What’s the more adequate engineering?

entertainment · Aug 5, 2011

I am a student who has six days to decide which course to go, but it seems that the more I research the more confuse I get, due to the many options available.

What I want to learn is electronic / electromechanical physics (aerodynamics income etc.), ( want to learn all that i need to build electrical machines(ex electric car), or car's computers.. etc)

With this in mind my main options are:

Mechanical engineering.

Mechatronics.

Electromechanical engineering.

Electrical engineering.

Electronic Engineering.

Could be recommended any of the prior art in view of what I want to learn? thanks

wilheldp_PE · Aug 5, 2011

Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering are the only two in your list that are a real thing. The rest of them would be ITT Tech degrees.

If you want to work more on the electrical side of cars or car computers, I suggest going into an ABET accredited Computer Engineering course. They usually encompass courses taught by the electrical engineering and computer science faculties.

If you want to go more into the control systems of cars, I would suggest going into a mechanical engineering program, and taking electives in mechatronics.

RIP - VTEnviro · Aug 5, 2011

Where I went to school, you didn't need to declare a discipline until after your first year.

I was leaning mechanical when I enrolled, but physics kicked my butt. I did really well in chemistry though, and picked environmental instead. Plus I got some good advice that the need for clean air, water, etc. wasn't going away and that the rules and regs would only get stiffer.

Now I do site civil. Go figure.

Don't know much about what you listed, but good luck with your decision.

knight1fox3 · Aug 5, 2011

To add to what VTEnviro mentioned, at a 4-year college you won't need to decide what route to take right away. Usually you have about 1-2 years to really decide your major and which discipline path to follow. Furthermore, you will have quite a few general education requirements to complete first as prerequisites to most of the core engineering classes. I started off as a software engineer because I thought it would be awesome to program and test computer games and the like. It wasn't until I got to Object-Oriented Java that I realized this wasn't the path for me. :smash: But, with a good number of general eds. out of the way already, I was easily able to switch to electrical engineering. Not sure if this helps but thought it might give you a bit more insight. Good luck in your decision.

Peele1 · Aug 6, 2011

Yep. What they said.

You never have only 6 days to decide your career. I have a friend who, after 10+ years in law, is going back to school for nursing. Another friend did real estate mortgages for 15+ years and is now working on a PhD in biomed.

Start out in Electrical or Mechanical. Switch if you feel the need later. It's easier to switch out of engineering than in.