Is Engineering the Right Career for Me?

[deluks917]

Maybe you should look more into numerical analysis. I also find a lot of "applied" computational methods boring because the majority of problems cannot be exactly solved by any means anyway. However a large bulk of what you learn in numerical analysis is immediately useful to real problems people want to solve. There is a very large amount of good work being done in simulating PDEs with applications to econ, biology, etc in addition to the obvious physics.

edit: Oh I missed your post about computers. I think probably you have no choice. Unless you are a professor of pure mathematics you are going to need to do some computer work.

Overall, the point of the class is to competitively place students in the class, not teach us anything.

I actually agree with you the primary (not only) purpose of the education system is to sort people. If you can jump through the hopes at school employers will correctly assume you are likely to be capable of being a good employee. Educational achievement even in subjects not directly related to a field signals a mix intelligence, determination, ability to get along with others. In engineering you certainly need to have learned certain things but even in engineering I think high grades in engineering show you are smart and hard working enough to get them.

 

[afil]

Hi, I've just been reading this whole thread. Very good points overall. Does anyone care to weigh in an opinion if this type of mindset among professors/engineering students is more common in an undergraduate curriculum versus graduate? I would think graduate programs have a higher maturity associated with them and dictate more responsibility of the student to learn the concepts more instead of just rote formulas.

 

[analogdesign]

Yep you pretty much described a *good* grad program. Keep in mind though that it varies a LOT on your professor so try to get the inside scoop on how your professor treats his or her students before you start. I did and I heard that my professor was demanding and intense, but he was fair and did his best to help you get a job. This all turned out to be true. I really enjoyed graduate school... my first job was less work!

 

[afil]

Yep you pretty much described a *good* grad program. Keep in mind though that it varies a LOT on your professor so try to get the inside scoop on how your professor treats his or her students before you start. I did and I heard that my professor was demanding and intense, but he was fair and did his best to help you get a job. This all turned out to be true. I really enjoyed graduate school... my first job was less work!

So does this often extend to the kinds of jobs engineers have with an MS than simply a BS? As in posts earlier described that many engineers do not use much of their more theoretical knowledge in the workplace.

 

[Idun]

This seems to be an old topic. Regardless let me add a few comments.I am European and had a very similar experience as the thread starter. Back in our days we still had to do an entree exam before we could start engineering studies. Since my grades were so high, I started the program as soon as possible. During my second year I became very unhappy the way engineering was taught. I had the feeling being programmed like a robot. Formulas coming from nowhere, being applied to something you cannot relate to. In the end I didn't learn a single thing at all. I became very frustrated.Mind you, I am a visual thinker, so mathematical and numerical analysis, geometry, mechanics and material science come natural to me. Most engineering students hated these courses. I had to quit with the engineering program because it was way too much focused on remote learning and I have a bad memory. Math was too abstract, so I opted for Physics, a good middleground between mathematics and engineering. I was very happy with my decision. It gives you a very broad education and a really good foundation to understand pretty much anything technology related. I ACTUALLY learned something during my physics courses. You should read Schopenhauer's chapter about what TRUE learning is. This is like the true opposite of what's going on in most schools and universities.

 

[Hedgehog16]

Hey Zen, since this topic is fairly old I am sure you have made your decision by now and I am wondering how it turned out. I thought I would still throw my two sense in in case anyone else reads this topic and actually makes it down to my post. My background: I was an engineering student who finished in four years with a BS in civil. I got a job right out school with a good company and disliked the job immensely - not the company, the job. I didn't hate everything about it and the money was good so I stuck with it for three years before finally leaving. I wish I had been more like you and realized a little sooner that it might not be the career for me. Personally, I think the signs that you have talked about are all very valid reasons to be concerned and in general even just a vague feeling that you might not enjoy your current major warrants a good hard look and some introspection on what career is best for you and really what you want out of a job and life. These are questions that many people put on hold or don't ask themselves enough thinking they've got time. Time goes by quickly, I recommend always checking in with yourself with are you on the right path questions.

Not enjoying your classes for whatever reason can be a big sign for not enjoying an engineering major. I thought the opposite that the real world would be nothing like my classes and therefore not liking them held no bearing on whether or not I would enjoy my job. I was very wrong about that. I was shocked at how extremely similar my job was to my classes and how everyday engineering functioned. That topic can be saved for another discussion.

My main concern for you (which also happens to be a big similarity between us) is that you say you LOVE the math part but not many of the other classes. Again, I am a little slow on the uptake but for me, I finally realized this was one of the main reasons I was not happy with an engineering job.

For one, as you astutely noticed while shadowing engineers... they don't actually use that much math. In my job I hardly used any. It is all done with computers if it was ever really done. The hardest math I ever had to do or use regularly was conversions. The theory is already done for you. Its plug and chug. So, no hard math is a bummer and if you don't love the other parts of engineering that can be an issue as well.

Other things that I didn't like were- Very little creativity
-long hours - this was mainly in the consulting world - you will likely have a different experience working for say the government - although I couldn't say for sure
-After three years I did start to get pigeon holed. These are all things you mentioned. If I had known this ahead of time I doubt I would have changed careers or fields but, who knows maybe... I can say it was definitely my reasons for leaving.

Of course everyone's experience is different. Maybe just going in knowing these things would make all the difference. Whatever you chose I wish you good luck!