Why engineering?/a few questions

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>To those who are currently engineering majors, can you give any personal reasons why you chose engineering or any reason why engineering is more appealing than the other majors?</p>

<p>Personally, I chose engineering only because I can tolerate with math/science and think that the employment opportunities are better (plus there was parental pressure unfortunately). I'm going to be attending UCSD under a Chem E major this fall & would like to know what the life of an engineering major is like... I've recently began having major concerns that majoring in engineering will impact my social life to the extent where it's no longer worth it.</p>

<p>So, I have a few questions to any current engineers...
How many hours do you typically study per week?
How's the social life/lack of social life? (Please please please don't sugar coat your answer)
How are the internships/employment opportunities?
How are the starting/plateau salaries?
Are you happy with your major/current position in life?</p>

2

<p>I think it really depends on the student’s abilities and the specific engineering program. If you find the right match between student and program, there is no reason to think that your social life will suffer. My son is in his 3rd year of engineering at a state university and seems to have a great social life despite his engineering courseload.</p>

3

<p>

To the first part, because I liked it more than the other options. To the second part, I can offer only money - no major is going to have universal appeal on its own, so the only thing that would make engineering generally more appealing is the fact that it pays well.</p>

<p>

I think I spent 20-30 hours outside of class, so 40-50 hours total?</p>

<p>

Fine for most people, there are two real issues. </p>

<p>First, not everyone has the native talent to be in engineering, at least not at the GPA they desire or need, and if you fall into that group you will spend a lot more time working at it to the detriment of your social life. This is not unique to engineering, BTW, but it is more obvious and stereotypical. I can certainly say that I have seen people pulling all-nighters that I never felt necessary.</p>

<p>Second, you will spend at least some more time on school than students in some other easier majors. Manage your time. Your week is filled with school work, sleep, life/maintenance activities, “fun” time, and empty time (spent playing minesweeper, or thumbing through TV channels). If you schedule well, the extra “engineering time” comes out of those empty hours, if you DON’T then they come out of everything else.</p>

<p>

Generally much better than non-engineering fields. Even in the recession, engineers are doing better than their non-engineering peers.</p>

<p>

Starting are among the very best. Plateau are still good, but if you want your salary to include the word “millions” you have to be in a career that directly handles money - finance, banking, accounting, etc. Most of THEM still won’t get it, but the top 0.5% of money-handlers make more than the top 0.5% of engineers.</p>

<p>

Unable to be an astronaut, yes. Thanks for asking!</p>

4

<p>I can’t speak as a current engineering major in college, but how about a perspective from a 50-something electrical engineer? :wink: Like you, I went into engineering solely because I was good in math and science. I had no clue what I really wanted to do with my life. When my guidance counselor suggested engineering, my parents went with it. Lacking any strong opinion of my own, I just went with it too.</p>

<p>I’ve been to quite a few open houses at Science-Strong universities. My son is a HS Junior and wants a science future. The one good thing I’ll say is there are a lot more women interested in engineering than when I went to school. That being said, women are still the small minority, so competition will be high for the girls and that just makes things less enjoyable for men.</p>

<p>I’m not going to pull any punches. The curriculum was hard. There was little tutoring support back then, so we students relied on each other to study. Many courses were given by Ph.D students with accents in a very large amphitheater. We often had to teach ourselves the material. My social life with the ladies did suffer, but I made very close friendships with a handful of guys. </p>

<p>Chemical engineering is one of the paths more demanding than electrical. I found electrical to be tough. Obviously not un-doable tough, but we were studying… a lot! Back then it took a lot of self discipline, so having a group of guys you could count on with similar goals for the future helped a lot. Many people dropped out the first year. I understand there is way more academic support and counseling now-a-days to minimize the drop-out rate. I’d suggest finding the other guys like you… guys that aren’t geeks. Guys that were just smart / great in math and science / and found themselves as you do. That’s what I did and it really worked out well.</p>

<p>Although I had “girlfriends” in High School, I only had “girl” friends in college. I hope you understand that not-so-subtle difference. :wink: I just didn’t have time for the pursuit or time for the ensuing relationship a successful pursuit would bring. Also, I’ve always had high standards, so the few girls I was interested in were so hotly pursued that they either:

  1. had a new boyfriend every 90 days… yuck!
  2. “locked down” with a boyfriend and permanently unavailable so they could avoid being hit on all the time. I’ll bet it didn’t help much. :wink: </p>

<p>There was all the drinking, road trips, stress relief and high jinx you might expect, but I’ve got to tell you pretty women were scarce.</p>

<p>Now ask me if that sacrifice was worth it. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I did well in school and my first job was in one of the advanced system development groups in NCR. I’ve been well respected and decently well paid since I left school.</p>

<p>What my social life may have lacked in college, my young adult professional life made up for in spades and has paid dividends. The caliber of people I call my friends surprises me to this day. I have been truly blessed with this life.</p>

<p>After 30 years I still find my job interesting and challenging. I don’t think many people from other fields can make that same claim.</p>

<p>The financial rewards are good. I’d like to elaborate, but it would feel like bragging. Let’s just leave it as I have a wonderful family with few money problems. My lovely wife (inside and out) has been a stay-at-home mom. Things like selecting a school for my child has nothing to do with money. I’ve been able to provide nicely for my family.</p>

5

<p>That was a brilliant, and informative, post Maikai :)</p>

<p>I wanted to ask something that has been bothering me, a prospective engineering major, for some time. Why do soooo many engineering students leave this field and end up working in finance? From your post, it seems as though engineering remains interesting for years…However, I have seen so many people get an undergrad degree in engineering, and then end up getting an MBA and then working on Wall street or some bank. Why on earth does this happen???</p>

6

<p>So, I have a few questions to any current engineers…
How many hours do you typically study per week?</p>

<p>I would say around 20. I don’t do anything after 5pm and am pulling a 4.0, but I don’t try to overload on hours, 15 max.</p>

<p>How’s the social life/lack of social life? (Please please please don’t sugar coat your answer)</p>

<p>It’s all about time management and maturity. Are you going to be able to go out and drink like a fish? Maybe sometimes, but after a while when you cant think straight the next day you will start to realize that you waste your whole day feeling like crap for just a few hours of fun.</p>

<p>How are the internships/employment opportunities?</p>

<p>GREAT. I just got picked up for an internship in Atlanta making 25/hr. Not too shabby.</p>

<p>How are the starting/plateau salaries?</p>

<p>Starting salaries for my field (industrial) are in the 60’s, I have no clue as to when they level, but we do hit 6 figures I do know that.</p>

<p>Are you happy with your major/current position in life? </p>

<p>Absolutely, I am a problem solver. I get to do it all day long. And soon, I will get paid to do it all year long. Works for me!</p>

7

<p>@theunforgiven</p>

<p>For the majority of them it is probably one thing: money. Engineering may provide a solid income, but finance is where the BIG bucks are. Perhaps other engineers are genuinely interested in finance, but got a degree in engineering to have a solid foundation. I could very easily see myself getting an undergrad in chemical or electrical engineering and then going to a top business school to get into finance. I love the idea of economics, but would want something more “practical” and unique, such as engineering, to break into the competitive world of high-end finance. An engineering degree seems to open doors to any career choice because all companies are searching for problem-solvers.</p>

8

<p>I’ll agree with Roninator to a degree.</p>

<p>The lure of money is surely one draw. If you’re good, the sky is the limit. :wink: Most of the guys I know who went to Wall Street are technical analysts. I know more than a few who became lawyers.</p>

<p>IMHO, the second thing that makes them move isn’t a lure, it’s a push. I believe a lot of these guys were like a lot of HS students going into engineering… They didn’t know what they wanted to do. They were good at math and science. Somebody suggested engineering, and in the absence of any other direction, that’s the direction they took.</p>

<p>I was like that, but unlike me, these guys didn’t grow fond of engineering/design. It became something I love, so reinvigorating/reinventing my skills every 5 to 7 years is not a chore. If you don’t love engineering and are not motivated/inspired to constantly learn, this career can feel like a “treadmill” and can get old fast. A lot of guys just want to apply what they know and have their knowledge build organically over time… with experience. Things don’t change so dramatically in other fields, so they gravitate to those fields.</p>

<p>The take-away of this is incredibly positive, right? Even if you find you don’t care for engineering, the scientific methodologies of the education prepares you for just about anything.</p>