Which engineering major should I choose: EE or ME?

[toforfiltum]

Hey everyone, so it's nearing the end of fall semester now, and it's time for me to register for classes next spring. The problem is that I still don't really know what to major in, and I have to decide soon. Both majors have different sets of prerequisites to take before being able to be admitted to the programs.

I'm leaning more towards electrical now, though I'm hesitant about it, because the electricity topics that I learned in high school was never really intuitive to me. Mechanics problems, on the other hand, were much more intuitive, since I can visualize forces and bodies more easily.

So, I'm quite sure I would enjoy the statics and dynamics course in mechanical engineering, but I'm unsure if I would enjoy fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

Although I find electricity not intuitive, there's always some part of me that wants to know how the electrical components inside a gadget work. That's why I decided on EE. For ME, other than the statics and dynamics course, I don't find other topics interesting at all.

So, I'm just wondering that since I don't find electricity intuitive, is that a sign that I should stay away from electrical engineering? Or is that ok?

Thoughts and advice?

Thanks!

 

[analogdesign]

No one finds electricity intuitive at first, since we have such less interaction with the concepts growing up compared to mechanics. Electrical intuition is something that has to be learned and it takes at least a few classes where you have to trust the math until you get to the point when you can "feel" like an electron, if that makes any sense.

If you study EE and focus on circuits you will get to the point where you can see a schematic and intuit where the current will flow, what the gain will be, how fast the circuit will be an so on. It is a fun field.

 

[toforfiltum]

No one finds electricity intuitive at first, since we have such less interaction with the concepts growing up compared to mechanics. Electrical intuition is something that has to be learned and it takes at least a few classes where you have to trust the math until you get to the point when you can "feel" like an electron, if that makes any sense.

If you study EE and focus on circuits you will get to the point where you can see a schematic and intuit where the current will flow, what the gain will be, how fast the circuit will be an so on. It is a fun field.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[CrunchBerries]

There is intuition in electron flow, you just need some time with the concepts first and intuition builds and becomes much more relatable to mechanics then one could think.

 

[anlon]

I would advise you not to choose your major based on what is intuitive to you or not. Choose it based on what you would like to do for a career. It's much easier to justify the long sleepless nights you'll go through studying engineering when you're working towards a goal than when you're taking classes for the sake of having chosen a major.

 

[toforfiltum]

I would advise you not to choose your major based on what is intuitive to you or not. Choose it based on what you would like to do for a career. It's much easier to justify the long sleepless nights you'll go through studying engineering when you're working towards a goal than when you're taking classes for the sake of having chosen a major.

Thanks for your advice. So now, I don't have any experience with programming, but I have a curiosity about how all the hardware in electronic gadgets work. Since I don't see myself as someone who can sit in front of a computer and code all day, I decided that electrical engineering would be the major for me, as it involves more hardware and hopefully more hands on stuff. And, from talking to faculty, I don't need to love programming to be in electrical engineering. So hopefully I've decided correctly.

Meanwhile, for mechanical engineering, other than courses that involve statics and dynamics, courses like structure of materials and thermodyamics do not excite me.

Thanks again for your advice!