EE or Enviro

blaughli

I want to save the world and have job security, flexibility, and fun while doing it. Environmental Engineering or Electrical Engineering?

Thanks
B

edgepflow

For your goals, I would say Environmental Engineering. This will ring the save the world bell loader than EE.

blaughli

Thanks.

Is environmental engineering really an engineering discipline? What sort of engineering do you do? I can imagine tons of cool (and world saving) applications of EE, but with Enviro it's more vague... I'm not afraid of hard work and tough math.

edgepflow

Yes, many major universities offer a degree in envirnmental engineering. Google search "BS in Environmental Engineering."

kramer733

Go electricval engineering.
develop better solar panels
???
profit

gdbb

...What kind of "tough math" do you think you'll be doing as an environmental engineer? Haha. As an Enviro Engineer, you would mostly be dealing with biology and chemistry.

kramer733

Here's the course calender on my local university's website for environmental engineering

http://www4.carleton.ca/calendars/ug...ring.html#eebe

blaughli

Thanks for your replies!

To clarify, I'm 2 years into City College and I have taken physics up through E&M. I've also taken General Chemistry 1 and 2, and I'm signed up for O-chem in the Fall. I'm taking Diff-EQs next semester, just finished calculus. I really like everything I've learned, I don't want to stop learning and I want to be able to use my knowledge in fun, creative, challenging, practical ways. I see practicality in EE, and yeah it would be awesome to work in alternative energy. I also see some practicality in Enviro, and it would be awesome to work directly with saving the environment and being connected to nature. I love being outdoors, love surfing, fear the cubicle, want to live extraordinarily.

Any more advice would be awesome, thanks again everyone.

kramer733

environmental engineering is the worst engineering ever. It's not real engineering. You might as well do a civil engineering degree cause it's just a sub discipline of that engineering discipline anyway. That engineering has no mathematics whatsoever. It's a joke.

Null_

You have the exact career goals I do. I'm doing chemical engineering and hope to work with alternative energy (solar, hydrogen). I think you'd be better off doing electrical (or chemical). While environmental engineering sounds cool, you'll learn more in either of these two disciplines. The skills are transferable, and you could minor in environmental studies, biology, geology, or something similar.

blaughli

Hey, thanks for those words of insight. I sortof felt the same way about enviro vs. EE or ChemE. Part of my conflict is that there are a few masters programs in EnviroE from very prestigious universities that I might qualify for after one more year of city colleg (ochem...). However I do fear that I will be shortchanging myself, as I am pretty good at math and physics and definitely not looking for the easy road.

Now i wonder, EE or ChemE? Very different I know, but how are each related to renewables, and what kind of overlap is there since I am interested in both?

Side note: What about Mechanical E? Seems less specific to renewables, but also very appealing to me. What don't I Know? Can I get some background in this too?

Macarooney

Bumping this thread as I'm curious on more opinions regarding Environmental Engineering. I'm currently working towards Structural Engineering, and while my parents support it fully, my dad has been trying to entertain the idea of me pursuing EnvEng.