Advice for a guy who wants to do everything

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by a participant seeking guidance on choosing an engineering discipline, expressing interest in Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical engineering. The conversation explores various educational paths and strategies for navigating these choices, including the potential of pursuing Engineering Physics as a compromise.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that focusing on a specific engineering discipline is advisable, emphasizing the importance of gaining experience in that area before exploring others.
  • Another participant proposes majoring in Chemical Engineering while minoring in either Electrical or Mechanical Engineering to maintain a broad foundation.
  • A different viewpoint emphasizes the need to focus and suggests that taking an engineering survey class could help clarify interests.
  • Some participants recommend considering schools that allow students to delay declaring a major until after the first year, providing time to explore different fields.
  • One participant mentions the benefits of attending a school with common first-year requirements, which could help in deciding on a specialization after completing foundational courses.
  • There is a suggestion to explore material science and green energy programs as potential areas of interest.
  • Several participants agree that taking courses in various disciplines will help narrow down the selection of a major over time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of focusing on one discipline initially while exploring others later. However, there are multiple competing views on the best approach to take, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the optimal path forward.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express personal experiences related to decision-making in their studies, indicating that individual preferences and learning styles may influence the choice of discipline. There are also references to the accelerated pace of first-year courses at certain institutions, which may impact students' experiences.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students considering engineering disciplines, particularly those feeling overwhelmed by the options available and seeking advice on how to navigate their educational paths.

RedDOS
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I would like to do something in engineering but I am clueless on what to go as a discipline. I honestly want to do Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical but clearly that isn't a realistic approach to my issue.

The best compromise I can see is going Engineering Physics(ABET) at my state university to kind of bridge the gap between all those disciplines but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not and whether I could work in any of those disciplines after I graduated.
 
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RedDOS said:
I would like to do something in engineering but I am clueless on what to go as a discipline. I honestly want to do Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical but clearly that isn't a realistic approach to my issue.

The best compromise I can see is going Engineering Physics(ABET) at my state university to kind of bridge the gap between all those disciplines but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not and whether I could work in any of those disciplines after I graduated.

Hey RedDOS and welcome to the forums.

I don't see an issue with doing many things over a long period of time, but I would strongly advise against doing this over a short period of time.

In my opinion, it is better to focus on something specific and if you want to do something, do it after you have gained experienced in a specific area.

One thing you should realize is that once you are out of formal education, you still will have to learn either on your own, or in your job/career environment. You'll find that a lot of your learning is not done in a classroom, so keep this in mind.

I would recommend you pick one engineering discipline and if you can get into a place that has a multidisciplinary team whether that is R&D or something else, that will allow you a good chance to do that kind of work. Focus on one engineering area and get some experience, and if you get a good hand and play your cards right, you can get multidisciplinary experience in other areas of engineering and most likely areas where they all overlap.
 
i'd do chemical and then minor in either electrical or mechanical. . .
 
Focus... focus.


I too have ADD and find it hard to stay with one thing.
 
I would major in one Engineering discipline and minor in Physics or Chemistry. The minor will give you the foundation to tackle problems in the other engineering disciplines. Don't scatter your efforts trying to major in all three Engineering disciples.
 
I am the same way and thought I would never be able to make a decision on anything to study. I don't think it's a bad thing at all but eventually I will have to choose something. I'm only a late sophomore now and after taking a couple of different classes the decision is becoming much easier. I thought I was going to love programming but after a couple months of doing it in class I only partially like it.

I recommend taking an engineering survey class. At my school, they have specialized ones or a general one. I've sat in on the electrical one a couple times and I immediately found out certain fields of EE that don't interest me, such as power.
 
you could go to a school where you don't have to pick your major until after first year so you can get a feel for the different course. Also talk to your profs about what they are doing and what sort of jobs are out there. It will probably help you narrow it down.
 
Come to Maine. UMO has a very strong engineering school and all of the first-year requirements are common, so you don't have to declare a major the first year. Perhaps once you have basic Calc, Inorganic Chem, and Phys under your belt, you'll have an idea where you might want to specialize. You should realize that your basic first-year courses will all run at an accelerated rate (2x that of most majors) so you'll be busy.

You might want to branch out into material science, too. UMO has some very impressive options there. Interested in tidal power generation, off-shore wind, or other green energy programs? Got those. Interested in very strong/tough/durable materials for use in civil engineering? Got those, too.

http://www2.umaine.edu/aewc/content/view/185/71/
 
I think your selection will be narrowed after you've taken a few courses in each area. You don't have to decide right this second.
 

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