics and chemistry. You may not enjoy sciences now, but you will probably end up hating it when you go to college because those classes are a lot tougher than what you have in high school. </p>

<p>If I were you I would just be a business major. I consider that to be “the new liberal arts degree” as opposed to engineering. It’s easier than engineering and you still get access to a variety of career options. And if you ever decide to go to law school, a business degree should be fine for that.</p>

11

<p>You can study ChemE and then become patent lawyer later if you think law is still your passion.</p>

<p>

I don’t know who they are but I definitely not a good writer.
You don’t need a super bright mind to study engineering. I say anyone with the heart and effort can do well. As many will tell you engineers tend to have lower GPA. Anyway.</p>

<p>But if you don’t have a passion for ChemE, I would not get into it. It will be a headache. </p>

<p>I agree with Andrew. No college is easy. In art majors, like business and laws, you read a lot and you write a lot, which I really hate. Engineers do take two semesters of writing and a few liberal arts, but when you are in engineering courses professors are very unlikely to ask for a paper. So for me either way is difficult. I like analytics subject and my previous focus was law as a matter of fact.</p>

<p>You should really sit down and what you really want to study.</p>

<p>I know taking a risk is unwise. But think for a moment. Either you hate science and got C and D and cry for nothing (because you have no passion for science if that’s the case). Or you rather to do something that you like, and then post-graduation find a job.</p>

<p>Engineers don’t always get hired. There are thousands that are sending out applications every day to seek for an employment.</p>

<p>No. Job security is no guarantee.</p>

12

<p>I would consult with lawyers and chemical engineers in Canada before making a decision. Here in the US, both the legal industry and chemical engineering are in decline. But maybe Canada is different.</p>

13

<p>I think the lack of passion will be a big issue. With engineering, the majority of the time it’s not really how smart you are, but how dedicated you are. There are just some problem sets in classes that you will get that will take an hour or two per problem, times 5-10 problems. They’re tough and long and require you to just pound at them, and there is no quick way around them. You will most likely enjoy your time even less than you already do if you’re not passionate about the field, and more likely than not you are to drop out of the program. From the classmates that I’ve been around, this seems to be the case.</p>

14

<p>Engineering won’t give you a job automatically…true. But it gives you a much better shot at getting a good one, especially if the economy is good. </p>

<p>Let’s think of majors like this. If a major is guaranteed to get you a job, then we’ll say it’s marketability index is 100. If it won’t get you a job, it’s 0. Engineering is going to be a 90, Business is going to be a 50, Liberal Arts is going to be a 10. The liberal arts majors have to network more than the business majors, the business majors have to network more than the engineering majors, and the engineering majors still have to do a little networking.</p>