I’m constantly changing my major in different fields of Engineering, however I am entering my Junior year and need to select one already. The 3 engineering fields I’ve narrowed down to are Chemical, Biomedical, and Civil. Since I’ve met all my lower division classes and prereq’s for these 3 majors it would not mean I would fall behind if I chose one over the other. It’s tough for me to make a decision because I have great reasons (pros) for each major as well as some not so great reasons (cons) that I will mention. I hope I can just get some opinions and thoughts on what you think I should pick. I am a transfer student from a California Community College will be transferring to a school (probably a UC or Cal Poly SLO).
Chem E is what I originally had my mind set on, I like everything about what the job of a chemical engineer (more specifically process engineer) entails. The fact that Chem E’s are able to turn small scale processes or items into the form of large, cost-efficient quantities is very appealing to me. What’s also great about this major is how broad it is. There are so many fields within Chemical Engineering itself that I could specialize in, for example there’s pharmaceutical, petroleum, bioengineering, etc. It seems to me that a degree from Chem E would open many doors for a graduate degree in any engineering field, which is great. Now the cons of this major (for me): I’ve taken enough chemistry to realize I am really not that good nor am I so much interested, it was all good when I took General Chemistry, however taking the Organic Chemistry series really made me hate the major. Other cons include the slow growth of jobs (according to stats on BLS), and having to live in the less desirable parts of the country in order to get a job (but they are usually high paying).
This leads to my second choice major which is Biomedical Engineering. Having always been super interested in the medical field, I feel like Biomedical Engineering (BME) would be a great fit for me. The fact that I actually enjoy Biology and do pretty well in bio classes are a plus. Though the pay is not quite as high a Chem E, I don’t mind this too much as long as I’m in a career that I am passionate about. The cons of BME would have to be all the stories I hear of how BME’s with a bachelors degree can’t really find jobs, people usually refer to them as a “jack-of-all-trades,” and so the only way to get hired is really to get more education - a masters or Ph.D degree. It’s hard what to believe, when websites like BLS state that BME jobs are expected to grow over 25%.
Civil engineering is my 3rd option and one that I’ve always kind of considered ever since I thought of engineering. I love the fact that there is always jobs for civil engineers no matter where they might want to live and the fact that they can get hired right after a bachelors degree. Though they have a lower salary compared to the other 2 majors mentioned above, they still make great money nonetheless. I guess my only cons for Civil would be the lower pay, and not being as super interested as I am compared to the other 2 majors.
Chemical engineering has higher pay
Bio medical is more competitive and offer more opportunities in future
Tough I don’t know much about civil engineering don’t think it is going to make more progress than the other two
My S just recently applied for his engineering major and his advisor told him that if he wants biomedical he should be prepared to go to graduate school. He told him that a third of the biomedical students get jobs, a third go to medical school and the last third go on to graduate school.
I would consider mechanical engineering. It offers more opportunities, especially in California where process (chemical) engineering jobs are fewer and because you don’t care for chemistry. However, since you’ve taken the general and organic chemistry, there isn’t a whole lot more chemistry for chemical engineering…it’s mostly physics.
Electrical engineering is also lucrative and has more opportunities. If you liked you’r electricity and magnetism physics, that could be another option.
I think BME is too limiting for an undergrad degree.
Civil engineering firms are very project based and it seems like the work is more feast and famine. If you have any interest in architecture, civil engineering is a good compliment. Civil engineers also get involved in waste water treatment… A niche they’ve carved out for themselves (especially in California).
@ACollegeFan That sounds about right, I don’t mind going to grad school if it’s only 1-2 years, but ideally I would like to start working with a bachelors that way I can have the company pay for my schooling if I’m lucky enough haha.
@UCBChemEGrad Thanks for the advice, I actually have not put too much thought into Mechanical, I just always thought it was too hard. It wouldn’t be a bad option at all to get a bachelors in Mechanical with possibly a minor in Biomedical or even go on to grad school to get a masters in BME. Hmm now this option sounds really appealing, but I’ve already applied to most of the UC’s as Chem E for my first choice. If I’ve met all my prereq’s except for 1 or 2 do you think I could switch from Chem E to Mechanical after transferring? I will check with the schools I applied for, but I’m guessing it should be doable? (UCI, UC Davis, UCSB, and UC San Diego).
Although I did very well in my E&M class I absolutely dislike programming and dealing with circuits so EE is not really my thing, plus I feel that it’s the hardest engineering major.
You’re right about Civil, I think I would be kind of bored picking that one, not that the field is boring itself, just don’t see myself enjoying it as much as the others.
I’m unsure about other UCs in switching between engineering disciplines. At Berkeley, ChemE is in the College of Chemistry and separate from College of Engineering …that makes it a bit harder. Berkeley also offers a double major for ChemE/Mechanical, so there was some overlap.
I don’t think mechanical engineering is as impacted. The prerequisites are largely the same. If you have decent grades, I don’t think the colleges would put up much resistance if you wanted to switch.
Thank you, I contacted some of the schools I applied to and each one kind of differs. For example It’s easier to switch at UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UCLA, I’m guessing because they are less impacted. But it seems it would be tough to do the same at UCSD, it may not even be possible, I sent them an email so we’ll see.
Don’t mix up growth rate with number of jobs. BME is growing quickly because it’s still a small field. The job outlook from BLS (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm) states 23% growth, but the number of jobs is currently ~22,100. So that 23% growth translates to an additional 5,100 jobs.
On the other hand, the field of civil engineering (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm) has a predicted 8% growth rate. It currently has >281,000 jobs, and 8% translates to an additional 23,600 jobs. Even ChemE, with a growth rate of 2%, currently has and will have more jobs than BME based on the projections.
Also keep in mind that these numbers are 10-year projections, not overnight, and they are only predictions. Nobody can know exactly what the climate for these areas will be like 5 years from now, let alone 10. Things can change.
You don’t need a BME degree to work in the field of biomedical engineering. And, as many have stated, having only a BME Bachelor’s degree can actively keep you out of the field of biomedical engineering. Most of the people who work in the field of biomedical engineering have degrees in traditional engineering disciplines like ME, EE, and ChemE. The job descriptions for most jobs in the area of BME tend to look for individuals with degrees in ME, EE, or ChemE. Moreover, the numbers on the BLS website don’t tell you anything about what industries or areas BME graduates or ChemE graduates end up working in, or which degrees employees in the BME or ChemE industries have.
@AuraObscura That’s helpful, thanks. So the job growth is really just an estimate based on certain projections, but there’s no telling how accurate it is or how much it will change even by next year. I remember seeing that for BME on BLS.gov (or maybe it was another website) had a much higher growth percentage, so it possibly dropped from what was expected a few years ago.
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I agree. I think it’s best not to focus too much on the estimated data because a lot of it sounds misleading. If they are saying Mechanical Engineers will only see a 5% growth from 2014-24 what about the Mechanical Engineers that get hired for other positions/fields such as biomedical related fields, or the chemical engineers who have the job title of “Process Engineer,” I wonder if BLS accounts for this.
@ryan0378 Exactly. As far as I know, I don’t think the BLS data takes this into account. Which is not to say that the BLS data/projections aren’t useful, just that it should be interpreted with these issues in mind.