Whether your high school had an engineering program, you know someone who is an engineer, or you think engineers use math and physics to make a good living, you want to major in engineering. Fantastic!
**What kind?**
Aerospace, architectural, biomedical, bioresource and agricultural, chemical, civil, computer, computer science, computer technology, construction, electronic technology, electrical, management, science, technology, environmental, facilities, general, geomatics, geospatial, industrial, marine, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, mechatronic, or software?
If you are like most students, that’s a much longer list than you expected, and you may have no idea what most of those things are.
For instance, did you know industrial engineering involves melding the aesthetic appeal with the function of a product?
Seriously, every consumer product you can think of, from sneakers to coffee machines, is covered by this kind of engineering. It’s pretty cool.
Geospatial engineering is essentially the process of discovering and interpreting the Earth’s surface. Google Maps, anyone? The list goes on, but you get the idea. There are options.
**How to choose?**
Most people tend to gravitate toward the familiar when making decisions. Aerospace and mechanical engineering are popular, for instance.
The pros are that many schools offer these options. The con is that they are relatively well-known fields of engineering, generating an abundance of applications. The competition is stiff.
Increase your odds of becoming an engineer by investigating different fields: what do they do, where you can study, do you need an advanced degree, and what’s the average starting salary.
(FYI, there is a glut of mechanical engineers and a lack of electrical engineers in the job market these days if you want to think about future job opportunities.)
You may find yourself thinking: “That sounds interesting,” or maybe you discover there are only a few schools that offer that kind of engineering degree, and you don’t want to go to school in rural Wyoming, so you cross it off the list.
Either way, you are making an active, informed decision rather than defaulting to the familiar.
**Then what?**
The best thing you can do at this point is visit the schools in person.
I can’t tell you the number of times a student told me, “I want to go to XYZ school,” and then they go visit only to discover “that was not all that I expected. I am not sure I want to go there anymore.”
Whether it was the people, the campus vibe, the weather, the location, lack of hands-on learning, or something else, there’s just something that didn’t impress. Always better to find that out before you write extra essays and pay more application fees.
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If you can’t do a visit, the next best thing is research. Treat the college website like a rabbit hole. If you see a link, follow it and see where it goes.
Don’t just read the stuff on the homepage. Dig in and find the little-known bits and opportunities that really make this college special.
Put on your investigative journalist hat and try to find things that aren’t obvious. See my previous blog post on “Ways to Research a College For Fit” for tips.
Speak to alumni of the program, ask the admissions office if you can speak with a current student, use www.college-insight.org to look up how many students graduate in four vs. six years (don’t assume anything), and other relevant data.
Ask the admissions office what the admission rate is for engineering versus other departments. All of these are data points that will help you make the right decision for you.
**ABET Accreditation**
ABET accreditation is the international standard for programs and may offer an advantage in the job-hunting process.
ABET-accredited schools mean students graduate meeting the professional standards of their chosen field.
But there is a catch: ABET accredits individual programs, not entire institutions. So Harvard’s undergraduate degree in Engineering Sciences, Bioengineering track is ABET-accredited, but Biomedical Engineering is not.
It may not matter in every field, but in some places it is the standard expectation to get hired. Do your research.
Keep in mind that ABET standards are the same at any institution, so you might save a lot of money by attending a less famous or expensive school, and still have excellent job prospects.
Tip: Check out Kettering University for a unique engineering experience. Wish we had more schools like this in all majors. Also check out the Illinois Institute of Technology for ABET programs with strong merit aid.
Holly McCord Duncan: So You Want to Study Engineering … Whether your high school had an engineering program, you know someone who is an engineer, or you think engineers use math and physics to ma...
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