I’m trying to help my DD narrow down some potential majors and was wondering if anyone has used a “good” online questionnaire to find best fit majors? I’ve reached out to a few academic consultants and they seem more interested in selling a whole package than specifically what I’m looking for. DD has difficulty in verbalizing to us on her interests so we thought she would have an easier time working with a professional or well developed questionnaire. We’re looking for some thing more comprehensive than 20 general questions and more like a Myers-Briggs for college interests. Thanks for the help.
I haven’t come across any questionnaires but there are some good websites that give detailed descriptions of the different engineering disciplines, types of course work required, career applications, etc… https://www.topuniversities.com/courses/engineering/which-type-engineering-should-you-study
What helped my daughter the most though was exposure to engineering summer programs, courses, and shadowing.
She also opted for a college where she had time to explore her intended major freshman year. Some people think it makes for a too competitive transition to major but it was right for her.
Is she trying to figure out which discipline of engineering or what major period?
High School counselors typically have skill in that area.
Anyone offering you a Myers-Briggs-type questionnaire for what to study (or for psychology, for that matter) is selling snake oil.
See if your local library has a copy of Is There an Engineer Inside You?: A Comprehensive Guide to Career Decisions in Engineering by Celeste Baine
My student was given a copy by our local engineering foundation when he was in high school.
Your daughter sounds like my son 2 years ago. He is now in his second year in engineering. What made my son more verbal about if he liked this field was as suggested, sending him to a summer engineering program. His passion and excitement came through. He ended up doing 3 of them since we wanted to expose him to different fields and get him out of the house ;)… Being verbal is important to engineers and the schools know these kids aren’t in general but one thing that opened my kids eyes was his school telling the students directly that the kids that can’t communicate well will end up on a team and be successful but the kids that are good communicators will most likely lead the team. This struck a cord with him.
Took Myers-Briggs many years ago so this information may be dated, but it was only helpful on matching personality types with the personalities of different career directions such as accountants, physicists, engineers, economists, etc. It did not break down profiles within engineering groups. What interested me was that economists and physicists had the same personality profiles and the leading economists at the time were Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman who both did their undergraduate work in Physics.
If available, summer programs are helpful. Check with guidance and/or your favorite math or science teacher.
My daughter was the same; engineering, but which major. She went to a school where you didn’t have to commit to a major until sophomore year and even at that she waited until second semester.
She ended up choosing mechanical engineering as it gave her the most options as to career paths.
But, in many ways it doesn’t matter as much as you might think as to major choice. Engineering is more of learning a way to approach real life problems and you learn so much on the job that major on college becomes almost secondary.
DD is very analytical, but engineering ended up not being a good fit. (She tried it twice, with a year of Walmart job in between). Before returning to school again-again, she did an interest survey with a service at the local university. She thought was worthwhile. She ended up majoring in Economics.
If you are looking for a specific engineering focus, I would suggest trying different projects. If you are interested in civil engineering or aeronautical engineering(any major where you can’t practically practice the skills) you probably can innately tell, and don’t really need to test this method.
I am not sure about aeronautical engineering but if you are interested in civil engineering. The Community Engineering Corps have volunteer opportunities where can advance local infrastructure through an alliance between the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Works Association and the Engineer Without Borders USA.
Shadow programs can give a sample point. In college, I did shadow a mechanical engineer at GE through a program set up by SWE (Society of Women Engineers)… In that case mostly what I learned was that the job can involve a lot of meetings, not just technical analysis work. I’m still glad I did it.
Starting as an undeclared engineering major is not a bad idea. The first year of coursework is pretty much the same for engineering, Physics, Materials Science, and Chemistry. There is plenty of time to make that decision once the student has seen a bit and gets to know students in all of the different majors.
Starting as undeclared engineering works best if entry to engineering majors is not highly competitive in terms of college grades or other admission processes. Otherwise, getting blocked from your desired major because it is full and can only admit students with a 3.5 when you have a 3.4 means having to transfer away if you want to do your major.