Mechanical Engineering

That is something only your son's friend can answer, First thing if you son's friend starts going to college. What I saw and experience, once they begin studing after about 3 semesters, they may find an area of interest different from when they started with and begin persuing it. And generally the topics they start are general ed/ and basic courses with math and sciences

I'm not a mechanical engineer but I'd like to give a few suggestions.

Tell your son's friend to find and talk with a couple of mechanical engineers. Preferably, he should talk with maybe one from each generation. One or two who've been around for, say, 15 to 20 years or more; a couple who just recently started (maybe 2 years experience), and those who are still studying. They can give him a idea of what it takes and what it entails.

Personally, I think the mechanical engineering profession is not going to go away in the near future, barring economic recessions.

In the same way that Electronics Engineering is a specialized form of Electrical Engineering, Aerospace and Civil Engineering are specialized form of Mechanical Engineering. You learn and use the basics in Mechanical and learn a few additional things if you go into Civil or Aerospace.

Phoenix911 says it correctly. The first two years are fairly common among the engineering courses. Once he gets that far he may opt to change courses, get credit for what he's already taken and continue. Then again, he may take M.E. and then take additional units for Aerospace or Civil if he wants.

"Electronics Engineering is a specialized form of Electrical Engineering" I think I understand this a bit.

"Aerospace and Civil Engineering are specialized form of Mechanical Engineering" I think I need to be educated on this.

"Aerospace and Civil Engineering are specialized form of Mechanical Engineering" I think I need to be educated on this.

You can be sure I wouldn't be the one to do it !

I guess what I meant was that a lot of what's taught in M.E. is being taught in Aero and Civil. That being the case, M.E. would be a base course of sorts.

I may be mistaken since I'm not an M.E. Don't they teach things like "strength of materials" in all these courses?

Able to manage to learn on my own. In fact, I've learned a lot from this forum and I'm very grateful indeed.

I'm a C.E and quite surprised, for all these years, to hear that civil engineering is a specialized form of mechanical engineering.

Civil and mechanical engineering have different roots.

But aerospace is a subdivision of mechanical engineering.

Your friends son will have to study what he likes the most (when he wants to be a midwife just support him). When he is good in it he can do what he wants with it later.

When he studies something what he does not like, but just because it pays better or the friend of his dad told that it give a better future perspective, He will miserably fail with all the results for his future.

Mechanical engineering will never be dead, even those virtual cars and bikes need screws to hold them together. The actual result of less interest in mechanics is that there is a shortage on mechanical engineers. (to be honest, almost every kind of engineer)

Mechanical Engineers build weopons. Civil Engineers build targets. (Please don't take this seriously).

A piece of advice that a former supervisor of mine gave me when I was contemplating which speciality to pursue - I really wanted to be an aerospace engineer and I was close to deciding to pursue the aerospace engineering when my supervisor, who was an ME said that an ME can work in just about any industry whereas an AE is generally limited to Aerospace realm. Long story short, I got my ME almost 20 years ago and have worked in the Aerospace Industry ever since. ME's will always have an opportunity to work generally where they choose.

In theory a more general course will perhaps keep options open initially, but it takes effort not to get pigeon-holed.

If it was income I studied engineering for then it was the wrong choice. Like much of my college work, I don't remember now.