Calling all ENGINEERS - Help!

[cyclonenum1]

I don't have kids, so forgive if I'm being out of line here, but why do parents insist on forcing kids to stick with majors they have no enthusiasm for in the name of "being succesful"? I got my ME degree at ISU, but thankfully I feel like that was my choice, not my parents. On the other hand I have an unemployed chem E buddy who I would wager is having trouble finding a job because his parents guilted him into sticking with a major he hated and it affected his performance in school.

I also have co-worker who has twice had me talk to his kid about going to ISU for engineering. I absolutely hate it, not because I don't like talking up ISU, but because while daddy goes on and on about how much his kid wants to be an EE, it is obvious within 5 secs. of talking with this kid that he is not at all sold on the idea and is just doing what his parents tell him to do.

Let me ask you, why did you switch out of engineering? Were your reasons that different from your sons? Do you really think you'd be happier with your career if you'd stayed in it, or would you just have more money?

I can tell you don't have kids. When you have kids you try to give them the best you can in everything...from $10,000 a year for private school education in HS to $50,000 a year for college education. You also try to impart some wisdom from your years and experiences to them.

I really don't care what he ultimately does as long as he is happy with it but I can assure you the "its going to be hard" and "I might not like my classes" objections are not ones I am real comfortable with. Life is hard and you tend to end up doing stuff you don't like that much in the course of living your life.

I didn't like my classes, I had no rapport with my advisor, I had no engineering role models that gave me the ability to visualize the future as an engineer and, frankly, I saw a career of crunching numbers from 8-5 in a cubicle and decided I did not want that. I am just trying to make sure my son thinks this through before making a change. I am not a good example of 'you shouldn't change because look how awful things turned out for me'...I work for myself, love what I do, and make good money doing it. I have a few friends that are engineers but now EEs...just thought I might get some real world ideas about what these guys are doing out there.

 

[brianhos]

Dice.com

Another GREAT website! Highly recommended. Run by some brilliant people.

 

[Cyched]

Civil Engr here... and I found that the first 2 years were weed out classes and that once you get into the degree program, the classes were actually pretty interesting and easier.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm currently thrilled about not having to take Physics 222

 

[azn4cy]

Why did it not surprise me to see you appear in this thread?

I keed, I keed!:wink:

I wasn't aware they let you take non-engineering majors.

Ok guys, don't go blowing your brains out due to the shock now... but I was Psychology for a year and a half between CprE and MIS.....

Then of course the asian parents flipped out and we compromised on MIS.

 

[MNCyGuy]

I can tell you don't have kids. When you have kids you try to give them the best you can in everything...from $10,000 a year for private school education in HS to $50,000 a year for college education. You also try to impart some wisdom from your years and experiences to them.

I really don't care what he ultimately does as long as he is happy with it but I can assure you the "its going to be hard" and "I might not like my classes" objections are not ones I am real comfortable with. Life is hard and you tend to end up doing stuff you don't like that much in the course of living your life.

I didn't like my classes, I had no rapport with my advisor, I had no engineering role models that gave me the ability to visualize the future as an engineer and, frankly, I saw a career of crunching numbers from 8-5 in a cubicle and decided I did not want that. I am just trying to make sure my son thinks this through before making a change. I am not a good example of 'you shouldn't change because look how awful things turned out for me'...I work for myself, love what I do, and make good money doing it. I have a few friends that are engineers but now EEs...just thought I might get some real world ideas about what these guys are doing out there.

My parents gave me the shirts off their backs to get me and now my sister through college, I fully intend to do the same for mine someday, so I think I've got as good of a handle on what you're saying as I can without actually having kids. My point is that I really don't think enough parents take the time to discern whether their kid is saying "This is hard and I'm looking for an easier way out" or "I gave this my best shot, but for whatever reason this is not for me". I think the success a lot of parents picture their kids having acts as blinders for the reality of their kid's situation. Maybe that isn't the case here, but I can name 4-5 kids I know where that was definitely the situation. All I'm saying is do yourself and your son a favor and really try to understand why he's talking about switching majors before you assume he's being lazy and harp on him for it.

 

[abcguyks]

This sounds very similar to my son. He spent a year at ISU preparing to get a BS degree in ME. Late in the first year (about April) he announces that he wants to get out of engineering because he does not want t work in a "cube farm". His grades were fine so that was not the problem. I could not accuse him of not knowing what he was talking about because he had two different internships/summer jobs working in engineering environments so I let him move on. Initially he wanted to go into teaching, but after some discussion he ended up going into pharmacy and is now boing very well and happy with what he is doing.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I think he went into ME because that is what he thought I wanted. I am glad that he ended up doing what he wanted.

Moral of the story - let him make his own choice, but give him the benefit of your experience as he does so.

 

[flynnhicks03]

Another GREAT website! Highly recommended. Run by some brilliant people.

My coworker plays league golf with one of the founders of Dice.com. The guy is loaded (obviously). It's pretty cool that it's a Des Moines company.

 

[isuno1fan]

Is he going to ISU?

I have a BS in ME and went into technical sales. Best career choice ever. More money, more flexibility, etc.

They have a sales engineering club at ISU now. I'd recommend he take a look at it if he does go to ISU.

Knowing you he is probably at LSU though.

 

[aeroclone]

Let me throw another vote to the IE and MBA option. They have a joint program where you can do it all in 5 years, and if he is just finishing year two of undergrad, he should be fine to get started in that. IE is probably the easiest of the engineering majors, and it leans more in the business direction if that is your interest.

I did an engineering and MBA path myself, and I would say that empoyers seem to like the combination, and it also gives you a lot of different directions that you can go in your career, either more technical or more business.

That said, if he fears cube life, I would point him down a different career path than mine!

 

[Cyched]

When I was getting ready for college I think my parents(both ISU alumni) got the impression that I was doing engineering just because I thought they wanted me to go to ISU. Obviously they're thrilled I chose ISU, but I don't know how many times I heard "You know you don't have to go to ISU." No complaints though after 1 year. :biggrin:

As far as deciding on a major, one of my dad's friends has a son who had no clue what he wanted to do, and ended up sending him to a counselor who just by talking to him gauged his interests and made suggestions as to what path he should choose. From what I heard, the work she did with him was really good. Your situation doesn't seem to call for this, but if he's completely lost on what he wants to do that may be an option.

 

[Ames]

I made the switch from Computer E to MIS and never looked back

You missed a step in the slide. If you can't hack CprE go CS; if that's too much go MIS.

 

[oldman]

I started out in EE, but quickly realized that I wasn't cut out for it. My buddy convinced me to go into ConE and I never looked back. Lot more business oriented than engineering oriented, but you can still get a professional engineer license if you want to. And lots of construction companies like the fact that you have an engineering background.

 

[brianhos]

You missed a step in the slide. If you can't hack CprE go CS; if that's too much go MIS.

I don't think that CPRE is all that much harder than CS.

 

[azn4cy]

You missed a step in the slide. If you can't hack CprE go CS; if that's too much go MIS.

I like to make jokes about it too, but in reality, they're just all different. If you like pure coding, go Com Sci, if you like processor and circuit design along with some coding, go CprE. If you don't like to code and want to make the Asian guy in your group do most of the coding for group projects, but you sorta like computers and database, go MIS.

 

[CloneIce]

Is the reason he wants to switch because he thinks his classes will be too hard or that he really doesn't like engineering? At least in the civil program, I thought classes actually got easier than the general chemistry/calculus/physics/etc. They weren't easy but usually the subject material interested me enough that it made it much more "enjoyable" (I found it impossible to enjoy classes) that the core crap.

But if he doesn't think he will enjoy engineering, then he should swich.

Yeah I'd definitely agree with that. Classes almost got easier as you got older, other than a couple structures and steel classes. Calculus and physics are basically weed-out courses, they don't just keep getting harder as you got older.

 

[agrabes]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm currently thrilled about not having to take Physics 222

A little advice: Take 222! Chemistry sucks much more than Phsy 222, so I took that instead of having to do 2 semesters of chemistry. Most of my other CE friends did the same.

Unless you are going the environmental route, then you have to take Chem 177 & 178 anyway.

 

[isucy1234]

A little advice: Take 222! Chemistry sucks much more than Phsy 222, so I took that instead of having to do 2 semesters of chemistry. Most of my other CE friends did the same.

Unless you are going the environmental route, then you have to take Chem 177 & 178 anyway.

A little advice: Disregard the advice above haha. I hated physics 221 and 222 with a PASSION! Hardest classes I've ever taken...

 

[Cyched]

A little advice: Take 222! Chemistry sucks much more than Phsy 222, so I took that instead of having to do 2 semesters of chemistry. Most of my other CE friends did the same.

Unless you are going the environmental route, then you have to take Chem 177 & 178 anyway.

I hear you...but I got credit for Chem 178 from AP Chem in high school so I'm home free

 

[ISUser]

A little background...I started at ISU in engineering and stuck with it for 2 years (4 semesters) before changing majors to business.

My son is a freshman and to this point has gotten all A's in his classes with the exception of Chemistry. He has put himself on the track to become an electrical engineer.

At any rate, he has informed us that he now wants to switch to business because he "doesn't really like his classes that much" and that he is concerned that his classes are going to be "too hard" going forward. He also cannot visualize what kind of career he might be engaged in as an EE and is concerned that he might get "stuck in a cubicle in the office all the time".

We know he can do the work. We have encouraged him to get a more 'technical' undergraduate degree like engineering and then go on to get an MBA after that. We think that would really give him a lot of opportunities.

At any rate, I would greatly appreciate it if any of you that are engineering graduates (especially EEs) could give me some idea of the kinds of careers you have had or currently have and the kinds of work you are doing.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm a EE in the power engineering field. I graduated about 2 years ago and work for a large utility company in Kansas. While I do work in a cubicle, I do spend a fair amount of time out in the field meeting with large customers and inspecting equipment and jobs. I know several other engineers as well, and I can tell you that while most of them have an office in a cubicle, they do spend a fair amount of time out of the office doing other work.

As for the class work, I can't say it gets easier as you move forward, but a lot of people (myself included) find the work to be more interesting. The freshman level difficulty courses are similar for all engineers , and it's typically not until the third year when you start getting into the specifics of the field you want to go into. But if your son doesn't like the class material for reasons other than it's difficulty, then maybe engineering just isn't right for him. I wouldn't encourage him to be an engineer if he's never going to enjoy being an engineer. Being good at it doesn't necessarily mean you enjoy it.

It's not an easy decision, and the best advice I can give is to encourage him to sit down and take the time to really think things over before making a decision. If he really enjoys math and science, but is worried about working in a cubicle or harder classes I'd encourage him to stick with it since it'll get more interesting.

What I would be worried about is if he wants to switch to an easier business major to give himself more time to party. I see that happen all the time and I would discourage switching majors for that reason.

 

[mramseyISU]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm currently thrilled about not having to take Physics 222

If you were looking forward to that I'd suggest lots and lots of appointments with a shrink.