What Engineering Degree is Best These Days?

Noodles, friends and relatives are all important, granted.

Seeking out a professor who will pay you even minimum wage to work on a project you find daunting, challenging, difficult and humbling yet at the same time occupies your thoughts at night and actually makes you want to show up for work the next day is well worth the effort, imho.

As a bonus said minimum wage pays for noodles, beer for friends and holiday presents for relatives.

All I'm saying is it's better to live to work than to work to live.

GA stevem. Especially the part about "better to live to work than to work to live". I had to retire to get on that path.

The one problem that affects a lot of us is that we allow ourselves to go on a course that takes us away from a career of work that is really satisfying. Commitments and responsibilities can do that to us.

I have to agree that the idea of doing something useful without regard to immediate material compensation can be an excellent starting path for a young person fresh out of school or one looking for a new career path following a burned out past. Just don't get in a family way at the same time.

Still, if you're already on an engineering education path and have to pick which engineering field to specialize in some consideration of the future is important. While there are plenty of exceptions most engineers see their biggest accomplishments while working in large organizations. I our modern world and developed nations the new engineering work is biased heavily toward projects that employ lots of people and resources. Such organizations tend to work in areas of technology that are "hot".

If your education doesn't prepare you for the technology areas where there is work then major personal accomplishments will be postponed or forever out of reach. You may still have an enjoyable career and even do lots of good work. But you will be less likely to be working on the peak of the forward moving wave of technology.

Ed Weldon

The toy box of the typical ME is a lot more fun than others...

I think the trend is more on environmental engineering, althoug it is a broad subject..My aunt suggested to be more inclined on solid waste management...and of course I didn't listened.

Personally, I'd stay away from the trendy new engineering studies like environmental or elec/mech. Many of these graduates seem to be in between - they don't know enough chemistry to be chemists, don't know enough electronics to be electrical, don't...etc.

I've worked with a few and they're great at making lists, but not actually able to do the work that needs to be done.

Still the titles seem to impress HR personnel.

so u wud recomend some1 2 study business studies ratherthan engineering coarses or craft jobs no i wont do that becoz i like to do things 4 myself yah even if i have a house i am sure that anything that brokes iam able to fix it especially that is electronically i will have a glue i dont need any1 to help me with it.

Go for Civil Engineering. There are two great opportunities for 21st century work here.

First, all the infrastructure stuff we built in the 20th century is now falling apart and will need big time repairs or replacement. Civil engineers do that stuff

Second, All the new green technologies and fixes to the world's energy problems will employ far more civil engineers that any other type. Maybe more than all the other engineering disciplines combined. Go where the money is. When you get comfortable you can study the subjects that are fun. Getting an engineering job was easy in the old days. Not anymore.

A dual degree in civil engineering and one of the other areas like electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering can very well position an engineer for the major energy projects or water projects that the big construction firms take on.

Note that specialization in one narrow area of engineering is particularly risky. Demand for these specialists can be short-lived as we appear to face a future of ever more rapid changes in technology.

Ed Weldon

Engineering is an art of utilizing the great sources of power in nature for the benefit, conveniences and survival of mankind. This profession will remain alive as long as human life exists in the planet. Every human is unique in nature and each one of us has our own hidden talent. It is the prime responsibility of the school teachers to identify these hidden talents and create opportunities to improve the talent. Each branch of engineering is equally important for the development of various activities of society. Nano technology is an attractive area where much research work can be done .One has to choose his carrier based on his own evaluation with an input from teachers, mentors and market demand.

There is a lot of room for electrical, electronic, and nuclear engineers. Seems like all the students want to me mechanical these days.

But the first poster is correct, if you're not doing something you're interested in you're not going to be very good at it or very happy doing it.

Q: Do you like mechanical things?

A: No

Q: Well, do you like electrical things?

A: No

Q: How about buildings? You like to build things?

A: No

Q: Flying?

A: No

Q: Sailing?

A: No

Q: Well, what are you interested in?

A: Playing computer games.

Q: Ah, yes. I hear they pay well. But only the champion. Good luck (",)

regards,

Vulcan

Q: How about designing computer games?

A: Hell yeah, I could do that!

Well, If we put in perspective, my personal advice to my child,is the following:

I'm a ME, but my bachelor say: Industrial Engineer with a Electronics background.

This could be impressive for the rest of the people, but, I recomend to get a MBA.

Why, simple, that guys are on managerial positions, they earn more money than me and I make the job for them.

Actually, Engineering 'services' can be delivered over a wire, so the price paid is subject to lowest global cost. But I would definitely prefer my son to learn a trade like machinist or electrician, services that need to be delivered on site, then to go to college. The internet allows wages aid to find their own lowest level, so the investment right out the chute for an expensive engineering education is not one's wisest financial option. Learning a craft, then amplifying ones capabilities by further education, That I believe is the best choice. And it will be relevant, as it wll be a feedback response to ones economic environment. milo

In my varied carrier i have worked in machine shops, on building sites in site service roles and in hospitals. Recently i had a position as a training officer for apprentices, doing Electrical-work and for engineering apprentices in machine shops. These apprenticeships last for 5 years as did mine when I was an apprentice.

The training group that I worked for also trained shop workers in repairing bicycles.

this training lasted less than a year. But the qualification that they received at the end of it was the same as the apprentices that have spent 5 years doing a mechanical work.