There are many reasons to study engineering which include job opportunities, learning how the things around you work, gaining critical thinking and problem solving skills, and a desire to improve the world around you. Many students worry about getting a degree that leaves them with few options once they graduate, but an engineering degree leaves a lot more doors open for what what you might do sometime in your career.
There is a continuous need for more engineers and therefore most students who graduate with a bachelor’s in engineering will find a job in the field of their choice. The job prospects for engineers with a bachelor’s degree are better than many other undergraduate studies, where more advanced degrees are required. Learning how to think critically and problem solve are two important skills taught to Engineers throughout their degree. These are skills that are even valued by those outside of Engineering. Therefore, even with an engineering degree you will still have many career doors open to you outside of engineering in non-engineering careers if that is what you wanted.
A degree in Engineering also keeps doors open for you if you wanted to continue your education. For example, it’s much easier to get a PhD in biology with a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering than it is to get a PhD in engineering with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Similarly, it is easier to become an accountant with an engineering degree than it is to become an engineer with an accounting degree. An undergraduate degree in engineering is also a great stepping stone for getting into medical school, law school, or business school. Getting an undergraduate degree in engineering allows you to defer working out what you want to do when you grow up. There are still many options available, including being an engineer!
Jamie is an 18-year-old about to graduate from Generic High School. Jamie did well in high school, loves music, plays violin and piano, and made it to the state orchestra. Jamie also knows there are relatively few jobs for career musicians, so wants to have a backup plan. Having independently learned some programming, Jamie started seeing that music is made of sound waves and became interested in how waves work. Jamie’s counselor advised investigating engineering. What would be the benefits of studying engineering versus studying music? Here are some things to consider:
A love of music and interest in science can be combined into a career as a sound or acoustics engineer. this typically involves an understanding of how sound waves travel and bounce off of things. This could be pursued from an electrical engineering, civil engineering (how to build concert halls), or mechanical engineering (wave and force propagation) standpoint.
There are also water waves to think about. With climate change and sea levels rising, how can we protect our coasts from waves? It will take engineers to help figure this out, and an initial love of music may seamlessly translate to new and exciting career opportunities as depicted in this case study.
There are lots of college majors and it can be difficult to pick a potentially lifelong career when you are a freshman in college. Even with engineering degrees, there are many options to choose from. Remember that you have time to make this decision. Most Engineering disciplines share a similar first year curriculum so you will be fine switching between engineering disciplines within that first year. Take this first year to explore as much as you can to help decide which discipline you are interested in.
Engineering school will equip you with the tools and mindset necessary to analyze problems and design novel solutions using technical knowledge and personal ingenuity. Your professors, TAs, advisors, and endless other resources are here for you to help you find success along your journey. Remember that learning takes time, practice, and repetition.
Checkpoint2.3.1.What motivates you to study engineering?
Use these questions to reflect on: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Do you have good time management skills? Are you ok with studying for long hours and working on hard problems without easy solutions?
Use this self-reflection to make sure that you are in the right place. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. They are simply for you to start having a conversation with yourself about what is right for you.
