Need major help picking engineering discipline

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a first-year engineering student's dilemma in selecting a discipline among Mechanical Engineering (MechE), Civil Engineering (CivE), and Electrical Engineering (EE). The scope includes personal reflections on career aspirations, course interests, and job market perceptions within these fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • The student expresses confusion about their career path and has ruled out Chemical Engineering, focusing on MechE, CivE, and EE.
  • For CivE, the student initially found the idea of building large structures appealing but is now concerned about the reality of the work being less interesting and the job market being limited to less engaging tasks.
  • The student appreciates the broad nature of MechE, noting its inclusion of various fields and potential job diversity, but is skeptical about the mundane nature of many MechE jobs, particularly in HVAC and oilfields.
  • Interest in EE has grown due to its cutting-edge nature, though the student is unsure about job availability and is primarily interested in computer and electronics engineering rather than power and energy sectors.
  • One participant suggests pursuing a combined Electrical and Mechanical engineering path, termed mechatronics, as an appealing option.
  • Another participant notes the declining job market for MechE in North America but reassures that structural engineering will always have demand, encouraging the student to pursue their interests regardless of market trends.
  • A participant challenges the notion that most EE jobs are in power and utilities, highlighting opportunities in computer engineering, embedded systems, and digital signal processing.
  • There is mention of a growing enthusiasm for alternative energy sources, which may increase demand for Electrical Engineers in the future.
  • The student considers Biomedical Engineering (biomed) but is cautioned that it may be too narrow and could limit opportunities in more conventional engineering roles.
  • Discussion includes thoughts on the potential for innovation in energy distribution and smart-grid technology, although some skepticism about the current state of these developments is expressed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the job markets and opportunities within each engineering discipline, indicating that multiple competing views remain. There is no consensus on the best path for the student, as various perspectives on job availability and field attractiveness are presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding job markets in engineering fields, the evolving nature of technology and energy sectors, and the potential limitations of specialized paths like Biomedical Engineering. The discussion reflects a variety of assumptions and personal experiences that may not apply universally.

Who May Find This Useful

Students in early stages of engineering education, individuals considering a switch in engineering disciplines, and those interested in the job market dynamics of various engineering fields may find this discussion relevant.

strigner
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I'm in my (general) first year of engineering and I have to now decide which discipline I want to go into. I need some major help with this though because I am so confused now more than ever. I'm not even too sure that I want a lifelong career as an engineer. I've ruled out ChemE, so basically, the three I am considering are MechE, CivE, and ECE. Here is what I feel about each of them.

CivE: before I had any knowledge of anything engineering, this is what I wanted to go into. Mainly because I saw big bridges, or big/interesting buildings and thought it would be really cool to build that. But now that I've heard about the reality of civil engineering, it seems majority of the work is uninteresting and it's really hard to find work where you're working on really cool projects. Also looking at courses, the only ones that seem interesting are the structural, design and transportation courses, although there are a good number of courses in these fields. But I think in the field there is not much work done in the structural side but more in land and materials analysis, cost analysis, management, efficiency and things like that that don't interest me too much.

MechE: the main thing that draws me to MechE is how broad it is. Especially because you learn basics of civil (specifically structural which is the part of civil I'm drawn to), and the basics of electrical. It just seems there are so many things within MechE that it is perfect for someone like me who doesn't know what to go into. There are a lot of things within Mech such as aerospace, biomech, nanotech or even engineering management that seem really interesting to me. But it seems most of the jobs for MechE's are mundane. I think the job openings are in things like HVAC or oilfields (I'm in Alberta) which don't seem very interesting.

EE: Never considered this until recently, when I saw a few presentations about the field and possibilities. The whole "cutting edge" aspect of ECE is what draws me. It seems like the only field where a good chunk of work that is leading edge and innovative. Really though the only part I'm interested in is the computer and electronics engineering. But I think majority of the jobs are in the power and energy sector, which doesn't really appeal to me. Also, I've heard it is very difficult to get a good job in the field now, but I'm not too sure about this.

I am leaning towards MechE, just because of the broad education, the diversity of jobs, diversity of fields that one can go into and the opportunities do exist for interesting work. But I'm skeptical about the type of work for mech.e's. The school part seems interesting but the jobs seem like crap. Really, I would rather build the building itself than the HVAC system for the building. On the other hand I would rather work with automobiles or airplanes than buildings or bridges (unless high profile ones I guess). Having said that though my feelings about this change all the time. I'm so confused!

I would appreciate any insight (or any corrections on my perceptions).
 
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Can't decide? Go to Electrical and Mechanical engineering or how it now sounds a lot cooler - mechatronics. I've just applied to Electrical and Mechanical engineering at University of Strathclyde and I'm thrilled. The course seems very interesting.
 
As you have deduced, ME is probably the most broadly based, so that is an attractive option for you. The downside is that North American manufacturing is declining, and with that the number of ME jobs is dropping.

Reading what you have written, you seem truly drawn to structural work, and I can assure you that there will always be structural work to be done wherever you are. My daughter is a structural engineer in Dallas right now, and her firm is crying for good structural engineers. This is a field that will never go away, and will never go entirely offshore. I'd think very hard about it.

The most important thing to remember, however, is that you only need one job, not a whole field of jobs. Thus even if the field is declining, if you want to do something, do it! Just plan to be very, very good at it, and rise to the top. There is no engineering field that is going to go away entirely, so go into whatever you want to do, just plan to be the best in it.
 
Hey,

With regards to ECE, its not true that the majority of jobs are in power and utilities. That is a fertile area, but computer engineering is a way bigger field. Tons of companies need engineers to design chips (like FPGA, ASIC, etc.). Not only that, but tons of companies needed EEs to work on embedded systems, in everything from manufacturing, robotics, communications etc.

Control and digital signal processing (DSP) are two very big areas with lots of interesting work being done.

This website might help you in picking a major:
http://subversiveguidetoeng.blogspot.com/2009/03/picking-majorfield.html"
http://subversiveguidetoeng.blogspot.com/2009/03/last-post-i-wrote-with-tips-on-picking.html"
 
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Where is the future of North America headed? There is quite a lot of enthusiasm for alternative energy sources, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a growing demand for Electrical Engineers as a result. It doesn't matter much if it's wind, nuclear, solar - much of our energy-distribution system is bound to be in our electrical grids (existing and expanded, both), and there may well be some interesting control problems if we get to base-load with renewables and nuclear and take load-swings on carbon-fueled plants.
 
Do Physics Engineering.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I took a look at ECE courses and for the most part they don't seem too appealing to me. So I'm leaning more now towards ME or CE, as they sort of look like I would enjoy the courses more. I think the diversity of ME is drawing me in. There is also a biomed option in ME that looks really interesting, so I might go into that. Any views on biomedical engineering?
 
Biomed is relatively narrow, so do not do it unless it is really the thing you want for certain. The biology component excludes a lot of other more conventional engineering courses, so a biomed engineer winds up being weak compared to a standard ME for most ME situations (but certainly not for biomed).
 
You raise a good point about new energy sources. Right now there is a bit of a renaissance going on in the utilities. There's a lot of talk about switching to smart-grid technology and high voltage DC lines to replace our creaky grid. Of course, a lot of it is still talk.

-subSquall
The Subversive Guide to Engineering
http://subversiveguidetoeng.blogspot.com
 

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