Engineering Field Choices

[Tasslehoff]

Heh, could you guys recommend which field should I go into? :P
I like maths (esp tough and challenging questions), phys and chemistry... im dont like civil engineering though..

its either: Electrical, Electornical, Computer, Material, Mechanical, Aeronautical or Chemical...

which to choose? :?

Ian

[digimushu]

Recommend which field?

Hard to say. From my personal experience I can say...

Electrical Engineering - Becoming more and more math oriented. You will not see much electronics unless you are an electronics applications engineer. There are already many fields in EE you can go into: Electronics, Electromagnetics, Control systems, Embedded systems, robotics and Photonics.

Computer Engineering - two words: Code Monkey. Pretty much a computer scientist who is trapped in an electrical engineer's job. Spawned off from the development of embedded software for control applications.

Mechanical Engineering - Very related to Aerospace and Aeronautical. The only difference is that this is a more general degree than those two. however, many systems in the world are generally electromechanical, thus the ability to model both electrical and mechanical systems are an advantage. You get the feel of the things you are working on as well. Areas: Manufacturing, Turbomachinery, Heat transfer, robotics, MEMS, nanotech.

Pretty much all i can say. Please feel free to ask more questions. Glad someone from st. jo is interested to be an engineer and welcome to the SIG.

[weich]

hmm....civil engineering deals alot with maths & physics though =)

..and it's kinda quite close to aeronautical engineering as well...since the structure side has alot of similarities with the civil engineering dept's except that we focus alot on weight reduction...but the basic theory is very similar!

...but this depends on the university you go to...certain universities are more technical as in you have more hands-on projects...I would say Imperial's more of the theoretical type...where they teach more theory than deal with hands-on projects...most of our projects are computer based anyway...but still we have 1 hands-on project a year.

..can't give advice on the rest though =)

[Tasslehoff]

hoho :D
somehow.. constructing roads and bridges and stuff doesnt seem to interest me.. seems more of a bore.
man.. i've gotta choose... i doubt jpa favors those who are unsure in thier major.. :S

Ian

[gonjeng]

aiseh... simply liking math, physics and chem is not enough to judge what do we think the best profession for you. do mention what kind of jobs you like to do, the environment, etc. after stating your preferences, then we can talk further :)

[Tasslehoff]

yeah i know :/ i have no idea what the work environments are for any engineering field as i have no relatives that are an engineer. im still looking for an opportunity to experience/find out more about them and perhaps choose from there. but the thing is, i dont know where to start looking. :S

Ian

[bunny]

hey tassle,

if u like maths and tons of it with physics and chemistry.. you should do engineering physics with a minor in chemistry :)

engineering physics is really fun.. you get to derive every single equation that is used in engineering and solve difficult problems in physics that is still applicable in engineering.

It is a rather broad course, so you can basically do anything after you graduate, but you will be more like an applied physicist than an engineer. students in this major usually go to Graduate school (PhD) or do a mEng in one of the other Engineering courses (e.g. ECE, MSE, etc). some of us will end up being hired by investment banks , national labs, GE, Applied Materials etc. There are definitely jobs out there for engineering physics majors but definitely a lot less than the jobs available for the classical engineers like chem eng, elec eng, comp eng etc.

a caveat: Engineering Physics majors are not ABET accredited, i.e. they are not licensed engineers.

do consider this course only if you like maths and physics a lot and would consider a career in research in the future.

[digimushu]

Arghh!! an engineering physicist! NoooOOOoooo

jk

Yeah, i agree that that seems nice if you are interested in everything and have no idea what you want to do with your life. (no pun intended). One of my committee members is actually a cornell graduate from that dept(damn, he's smart). i only have one advice, pick wisely...

[weich]

I guess you should choose the more popular ones which are more general then i.e Mechanical/EEE....if you're not sure...or go into General Engineering and play around with your options once you know what it's like

[masterof_none]

It seems hard to narrow down our focus with our 20 subjects SPM isn't it?. ;-).

But you've got to choose it in a short period of time, I would say, you should do some reasearch on this (google, library, etc) . you're doing the right thing by asking us (the relatively older guys).

Then, like weich said : try general engineering - and after a year in college, you usually know what you want to do . Then, you can declare the major and move on. Don't get stuck on things that you don't want to do. You'll probably end up wasting your time and energy.

Maybe you're talented in Arts. who knows.

same question here!!!just got my spm results and now applying for jpa scholarship. and the question is WHAT COURSE SHOULD I TAKE!!!! regretting now for not thinking about it earlier. is it weird for a girl to take engineering. anybody knows any girls taking engineering in recom?????

[masterof_none]

well, do you like problem-solving?. if yes, then, engineering is for you.

[weich]

same question here!!!just got my spm results and now applying for jpa scholarship. and the question is WHAT COURSE SHOULD I TAKE!!!! regretting now for not thinking about it earlier. is it weird for a girl to take engineering. anybody knows any girls taking engineering in recom?????

yes, there are many girls taking engineering but the ratio of male:female in my uni's about 7:3.

For ppl who like Maths:

If you hate complex nos, eigenvectors/eigenvalues, calculus - don't take engineering.

If you love statistics, consider the business/finance degrees - accounting, econs, actuarial science.

[digimushu]

same question here!!!just got my spm results and now applying for jpa scholarship. and the question is WHAT COURSE SHOULD I TAKE!!!! regretting now for not thinking about it earlier. is it weird for a girl to take engineering. anybody knows any girls taking engineering in recom?????

If you love statistics, consider the business/finance degrees - accounting, econs, actuarial science.

Not really, there is always industrial engineering, which uses a lot of probability and statistics.

[bunny]

me me!! i am a girl!! haha don't worry about being a girl in engineering you'll do fine.. :) if engineering is really what u like (note: REALLY) then you should do it. Do not let your gender stand in your way. In my course, there are only 6 girls out of 45, but the girls are the ones doing very well in the class. So.. forget larry summers, and choose what u really wanna do :)

one thing though, try not to bond yourself to a scholarship before u are sure of what u wanna do. I have met some JPA scholars who chose engineering but after a few years in engineering, found out that they really don't like engineering. my point is, u should choose your vocation based on what you are interested in not based on what scholarships are available. If u are smart and good, no matter what vocation you choose there will be a good school or scholarship for you, and it may not be JPA.

for example, me... i always thought that I should do engineering... my whole career track was to do electrical engineering cos electronics was really easy for me etc etc. if I had gotten JPA, I would have gone to do electrical eng in UK. Lucky i didn't and lucky i stayed back to do my A levels. It was really up to the point that I went for interviews for scholarships (I mean those real ones where there are 3-7 interviewers and one interviewee, me) that I realize that I have no interest in engineering. they asked me this question, explain your interest in electrical engineering and I was stumped.... i can't say my parents want me to, it's a safer track etc. etc. I thought really hard and there is nothing in me that wants to do engineering, any kind of engineering. So for the next interviews I told them what i REALLY wanna do... Engineering Physics (:P digimushu) and hey guess what, I could talk like a train on my interest in it and subsequently, i manage to get a scholarship to pursue it. obviously i didn't get the scholarship where in the interview I was stumped :P

moral of the story: please do what you really want and do not base your vocation on what scholarships are available. I was actually prepared to stay in NUS and pursue Physics, if i didn't get a scholarship for engineering physics...(of course this kind of decisions always followed by screams from parents, everyone thinking i am an idiot etc etc) but deep inside, I know that I would be happier being a physicist from NUS than an electrical engineer from MIT/Berkeley/Cambridge.

[digimushu]

bunny can do it...so can you!

:)

just have faith in yurself.

[timberlandd]

thanks for all the replies, after much consideration, i decided to do engineer hehe, hope that i will get the scholarship . It is really nice for u guys to be out there helping out people like me.

[dannyler22]

i'm into engineering too.. but.. not sure.. which engineering course is closer to techology?

[chiachean]

actually, i m blur too, but i feel that i have some interest in CAD drawing and programming, which field should i go for?

software? computer science? electronic?mechanical? mechatronic?

blur :p

[chiachean]

--.--

[Al-Bert]

How about automotive / aerospace / naval / communications / electromechanical systems engineering?

Soul engineering is not bad also... haha...

[tezuka87]

Bioengineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Common Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Material Science Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Science

I think there are more...haha, but my residence at uni is full of engineers, and so far I've met all these types of engineers, so take your pick!

[Chrisntine]

im in dilemma as well. same case with tassle. duno wat to choose. i love math and solving math problems. but i dont have interest in physic. although my physics is the highest in sch but i dont like it. cannot really understand it fully. =.= after saw wat u all have post, im still in blur situation.=.=sigh. should i really do engineering? or other field that are related to math the most. if rally do engineering, which engineering should i choose? EnE? my frez told me nowsaday, a lot of engineers are unemployment. =.=

[vseehua]

im in dilemma as well. same case with tassle. duno wat to choose. i love math and solving math problems. but i dont have interest in physic. although my physics is the highest in sch but i dont like it. cannot really understand it fully. =.= after saw wat u all have post, im still in blur situation.=.=sigh. should i really do engineering? or other field that are related to math the most. if rally do engineering, which engineering should i choose? EnE? my frez told me nowsaday, a lot of engineers are unemployment. =.=
Depends on your interests and skills... While engineering almost always involves lots of physics, it doesn't mean that you have to be a genius to take it... there are fields that doesn't involve much physics at all like Software/Financial engineering...

[Chrisntine]

Depends on your interests and skills... While engineering almost always involves lots of physics, it doesn't mean that you have to be a genius to take it... there are fields that doesn't involve much physics at all like Software/Financial engineering...

erm. can u tell me about software/financial eng? software stdy computer things? the most important things is can i find a job in the future?

[Caprio]

erm. can u tell me about software/financial eng? software stdy computer things? the most important things is can i find a job in the future?

Nobody can tell you more than you google it and look up for the answer yourself.

Hope that helps. Job prospects for each profession is very hard to predict, it depends much on the economy.

[sugan]

what is the differents of chemical engineering and material engineering?
________
Depakote side effect (http://www.classactionsettlements.org/lawsuit/depakote/)

[digimushu]

Chemical engineering and material engineering is almost the same. However, whereas chemical engineering deals with jsut the composition of the material designed, material engineering also deal with application related properties like durability and heat transfer.

[sugan]

how about their job and their career prospect?
________
Nexium Class Action Lawsuit (http://www.classactionsettlements.org/lawsuit/nexium/)

[digimushu]

Sadly, no one can tell u that. It all depends on how you make good use of the opportunities that you get.

[imranariffin]

hey tassle,

if u like maths and tons of it with physics and chemistry.. you should do engineering physics with a minor in chemistry :)

engineering physics is really fun.. you get to derive every single equation that is used in engineering and solve difficult problems in physics that is still applicable in engineering.

It is a rather broad course, so you can basically do anything after you graduate, but you will be more like an applied physicist than an engineer. students in this major usually go to Graduate school (PhD) or do a mEng in one of the other Engineering courses (e.g. ECE, MSE, etc). some of us will end up being hired by investment banks , national labs, GE, Applied Materials etc. There are definitely jobs out there for engineering physics majors but definitely a lot less than the jobs available for the classical engineers like chem eng, elec eng, comp eng etc.

a caveat: Engineering Physics majors are not ABET accredited, i.e. they are not licensed engineers.

do consider this course only if you like maths and physics a lot and would consider a career in research in the future.

Hello, after reading all the posts in this thread, I think i'm at the right place to ask about Engineering fields.

So here the question goes :

I'm a Mathematics and Physics maniac eager to pursue study in a field that challenges my knowledge, one that prepare me well for R&D.
I also wish to set up a research-based company related with technology in the future.

So among all the Engineering fields - E&E, Mecha, Mechatronics, Chem, Computer, Material, Software etc. - which one do you think best fits me? (You may give your opinion based on your experience in respective field)
Or should I take Engineering Physics ?

Thank you.

[markwongsk]

Hello, after reading all the posts in this thread, I think i'm at the right place to ask about Engineering fields.

So here the question goes :

I'm a Mathematics and Physics maniac eager to pursue study in a field that challenges my knowledge, one that prepare me well for R&D.
I also wish to set up a research-based company related with technology in the future.

So among all the Engineering fields - E&E, Mecha, Mechatronics, Chem, Computer, Material, Software etc. - which one do you think best fits me? (You may give your opinion based on your experience in respective field)
Or should I take Engineering Physics ?

Thank you.

Depends on what Mathematics you are interested in. If you like Discrete Math I would say take Computer Science and Double with Math or Physics.

[imranariffin]

Depends on what Mathematics you are interested in. If you like Discrete Math I would say take Computer Science and Double with Math or Physics.

Thank you, but I don't know about types of Mathematics or what. lol . It's just I love explaining complex situation using mathematics and physics and then solving them.

[Nicholasng925]

Thank you, but I don't know about types of Mathematics or what. lol . It's just I love explaining complex situation using mathematics and physics and then solving them.

Complex situation? Any kind of Maths could create complex situation and it just depends on your personal preference on which type of Maths you like.

[weich]

imran, i'm an old fella now, if you want a challenge try Aeronautical Engineering in Imperial.

Compared with my mates doing a Mathematics degree, we covered their 3 year syllabus in 4 years, we covered almost all of Mechanical Engineering + Materials Engineering (Metals & Composite Materials). Did abit of programming + additional aeronautics stuff like computational fluid dynamics, computational mechanics, aircraft design, control systems, thermodynamics, helicopter dynamics, etc.

While my Mech Eng friends were getting 3 day weeks in their final year, we were struggling with almost a full day of lectures + practicals + final year research 5 days a week.

In short, it's abit of a rojak course but I think the course will really challenge you and expose you to almost all the engineering branches.