Is Engineering the Right Career Path for Me?

[xXshortyXx]

Hey every one

I am currently in grade 12 and its comin to that time on choosing a job. My #1 choice is civil or mechanical engineering. I have allways been pretty good at school. This year i currently have 70% and math 12 principles (the harder math)and 83% in physics 12. I have always been pretty good at math not the best but pretty good. what's gettin me this year is that when it comes to write the test this year most of the q's are ones that we should be able to answer with the knowledge we gaind from that chapter. what I want to do is try a bit harder in college and get a tranfer to university. My question to you guys is do you think i could make it in an engineering career and also how do you enjoy your jobs as engineers. Also if you don't mind giving me a rogh estimate of how much the average engineer makes.

Thx a lot if it wasnt for trying to get help on some phy homework i would of never found this site. I've had these questions in me but have never found such a good place to ask them.

PS i was reading some of the posts on here and you guys sound like geniouses.

 

[Sanders]

I made the decision (mistake? lol) of going to school to be an engineer. Right now I'm a junior, but my GPA unfortunately is a 2.4. I attend the University of Louisville Speed School, majoring in mechanical engineering. They have a very difficult curriculum there, almost everyone drops out their first semester. I've hung in there... It's a LOT of math and physics; in fact almost all of it is but it's a different ballgame than high school. High school I breezed through my classes, even the advanced ones - never studied, did homework sometimes and still got a 3.4. You can't do that in engineering school in college, you have to buckle down. I've had a hard time since I never learned study skills in high school - didn't need them. I aced calc and physics there, but once again college is a new ballgame (at least mine). I would ask some students at the university you are going to be attending about the curriculum and see what difficulties they've had - all schools are different. I really want to be an engineer but it's very challenging so just make sure you are really good with math and physics. In high school, I felt like a genius. Engineering school has made me feel like a total idiot.

Hope that helps, sorry if it's negative! Lol. Engineering can be a rewarding career in the end, just be prepared for lots of work, studying, and devotion. And about life as an engineering student: Sleep, study, socialize - Pick 2.

 

[Rog]

I am a Civil Engineer in the UK. It's hard work study wise and although i qualified some 10yrs ago, now I am still learning. That is the nice thing about our job. You continue to learn and watch your designs realized in practice. I am currently working on several projects including a school for special needs children, Superstore,High School the list goes on. I must say that I was in a similar situation to you I wanted to do something in Engineering or the sciences. I can't say what is the right choice for you but I would say its a very rewarding career.

Basically Engineering is my job, science is my hobby.

 

[xXshortyXx]

How Hard was university??

 

[Rog]

Well judging from the school system you are describing along I assume that you are in the US. If this is the case then I cannot speak really for how its taught in US but I can tell you that if you have a good grounding in Physics, maths and English then you should be ok. Alot of what you learn is applied maths and physics so you should find it easier to follow as it is fairly logical, compared to say a pure pyhsics degree where you would be dealing more with pure maths and more abstract ideas.

Hope this helps

 

[Maxwell]

I am a sophmore Electrical/Computer Engineering student. It is true, engineering is a very tough major. You will feel like you have no free time at all and the days are just blurs somtimes!

Understand that you will be taking many math and science courses, as well as english/technical writing classes! People seem to forget engineers must be able to communicate well and work on a team.

Though what I'm saying may sound negative, engineering is very rewarding. It is a discipline that allows you to explore many avenues and be very versatile.

Just remember that sometimes it is okay to take a break and relax, you will return refreshed and in a much better position to learn.

 

[iKwak]

The more challenge, the better engineer you will become once out of college.

Don't give up guys.

 

[iKwak]

The more challenge, the better engineer you will become once out of college.

Don't give up guys.

 

[Shahil]

Lovely - glad that you're considering engineering.

I'm currently a 2nd year student of Electronic Engineering in South Africa and truly, there's nothing else I rther be doing (if you look at my other posts on this site though, you'll think otherwise though!)

Anyway, engineering is BLODDY difficult. You really have no time; if you rely on coffee to get you through the day in school, you'll probably never make it as an engineering student coz you WILL be doing 24 hour stints; your pracs (even in 1st year) will mean finishing off when nobody else is left on campus and you WILL go insane.

Okay, so much for the good news...

No, engineering is a field oof passion. You really need to have that WANT to be an engineer if you want to make it. At the end, the pay is fabulous and even if you decide you don't want to do engineering after you graduate, you can easily get jobs in other fields because of the thought process that you acquired on your studies.

I truly think that engineering is probably the best career path and I wish you all the best in it.

Oh yeah, you must LOVE maths. If not, don't evn try.