Is this true? I'm a first year engineering student (ChemE) and really fell into this because I didn't know what else to do. Am I making a huge mistake here?
Also, would another particular field of engineering be better (job options, salary, quality of life etc.)? Or would studying something completely different be better.
Additionally, if I were to get a degree would I be able to do anything else with it? I don't want to be extremely limited in my options if I find myself miserable as an engineer.
In the end, only you can decide what degree is best for you, but you definitely shouldn't get a degree in something just because you couldn't think of anything else to do. No one can predict what the market will be like in four years, but if you don't like the subject, you'll hate working the job.
If you want to do engineering, you're fine, since the first couple years of any engineering degree are pretty much the same, and switching your degree will be painless.
Once you get the degree, though, it's tough to get a job doing anything else, except maybe sales in a related industry. If you apply anywhere else, everyone will just see you as an unemployed engineer desperate enough to apply for other stuff.
>Or would studying something completely different be better [?]
If you actually like engineering, stick to it. As long as you don't mind some kid with a liberal arts degree being your manager once you're out of school. STEM is essentially vocational/trade school for white collar work. Yes, you will make a decent living and enjoy middle/upper middle class life, but don't expect employers to assume you have the skills to run and manage projects involving others. It's not that the upper level careers are going to automatically go to the lib kids, but you'll need to prove that you can do more than just STEM related stuff. Half of business is human interaction and employers know that; consider picking up a minor in the humanities along the line.
Had the same happen to me but it worked out for me in the end since I made up for the educational gap with a gradual job progression that went into the direction I wanted, summary;
>didnt have a clue what I wanted to do at 18
>did civil engineering to prove I'm not a retard
>was too fucking boring and considered switching to architecture
>took a minor in architecture thaat showed me architecture is a fucking joke, no wonder those idiots are paid a bus drivers salary.
>stuck, decide to finish and get b.eng to prove I'm not an idiot
>work for a large gov. contractor since no one else will hire an engineer
>quit with a few years of engineering experience to prove I'm not an idiot
>start to work my way into finance (my actual interest) by working as a planner/financial-consultant for a private contractor
>end up working as an investment banker
Overall just put up with it for now or else it will look like you were too stupid to be an actual engineer and youre just looking for alternatives.
engineering is a really flexible degree, lots of people don't know this.
I went into eng because I had no idea what a wanted to do. I did it with a duel-degree with economics/finance, and I enjoy learning that alot more. So my plan is to get both degrees and hopefully get into finance through engineering being my point of difference to the other commerce grads.
Anyways, if you want do easy engineering just do civil. Chem is hard I heard.
You essentially just have to take Engineering courses and find out. I did some CC courses up to differential equations and I thought it was challenging, but fun. My CC didn't have any engineering courses, so I just did my GEs and transferred. When I got into a university, I completely disliked what CompE was during the intro courses. Now, I'm trying to take pre-requisites so that I can change my major to Finance.
Everything, including CS, is either fucked or about to be fucked because of automation and AI. Really the only thing you can do at this point is learn something you like and get comfy.
t. mechanical engineer working on automating mechanical engineering
Also, even though I'm going to be mocked for saying this, I would like to add that we entered into the technological singularity about eight months ago without anyone really noticing. The next two years are going to be really, really crazy.
I studied and graduated in ChemE. Most people who studied engineering will not become engineers, and my cohort was no exception. I never ended up working in engineering either.
The best students with the best work experience either did become engineers or joined financial and other professional services. The middling students got work with tier 2 companies (lucky ones joined tier 1s) in finance and services, none became engineers. The worst students I lost contact with after graduation. You gotta be at the top of your game to actually work in the field.
However you shouldn't drop the degree, its very versatile and I myself starting my career in banking before I moved to government. Don't worry about earnings since engineers and financial types earn very similar salaries in my country at least