The Should I Become An Engineer? Thread

whitay

University of Queensland have Aerospace Engineering

And I think one of the Sydney universities also has it.

JSBeckton

Areospace engineering is not very common, at least as far as I know. Since you say that you like thermo and fluids, why not go for mechanical engineering? Many ME's work on the areospace field.

If you are on the fence between physics and engineering I say start out physics because you can probabally transfer more credits if you change your mind than if you start out engineering.

AndreJ

Australian year 12 is the equivalent of American senior high school sophomore, I believe.

And if you're planning about doing any double degrees at the University of Melbourne, you'd better research it again, since they're implementing a "Melbourne" model which is completely changing courses (for the worse).

ElecEng

Whats the differnce between a technician and an engineer ? any information would be thankful .

symbolipoint

Often the difference is level of training & education and level of responsibility (I'm generalizing into "science" and any scientific professional, but probably is well applicable). The technician handles equipment, performs tests, follows procedures. The engineer may do those things too, but makes decisions requiring more knowledge; may also design research steps, design other arrangements; choose equipment and resources including those which his company needs to obtain.

ElecEng

Cheers symbolipoint.
Another quary I have is, what type of effect does an engineering degree from a poor Uni (lesser recognised/not so big reputation) have on your chances in terms of employment.

Santosh Shresth

i want to be an engineer.In your view which is the best one computer engineering or aeronautics engineering regarding its future and income?I live in nepal so which is the best field for me?.

theperthvan

Where abouts in Australia are you?
I'm doing BE/BSc in Western Australia in physics & maths, and mech eng. But I will transfer to either RMIT or Uni Sydney to do Aerospace.
I believe the Aero program is better at RMIT.

~electric~

I would pick for computer engineering because it has a way broader scope than aeronautical engineering. Engineering is a field to go for if you are really interested in it.. "DON'T PICK IT BY LOOKING AT THE FUTURE INCOME ONLY".
It is a Profession with GREAT responsibility. SO.. first make sure if the things in engineering Interest you or not. :)

Hydroxide

Hey,

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, its been a good read. I am a Yr 11 Australian student who is really good at maths. In fact, this year I'm doing first year maths at University. I'm not sure about my physics ability since this is my first year doing it. However I doubt it is anywhere near as good as my maths. I'm not into practicals that much (not good at it either) and don't like it as much as theory.
Would I be able to improve practical skills at university if I work hard enough?
Would I be a good engineer? Because I am thinking of doing a double degree with engineering and science. Also what engineering courses have the most maths?

Thanks

desA

The problem with Engineering is that generally:

"Engineers are overworked, overstressed & disproportionately underpaid for their level of responsibility. In other words - Engineers don't make money".

Many times, Engineers are paid scapegoats who assume the legal responsibility for a company, at lowish pay, while the bosses make the money. When things go wrong, the engineers take the fall.

I am an Consulting Engineer of long standing & would actively advise folks to think many times before entering the profession.

Serbian.matematika

desA, although I am just 2nd year EE student you scared me and for the moment I questioned myself; Oh God should I continue in my studies for an Engineer.

Buddy J.

Hello, i am a freshman and i am still thinking about which dept. to take.

i think engineering is hard, and needs a lot of work, but at the same time, it is the most enjoyable thing that you can ever study and research in its amazing fields.

making the decision about going for my dream and become an engineer was one of the most difficult decisions i have ever made in my life, but never once looked back and wished if i have chosen differently.

you will find calculus the most annoying subject in terms of exams, but the most enjoyable one in terms of meaning and studying.

I LOVE ENGINEERING

i want to know if my BAC from any university in Egypt will be accepted by other faculties in USA and Germany?

Maxwell

Hmm, I do not agree with this. Engineers are paid well when they start out, and continue to be paid well when they become more experienced. I agree that engineers are paid too low for the amount of work they do compared to some other professions, but you will be living very comfortably as an engineer.

As for the scapegoat thing, well, that's not true either. There are so many checks in place and testing phases precisely to ensure things do not go wrong. That's why there are different levels of engineers. That's why we have test engineers. After that, if something DOES go wrong, who should get in "trouble"? The managers, accountants, or secretaries? No, of course not. Of course it sucks to say that, but why should anyone else get in trouble if something an engineer worked on fails?

That's why it's important for companies to hire competent engineers!

JSBeckton

Utter,utter, nonsense. Engineers are among the highest paid professionals out of college and are good candidates for upper management with aquired experience. Everyone feels like a scapegoat at one time or another.

proton

Hi,

I'm currently a physics major about to finish his lower-division work and transferring from a community college to either UCI or UCLA. I've been thinking recently about a double major in engineering, in mechanical or aerospace or aeronautical. I'm not sure about UCI, but UCLA will only let you double major in engineering if you declare it in your first semester after transferring. The reason why I'm thinking about the switch is that there are far more jobs in engineering and that I realized that I like engineering much more than I thought before. But I still also like physics. I figure I can probably do well in either field, as long as neither one requires too much people skills, as I tend to lack those.

Would double majoring be a good idea? Or would a double major in applied physics and applied math be better? Or, if I major in physics, but then change my mind and want to go to engineering grad school, would that be a good idea?

Also, not sure if this means anything, but I tend to have very poor lab skills. I will tend to miss something very important the professor says and sometimes even lack common sense. For example, yesterday in my chemistry class, my professor said that we were to do part B and C of an experiment before part A, but I was the only one to do A then B then C, until towards the end of class my professor asked the whole class if everyone was done with C, and I was the only one to speak up because I did the order all wrong. The previous week, in the same class, as everyone left the lab, I stayed trying to finish a lab assignment. When I was about to turn it in, my professor said that it wasn't due that day, which was why everyone had left. I was the only one who didn't hear the instructions.

I'd appreciate any advice!

Paulo Serrano

Robots.

I'm a very mathematical thinker and although I haven't started my physics course yet, I pretty much "see" in math. Everything I do I try to analyze like it is an equation or something.

What I really want to do is make robots. I know it sounds like a very juvenile thing to say but that's simply what I want to do. I really want to work on projects like the HAL Series and automated systems. I also really would like to contribute to bringing the "future" like things you saw in I, Robot to a reality.

I assume it would just be "robotics engineering" but I may be wrong. So whoever knows, thanks. :)