I came across this thread, and thought I might be able to shed some light on what it is like to be an electrical engineer, since someone asked about it earlier, but first I'd like to mention a little about my background and also address the three thread questions. After graduating with a BSEE, I've been working in industry as an engineer for 4 years now (defense & non-profit), plus I had three internships in college (startups and commercial), so I've seen what different companies can be like. I currently work in defense, but my boyfriend, who is materials scientist/engineer with a PhD, works in the academic world. We both love our jobs, and feel that we made the right choice for ourselves.
-Should I become an engineer?
I think it's really hard to say for sure whether someone should or shouldn't become one, because I think if you are curious about engineering, or any profession, you should try it out for yourself, rather than have someone steer you either way. It's a great idea to explore internships and co-ops through your high school college counselor, or your college career center, and see if you can get a summer engineering job. Additionally, you can go to local job fairs and talk to engineers at different companies and ask them what they do. It's going to vary based on whether you are planning to work in the military, private for-profit, non-profit, defense, university, etc. You can also ask whether a company will allow you to "shadow an engineer" for a day at work. That is a good way to see what people do. To start off with, if you are interested in math and science, that is a great starting point. I think it's important to like problem-solving, no matter which engineering or science discipline you enter. Don't be discouraged or intimidated to explore this career option, because it can be very rewarding.
-What engineering discipline should I study?
I think the discipline is a very personal choice, and you should base it on what types of things you might enjoy doing. I disagree with anyone who may tell you that one discipline is better or more stable than another, because I have friends in civil, aero, mechanical, computer science, computer engineering, chemical, physics, materials, biomedical, industrial, optics, environmental, systems, etc, and they are all doing well. I read one person's thread that seemed to mention that sales engineering is not so great, and I think that is not necessarily true. It's probably not a good idea to start off as a sales engineer if you don't have a strong background, because you'll be required to answer questions about your product, but I have a friend who started as a hardware designer, then took a sales engineer position a few years ago, and has steadily moved up in his company. He interfaces with very important customers in Europe and Asia, and really loves his job. It's a huge mistake to try and jump on the bandwagon just because people tell you this discipline sucks or this one is more superior, or the economy seems to favor a certain discipline, etc. True, it is smart to know how in demand the discipline is, but if you don't love what you're doing, you will ultimately fail at it, so it's important to base your decision on what types of things interest you, and not on what is cool or popular. Most people are biased towards the discipline they studied, and it's really to your detriment to not explore all of your options, because this is your life. I would suggest going to monster.com or some other job hiring website, and search on the different disciplines to read about what they do. Additionally, don't be afraid to email companies and ask them if you can speak to someone there about their job duties. If you are worried about the heavy math with a particular discipline, I would try it first, and if it doesn't suit you, there are majors in engineering technology, which do not require as much math. In general, you can cannot generalize entirely what one discipline will end up doing at a job. In additional to designing hardware, I have also written a lot of software, which I never thought I would be doing, but I enjoy it. I've also had the change to interface and work closely with people in mechanical, aero, computer science, computer engineering, physics, math, and a whole slew of other disciplines in my job, which has made it a lot of fun. I have a lot of respect for all the disciplines, because without them, companies would not be able to produce a final product. You need all of them to get to the end result. If I wanted to, I could go back to school and get a Masters in another discipline, so you can always change your mind later and switch to a different job. It's not the end of the world if you realize you want to do something slightly different.
-Is engineering difficult?
I think that depends on how someone would define engineering. The schooling to get your degree is challenging, and you have to study a lot, but it's well worth it, and you will learn so much about yourself in the process. You can always get help from study sessions and utilize office hours. Most people do struggle at some point with their coursework, but this is expected, and don't get discouraged. If you are worried about the workload, I would make sure you buddy up with students in your major, and also utiltize all your university resources in order to help you succeed. There are student chapters for organizations like IEEE, ASME, etc, that can be your refuge when you're feeling alone. I think that it's also very important to find out whether the school you are planning to go to has a high dropout rate, or whether they have support systems in place for students. I know a few friends who transferred to different universities, because they were not satisfied with the resources available to them, so it's good to do homework up front so you have less of a chance of dropping out. In the workplace, it's challenging to be an engineer, because you have to problem-solve with the tools available to you, and sometimes that means learning a new tool, or thinking outside of the box to come up with a solution. Sometimes it means reusing an existing idea, but making it much better, which can also be difficult. Teamwork is a big part of my job, and that can be a challenge at times, because to make decisions, you need the team's consensus, and people have different experiences and opinions. In the end, it's fun and interesting to work in a team, and to see from other peoples' perspectives.
I've rambled on, but I hope you can tell that I've had a lot of fun in my various engineering jobs so far, and I've been lucky enough to travel for my job to some interesting places, and meet a lot of great people. The possibilities are endless for you if you do your homework on what you will make you the happiest, and take the time to know yourself better when making a decision! Your job will only be as exciting as you make it. When you graduate, if you want a repetitive job, there are some of those available, but there are plenty of stimulating jobs, too. If you don't like something you are doing, speak up and ask for something different, and if that doesn't make you happy, apply to another company, or explore graduate school options. Good luck to you all who are deciding right now...
