Type of Engineering Suggestion

[archvillainxx]

Hi, how is everyone? Probably at work at this time I suppose. Anyway, I've read a couple of articles and watched a few short documentaries on different disciplines of engineering. I more or less understand what they're about and the very interesting jobs that are available for each areas. I realize that being able to get an exciting job depends on how good they are. I have been considering on studying Mechanical. But I also want to study Computer Engineering and a few other forms of engineering. I'm just having a hard time on which one, if one at all.

I was wondering, since most of you have what I don't: which is practical experience, if you'd share your thoughts on the matter. Things you've come to realize after or would have done differently during college. What I'm sure of is that I want to want to wake up in the morning for a job I can't wait to go to and stay later to get the job done. There are a few things that I feel that way about and I was hoping my career can be one of them. What I see myself doing in the future is working on something tangible and that will not only help people but the environment. I really love what companies like Living Tomorrow, a Belgium company, are working on. Might sound absurd, but I want to be a part of something like this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

PS, what type of engineering profession(s) were involved in Living Tomrrow's "House and Office of the Future" project? I couldn't find any information on this on the net.

 

[XOXOXO]

Hi, how is everyone? Probably at work at this time I suppose. Anyway, I've read a couple of articles and watched a few short documentaries on different disciplines of engineering. I more or less understand what they're about and the very interesting jobs that are available for each areas. I realize that being able to get an exciting job depends on how good they are. I have been considering on studying Mechanical. But I also want to study Computer Engineering and a few other forms of engineering. I'm just having a hard time on which one, if one at all.
I was wondering, since most of you have what I don't: which is practical experience, if you'd share your thoughts on the matter. Things you've come to realize after or would have done differently during college. What I'm sure of is that I want to want to wake up in the morning for a job I can't wait to go to and stay later to get the job done. There are a few things that I feel that way about and I was hoping my career can be one of them. What I see myself doing in the future is working on something tangible and that will not only help people but the environment. I really love what companies like Living Tomorrow, a Belgium company, are working on. Might sound absurd, but I want to be a part of something like this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

PS, what type of engineering profession(s) were involved in Living Tomrrow's "House and Office of the Future" project? I couldn't find any information on this on the net.

When I applied to college, I was accepted as a Chem Engineering major. But really I had investigated Aerospace Engineering...but not many places offered that. I was in ROTC, and figured I could really do anything with a Chem Engineering degree.

Then I visited a "typical" place where chem egrs worked, and hated it. So I tried Electrical Engineering. I took a semester of EE courses, and although I did well, I just felt I had to try too hard, and that it was out of my league. "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Then I discovered Architectural Engineering...which really starts off like Civil Egr but instead of taking say a survey course, you take more architectural courses...my specialty is structural engineering (a sub set of AE and CE)...and AE's can work on buildings or bridges (usually). I work with bridges...I didn't pick it...it picked me. A NYC firm found my resi on monster and called me up...I moved to NY immediately upon receiving an offer. I've been doing this for over 7 years now.

Now my experience is atypical (I believe anyway...) but I think its more of finding what it is you like/love/want to do...looking at the types of work you may be doing, checking out the salaries and job stability and going from there.

But to be brutally honest...I should have gone for biomed engineering, and become a doctor. That my friend would have covered everything but law for me...but who says you have to have just ONE career anyway??

I may sound like I have ADHD, but I just cannot fathom doing the same damn thing for 30 years. And I'm totally overdue for a morph.

 

[archvillainxx]

I totally agree with you POed Mommy. My previous major was Business and Accounting, simply because my father is an accountant as well as a few of my friends. Getting help with studying and finding a job wouldn't be an issue, but I can't imagine myself doing it all my life. Also, before Business and Accounting I was taking Computer Science which just seems silly to me now because so many people are taking it, I felt like I was just following a tread and not doing what I would really would want to. So now I want to make this new major count and now have to regret too much.

 

[ALBin517]

I started in electrical / computer but it quickly got very abstract, which did not play to my strengths.

Similarly, I had a tough time visualizing chemical and some of the chemical-related environmental topics.

Regarding environmental in general, carefully look at how important the subject matter is in practice. For example, I would guess that I can count on one hand the new municipal treatment plants that are built in my state each year. But there are probably 100 civil / environmental grads from my state's universities each year, many of who have taken water treatment as an elective. I'd guess one or maybe two will be hired by THE consultant who does treatment design. The rest have wasted their time.

 

[Peele1]

They all have their advantages and disadvantages. They all overlap some. You will most likely have to take classes in all: Statics/Dynamics, circuits, motors, thermodynamics, math, physics, chemistry, math (lots of math). The first one to two years is often identical. If you are thinking electrical and mechanical, then you'll have a lot of overlap.

Having a job you love has very little to do with your education or what you are working on. It has to do with your manager, coworkers and relationships.

Adages and rules of thumb:

A job is work. Work is a four-letter word. If it were fun, they wouldn't have to pay you for it.

In order to be successful, don't do what you like, but like what you do.

Most people don't quit a job, they quit the boss (they leave due to a problem with their boss or management in general).

Where you work will come last, i.e. government (federal vs. state vs. local), corporate, non-profit, education, etc.

 

[Dleg]

"Environmental" engineering is mostly a branch of civil engineering, with a healthy dose of chemical engineering. It doesn't sound to me like you are interested in what is called "environmental" engineering - sounds more like either mechanical or electrical (but I don't know about the house or office of tomorrow thing). If you get an enviro eng degree, typical jobs would be working for a wastewater or water plant, consultant for air emissions, consultant for groundwater contamination and clean-ups, that sort of thing.

If you want to get into actual products and technology, mech or electrical is the way to go. Those skills are most certainly needed in the "enviro" world, which covers everything by the way (enviro=efficient=the goal of all engineering).

Your career path is very important, too. You will find that most of us out here in the real world have sort of drifted into our professions based on what's available at the time, and not at all on what we wanted to do. If you have a goal, you need to figure out jobs that will help you reach that goal, and then stick to your plan. I started in ME, with the general idea that I wanted to get into manufacturing or product design, and ended up in the enviro world, dealing with garbage and poop. Which is a very important job, and there will always be garbage and poop, but it's a world away from what I set out to do.

 

[picusld]

You will most likely have to take classes in all: Statics/Dynamics, circuits, motors, thermodynamics, math, physics, chemistry, math (lots of math). The first one to two years is often identical. If you are thinking electrical and mechanical, then you'll have a lot of overlap.

Pass your first two years of classes then worry about a discipline. I would venture a guess that over 60% of the "want to be" engineers have dropped the program by then.