This thread has been pretty helpful because I have been looking at ME also. I think I have decided to go into it. Right now I have a 3.9gpa my senior year. I have not taken calc yet, but I have a A in Trig, so I am not too worried.
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Stocker2000 and Wanski described ME very good. I am a ME as well and have been working in the field for the past 2+ years. I am very happy I chose my profession because it is a very broad and competitive field. I am also enrolled in grad school for my Master's in ME (that's because my job is paying for it).
One thing I NEED to add is that engineering is not a walk in the park. Prepare to bust your ass to earn that degree. Engineering is the HARDEST undergraduate major in the entire country. It ranks above pre-med, math, physics, and other sciences. I would say the amount of work of all 4 years of HS combined is equivalent to maybe 2 classes. And you required to take between 4-6 class per semester. So if you are going into to engineering with the mentality of "oh let's see how I like it" you will not finish, guaranteed. Food for thought... I remember in freshman orientation, the Dean told us that 2/3 of all students who begin engineering do not finish. He was right. The incoming freshman engineering class when I started was just under 2000 students and a little over 600 students graduated.
Also, the first two years (freshman and sophmore) are identical for all engineers. We all take at least a couple years of Physics, Chemistry, Calculus, etc. It's usually your third year that you begin to take specialty classes. So you have two years to decide which engineer you want to be.
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Last edited by dsuave624 : 11-27-2004 at 04:25 PM.
i dont mean it by that, i meant lets say, you were planning to go to biology, but down the road after you got the biology degree, you wanted to become an accountant, now you could have started in college and gotten an accountant degree and then you will not only have a degree, but the knowledge needed for your job
True, but you are now talking apples and oranges. Biology and Accounting are very different, as you said. I am of the impression that the different paths your looking at are more closely related i.e. ME versus automotive techinician, or construction. Those are still technical fields, and an engineering degree will benefit you.
I found that I use for my job maybe 5% of the actual information I learned getting my degree. MOre important than any of the courses I took, I learned how to think critically, analyse, problem-solve, and implement solutions. I learned to manage my time, work in groups, and I became disciplined. Those qualitative characteristics are much more useful in the working world than quantitative course material. That's why eningeers are highly sought after; because they know how to think and manage and solve. It's also the reason why an engineering degree is flexible.
IF you're seriously considering the trades, then engineering is still a good choice. IF you're thinking of nursing, or biology, or accounting, then get a degree in one of those. I don't think I can stress enough how good a degree it is. I also don't think I can stress enough how hard you will have to work, and that if you're not prepared to do it, then don't bother starting it.
well, theres a reason i want to choose now, first reason, there is a way to go to college for construction to become a general contractor, i was planning on taking 2 years of community college to finish all the required courses for isu, then take there practical architectual construction courses for the last 2, which will automaticly lead me to a supervising job for a nice company which i would learn and build my own business from there
if i choose engineering, all the classes will be different, if i choose to back to construction, i would be starting from the bottom all over again, i seriously do not wanna take any unneccessary classes except maybe for marketing, i dont want to spend the next 5-10 years of my life trying to pay for what i did previously, its just not me, i hate debt, my family is in it too deep for me to even think about doing anything that will make me fall into a ditch like my parents did, thats another reason i dont want to change paths when i grow up, it may be a nice experience, but it was a waste of a LOT of money, not just a little, most of the good schools for engineering/construction are out of state, so ill be expecting to pay around 50k just for 2 years alone
You might want to step back & put aside making a career decision based on money alone.
You really want to find something that you have a passion for, because you will be doing that for 40+ hours a week for about 40 years.
Also, good luck if you think you will get your BSME in just 4 years.
My BSEE took 5.5.
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You might want to step back & put aside making a career decision based on money alone.
You really want to find something that you have a passion for, because you will be doing that for 40+ hours a week for about 40 years.
Also, good luck if you think you will get your BSME in just 4 years.
My BSEE took 5.5.
its not based on money alone, but i would like to be financially secure, although i hate to say it, but money does play a role on how happy you are in life
its not based on money alone, but i would like to be financially secure, although i hate to say it, but money does play a role on how happy you are in life
An engineering career is not necessarily secure.............
although i hate to say it, but money does play a role on how happy you are in life
I am of the opinion that it doesn't. Doing what you love to do, providing that it can provide the necessities of life for you and your loved ones, is more important (and will lead to greater happiness) than making a high 6 figure salary at a job you hate.
Mechanical engineering isn't a very good field. Most companies the ME's are the very first guys to get laid off. They usually only need ME's when they lay down the initial design. Then they don't need you anymore.
Also in general the engineering field is pure hell once you get out of school. All my friends are engineers, doctors, lawyers etc etc. There is a reason these fields pay a lot of money. And its not because of the skill set. Its because it takes that much money to keep everyone from quiting and finding a different job.
I'd look around and see what you really like and follow that. Make sure you try it out and see if you like it. F*ck money. Six figures a year ain't shit if you're miserable 11 1/2 months of the year.
Remember that this is something that you will do 60+ hours a weeks for years. That you might get two weeks of vacation a year. That you will work weekends, holidays, nights. Before 4-5 years out of school most engineers do a hard gut check and take a look around for something else.
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Last edited by greensoup2 : 11-29-2004 at 08:55 PM.
I am of the opinion that it doesn't. Doing what you love to do, providing that it can provide the necessities of life for you and your loved ones, is more important (and will lead to greater happiness) than making a high 6 figure salary at a job you hate.
debt will wreak havoc in your life, dont forget about that, construction, although i dont love it, i dont mind it, and getting a 6 figure salary and potentially my own business does seem worth going into, cars will always be a hobby of mines, but hearing they only make around 50k a year on average doesnt make it too enticing, its not necessarily a job that i would hate, but there would be a job that i would want instead of that if given the same pay
my pov is, you get a job that you dont mind going to work for, and a nice salary, your able to buy the things your wife and kids want, and also be able to retire knowing you will have funds to support you when you retire and just want to relax until you die, or get a job you 100% love although not even close to as much pay as you would have gotten, live through credit cards until you retire, then you are naturally ****ed because you will have no savings whatsoever, i mean i seriously if you seen how ****ed up my parents financial life is, you would think of the same way i do
edit: anyways working on cars will always be a hobby of mines, getting a better paying job will allow me to have more projects
My starting salary out of school was $25k for an engineering position...........Ya don't start on the top, unless you are in the top of your class. You have to bust your a$s to move up. I did, but I don't know if I'd do it the same if I knew what I know now.
My starting salary out of school was $25k for an engineering position...........Ya don't start on the top, unless you are in the top of your class. You have to bust your a$s to move up. I did, but I don't know if I'd do it the same if I knew what I know now.
Think about it.
When did you start working? The average starting salary for Engineers coming out of college is around $48,000 and I was offered something around this figure. I was no where near the top of my class either. All my engineering friends were offered something in the same ballpark as well.
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