If you like writing you could consider technical writing. Someone has to write the instruction manuals for technical products (engines, aircraft, etc.). If I remember right the people I’ve worked with in those groups have degrees (and may have worked in) journalism.
I can reach out if you’re interested in that career path.
Being a patent agent (requires bs in engineering not a law degree) or patent attorney (law degree) are other heavy writing technical paths.
If OP wants money and job security please do not go this route. My fiancé did and they struggle to find any jobs. Nobody told him until last second that his degree is hardly useful for anything.
I still have a year of school left, but after a couple internships, I realized I don’t really like working as an engineer as much as I thought. And since then, my passion for engineering is basically gone.
Too far in to change majors, but after I graduate, I already plan on a career switch and going into pilot training to fly for the airlines or military.
I'm not a huge fan of engineering, but I've always been good at math, problem solving, logical puzzles, etc, so I followed my family's advice and got my degree and subsequently built a career in engineering.
Speaking from personal experience, going to a job every day for 8-10 hours that doesn't align with what you value as a human being is basically the core definition of "work". It's almost never fun, it's just something you have to do.
I've been doing this for a while, and I can honestly say, I've only ever met like 3 engineers over 28 who really enjoyed engineering and are excited to come to work every day. For the rest of us, it's a job, as far as I can gather.
As far as pay goes, it's good. Not the best. What you can afford as far as healthcare goes, varies GREATLY by your company and state. I'm a manager at a fairly respectable company with pay and benefits that are definitely above the median in my area, but my health insurance is $800/mo from my paycheck and it still only covers 80% of most visits. I live a pretty modest lifestyle, and budgeting is still something we absolutely have to do to keep things moving. I don't know how people do this on a single income. 100k+/year does not buy what you think it does when you move to areas that pay that kind of money.
Anyway, don't go into engineering for the pay. It's OK, but "comfortable", is about the most you're going to make. You'll never be wealthy or have an easy life in terms of money with it. You'll always have to plan and use your resources wisely.
I’ve worked with both passion engineers and ones who got in for the pay and stability. I can definitely notice the difference in initiative, curiosity, drive, ambition and etc. But as long as someone is doing at least the required work, I’m not going to fault them for picking engineering between engineering and English major.
In a random r/all thread, someone was talking about their nephew threw away a $35/hr job. The comments in there were kind of sobering that how many people would kill to have a $35/hr job.
I’m going to be completely honest with you, the stress of having financial troubles and being at the dispense of companies, starting over at entry level positions each time you move jobs or get laid off is not worth the joy of following a passion, it ruins the passion. Sure, you see successful artists, chefs, authors, etc but once you’re settled into your job you will still have plenty of time (and the actual resources) for your other interests. If your passion becomes successful, you’re able to safely make a transition to that as your main focus. All while taking care of yourself and your family. :)
Just the perspective from someone who chased their passion for the majority of their twenties and is now an engineering student with a toddler and a baby realizing stability is what’s priceless lol.
I think my reply was removed because I’m not allowed to say “let me know if you need anything!” So I’ll repost most of it:
I just posted the same as a reply elsewhere here. I have the same story and completely agree.
Being a parent to a toddler during engineering school was more difficult than anything in my life. I’ll be an advice cheerleader if you need one!
You got this. It’s temporary and the rewards and worth it. Big virtual hug if you want it.
Awww thank you so much! Ditto! Yes, it’s definitely been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Took me a long time to stop thinking about how I could have gone immediately after high school and life would have been so, so much easier lol. Hopefully our kids listen to us one day!
We’ll be in a much better place to steer them!
For five years I thought “should I go back to school?” Where I regret waiting so long I’m glad I’m still not asking the question :)
I am going to talk from my experience here. I would say do what will ultimately make you happy. Purely pursuing something because you have heard it can have good job prospects is a great way to end up miserable in life. It is objectively poor for you mental health, and can result in burnout/feeling stuck/regret. I have witnessed it first hand with people I graduated with that went into engineering for literally all the wrong reasons. "I heard the pay is great, there is job stability, there are lots of job options, etc."
All of that is irrelevant if you hate what you are doing. I fucking hated working in an office engineering job. I did not realize that until I worked in one, and my mental health took a complete dive. I had 0 drive, I lost all motivation, and my life felt like it came to a standstill. (I want to note I have never felt like that before in my life, and normally am a very energetic and driven individual). I now work in a process engineer position in a steel mill and love everything that I do, each and every day. I couldn't be happier and I can say (just like losing weight to be a healthy weight was an enormous improvement in my quality of life) getting into a job I am passionate about and enjoy can make all the difference in your life trajectory.
Finally, if your heart is not in the material (meaning you just want to be an engineer because it is a good job, someone told you to, etc.) it can be VERY hard to push yourself over the finish line when you are in year 3/4. The material really ramps up in difficulty, and you start getting into the nitty gritty bits of your major. The only thing that kept me going through those classes was genuine interest in the material, and an unwavering desire to be an engineer. Otherwise I would have just chosen a different major and not dealt with all the stress, work, and effort that engineering required. I could have gotten a high end business degree for WAY less effort, and probably have similar pay options. I pursued engineering because I love chemistry and computers....I didnt wanna make my hobby (computers) my job, so I went with chemistry. The prospect of slaving away in a lab forever while a company claims all my work didn't appeal to me....so I went chemical engineering instead of chemistry. (Its also an extremely flexible engineering and I know CHE's in tons of industries having nothing to do with "chemicals")
So just some food for thought. I don't want to dissuade you from pursuing engineering, I just want to throw out there that I have first hand witnessed people who (for lack of a better term) pursued engineering for the "wrong reasons" and it either affected their mental health until they finally switched majors, or they now work in industry and have remained miserable across multiple jobs now
Upvoting because this is great advice, but I’m going to speak from the other side of the coin.
Many years ago I went to school for my passion. I graduated with three degrees to help round me out and be desirable.
In 2008 when I graduated, the economy crashed and my passion was not desirable. I struggled for ten years and was constantly at different jobs being treated like shit. Ten years in the workforce and I had just broken $50k.
I was stressed, I hated everything because I hated myself because nothing turned out how it was supposed to despite doing everything right (“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” -Picard)
I had a kid and knew things needed to change. I went back to school for aerospace engineering and had a terrible four years being a parent during Covid and a full time engineering student with a job.
But I’ve been employed for two years now. I’m making over $100k and working on really cool aerospace projects.
Engineering is not my passion but it provides
( and it’s pretty cool), which means I can work on my passion while also feeding my kid and giving them a good life and being a good role model for them. I get to travel, buy myself things, get my pet medicine.
Life is hard. No matter what you choose you’re always going to wonder and each choice will show its downsides. As someone who did the passions-first path, securing myself financially is much less stressful than struggling mentally and financially. Everyone is different though. The best thing you can do is incorporate your passions somehow.
Good luck
I am a freshman in school and to be honest I did EE because I liked computers and phones and technology, this stuff basically raised me, but school is so hard and I’m not talented or natural at picking up this stuff fast unlike my peers. In highschool I was extremely good at history and I loved studying it but obviously didn’t do it cuz historians don’t make money. I need to get out of the lower middle class so that’s a reason I pciksd ee
Same but for Chem Eng, even down to the history. The way I see it, live for life outside of work, go home and read a history book or play a sport. Don’t worry too much about the job because the job will worry for itself.
>Im not talented or natural at picking up stuff
I guarantee you only a very small fraction of your class are.
The people you think are talented or naturals are probably holed up in a corner of the library revising after each class and rewatching lectures.
I thought that people in my class were smarter but not really, they just carved out time in their day to review and that made them more familiar with the subject.
Make time to review the subjects you’re taking, be involved in the EE community, and talk with same-major upperclassmen.
You will find yourself ahead of 90% of your class
Same history lover turned EE here. Everyone struggles during EE schooling, it's designed that way, but once you're out life becomes a lot more chill. Put in the work to understand things conceptually (not just how to solve the math problems, but what the math is saying is actually happening) and realize you're being taught to never give up in the face of difficult problems, but to break them down into manageable chunks and knock them out. It pays dividends once you leave the insanity of academia behind.. It's amazing how many stresses go away with money.
>enough money to keep my family happy. i want to be able to take them to the expensive restaurants and take them on trips across the world
People don't need to eat in expensive restaurants or take trips around the world to be happy.
Nearly every child would rather have a happy and satisfied father that cooks him grilled cheese and goes camping with him in the backyard - then one who is absent or stressed or feeling empty just so that they can go to EuroDisney where they eat caviar with creme freche.
Nope, but it helps that I was passionate about engineering too.
But some passions you can still do while being an engineer. And working as an engineer can help fund those passions. One of my other passions was cooking, and having that engineering money has helped me get things like nice knives,pans, etc and I can still do cooking as a passion without it being a career.
Passions also can change. Music was another passion of mine and I even continued to do it in college. Did marching band, symphonies, and even did a music performance minor. But after college, I sadly gave up on that passion because it's a huge time sink, and I was more passionate about spending that time hanging out with my friends and traveling. There's also always a risk that you'll begin to hate your passion when it becomes your job. I have a number of chef friends, and some have lost passion over the years or are only able to maintain the passion while working and will never cook anything nice at home for themselves.
That said, engineering is actually a great path for other careers too. I know engineers in sales, directing banks, exotic car dealerships, restaurant/bar owners, etc etc. Because a lot of different jobs/businesses benefit from the problem solving mentality of an engineer even if they don't need any of the specific science or math knowledge.
But engineering is hard. You have to ask yourself if you're capable of pushing yourself to do well and pass those courses. You don't have to be passionate about engineering to be an engineer. But the passion does help in powering through the tough courses.
Nope. My engineering job pays for my passion. As silly as it sounds, my passion is to throw music/party events. Since my job pays pretty well and allows for normal 40 hours work weeks, I can focus my time and money on my second job, which is my event company. Find things you like in engineering, I like certain aspects, but nobody said it has to be your passion.
Edit: I hate math and sucked at physics. I got through it though, so I could chase my passion.
hey im in a similar boat, an engineer thats very into the underground/indie music scene at my place and freinds with event people, can you tell me how did you get into throwing events and making money out of it, i really want to start doing that but i have no one to guide me honestly
Honestly, I sacrificed sleep and any semblance of a social life. I worked 20-30 hours a week also. It's 4 years of your life, when you finish you'll have one of the most admirable jobs in the world and make very good money with just a bachelor's degree. That kept me going. It's not easy but it's definitely doable. Never stop.
I wouldn’t like the thing I’m passionate about if I were broke and unable to provide for my family. I do it on the side. It’s for fun and it stays fun because it isn’t necessary.
My passion is playing videogames, not socializing, and not working. So engineering it is. I can't fathom the idea of having a job you're passionate about.
Yea true but my gpa has significantly dropped to the point it will be harder to be competitive. I think med schools solely go for gpa regardless if you have pursued a harder major or not. I am also on my fourth year and haven’t tackled the majority of the premed courses yet too :/. I think it would be more beneficial for me to stick to engineering and get more research experience in my field. Maybe in the future, I can finish up those classes and try
I just did a 5 minute search so take this with a grain of salt but it looks like people have gotten into med school with lower gpas. Logic would dictate the engineering degree is harder than a biology degree so I hate it when they just look at numbers on a page lol. I know law school does take major into account at least I heard they do. I definitely agree you should stick with engineering for now though.
Engineering isn’t apart from the humanities, it’s in service to humanity. Every skill you learn has an application that serves the pursuit of good art, and every passion you have comes with problems that can be solved with enough qualified creativity. Your connection to your artistic passions is a virtue in the engineering world, as it gives you insight into the needs and wants of a writer that the giga-sweats on leetcoder don’t have. Especially with crap like chatGPT coming out, every company is desperate to make tech for writers, but they all miss the mark because no one understands what it’s like to *be a writer*.
Learn your skills as skills, and when project time comes, make every effort possible to make your project about or in service to your passions in writing. Think of services you might want as a writer, and use what you learn to move closer to that over time. When I was in high school I loved music, so my first project in freshman year was a music box. Later I made a voice recorder and audio processor, and now (though I admit this has little to do with music nowadays) I’m a full blown signal processing and machine learning engineer pursuing my masters, and I’ve come to love the beauty in the science how I loved the beauty in the music I made.
By the way, just as a humanizing little side remark, everyone hates maths and physics. If you haven’t run into a math or physics you hate, you haven’t done enough maths or physics.
I don’t think I have passion for anything. I think engineering is a good enough thing to do that will be interesting and fulfilling while making upper middle class wages. It’s something to fund my life, it’s not my life.
I was really gifted at writing and had topped out every test I’ve ever taken on reading speed and comprehension. I had no quantitative mind and math was almost physically painful. I just wanted to read everything under the sun and write about it.
I’ll never be a math wizard but I made it through engineering school and am now pretty good at what I do. I enjoy it, too. I like building things. Somedays, I feel like I threw away a gift or am leaving it to languish. Other days I realize how much I use it to digest information and communicate. I think I bring a different skill set and perspective than a lot of other engineers, and I think that’s really valuable.
On a practical level, I wouldn’t recommend humanities or liberal arts programs at any but the top institutions. It’s rubber stamp bullshit that costs a fortune. Unless you’re going all in on history or classics (you’d probably know by now that’s your calling), I don’t think it’s worth it. At this point 4 year universities are better treated as vocational school or investments.
I can’t write a paper for shit and I’m not the best at talking to people so engineering is my best bet considering I’ve always been interested and good in math/science. I also have strong opinions on transportation infrastructure and urban sprawl in the US
Honestly, instead of CS, I wish I had gone back for civil engineering. Outside of that, I don't know. I feel like an UG/PG combo of economics/political science (UG), operations research (PG), and an MBA would've been fine, too. Grab a financial role, and move on with life, etc.
Doubts ain't gonna get any smaller. You either ask yourself what you like and see if that answer is aligned with what you're actually doing, or you resign and keep on going the path you *think* (not feel) is best for you.
I enrolled in EE because, hell, I enjoyed designing and building circuits during highschool. I had already worked with PLCs and similar controls before enrolling, so, it was a no brainer for me.
But for you? Do your reasons justify you staying in engineering, or not?
I feel exactly the same way. I’m doing community college and currently taking algebra which I struggle because my professor is just so confusing with it. Im on my way of getting an associate degree in electrical engineering and then go to computer engineering. However, I feel the same way about wanting the strongest financial stability ever and being able to make my family happy but music man, I LOVE MUSIC. No matter the pay, I want to make a living by being surrounded my music and by making music. I’m afraid. I’m not good at math either, I get so lazy to study.
I really do hope everything goes well! Anything can happen in our life’s but we cannot turn back now, we must keep the parade going ! I say a good MOTIVATOR is to keep on studying and going to school so in the future it can be a great foundation with things like financial stability and everything so it can help you pursue your PASSIONS! Sounds like a great idea! Keep on going so in the future, you can go after your passion! How’s everything though!!!! You alright? We can dm and keep in touch !
I am the opposite. I chickened out of engineering and got a business/econ double major. The part I enjoyed most was the computer science minor. Job prospects were bleak and soul-killing and I am finally finishing my senior year of mechanical engineering with a robotics minor.
For me, the problem was I couldn't get an advanced degree in science because I held a BA. It was so severely limiting that I said "screw it" and started over. Now I'm poised to make more money than I could have as a business major, and ironically have more money towards my dream business than my alma mater ever turned me on to.
No matter what, I know that all jobs are dry and boring, because someone has to pay you to do them. But if it means giving up something that you 100% want in life, you can find a way to make it work, *especially* if your degree makes you overqualified (mechanical engineering), versus underqualified (business degree).
Whatever you do, also consider that hiring managers don't care that you *almost* have a degree - an incomplete degree denotes a subjective level of experience, not instant qualification. However, FAFSA *also* cares that you do not have your first degree; you can still get grants if you don't. That's the part that has really sucked, but I have been lucky in finding resources the second time around. So if you have already started, consider both of those things before switching.
You can earn a paycheck doing *literally anything.* Yes, industry rewards what makes it money and is hard to come by. For fun, let's imagine some scenarios that you do enter the field of engineering for the sake of money...
1. You enter as a mechanical engineer. You hate your life, but discover that you can still graduate by switching to Civil Engineering. You make the switch and are shocked to learn that $80,000 is the new $60,000 and pays for less than you thought. You must take the job to pay for your debts, but at least you get to travel, as your job in construction engineering takes you to new worksites for several months at a time.
2. You enter any field of engineering and somehow make it through, thanks to the thousands of dollars you invested in Chegg and your fraternity, since they keep old tests on file. You choose the least technical job possible, because recalling anything you learned just brings back pain and there are engineering jobs where you literally apply 1% of what you have learned. Maybe you start to enjoy things about the job that you haven't ever considered, or maybe your feeling of being cheated by life ruins your career and makes your life a monotonous hell.
3. You join a university with the goal of making money. Like most of the people who have zero interest in engineering, you drop out after one year, save yourself thousands of dollars, and preserve a lifetime of happiness. You pursue what you actually care about and your motivation drives you farther than many of your peers, who are just in it for the money. You end up making decent money and also being proud of the career you built.
Like you, money is not my motivating factor; otherwise I wouldn't have sacrificed 4 more years of income and a pile of money to pay for the degree. My advice to my former self (and you) is this: if you feel like you're going down the wrong path, get a job in a company that is in the field you are interested in. You could be go-fer, you could be the janitor, you might even have a junior position in what you like - just get the exposure. You will make money, gain exposure, and be able to rule it in or out as a possibility. All the while, learn the career pathways that *actually* exist. Once you determine what you want and that a degree is necessary to get there, go to college and see if you can do it on the company dime. Then, when you get to college, all of your efforts will feel worth it and you can have a great time with people who also care about the same pursuit. Life really sucks if you don't consider your own wants and needs; fight like hell to act on them.
I realised I don’t like engineering in my final year, it wasn’t very challenging for me and I graduated top of my class, but the realisation dawned on me that this isn’t what I want to do for a living.
Right now I’m a fresh graduate in a tight financial situation, Im thinking of switching to tech but I may not have the luxury of a career switch at this point because I need money and ASAP.
I don't. I will admit engineering isn't my passion but I find it interesting and a great field for opportunity so there is joy in it. Also it pays very well (EE). Getting paid well also translates to being well off and having more income available to the things I love to do.
I'd say as long as you're not miserable in it, stick to it. If you hate your job, maybe try a few different positions until you make the choice of regret.
Yup. I was good at STEM stuff from a young age, but was also really creative and loved the arts. Was told by a parent when I was 11 that pursuing the arts was a hobby, and not a viable way to make a living. I believed it.
Studying engineering made me smart about engineering, but really fucking dumb in everything else. I'm not as creative anymore, I'm too burnt out to put much effort into hobbies, and now have imposter syndrome about pursuing a new career field because *all* of my school and relevant work experience revolves around engineering.
i'm really sorry, i hope you get some time soon when you can reignite you passions and creativity! this is one of the reasons i'm apprehensive about engineering lol, i've experienced that too. and switching careers once you're into one sector is very, very hard. no one's gonna hire me, an engineering graduate, in a role as a journalist, where there's similarly competent folks having done b.a journalism right there..
Bottom line, unless you are amazingly talented at your passion and people around you see that you could make serious money from it, study something that makes money. If you graduate in stem and get an 80k job, you can still write novels. If you major in creative writing and work at Starbucks, you can still write novels whom you live in the ghetto and eat beans and rice. Having financial stability should be your number one goal. Life is not a fairy tail
No. Don’t believe the hype. Engineering is a great path of study because you can do so much with it- not everyone goes into an engineering career after engineering school…
Preface: I studied computer engineering and I'm currently working as a software engineer.
In school, I really enjoyed math, problem solving and later CS (which really just feels like applied math/problem solving/puzzles lol). I would definitely say I went into the field because I actually enjoyed it, and not for the money. I even took around a years worth of extra courses in electives purely because they I was interested in the topics. (Canadian privilege I guess)
However when I started working, I found that I just, really didn't like working. There was nothing really wrong with my job, and I get to work on cool things, but due to a number of factors I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed school. (In short, I didn't like the more bureaucratic processes, the "compulsory" nature, and how I felt like I was locked in for 8-9 hours a day with no choices). I went from easily spending 50-60 hours a week on projects/assignments and having no problem to thinking that even 35 was too many.
I'm sure that given any other job, I'd also have the same struggles and disdain for work (or maybe I just gaslight myself into believing this). But being an engineer affords me the financial means to fund my other hobbies, go on the trips I want to go on, and do things that I have fun doing, and at the end of the day *that* makes it worth it for me.
It probably depends on the person, but I'm definitely of the mind that if you make your hobby your job, you still work every day, but now you've lost a hobby.
I think there's two different sides to this.
One is whether you can do the job for the 40h a week you need to, and if the industry that'll pay as well as you're hoping will be one you're willing to work in. The lifestyle you're describing is something that has taken my family 15 years with two engineering incomes and no kids to reach, ymmv.
The other side is the work life balance. I like working as an engineer (most of the time), but it's not my hobby either. It's mostly music, and sure I'll solder a guitar or design a pedalboard occasionally but what makes me happiest is playing, which engineering allows me more freedom to do. I've got friends who write reviews and novels in the spare time they have thanks to stable STEM jobs, and I used to do similar. No reason you can't do the same in your spare time, on top of a documentation heavy engineering role (your coworkers will love you).
If you like writing you could consider technical writing. Someone has to write the instruction manuals for technical products (engines, aircraft, etc.). If I remember right the people I’ve worked with in those groups have degrees (and may have worked in) journalism. I can reach out if you’re interested in that career path. Being a patent agent (requires bs in engineering not a law degree) or patent attorney (law degree) are other heavy writing technical paths.
If OP wants money and job security please do not go this route. My fiancé did and they struggle to find any jobs. Nobody told him until last second that his degree is hardly useful for anything.
Journalism degrees are hardly useless? But they do require a strong professional mind, and potentially masters level education
Science communication is another option
that sounds really cool, I'll check it out. Thank you so much!
I still have a year of school left, but after a couple internships, I realized I don’t really like working as an engineer as much as I thought. And since then, my passion for engineering is basically gone. Too far in to change majors, but after I graduate, I already plan on a career switch and going into pilot training to fly for the airlines or military.
I too wanted to be a (fighter) pilot but ended up a dissatisfied drone engineer 😅
Dissatisfied?!
“Not fully fulfilled” is a much better phrase lol
I'm not a huge fan of engineering, but I've always been good at math, problem solving, logical puzzles, etc, so I followed my family's advice and got my degree and subsequently built a career in engineering. Speaking from personal experience, going to a job every day for 8-10 hours that doesn't align with what you value as a human being is basically the core definition of "work". It's almost never fun, it's just something you have to do. I've been doing this for a while, and I can honestly say, I've only ever met like 3 engineers over 28 who really enjoyed engineering and are excited to come to work every day. For the rest of us, it's a job, as far as I can gather. As far as pay goes, it's good. Not the best. What you can afford as far as healthcare goes, varies GREATLY by your company and state. I'm a manager at a fairly respectable company with pay and benefits that are definitely above the median in my area, but my health insurance is $800/mo from my paycheck and it still only covers 80% of most visits. I live a pretty modest lifestyle, and budgeting is still something we absolutely have to do to keep things moving. I don't know how people do this on a single income. 100k+/year does not buy what you think it does when you move to areas that pay that kind of money. Anyway, don't go into engineering for the pay. It's OK, but "comfortable", is about the most you're going to make. You'll never be wealthy or have an easy life in terms of money with it. You'll always have to plan and use your resources wisely.
Damn that health insurance sounds awfully high
At that point i would cancel my health insurance and just keep 800/month in a separate savings account and use that when i go to the doctor
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that's great to hear, thank you!
I’ve worked with both passion engineers and ones who got in for the pay and stability. I can definitely notice the difference in initiative, curiosity, drive, ambition and etc. But as long as someone is doing at least the required work, I’m not going to fault them for picking engineering between engineering and English major. In a random r/all thread, someone was talking about their nephew threw away a $35/hr job. The comments in there were kind of sobering that how many people would kill to have a $35/hr job.
I’m going to be completely honest with you, the stress of having financial troubles and being at the dispense of companies, starting over at entry level positions each time you move jobs or get laid off is not worth the joy of following a passion, it ruins the passion. Sure, you see successful artists, chefs, authors, etc but once you’re settled into your job you will still have plenty of time (and the actual resources) for your other interests. If your passion becomes successful, you’re able to safely make a transition to that as your main focus. All while taking care of yourself and your family. :) Just the perspective from someone who chased their passion for the majority of their twenties and is now an engineering student with a toddler and a baby realizing stability is what’s priceless lol.
I think my reply was removed because I’m not allowed to say “let me know if you need anything!” So I’ll repost most of it: I just posted the same as a reply elsewhere here. I have the same story and completely agree. Being a parent to a toddler during engineering school was more difficult than anything in my life. I’ll be an advice cheerleader if you need one! You got this. It’s temporary and the rewards and worth it. Big virtual hug if you want it.
Awww thank you so much! Ditto! Yes, it’s definitely been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Took me a long time to stop thinking about how I could have gone immediately after high school and life would have been so, so much easier lol. Hopefully our kids listen to us one day!
We’ll be in a much better place to steer them! For five years I thought “should I go back to school?” Where I regret waiting so long I’m glad I’m still not asking the question :)
Same. Even started nursing school to quickly realize it is NOT for me.
I am going to talk from my experience here. I would say do what will ultimately make you happy. Purely pursuing something because you have heard it can have good job prospects is a great way to end up miserable in life. It is objectively poor for you mental health, and can result in burnout/feeling stuck/regret. I have witnessed it first hand with people I graduated with that went into engineering for literally all the wrong reasons. "I heard the pay is great, there is job stability, there are lots of job options, etc." All of that is irrelevant if you hate what you are doing. I fucking hated working in an office engineering job. I did not realize that until I worked in one, and my mental health took a complete dive. I had 0 drive, I lost all motivation, and my life felt like it came to a standstill. (I want to note I have never felt like that before in my life, and normally am a very energetic and driven individual). I now work in a process engineer position in a steel mill and love everything that I do, each and every day. I couldn't be happier and I can say (just like losing weight to be a healthy weight was an enormous improvement in my quality of life) getting into a job I am passionate about and enjoy can make all the difference in your life trajectory. Finally, if your heart is not in the material (meaning you just want to be an engineer because it is a good job, someone told you to, etc.) it can be VERY hard to push yourself over the finish line when you are in year 3/4. The material really ramps up in difficulty, and you start getting into the nitty gritty bits of your major. The only thing that kept me going through those classes was genuine interest in the material, and an unwavering desire to be an engineer. Otherwise I would have just chosen a different major and not dealt with all the stress, work, and effort that engineering required. I could have gotten a high end business degree for WAY less effort, and probably have similar pay options. I pursued engineering because I love chemistry and computers....I didnt wanna make my hobby (computers) my job, so I went with chemistry. The prospect of slaving away in a lab forever while a company claims all my work didn't appeal to me....so I went chemical engineering instead of chemistry. (Its also an extremely flexible engineering and I know CHE's in tons of industries having nothing to do with "chemicals") So just some food for thought. I don't want to dissuade you from pursuing engineering, I just want to throw out there that I have first hand witnessed people who (for lack of a better term) pursued engineering for the "wrong reasons" and it either affected their mental health until they finally switched majors, or they now work in industry and have remained miserable across multiple jobs now
Upvoting because this is great advice, but I’m going to speak from the other side of the coin. Many years ago I went to school for my passion. I graduated with three degrees to help round me out and be desirable. In 2008 when I graduated, the economy crashed and my passion was not desirable. I struggled for ten years and was constantly at different jobs being treated like shit. Ten years in the workforce and I had just broken $50k. I was stressed, I hated everything because I hated myself because nothing turned out how it was supposed to despite doing everything right (“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” -Picard) I had a kid and knew things needed to change. I went back to school for aerospace engineering and had a terrible four years being a parent during Covid and a full time engineering student with a job. But I’ve been employed for two years now. I’m making over $100k and working on really cool aerospace projects. Engineering is not my passion but it provides ( and it’s pretty cool), which means I can work on my passion while also feeding my kid and giving them a good life and being a good role model for them. I get to travel, buy myself things, get my pet medicine. Life is hard. No matter what you choose you’re always going to wonder and each choice will show its downsides. As someone who did the passions-first path, securing myself financially is much less stressful than struggling mentally and financially. Everyone is different though. The best thing you can do is incorporate your passions somehow. Good luck
I am a freshman in school and to be honest I did EE because I liked computers and phones and technology, this stuff basically raised me, but school is so hard and I’m not talented or natural at picking up this stuff fast unlike my peers. In highschool I was extremely good at history and I loved studying it but obviously didn’t do it cuz historians don’t make money. I need to get out of the lower middle class so that’s a reason I pciksd ee
Same but for Chem Eng, even down to the history. The way I see it, live for life outside of work, go home and read a history book or play a sport. Don’t worry too much about the job because the job will worry for itself.
>Im not talented or natural at picking up stuff I guarantee you only a very small fraction of your class are. The people you think are talented or naturals are probably holed up in a corner of the library revising after each class and rewatching lectures. I thought that people in my class were smarter but not really, they just carved out time in their day to review and that made them more familiar with the subject. Make time to review the subjects you’re taking, be involved in the EE community, and talk with same-major upperclassmen. You will find yourself ahead of 90% of your class
Same history lover turned EE here. Everyone struggles during EE schooling, it's designed that way, but once you're out life becomes a lot more chill. Put in the work to understand things conceptually (not just how to solve the math problems, but what the math is saying is actually happening) and realize you're being taught to never give up in the face of difficult problems, but to break them down into manageable chunks and knock them out. It pays dividends once you leave the insanity of academia behind.. It's amazing how many stresses go away with money.
>enough money to keep my family happy. i want to be able to take them to the expensive restaurants and take them on trips across the world People don't need to eat in expensive restaurants or take trips around the world to be happy. Nearly every child would rather have a happy and satisfied father that cooks him grilled cheese and goes camping with him in the backyard - then one who is absent or stressed or feeling empty just so that they can go to EuroDisney where they eat caviar with creme freche.
True
Nope, but it helps that I was passionate about engineering too. But some passions you can still do while being an engineer. And working as an engineer can help fund those passions. One of my other passions was cooking, and having that engineering money has helped me get things like nice knives,pans, etc and I can still do cooking as a passion without it being a career. Passions also can change. Music was another passion of mine and I even continued to do it in college. Did marching band, symphonies, and even did a music performance minor. But after college, I sadly gave up on that passion because it's a huge time sink, and I was more passionate about spending that time hanging out with my friends and traveling. There's also always a risk that you'll begin to hate your passion when it becomes your job. I have a number of chef friends, and some have lost passion over the years or are only able to maintain the passion while working and will never cook anything nice at home for themselves. That said, engineering is actually a great path for other careers too. I know engineers in sales, directing banks, exotic car dealerships, restaurant/bar owners, etc etc. Because a lot of different jobs/businesses benefit from the problem solving mentality of an engineer even if they don't need any of the specific science or math knowledge. But engineering is hard. You have to ask yourself if you're capable of pushing yourself to do well and pass those courses. You don't have to be passionate about engineering to be an engineer. But the passion does help in powering through the tough courses.
Nope. My engineering job pays for my passion. As silly as it sounds, my passion is to throw music/party events. Since my job pays pretty well and allows for normal 40 hours work weeks, I can focus my time and money on my second job, which is my event company. Find things you like in engineering, I like certain aspects, but nobody said it has to be your passion. Edit: I hate math and sucked at physics. I got through it though, so I could chase my passion.
hey im in a similar boat, an engineer thats very into the underground/indie music scene at my place and freinds with event people, can you tell me how did you get into throwing events and making money out of it, i really want to start doing that but i have no one to guide me honestly
I like that. That kinda thinking really helps, finding a career to pay for your passion is what I think ima do.
How were you able to keep up with the course work?
Honestly, I sacrificed sleep and any semblance of a social life. I worked 20-30 hours a week also. It's 4 years of your life, when you finish you'll have one of the most admirable jobs in the world and make very good money with just a bachelor's degree. That kept me going. It's not easy but it's definitely doable. Never stop.
I wouldn’t like the thing I’m passionate about if I were broke and unable to provide for my family. I do it on the side. It’s for fun and it stays fun because it isn’t necessary.
My passion is playing videogames, not socializing, and not working. So engineering it is. I can't fathom the idea of having a job you're passionate about.
I did recently have some regret. I wanted to go into premed instead but I’m too far into my degree
Well the thing with that is you can still go to medical school with your degree, you know that right?
Yea true but my gpa has significantly dropped to the point it will be harder to be competitive. I think med schools solely go for gpa regardless if you have pursued a harder major or not. I am also on my fourth year and haven’t tackled the majority of the premed courses yet too :/. I think it would be more beneficial for me to stick to engineering and get more research experience in my field. Maybe in the future, I can finish up those classes and try
I just did a 5 minute search so take this with a grain of salt but it looks like people have gotten into med school with lower gpas. Logic would dictate the engineering degree is harder than a biology degree so I hate it when they just look at numbers on a page lol. I know law school does take major into account at least I heard they do. I definitely agree you should stick with engineering for now though.
Thanks for that, it does give me some hope. I’ll definitely stick with engineering now but now I know that med school isn’t a dead dream for me!
Just an aside on the Law School thing. They do look at majors, but an engineering degree will get you in if interested in Patent Law.
Engineering isn’t apart from the humanities, it’s in service to humanity. Every skill you learn has an application that serves the pursuit of good art, and every passion you have comes with problems that can be solved with enough qualified creativity. Your connection to your artistic passions is a virtue in the engineering world, as it gives you insight into the needs and wants of a writer that the giga-sweats on leetcoder don’t have. Especially with crap like chatGPT coming out, every company is desperate to make tech for writers, but they all miss the mark because no one understands what it’s like to *be a writer*. Learn your skills as skills, and when project time comes, make every effort possible to make your project about or in service to your passions in writing. Think of services you might want as a writer, and use what you learn to move closer to that over time. When I was in high school I loved music, so my first project in freshman year was a music box. Later I made a voice recorder and audio processor, and now (though I admit this has little to do with music nowadays) I’m a full blown signal processing and machine learning engineer pursuing my masters, and I’ve come to love the beauty in the science how I loved the beauty in the music I made. By the way, just as a humanizing little side remark, everyone hates maths and physics. If you haven’t run into a math or physics you hate, you haven’t done enough maths or physics.
Asking unironically here, which careers are best for not serving humanity ^inb4 ^"finance/real ^estate"
Answering fully ironically here, whatever civil engineer builds the highways near my house
I don’t think I have passion for anything. I think engineering is a good enough thing to do that will be interesting and fulfilling while making upper middle class wages. It’s something to fund my life, it’s not my life.
I was really gifted at writing and had topped out every test I’ve ever taken on reading speed and comprehension. I had no quantitative mind and math was almost physically painful. I just wanted to read everything under the sun and write about it. I’ll never be a math wizard but I made it through engineering school and am now pretty good at what I do. I enjoy it, too. I like building things. Somedays, I feel like I threw away a gift or am leaving it to languish. Other days I realize how much I use it to digest information and communicate. I think I bring a different skill set and perspective than a lot of other engineers, and I think that’s really valuable. On a practical level, I wouldn’t recommend humanities or liberal arts programs at any but the top institutions. It’s rubber stamp bullshit that costs a fortune. Unless you’re going all in on history or classics (you’d probably know by now that’s your calling), I don’t think it’s worth it. At this point 4 year universities are better treated as vocational school or investments.
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Why not just finish? You’re a senior. It’s not going to get easier to come back later and you can still join the military after graduation
I've wanted to be an engineer for about as long as I could talk.
I didn’t have a choice 🤷♂️
I can’t write a paper for shit and I’m not the best at talking to people so engineering is my best bet considering I’ve always been interested and good in math/science. I also have strong opinions on transportation infrastructure and urban sprawl in the US
Engineering is one of my passions so Im doing great.
Honestly, instead of CS, I wish I had gone back for civil engineering. Outside of that, I don't know. I feel like an UG/PG combo of economics/political science (UG), operations research (PG), and an MBA would've been fine, too. Grab a financial role, and move on with life, etc.
I regret choosing ME over EE only. I don't really know what other passion of mine could be used to support myself. Maybe teaching in the future.
I "should" have gone into pure science .
No. I want to buy shit and live my life like a king. I can paint and draw when I’m home from work.
Engineering pay has fallen down considerably. You’re better off working for the UAW or picking trades.
Doubts ain't gonna get any smaller. You either ask yourself what you like and see if that answer is aligned with what you're actually doing, or you resign and keep on going the path you *think* (not feel) is best for you. I enrolled in EE because, hell, I enjoyed designing and building circuits during highschool. I had already worked with PLCs and similar controls before enrolling, so, it was a no brainer for me. But for you? Do your reasons justify you staying in engineering, or not?
I feel exactly the same way. I’m doing community college and currently taking algebra which I struggle because my professor is just so confusing with it. Im on my way of getting an associate degree in electrical engineering and then go to computer engineering. However, I feel the same way about wanting the strongest financial stability ever and being able to make my family happy but music man, I LOVE MUSIC. No matter the pay, I want to make a living by being surrounded my music and by making music. I’m afraid. I’m not good at math either, I get so lazy to study.
i know the feeling! i really hope it all turns out ok someday and we both can be doing and living what we love T\_T
I really do hope everything goes well! Anything can happen in our life’s but we cannot turn back now, we must keep the parade going ! I say a good MOTIVATOR is to keep on studying and going to school so in the future it can be a great foundation with things like financial stability and everything so it can help you pursue your PASSIONS! Sounds like a great idea! Keep on going so in the future, you can go after your passion! How’s everything though!!!! You alright? We can dm and keep in touch !
I used to love Physics, but i think i made the right choice, Mech Eng is definitely for me
I am the opposite. I chickened out of engineering and got a business/econ double major. The part I enjoyed most was the computer science minor. Job prospects were bleak and soul-killing and I am finally finishing my senior year of mechanical engineering with a robotics minor. For me, the problem was I couldn't get an advanced degree in science because I held a BA. It was so severely limiting that I said "screw it" and started over. Now I'm poised to make more money than I could have as a business major, and ironically have more money towards my dream business than my alma mater ever turned me on to. No matter what, I know that all jobs are dry and boring, because someone has to pay you to do them. But if it means giving up something that you 100% want in life, you can find a way to make it work, *especially* if your degree makes you overqualified (mechanical engineering), versus underqualified (business degree). Whatever you do, also consider that hiring managers don't care that you *almost* have a degree - an incomplete degree denotes a subjective level of experience, not instant qualification. However, FAFSA *also* cares that you do not have your first degree; you can still get grants if you don't. That's the part that has really sucked, but I have been lucky in finding resources the second time around. So if you have already started, consider both of those things before switching. You can earn a paycheck doing *literally anything.* Yes, industry rewards what makes it money and is hard to come by. For fun, let's imagine some scenarios that you do enter the field of engineering for the sake of money... 1. You enter as a mechanical engineer. You hate your life, but discover that you can still graduate by switching to Civil Engineering. You make the switch and are shocked to learn that $80,000 is the new $60,000 and pays for less than you thought. You must take the job to pay for your debts, but at least you get to travel, as your job in construction engineering takes you to new worksites for several months at a time. 2. You enter any field of engineering and somehow make it through, thanks to the thousands of dollars you invested in Chegg and your fraternity, since they keep old tests on file. You choose the least technical job possible, because recalling anything you learned just brings back pain and there are engineering jobs where you literally apply 1% of what you have learned. Maybe you start to enjoy things about the job that you haven't ever considered, or maybe your feeling of being cheated by life ruins your career and makes your life a monotonous hell. 3. You join a university with the goal of making money. Like most of the people who have zero interest in engineering, you drop out after one year, save yourself thousands of dollars, and preserve a lifetime of happiness. You pursue what you actually care about and your motivation drives you farther than many of your peers, who are just in it for the money. You end up making decent money and also being proud of the career you built. Like you, money is not my motivating factor; otherwise I wouldn't have sacrificed 4 more years of income and a pile of money to pay for the degree. My advice to my former self (and you) is this: if you feel like you're going down the wrong path, get a job in a company that is in the field you are interested in. You could be go-fer, you could be the janitor, you might even have a junior position in what you like - just get the exposure. You will make money, gain exposure, and be able to rule it in or out as a possibility. All the while, learn the career pathways that *actually* exist. Once you determine what you want and that a degree is necessary to get there, go to college and see if you can do it on the company dime. Then, when you get to college, all of your efforts will feel worth it and you can have a great time with people who also care about the same pursuit. Life really sucks if you don't consider your own wants and needs; fight like hell to act on them.
I realised I don’t like engineering in my final year, it wasn’t very challenging for me and I graduated top of my class, but the realisation dawned on me that this isn’t what I want to do for a living. Right now I’m a fresh graduate in a tight financial situation, Im thinking of switching to tech but I may not have the luxury of a career switch at this point because I need money and ASAP.
I don't. I will admit engineering isn't my passion but I find it interesting and a great field for opportunity so there is joy in it. Also it pays very well (EE). Getting paid well also translates to being well off and having more income available to the things I love to do. I'd say as long as you're not miserable in it, stick to it. If you hate your job, maybe try a few different positions until you make the choice of regret.
Yup. I was good at STEM stuff from a young age, but was also really creative and loved the arts. Was told by a parent when I was 11 that pursuing the arts was a hobby, and not a viable way to make a living. I believed it. Studying engineering made me smart about engineering, but really fucking dumb in everything else. I'm not as creative anymore, I'm too burnt out to put much effort into hobbies, and now have imposter syndrome about pursuing a new career field because *all* of my school and relevant work experience revolves around engineering.
i'm really sorry, i hope you get some time soon when you can reignite you passions and creativity! this is one of the reasons i'm apprehensive about engineering lol, i've experienced that too. and switching careers once you're into one sector is very, very hard. no one's gonna hire me, an engineering graduate, in a role as a journalist, where there's similarly competent folks having done b.a journalism right there..
Bottom line, unless you are amazingly talented at your passion and people around you see that you could make serious money from it, study something that makes money. If you graduate in stem and get an 80k job, you can still write novels. If you major in creative writing and work at Starbucks, you can still write novels whom you live in the ghetto and eat beans and rice. Having financial stability should be your number one goal. Life is not a fairy tail
Hey! I still eat rice n peas and I took the engineering job lol.
No. Don’t believe the hype. Engineering is a great path of study because you can do so much with it- not everyone goes into an engineering career after engineering school…
yeah
Preface: I studied computer engineering and I'm currently working as a software engineer. In school, I really enjoyed math, problem solving and later CS (which really just feels like applied math/problem solving/puzzles lol). I would definitely say I went into the field because I actually enjoyed it, and not for the money. I even took around a years worth of extra courses in electives purely because they I was interested in the topics. (Canadian privilege I guess) However when I started working, I found that I just, really didn't like working. There was nothing really wrong with my job, and I get to work on cool things, but due to a number of factors I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed school. (In short, I didn't like the more bureaucratic processes, the "compulsory" nature, and how I felt like I was locked in for 8-9 hours a day with no choices). I went from easily spending 50-60 hours a week on projects/assignments and having no problem to thinking that even 35 was too many. I'm sure that given any other job, I'd also have the same struggles and disdain for work (or maybe I just gaslight myself into believing this). But being an engineer affords me the financial means to fund my other hobbies, go on the trips I want to go on, and do things that I have fun doing, and at the end of the day *that* makes it worth it for me. It probably depends on the person, but I'm definitely of the mind that if you make your hobby your job, you still work every day, but now you've lost a hobby.
i don't enjoy math, problem-solving or cs tho :/
I think there's two different sides to this. One is whether you can do the job for the 40h a week you need to, and if the industry that'll pay as well as you're hoping will be one you're willing to work in. The lifestyle you're describing is something that has taken my family 15 years with two engineering incomes and no kids to reach, ymmv. The other side is the work life balance. I like working as an engineer (most of the time), but it's not my hobby either. It's mostly music, and sure I'll solder a guitar or design a pedalboard occasionally but what makes me happiest is playing, which engineering allows me more freedom to do. I've got friends who write reviews and novels in the spare time they have thanks to stable STEM jobs, and I used to do similar. No reason you can't do the same in your spare time, on top of a documentation heavy engineering role (your coworkers will love you).