Civil Engineering: Advice for 2nd Year Transfer Student Bruce

[blaughli]

Hi everyone,

I am a 2nd year transfer student with about a 3.8+ gpa. My situation is special b/c I already have a bachelor's and it's tough to transfer to top schools for 2nd BS. I like math and physics and I want to be a renaissance man of sorts, but for employment I think that design and building is what I like. I've heard good and bad things about CE, the same with ME. I also am interested in the environment, and might be taking Ochem this fall, but I'm scared of EnviroE because I don't want to be a rule enforcer, paper pusher. Ideally I would live near the coast (must be able to surf!), work outdoors regularly, and be able to travel for surf (more than 2 weeks of vacation?).

Anyone have insight, thoughts, advice, stories, opinions? I have a friend who works as a CE and comes from a ME background, so I've considered that route (it seems that I would learn more in general as an ME student). Another friend was CE but couldn't stand having to crunch numbers in structure retrofitting for 10 years before he got any sort of control over design (that was in NY, not sure if it's the same in CA...). Don't know any EnviroE people, but I would love to hear from some or meet some at a society etc. I want to do good work for the world.

Also, I am wondering how applicable Aerospace would be to work in other fields. Is Aero like ME on steroids, and could you go from Aero to a job in Civil of Mechanical? Unlikely I know, but I want to learn as much as possible in school before getting into the grind of the real world.

EE is awesome but somehow I just can't see myself doing it as a career. Does that mean I'm lazy and don't want to master all the math? I took circuit analysis and it was sweet but I got a B and lost my 4.0. I like electromagnetism, I want physics to supplement the engineering I learn and employ.

Thanks for reading, please reply with any and all thoughts!
-Bruce

 

[blaughli]

Addition:

I am very environmentally minded and want to work on sustainable engineering projects. I considered going after a career in alternative energy, but I'm left wondering which degree is best for that. A lot of ME's I know work in solar, I guess doing design of solar panel installations (right?). One of them told me that if he had been better at math he might have done EE and that there is a demand for EE's in domestic solar applications. A little voice in my head says that EE is hard but that if I mastered it I would be awesome. The problem is that I don't feel the passion when I look at the EE curriculum and I do get intrigued by the more tangible engineering fields. Is there a way to have it all? I'd love advice from people with some work experience - what matters when your end goal is a job you love?