<p>1) Become a part of something big. Even if you’re successful as a doctor, you mostly just help one person, or quite a few people. Once those people die, that’s it for your legacy. It’s not like their grandchildren or their grandchildren’s grandchildren will always remember you. Unless you do something completely out of the ordinary and shock the world forever, your legacy dies with you. With engineering, you have a lot of changes to make yourself a part of something that lives for a very long time. If you build a bridge in San Diego or Los Angeles or New York, your name is on that bridge for a hundred years after it was built. If you’re a chemical engineer and you discover a new method of nanofabrication, your name is on that patent and thousands of new inventions from it will have your name on it. </p>
<p>2) You’ve done what others don’t have the diligence to do. A lot of people say, “Well if I tried hard, I could’ve done well in math.” Or some other variant of that. But you accepted the challenge. Everyone said engineering is a tough major, but you faced it head strong and stayed the course. To graduate in engineering tells not just employers, but professionals, coworkers, girlfriends (if they’re educated enough to understand it) and everyone you meet that you didn’t just get a bachelor’s degree, you got one of “the” prestigious bachelor’s degrees. Engineering majors may as well have the slogan for the Navy Seals, “The only easy day was yesterday.” To build this mindstate in an undergraduate degree develops within you a sense of self confidence that can’t be matched easily. </p>
<p>3) “What are you learning? Oh I learned that too.” Upper division chemistry, upper division drafting, upper division programming. An engineering major doesn’t just take math. He takes calculus, physics, organic chemistry (usually), etc. The first two years of our college years, we do as much life and physical science as chemistry majors, as much math as math majors, as much physics as physics majors and as much general education as liberal arts majors. We undergo a very vigorous and foundational general education preparation. Just having the first two years done will land you a very good job as a student worker, because employers will know that you aren’t just quantitatively strong, but analytically and logically. You know how to think and you are very good at it. </p>
<p>4) They say engineering is a one course career and that engineers are limited professionally. That’s horse crap. My friend graduated from UCSD with a Chemical Engineering degree and he worked nights at Best Buy with me as a Geek Squad agent. He was such a good prospect of employment, that one of the corporate regional managers came down and offered him a position as a regional supervisor making 55k+/- a year because he wanted to keep him with Best Buy. Engineering is a widely accepted top 5 degree for preparation of law school to be a patent attorney. </p>
<p>5) The money. Let’s face it- Times are rough and the dollar keeps getting thinner. A lot of econ majors have been boasting and rubbing it in peoples’ faces how much their field is growing. What they don’t realize is, their field is growing in contrast to years of recession that they experienced before. Engineering on the other hand has ALWAYS had a strong presence in the job demand market. You show me an unemployed engineer and I’ll show you an engineer that either didn’t pass his FE/PE or simply isn’t trying to find a job. In an economy as bad as this, engineers aren’t just not hurting for work, they’re also getting by comfortably. </p>
<p>6) Market growth. Most of the engineering majors are expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years. You won’t have to live in some rural part of Ohio to get good work in an engineering field. The sky is the limit, pretty much. You can even leave the country if you wanted. Engineering firms can be found in almost every major city and some smaller metros all across the country. Most of the growth is expected in California, New York and Florida but there’s a significant amount of growth in Massachusetts as well. </p>
<p>In the end, it’s a very solid degree, it’s a testament to dedication, you can become a part of research to create things that will live for a long time and it commands respect. It’s nice to be one of the best paid bachelor’s after graduation. </p>
<p>For your second question, most colleges prefer you to declare a major before entering. To be honest, you’ll have a much easier time leaving an engineering major for something else, than you would leaving something else to enter engineering. This is especially the case at Ivy league schools or UC or UF or UT schools, where the engineering departments receive thousands of applications out of state to enter their department. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to enter as an engineering major, I suggest you maintain a strong standing in physical science and mathematics. Take calculus sequence for engineers, general chemistry sequence and physics. If you get those done with decent grades, you should be able to enter an engineering major. Seeing as you’re in AP Physics B and AP Calc AB (Fills Calc 1 and Physics 1), you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Definitely take Calculus 2 or 3 and Physics 2 over summer to see how you like them.</p>