so i'm thinking about changing my major to engineering, either mechanical or electric (i'm more to mechanical, but not sure)
1. should i change my major to engineering?to mechanical or electric?
2. how will the demand of mechanical or electric engineers be in 4-5 years from now?
3. how much is the average annual salary for mechanical/electric engineers?
and last
how hard is it to be majoring in engineering?Help: should i change my major?
I think the most important questions to ask yourself is 1) Do I really like the major and 2) am I competant enough at math, physics, and chemistry that are part of any engineering curriculum?
Frankly, engineering is a pretty rigorous and demanding academic program, so you really have to like it to go with it.
As for the money and career prospects - the pay may be good starting out (depending on the location and industry), but you have to consider that it can be subject to boom and bust cycles. Assuming that you are in North America, the outsourcing of many hardware/manufacturing functions to overseas, any operations or manufacturing related jobs are probably not going to be as plentiful as before, so if you're looking for careers in that field, be prepared to move to China or Southeast Asia. Perhaps I am biased in a way because I am in Silicon Valley where software has taken over a lot of hardware related functions in communications and networking systems...
In any case, please consult with a career counselor on your thoughts, and good luck.Help: should i change my major?
Engineers will always be in demand. However, a good part of engineering is sitting in an office working with computers and paper. And lots of math. It's a demanding major, and I'm not sure how much of it you could complete at a community college. If you have engineering courses there, go talk to the dean of that program to see if that's really what you want to do.
If you like engineering you better like math. Also, you might want to check into the jobs that you can get as an mechanical or electrical engineer. At least at the architectural level you will be sitting in an office most of the day with occasional site visits. Not much better than marketing. If you want to be more active look into civil or architectural engineering. Something that you can use on the construction site or out in the field more.
OK first of all: Do you like Math and Physics and are you good at it?
If so then Engineering is a great field for you. It dosent matter whether Mechanical or Electrical really. The demand for Engineers will always be there. Engineering is the type of career where you can find a job fairly easily.
Starting salary for Engineers with a BS degree is about $55-$60K but it depends on the location and who is hiring you. You may get more or less per year.
In my personal opinion, Engineering was not at all for me. I found it to be very hard because of the heavy math and physics and it bored me to death. There are some real chauvinists in that field but that may be encountered anywhere. I suggest you do your research because I wasted a whole year just to end up changing my major to something else. Be sure about the Math and Physics before you jump into any form of Engineering.
You can complete all your prerequisities at the Community college but all the core courses will be taken at the university you plan on attending.
I would recommend you meet with your academic counselor to discuss your options. From my experience, most people tend change majors from engineering to business or another field. The study of engineering is a very demanding curriculum. But, if you are really up to the challenge, I wish you luck. As for salary, it is not your major that determines the paycheck ... rather it is how you apply your education.
If you like the idea of engineering, I think you should pursue it. But know that it's math and tech intensive. You have to be competent at math, and interested in technology, or it won't be a good fit.
I suggest that you go ahead and take the first couple of introductory courses required of engineers at your school, and see if you like them. If you do, then change your major.
The demand for mechanical and electrical engineers may rise and fall over time, but they are *always* in some sort of demand. If you're a good engineer, you'll get a job. Know that, however, in most cases, companies looking for entry-level engineers want people with bachelor's degrees, so once you complete your associates, you'll need to transfer to a reputable school.
The salaries for entry level engineers tend to be higher than those of other college graduates. That's held true in the past, and I expect it to continue in the future. The exact salary depends on your field of engineering, and the region you work in.
No matter what, do a co-op or internship, or two, in the field before you graduate. This will make it far more likely that you'll end up employed when you graduate. (And this is true whether you do engineering, or marketing, or something else.)
There are engineering jobs that entail sitting at a desk, but there are other engineering jobs, even in mechanical and electrical, that do not. Those are often found at manufacturing plants and places like that, where you'd spend most of your time out there on the floor, rather than tied to an office.
I'll link you to a nice resource that describes engineering as a field, and then goes into detail on the different types of engineering. It does talk about both mechanical and electrical.
mmm how do you go from marketing to Mechanical or Electrical engineering thats weird...
Here is the thing. It doesnt matters wich career you choose, you must enjoy doing it!!
I am an electronics engineer my self and in the freshmans year we where 30 persons @ electronics engineering, well only 7 graduated. Me being one of them :P
All of the people that quitted electronics was because they wherent happy with what they were doing, others because just simply couldnt handle the math and physics, others were excellent at math and physicis but they didnt like the electronics part.
I am not very good at math, actually if i dont have my calcutator or matlab forget it....., but am very good at electronics and physics(only with a calculator haha) I enjoy every second I spent in putting circuits together or designing circuits or programing, making cool gadgets etc... you name it.
usually... not always and not all of them... some of them are really really smart(way more than me)... but usually women have a harder time in engineer than guys... But if you are smart and have the feeling that you will enjoy studing and working as engineer... well give it a shot... you'll never know if you dont try...
No comments:
Post a Comment