Need advice about choosing a major/career

SpaceCrunch · 2015-03-26T15:00:20+00:00

I cant answer a lot of your questions, but I can say this. I always thought I was smart until I studied engineering. It was tough the whole way through but I did it, one step at a time. In the end I can say confidently that I am way smarter than I was before I started studying engineering. The intelligence I gained came in the forms of specialized knowledge base, and MUCH higher cognition/ mental function. Plus I started when I was 23, so you're not alone.

I suggest going over to /r/engineering with your question and you might get more specific advice on the PhD thing.

notmyusualreddit · 2015-03-26T17:52:30+00:00

I dont know enough to answer all your questions but Im a guy that had a lot of options going into a great school, and for some reason I picked Mechanical Engineering. I did it because I thought "racecars are cool, so I'll be a mechanical engineer and work on racecars someday". Except then I didn't do ANYTHING to really work on racecars professionally. Just getting a degree can be pointless alone. You need to REALLY know what you want to do in your late 20s and 30s, and create a damn plan that makes sense. Imagine what your life will be like. For MOST mechanical engineers, its not something I enjoy. Even the money isnt THAT great. So yes EE is a great degree, sure, but what exactly are you going to do with it? Which job do you want that it'll help you get? What money will you earn and what lifestyle will that get you, and do you like that?

Also, I actually dislike that I went into a major that I had a great natural understanding of. Ive always been very hands on, very analytical, with a very good natural sense of physics, materials and so forth, even in highschool from all the work I did on cars, construction and tons of reading online back before the internet was buzzfeed. (1996-2002). I remember reading in depth quality enthusiast explanations of what turbos were, what certain characteristics of engines did, so forth. Now everything is a blog post or a weird forum q&a. Anyway. I went to a great engineering school (top few in the US/world), and felt like I honestly learned very little. Yes I learned math went beyond what I 'naturally' knew how to do. Yes I learned more about programming and Finite Element Analysis. But the reality is I could ballpark answers and the process to most things the day I left highschool.

I wish I did computer science, learned even more about programming, and doubled my competence. I was such an enthusiast of physics and engineering naturally, I would have opened a book and learned more if I ever needed to figure out something. I wish I used school to learn something I didn't have the best natural understanding of, and wasn't as willing to learn on my own. Hell even computer science isn't a good answer because that can be learned well on your own too.

Id go to school for a business degree, if only because it will get your foot in the door somewhere where without it you just CANT get in. Developers or even people who work around racecars, construction, and so forth can get in without actual degrees if they prove competence. However, there are many companies that would never make you a VP if you didn't go to college in a certain field they appreciate.

alpha_n3rd · 2015-03-26T17:53:25+00:00

The job market for physicists may not be huge (in fact there's currently a glut of research physicists IIRC) but as a physics student you can get a shitload of software experience and work in software instead.

The job market for electrical engineers is shrinking. Again EE crosses over with computers to a high degree so just because you get an EE degree doesn't mean you have to work as an EE, you can work as a software engineer, embedded, industrial, or real time systems would be a good fit.

Of course then I might ask you why you don't just get a computer degree, either CS or CE.

If you get a PhD you can absolutely become an academic but you better do your homework and have a solid plan because competition is fierce and pay and job security are shit, at least starting out. It gets better towards retirement, and tenure is pretty tit, but you'll have a long row to hoe to get there. Prepare to work shitty adjunct appointments for a long time, unless you're some kind of superstar.

Manuel_S · 2015-03-26T20:53:32+00:00

On the field - mech here.

Either with a software base, and going towards software and computers. That need will not go away.

For itself: an electrical engineer who knows his shit, and who can draw and electrical switchboard can get a job anywhere.

Going to give you a little secret here:

Besides planning it, learn to assemble a switchboard from scratch - much easier than you'd think, its all modular.

A man who can do that with his hands like a pro technician - then adapt and review the design as needed, or correct it, with the authority of an engineer - you can give the middle finger to the boss and still not get fired.

You can come off a plane anywhere where work is going on, knock at any big installer or constructor, and go out with a handshake and a job.

Lots of engineers, yes the market is shrinking. But Engineers? No my friend, its a widening field.

Title	Need advice about choosing a major/career
Author	blackknightalpha
Upvotes	3
Comments	6
Date	March 26, 2015 2:51 PM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/30dlej/need_advice_about_choosing_a_majorcareer/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/need-advice-about-choosing-a-majorcareer.147362 https://theredarchive.com/post/147362

Comments