<p>I'm a freshmen engineering major right now, and starting to doubt my major. I initially chose engineering because I thought i could find a job with only an undergrad degree, and because I like math and physics. However, now i have learned that there is no demand for engineers at the B.S level. So that means I would need to pursue grad school. Is Grad school harder to get into than Pharmacy school, which is my other choice? Which has more competition? And which, on average, admits more students? Are there more people who want to get into pharmacy than Engineering school?</p>
<p>My major is Biochemical Engineering, if that matters. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>There is plenty of demand for undergrad engineers (with varying levels depending on the field). </p>
<p>If you have a gpa of, say, 3.2 or more and actively pursue opportunities, you should be fine. A career in engineering requires you to be very itinerant as opposed to, say, Pharmacy. You constantly have to be networking, building up your resume, and keeping up with new technologies. </p>
<p>So if you want to be brain-dead after graduation and want a steady job, requiring little to no effort, become a Pharmacist (nothing wrong with this lifestyle, especially if you want to build a family).</p>
<p>Very difficult to find these numbers for you.
It varies from field to field, school to school. I assume you are interested in a PhD, right? </p>
<p>If I had to guess, I would say the admission numbers are similar.</p>
<p>When S was a SR, he had 3 job offers–all attractive and in his field–electrical engineering. I would definitely say there still ARE jobs in engineering, with “just a BA.” I know pharmacists who are having trouble getting jobs as well as engineers. Much depends on the individual and what they do while they are in school. S did two summer internships and research during the school year. He was published in several engineering and one geology paper & even presented a geology poster, tho it wasn’t his major or even his minor (just went with the rock climbing he took up & enjoyed in college).</p>
<p>The other thing is not to obsess about what the job market is but figure out what field you will enjoy working in and can do well/excel in. There is a lot to be said for loving your field & job (maybe not ALL the time, but most of it). The two jobs are quite different and if you have serious doubts about engineering, stick it out this year and see how you feel at the end of the year. Some pharmacy schools admit kids after they have had 2 years of undergrad.</p>
<p>“So if you want to be brain-dead after graduation and want a steady job, requiring little to no effort, become a Pharmacist (nothing wrong with this lifestyle, especially if you want to build a family).”</p>
<p>Ahem, pharmacy is not a job that requires “little to no effort.” If that was the case with my pharmacist, I would pack up and go to a different one. I would hate to think that spending four years getting a Doctorate (at minimum) would be a job that requires little effort. Just because all you see are community pharmacists that may look like they’re counting pills, that’s not the case. Not to mention the unending variety that there is in pharmacy careers (and there is if you’re willing to work for it and not take the first job you come across). There’s so much more to it, including the various environments… hospital (I know of over 15 pharmacy jobs in my local metropolitan hospital that all do completely different things), nuclear, compounding, long-term care, poison control, nutrition support, infusion, ambulatory, home care, specialties (in anything, basically), business, research, academia, industry, and MTM to name a few off the top of my head.</p>
<p>I admittedly know next to nothing about engineering, but I would not go out assuming that all they do is hunch over a drawing table all day or do inspections of buildings. I know what I don’t know… that there’s much more to the field than I know.</p>
<p>Sorry to be angsty. The mis-perception of pharmacy is one of my pet peeves :)</p>
<p>I don’t know the competitiveness of engineering schools, but pharmacy school is pretty competitive. It varies from school to school and with which type of program you are interested in (0-6, 2-4, or 4-4). Check out pharmacy school admissions pages. They normally have statistics about how many people applied vs. how many got in and their general demographics.</p>
<p>If you’re unsure about which to pursue as a career, I’d do job shadowing in various fields of each one. Some fields may interest you more than others, so it’s important to get some variety in there so you don’t get the impression that one job in that career is how all jobs are.</p>
<p>If you want any more information about anything pharmacy related, just PM me. Student Doctors Network also has tons of pre-pharmacy and pharmacy forums, so check them out. I’d be willing to bet that there’s engineering forums out there as well. Good luck with your school search!</p>
<p>I agree that there are a LOT of different types of pharmacists out there. The clinical ones you see in the community are often talking with office staffs, sometimes the prescribing MDs, insurers and patients to be sure that the patients get the right treatments. It’s a great fit for some and not so much for others. As was suggested, shadowing can be a great way of getting better insight to options.</p>
<p>Engineering can also cover a HUGE range, depending on interests and ability.</p>
<p>I believe both fields are pretty selective/competitive, since there are more who want to get in than can be accommodated. Shadowing some engineers would be a good thing, if you can as well. You can also ask for informational interviews of sucessful people in each profession to try to gain more insights about the pros & cons of the fields. Good luck!</p>