Mechanical Design vs Energy: Which Path Should You Choose?

[Thizzordie]

I am nearing the end of college, and have to start picking my electives to get approved. You can mix or match or do an emphasis in either mechanical design or energy. Ever since I started school, I was sure I wanted to do energy because the classes sounded interesting. But now, I have really been thinking mechanical design would be fun since designing seems more enjoyable, although the classes sound boring. Is there a better choice in terms of job prospects? Which would you choose?

 

[tygerdawg]

Follow your bliss, take the classes you enjoy because you'll enjoy them.

The true utility of an engineering degree is that you become a rigorously trained problem solver. My experience is the courses are of secondary importance. It always helps (IMHO) to have a very broad background (take the design classes), but that path isn't for everyone (don't take the design classes).

In industry, it is a rare occasion that you actually will do number-crunching design. The use of engineers is to crank out a safe design based on standard, tried-and-true cookbook approaches without any thought or creativity. I was surprised and somewhat relieved when I finally discovered this truth after many years.