What are some tips for choosing a career in engineering?

[FrostMachine]

Hi physics forums community, I still have a year to go to college and I want to be able to decide my career so I can begin getting the recommendation letters from my professors at school, start applying, etc... I know this might be fictional or far fetched, but the reason I like engineering so much is because of the iron man comics, the whole idea of creating new technology seems very interesting to me. What i the closest thing to such profession?

I'm practically into robotics, circuitry, jets, etc.. I think I am more or less over the fields of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, i just don't know which one to pick. I want to be able to enter college decided and focused on my career.

Thanks in advanced for the help and information you all might give me.

 

[story645]

I think I am more or less over the fields of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, i just don't know which one to pick. I want to be able to enter college decided and focused on my career.

Why? I've got two friends into robotics who transitioned from ME to EE (one got his undergrad in ME and is going for a Masters in EE, the other switched his undergrad major from ME to EE), but a lot of robotics projects need both and compE's too. You'll switch your interests 8 times while you're in college anyway, so don't get bogged down in planning out your future. If you're in a country where you can't really switch your major, why not visit the school/go to the website and poke around the departments and figure out what appeals to you? (Which is something you may want to do anyway.)

 

[lisab]

I agree with story645. Keep these points in mind:

The required classes in the first one or two years of ME and EE are almost the same, so there is no need to decide early which path you want to take.

As you learn more advanced classes, you may find your interests change. Who knows, you may take a class that fires you up and inspires your passion in a new direction. Be open to that.