Hey all I'm in the process of applying for colleges and I'm thinking about my majors. I have several interests and having a hard time choosing. I was hoping some of you guys who have majored in some type of engineering to explain your experience in college, after graduation, and what kind of jobs you are working in now (hopefully car related )

 

i was a mechanical engineering major for a year and a half. it was all good - i passed calc III, statics, physics I, and some computer classes with no problems. then came physics II . i failed miserably due to some things beyond my control, along with my hatred for the teacher and the subject - mostly due to the unbeliveable difficulty. after that it was thermodynamics, strength of materials, fluid dynamics, differential equations, etc etc - most of appeared to be more difficult that physics II. i withdrew faling from physics, switched schools, changed my major to computer science and never looked back.

its a great major if you've got the will power; there is <U>A LOT</U> of work, and most of it sucks. if you can stick it out for 4 years, you'll be very happy when your done for certain. sometimes i wish i would have just sucked it up and finished, because of the potential to get a cool, excellent paying job afterwards. but i was pretty involved with some things that i shouldn't have been at the time , i got lazy and really just didn't care. your going to have to be a big nerd for four years, there is really no way around it - but it will most likely pay off big for the next sixty years. good luck

 

Yea one of my other choices is computer science. I don't think I'll get involved with drinking or anything like that, I'm pretty good about that since I'm athletic. My problem right now is procrastination, bastard of a habit to break. I'm in Calculus right now and understand it fine...so far, I am just through half a semester so I guess I'll see how that goes.

What school did you go to when you were majoring in engineering? and how do you like having a computer science degree?

I like computers, although I'm not as much of a computer geek as I used to be. I don't know if I can see myself working with computers. Programming interests me, but I've always gotten bored with it. And now after the dot com era there are a shortage of jobs, although that is now improving there is questionability of the stability of the industry. Computers are quite new technology though, especially the internet, so maybe it is just working out the kinks. Hopefully there won't be a shortage of computer jobs again like this again thanks to the boom of computer majors and tech schools

 

my only advice is keep your hobby your hobby and your career your career. same advice for dogs, dont drink from the toilet you gotta crap in everyday.

 

ME here, love it.


Rob

 

I'll let you know in about 4 years

This is something I'd like to hear about as well, being a first year ME major.

 

Honestly you may have two years to decide. I am a Civil Engineer (Structural). But, for the first two years (and I think in most schools) all engineers take the same pre-req classes. There is some differences, here and there, but not much. But, remember, that your major and or your degree do not necessarily determine your career. Like I said, I am a Civil Eng (did it for 5 years), but now, I am a IT Auditor. I switched careers and I may switch again in two to three years.

I think you should focus on your major, but more importantly focus on what school you want to attend. I recommend NOT attending an "engineer" or "tech" specific school. I attend Stevens Insititue in NJ (a good school) a full Engineer/Comp Sci School. The problem all of us thought the same. There were no English/History/etc majors to give different type of thinking to the student body. Also, I think this contributed to the non-engineering classes being so-so.

Also focus on how far away you want to move from home. Sometimes going far away from home can be a blessing or you can be depressed.

Finally, as someone said above, it is sometimes best to seperate hobby and career. I used to race bicycles (road), and I decided to work in a bike store and try and get more serious with my cycling career. Working in a bike store was basically retail. It made me start to hate cycling. Maybe if I worked in a design firm for bicycles it would of been better, but then you have deadlines, etc. etc. and it is still "work." Just think about it, some people LOVE mixing hobby and work and it does them well.

Good luck.

 

I already work in a auto repair shop and like it. I guess engineering is a lot more in depth. It can apply to so many different areas, not just cars. So I don't think there is any danger of it causing me to get sick of cars (If that what you guys are trying to say might happen).

Long shot: Anybody major in engineering in a school in Michigan? Thats where I am and I am considering living at home, my mom and I get a long fine, its just my 22 year old sister that drives me insane, wish she would get out of the house already :/

 

I'm currently a sophmore EE student (not exactly car related) at Rutgers U. I can definitely tell you that none of the Engineering majors are easy, but if you have a good work ethic, they're not exactly as hard as everyone makes them out to be. It really helps if you like what you're doing. Just because you're into cars, doesn't mean you'll like mechanical engineering, you have to be able to appreciate all the phys, calc, and basically a lot of math based courses, that go into it. So think about that. Also, it will make it much easier if you take some college credit classes before you go off to school. I came into college with Calc I and II credit, and it made my life MUCH easier. So basically, think about any physics and math classes that you've taken. How comfortable are you w/ them? Do you want to take it to the next level?

Oh, and what davidnyc said, go to a school that has a decent liberal arts program too. Only hanging out w/ engineers can be bad for your health

 

Yea I'm in Calculus right now and I like it quite a bit. Though my grade is a B thanks to my procrastination habits which are hard to break. I dropped physics at my school because frankly, it was so easy I could not stand it. I was bored out of my fricken mind, it was like algebra class.

I'd love to go to a great liberal arts college (like Calvin College which is down the road from me) but I can't afford that kind of tuition especially if I end up changing my major. So I think I am going to have to stick to state schools. I'm definately not going to a tech specific school though, I know what you guys mean and that would drive me nuts.

 

I'm from Kalamazoo, I was an ME major at Kettering U (formerly General Motors Institute) in Flint for 2 1/2 years. Let's just say my study habits were less then stellar.... anyways I haven't quit the idea yet, I've been taking CC classes toward the KU requirements, going to WMU next semester for Calc III, Solids, etc, then I plan to return to Kettering in summer/fall. I hope to combine my hobby and my career in the future for sure, but it takes some work to get there.

 

An engineering degree is a very powerful tool to have even if you decide to take a different career path.

I decided to take the corporate sales route with a fortune 10 company (more $$).. A strong factor in getting the job was my ME degree.

 

My advice is to get a job you like, do well at, and one which pays the bills. Cars make a great (though expensive) hobby, but I feel it's hard to find a good, stable, decent paying job in the car world. It's similar to the joke about modifying cars: Fun, Secure, Well paying. Pick two... If you are the rare luck person who's managed to pull off all three, great!

I used to do electronics stuff at home as a kid, but after doing the BSEE thing, I don't touch it outside of work. Hobbies are fun as a hobby, but somehow become less fun if you do it as a job. There's nothing wrong with not doing your hobby as a full time job.

 

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Any good engineering school will essentially make school your life. There's not much time for extra-curricular activities. By my senior year, I forgot what daylight looked like. I went to campus at sun up, and didn't leave until dark. Only to go home and study until 1 am.

Here's a good litmus test: If you aren't taking advanced classes in math and/or science (calculus/physics/chemisty) by your senior year in high school, you need to have a backup plan. Virtually everyone in my major came in with some sort of AP credit.


Modified by MaddMatt at 3:06 PM 11/16/2003

 

My 2c - figure out what your 10-year career goal is.

Its very easy to pick a major, work your tail off for four years, only to realize that its not something you'd like to do for any length of time. I knew a lot of ChemE's that ended up going to Med School, and lots of EE's that ended up going towards sales and consulting because they decided they didn't like electrics. That's not to say that studying engineering didn't help them to get to where they wanted to go, but its somewhat of a circuitous path.

 

As people have mentioned, it can really become a lot of work depending on what you choose to study and where. The key is not to fall behind each semester by not having to work on projects to catch yourself up when you should instead be working on current ones that will be due soon. Best way to do that is to pace yourself and the number of classes you take each semester – do not rush through school. I have definitely been at least trying to do that and so far it's been going just fine. I’m into my fourth year doing a computer engineering degree at ga tech (basically a mixture of ee and cs) and still got left a decent bit to do. Not only I am pacing by not taking a lot of hard classes at once, but I also did four semesters of co-op work full time. If your school has a co-op program, definitely consider doing it. It gives you breaks during school, it's great work experience, and most importantly when you have some money to play with, it will be that much easier not to rush college and enjoy it. It's also the *only* way you could afford do some kind of racing or autox if you plan to do that, while in college. Good luck and have FUN.

 

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Something North Carolina State does is they have a program called SITE: Student Introduction To Engineering. You visit campus for a week before your Junior or Senior high school year and spend five days in 5 different departments. You meet profs, students, grad students and they talk about what a Mechanical or Industrial or Electrical or Civil Engineer do. I visited the Materials Science department on the advice of my brother (a M.E.) and decided that was for me. 5 years later I had a degree.

 

I graduated in Computer Science last December. I minored in Mathematics and had to take calc 1-3, de, linear algebra, a senior level math., and phys 1-2. It was definately not easy; in both engineering and computer science you'll have tons of projects and plenty of hard courses and homework. Just make sure your devoted before choosign either major, thats the only way you'll get through them.

 

Kind of funny to hear people say engineering is hard. Well... yeah, it's damn hard, that's why you get paid well. When I tell people where I went to college, they always say, "Oh, the party college,"... for business majors maybe, but us Engineering majors were working like hell. No parties for me.

At the risk of jacking this thread, that's why I don't have much sympathy for the striking supermarket workers. Let's see, no college, little on the job training, yet they somehow got it in their heads that they're *entitled* to make enough to support a family. Says who? The union of course. I base what a person makes in large part upon training and how hard you have to use your head.

It sure would be easier to be a long shoreman... $110K *average.* Bet they must go to college a LONG time to get in that line of work And yes it's unionized... Amazingly like a religeon actually...

Rant mode off.

 

I am a ME at Bradley university. I am a junior and all i have to say is that it is hard, hard and hard. Make sure you are ready to put in the time because it is no cake walk.

-nate

 

I'm in the Chemical Engineering program at the university of missouri-Columbia. I'm also (less) involved (than I'd like to be) in the FSAE team here.

Hell, I'm doing it because I know I could do a good job doing it, and it'll be good for financing a serious racing effort.

 

i know what you mean kb58, some careers are grossly overpaid, while others that actual require skill and hard work, get jacked :/

 

My 2cents. I'm not an engineer, but an organic chemist with an emphasis in inorganics, materials and chemical engineering, and I can tell you that no matter how passionate you are about anything you decide to do, there will come a point where you'll feel "burned out," "jaded," or simply "disenchanted." What I mean is... in school, the academic side of anything presents you with an idealized summary of your field (i.e., the best of all), but in real world application there's variables like: monotony, repetition, long work hours, hours and hours of asinnine meetings, deadlines, etc that may lead up to a general feeling of burning the candle at both ends. It's also, sometimes, disheartening to find out that the science, or field, that you idolized in school isn't really as perfect and benevolent as you once thought; to some this is crushing, others just take it as a simple fact of life, but just realize that your work won't always be "interesting," "cutting-edge," etc. (nonetheless, you'll do "cool" stuff)
That said, however, when you're doing what you love and are passionate about, and you get this feeling, it's simply a matter of standing back and realizing why you wanted to be here in the first place, and finding that initial curiosity that drew you in. If you're in some job that simply pays the bills (and funds your passion) it may be a lot harder to step back and still be happy with what you see.
In the end, you should always aspire to work in a field that you're passionate about, but carry with you the reality that any academic ideal you've been presented in school isn't totally going to materialize in the real world (except maybe being married to a super model, that couldn't be so bad...?)
regards.

 

grand rapids junior college (now community college) for 5 years (nights and part time). Transfer to Michigan Tech for Chemical Engineering for two years to graduate. Good low cost schools! GRCC is a great school for the $$ and I earned a tuition paid scholarship to TECH. Tech was graduating more engineers than either msu or uom back then. probably still are.

western has a ME program as well as a chemeng.

Mechanical Engineering is similar in a lot of ways (courses) but has much more to offer in the choice of locations and careers. Lots of manufacturing out there or was but fewer areas with significant chemical plants.

You really do not have to decide until your third year. one bit of advice, if you do a two year school and transfer, consider transferring during the summer and you can make up some of the classes you "should" have taken during your sophmore year. for the ChemE's, heat and mass balance was a soph class and was not taught at jc. could be now. may be similar one or two classes for ME's

good luck with the engineering!

 

i graduated with a computer engineering degree from pitt. i'm not doing traditional "engineering" work right now, but the degree did give me the opportunity to get a well-paying job in the i.t. field after graduation. if you are still not sure you want to major in engineering, make sure to pick a school that doesn't force you to declare a major in your first year. and if you do decide on engineering, be prepared to work hard. good luck!

jeff