Streams of Engineering

[Teaching3bears]

My son is considering engineering as a career option.  Which streams of engineering have the most jobs? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the more common streams?

[prairiewindmomma]

https://newengineer.com/advice/8-of-the-most-in-demand-engineering-jobs-for-2021-1126177

I disagree with this slightly, as a lot of people with degrees in one field can work in another. You are looking to develop interests and skills, not degrees, iykwim. Dh works with lots of mathematicians, physicists, and even a few musicians and other non-STEM people. Craft discipline matters.

 

[whitestavern]

44 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

My son is considering engineering as a career option.  Which streams of engineering have the most jobs? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the more common streams?

This a great book for kids who are considering an engineering major. Honestly I believe most of the disciplines will lead to a successful career, but mechanical is probably the one that provides the widest variety of options. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/There-Engineer-Inside-You-Comprehensive/dp/0981930077

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, Teaching3bears said:

My son is considering engineering as a career option.  Which streams of engineering have the most jobs? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the more common streams?

What science or math does he like? Then go from there.

For whatever type of engineering he chooses it's going to be A LOT of courses in that discipline. Narrow it down to the science and math he thinks he can do 4+ more years of (even after you get a job you are probably going to continue learning in that discipline). Does he prefer physics, chemistry, logic...?

Edited May 7, 2022 by Clarita
Pushed submit too early.

[fairfarmhand]

My dh is a civil engineer and it has very wide ranging opportunities. He currently works for a municipal water system and really enjoys what he does. He's never lacked for work opportunities. Having good people skills and good writing skills can help one stand out in this field. Also, if one is willing to get their hands dirty and actually walk a job site and really pry into what's going on, they will do very well. 

Engineers that want to sit behind a desk and design are a dime a dozen. Those who are really interested in the nuts and bolts of what they are designing are really good engineers.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by fairfarmhand

[Jaybee]

This doesn't answer your question, but kind of an aside: My sister is a civil engineer. She worked for a company, then got her masters degree and started her own company, which mostly did contract work for her former employer (very large well-known co.). A couple of years ago, she was getting tired of the narrow focus of what they did, and the company was taking bids for contracts that were more comprehensive. She bid on it, but didn't really want it, and didn't get it. So she let her employees go, and essentially dissolved her company. She was dealing with a cancer diagnosis at the time, too. A person who had worked with her in the past on a specific project or two contacted her about that time, and hired her to work for his newly forming fiber optics company (knowing of her diagnosis). Now I believe she is making more money working for him than she was with her own company, works from home, and is enjoying learning new skills. She was ready for a change, and this was a great opportunity.

My dsil is a traffic engineer, and loves his job. ETA: I'm not sure which branch his major is in--probably civil??

One of my good friends from high school, now retired, majored in industrial engineering (I think), and then worked for NASA for years.

Something about engineering is that taking a semester or semesters off to co-op is very common. I don't know about my friend, but both my sister and my sil received job offers due to their co-op experiences. Dsil co-oped for several non-consecutive semesters, and was able to save a good bit of money that way (he lived at home).

Edited May 7, 2022 by Jaybee

[Clarita]

FWIW my husband is a software engineer and I was an electrical engineer. We've done pretty well for ourselves.

[Katy]

Data probably has the most high-paying jobs for now. Or possibly software. 

Chemical & Electrical are some of the highest paid out of college. 

Industrial is great if you have ADHD. And that one tends towards upper management and MBA programs because it’s basically consulting and efficiency. It’s also growing dramatically as companies try to move factories back from overseas. 

[Quarter Note]

I got my degree in Engineering Field A, but made every penny of my engineering money in Engineering Field B.  My employer didn't care that my degree was in a different field.  

Probably (it may depend on the school), new engineering freshman will first apply to the engineering school without having to declare a major, and then take a whole bunch of prerequisites in various disciplines (basic mechanical engineering, basic electrical engineering, etc.)  He will have at least a year to try out a few basics before specializing with a major.

[Rachel]

If your son is still in high school, find out when e-day is at the nearest engineering college (it’s usually in February around here). It will expose him to all kinds engineering, he can meet engineering students, and meet lots of types of engineers. He can see the types of projects senior design students work on and get a feel for some of the engineering jobs available in your area. 

Most engineering colleges have a co-op program. My husband went to school a semester then worked full time a semester for 3 years. Most of his classmates did something similar. They got real world experience and it helped narrow the type of career path they would follow. 
 

My dad, uncle, husband, brother, and sister are all engineers in 4 different disciplines. They have had very different types of jobs, but none have ever had trouble finding a job.  All have had a comfortable life style.  

 

[Melissa in Australia]

My son is an aerospace engineer. He found it hard to get a job,  thousands and thousands of people were applying for every job, he would get to the top 10 and be told he was too intelligent and the company knew he would move on to something else  d they were looking for a long term position. went back to uni and got a job as a research scientist  after a placement. 

[fairfarmhand]

My dh also co-oped and got his first job out of the experience. 
 

also—if your ds wants to get his pe license, he must attend an ABET accredited school. Some places that offer engineering degrees are not accredited.

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

My son is an aerospace engineer.

Both my husband and I had dreams of becoming an aerospace engineer growing up, but in high school was told it was not a good career to choose. I did think it was coming back, but I guess not.

My husband and I did internships before graduating from college. Even without job offers directly tied to that, it's great to be able to try out the industry. The actual work can be very different than the schoolwork. One there is a certain amount of (for lack of a better term) "business" work in industry (dealing with people, paperwork, writing ...). Also, I found in school things were more black and white, right or wrong, then it can be jarring when in industry the textbook "right" solution isn't always the appropriate solution. Especially when you spent 16 years being good at school by finding the right answer.   

[Lori D.]

DS#1 just graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. The dept. at his university has about 15 different engineering disciplines. Of those, the ones that seem to be in the most demand are: Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Optical Engineering.

Engineering degrees at his college include: Aerospace, Architectural, Biomedical, Biosystems, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Computer, Environmental, Industrial, Materials Science, Mechanical, Mining, Optical Sciences, Software, Systems. So a WIDE variety of ways to apply engineering, and lots of ways of specializing in engineering! 😄 

Agreeing with above posters, from DS's research: Aerospace Engineering does seem to have the hardest time landing a job, while Mechanical tends to be the most flexible. However, there is a lot of overlap in a number of the engineering fields, so it is often not hard to switch from one job that focuses on one area of engineering, to a different job that focuses on a different area of engineering.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Lori D.

[theelfqueen]

DH is an Astronautical Engineer. He has worked mostly in Satellite defense throughout his career both USAF and Civilian. 

DS has an undergrad degree in Physics (and another one in Econ) and is currently working on a Masters in Human Factors Engineering - while applying to Test Pilot school as a USAF pilot. 

[Clarita]

Toa answer one of your questions.

4 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the more common streams?

The disadvantages are hard work and long hours (all optional and fun until college). I have yet to find an engineering discipline where this is untrue. There is a reason why the job is salaried, has flexible hours and there are more than a few workplaces offering free meals, etc.    

[gardenmom5]

What does he like?   has he read up on the different fields for exactly what they do?  If he hasn't - he should.  (that's how 1ds chose - it was the only thing that was interesting to him.)   Are there engineers in a field that sounds interesting to him that he could shadow or at least talk to?

 buildings or bridges?  civil  (my friend's sil specializes in buildings >40 stories)

planes, drones, rockets, satellites? - aerospace/aeronautical - it's an offshoot of mechanical  

composites, fuel (for various things), etc - chemical (tends to pay the most)

dsil supervises engineers - and they are always on the lookout for aerospace/aeronautical.   

another thing to consider is the age of the engineers out there - dh's bil's (electrical) entire dept was of age to retire with no young blood in the pipeline.   

 

[TechWife]

“Engineering” is rather vague. Has he looked at the Occupational Outlook Handbook or taken any career interest surveys? The handbook has career info, education requirements, average salaries & job outlook information. The links above are from different departments within the US Dept. oF Labor and are free to use. 

[Teaching3bears]

He loves math.  Of the sciences, he says he likes chemistry but he has not studied much physics.  He does not like biology because of the memorizing.  He is interested in the environment.  He is interested in computers but seems to find coding frustrating and has given up any coding projects he tried.  He is very good at games of strategy and loves Minecraft.  

[TravelingChris]

11 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://newengineer.com/advice/8-of-the-most-in-demand-engineering-jobs-for-2021-1126177

I disagree with this slightly, as a lot of people with degrees in one field can work in another. You are looking to develop interests and skills, not degrees, iykwim. Dh works with lots of mathematicians, physicists, and even a few musicians and other non-STEM people. Craft discipline matters.

 

My husband who got a PhD in Applied Physics, has been working as a systems engineer after his military career.  He is now a Sr. Systems Engineer.  They make a lot of money.  Also, both my son-in-laws are engineers too. My dsil1 is a robotics engineer since he graduated college. He not only makes good money at the regular rate, he has a lot of overtime too. He had been another kind before but I don't remember the name.  Dsil2 is in the same job he started as an intern, though with more responsibility now too.  He is an electrical engineer as a degree but works programming and fixing water filtration systems and sewage systems for cities, counties, and utilities. 

[Serenade]

10 hours ago, Quarter Note said:

I got my degree in Engineering Field A, but made every penny of my engineering money in Engineering Field B.  My employer didn't care that my degree was in a different field.  

Probably (it may depend on the school), new engineering freshman will first apply to the engineering school without having to declare a major, and then take a whole bunch of prerequisites in various disciplines (basic mechanical engineering, basic electrical engineering, etc.)  He will have at least a year to try out a few basics before specializing with a major.

Many schools now require that the prospective student declare a specific engineering major when he or she applies.  It can be a tough decision -- choose a less competitive engineering major in the hopes that you'll get into the school, or choose a more competitive field and risk not being admitted.  Some schools, like NC State, don't allow you into a different program if you apply for a specific engineering degree and don't make the cut.  Other schools, like UNC Charlotte, allow a student to start out in general college if they don't make it into the engineering program.

[Beth S]

It's great that he likes math.

Most engineering programs start with Calculus I in that first semester of Freshman Year.

As a homeschooler, that meant our kids needed to score a 27 on the ACT Math subsection.
Or Pre-calculus at the community college during summer school, prior to the start of Freshman Year.
That requirement can be a natural "weed out" process.

Our family has lots of engineers, and their different engineering field choices have unfolded well.
My dh always suggests choosing a broad field (Mech, Chem or Electrical) for Bachelors Degree, then specialize for Masters Degree.

One of our sons got his Masters in Mech E last night!  We are so proud of him.
He will start his 2nd NASA summer internship next month . . . and his Master's project was in partnership with NASA.
But he was completely undecided during his Senior Year of high school. 
He just started the local Mech E program his Freshman Year, and was hooked with the Intro class.

Many Engineering Programs expose the new students to all the various choices in that Intro class, & usually the students choose what interests them the most.
Our kids hated Chemistry, so Chem E was never an option.  Regardless of the high pay!  😉

Our homeschool path: Lots of Legos, Lots of Math & Science, Helping Dad fix the Lawn Mower, Talking with friends who are Engineers, Going on campus to learn about Engineering Programs.
We highly recommend it for your son.
 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Beth S

[Farrar]

Often community colleges have a little one or two credit introduction to engineering course where a large part of the curriculum is about all the different fields within engineering. So that's something to consider using for dual enrollment.

[Gil]

13 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://newengineer.com/advice/8-of-the-most-in-demand-engineering-jobs-for-2021-1126177

I disagree with this slightly, as a lot of people with degrees in one field can work in another. You are looking to develop interests and skills, not degrees, iykwim. Dh works with lots of mathematicians, physicists, and even a few musicians and other non-STEM people. Craft discipline matters.

 

While you are right that a degree does not determine (or even exactly limit) your job prospects, obtaining an Engineering License can be very dependent on having an Engineering Degree. You have to check by state what the requirements for obtaining an Engineering License is.

We have to be careful to not mix up working with an engineer and working as an engineer for anyone who is interested in working in engineering.
I work with a guy who makes mid-6 figures. I most certainly do not make the same salary.

[theelfqueen]

52 minutes ago, Gil said:

While you are right that a degree does not determine (or even exactly limit) your job prospects, obtaining an Engineering License can be very dependent on having an Engineering Degree. You have to check by state what the requirements for obtaining an Engineering License is.

We have to be careful to not mix up working with an engineer and working as an engineer for anyone who is interested in working in engineering.
I work with a guy who makes mid-6 figures. I most certainly do not make the same salary.

Some industries PEs are more common, expected and rewarded than others. 

Asked DH about his experience - in 30 years he has run across literally a handful of PEs in the Space industry out of hundreds of engineers he has worked with. His current team includes zero PEs. He says he did research it once considering getting licensed and concluded the ongoing cost was not useful to him, in his industry. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by theelfqueen

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

He loves math.  Of the sciences, he says he likes chemistry but he has not studied much physics.  He does not like biology because of the memorizing.  He is interested in the environment.  He is interested in computers but seems to find coding frustrating and has given up any coding projects he tried.  He is very good at games of strategy and loves Minecraft.  

There's a lot more to computers than coding  (Computer science.) - computer engineers (nephew) do more with hardware.  1dd (not an engineer) is bored by coding (this is my kid whose motto was: Language is a toy), but does a lot with hardware.   At a previous job - she was working with servers, and they had physics docs as well as engineers and programmers on the team.  (after working a few years, a CS major at her school commented the MOST useful class he took was a history of english class because it focused on how language works, and how it evolves. Computer languages are actually easier than human languages because they do exactly what you tell them to do.)  

I tried to suggest 2dd do chemical engineering ('cause you can get a good job with a BS) - and by the time she realized maybe mom was right . . . it was too late so she got her degree in chem.  (she went on to get a pharmd.)

There are a lot of options for areas of study with physics. fun fact - the physicist behind the field of Dark Matter, was a woman (Vera Rubin).  No one was asking questions about it, so she basically founded the field.  

[Arcadia]

It comes down to location though what kind of jobs are more plentiful. My husband has a phd in electrical engineering specializing in hardware. He was unemployed in our country of origin so we relocated to the states. Here we have a few choices of locations where he can get employed in his field but they are all in high cost of living areas. My degree is in civil engineering but I worked with supercomputers because it is better for me health wise (allergies, asthma) and pay wise. My pay alone was able to pay for our mortgage, something I won’t be able to do with a civil engineer’s pay. 

 My side of the family has plenty with engineering degrees. My paternal side is mainly self employed running their own small manufacturing plants, and one cousin retired from working as a govt QC engineer. My maternal side engineers went into sales and banking/finance, the pay is better for similar amount of work hours to engineering. Investment branch of banking takes a lot of engineering graduates. 
My paternal nephew is an Air Force technician and has a mechanical engineering degree. I know quite a few who has mechanical engineering degrees who went on to work in the aerospace industry.  

[Visitor1]

16 hours ago, Katy said:

Data probably has the most high-paying jobs for now. Or possibly software. 

Chemical & Electrical are some of the highest paid out of college. 

Industrial is great if you have ADHD. And that one tends towards upper management and MBA programs because it’s basically consulting and efficiency. It’s also growing dramatically as companies try to move factories back from overseas. 

Why is industrial engineering great for persons with ADHD?

[Katy]

1 hour ago, Visitor1 said:

Why is industrial engineering great for persons with ADHD?

Because you're working on multiple projects at once and you don't just sit at a desk. You get up, walk around, talk to people, time things, redo things, continuously improve them.  It requires a lot of creativity and constant movement.  Plus you're getting input from a lot of different people.

[Clarita]

It's hard for me to get behind the just learn problem solving skills and you don't need an engineering degree. You really have to know what you are getting into if you are hedging your bet like that. I know what journalists and entrepreneurs say. Technology does change rapidly but a lot of the underlying science and math hasn't really. For example it's not like Calculus has vastly changed between 1980 and 2020 or that electricity no longer works in the same way. Even though we can do things that were science fiction a few decades ago, there is a lot of facts/things you learn in your degree that helps you come up with the new fangled technology. Also you are not always using cutting edge technology of everything in every project that you do. 

A lot of entry level job's prerequisites do expect you with a bachelor's of science in whatever they are looking for. There are still companies out there who put a glass ceiling in their technical ladders for people without an engineering degree (with or without a college degree). 

[Clarita]

11 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

He loves math.  Of the sciences, he says he likes chemistry but he has not studied much physics.  He does not like biology because of the memorizing.  He is interested in the environment.  He is interested in computers but seems to find coding frustrating and has given up any coding projects he tried.  He is very good at games of strategy and loves Minecraft.  

Does he enjoy applied mathematics more or logic/proofs/number theory/set theory stuff(think math major stuff)?

Logic/math major stuff you can go into computer science because although "writing code" is part of your job, what you actually would be getting the big bucks for is being able to design a solid the framework/architecture. I don't know what part of coding he finds frustrating, sometimes it could be just the language he has to use. (Sorry not my field so probably horrendous description.) 

Applied mathematics is Calculus and statistics. 

If he really enjoys Chemistry he can look into Chemical Engineering and see what that really means. Look at the major courses see if they look interesting. Look at potential jobs and job description do they sound interesting. I didn't like chemistry and material sciences because to me there was a lot of memorization needed there. I was already turned off in high school by having to learn the elements in the periodic table.

ME and EE is a lot of physics/calculus. At some point to be honest the physics and calculus blend together; in my opinion if he likes/loves calculus then he'd probably be pretty happy with doing physics. Personally, this one was a hard choice for me; to this day I feel like I would be just as happy if I were an ME vs. an EE. I ended up choosing what I chose because my dad was an EE so I already had connections and was fairly sure what the jobs may look like.

If he doesn't have to make a decision in the coming months or year, look for places or things he could do to explore STEM areas. Reading books (I loved science fiction as a kid and there were some job descriptions buried in those books sometimes), STEM summer/spring break/day camps, talk to friends of yours who are in some field and maybe he can shadow them to work or talk to them about projects they are working on, look up locations of job opportunities, college (even community college) classes, university mini research opportunities (usually these look a bit like summer camp), etc.

Maybe this is old school thinking and don't take it the wrong way, but light a fire under his bottom to figure some of it out, because he will be competing against kids who knew what engineering field they want to pursue before high school or freshman/sophomore year of high school.

 

[Visitor1]

4 hours ago, Katy said:

Because you're working on multiple projects at once and you don't just sit at a desk. You get up, walk around, talk to people, time things, redo things, continuously improve them.  It requires a lot of creativity and constant movement.  Plus you're getting input from a lot of different people.

Thanks for sharing I have a son with ADHD and he loves engineering.  I am going to give him this information 

[gardenmom5]

RE: code.  Because people aren't studying older codes - but very large organizations still depend upon them - you can make A LOT of money if you can program in those languages.   

 

If you're near a uni that has engineering programs - they should have an open house with lots of displays and activities from the various engineering depts giving a better idea of what they do.  They've always been in the spring.  Hopefully- they'll be back next year after being off for covid.

 

1ds did an AS in mechanical engineering before transferring to the University.  Even though the CC wasn't ABET certified - it was in state, they plan on sending kids to the university, so they have to teach to that standard, or the state universities would complain.  

Not all universities offer all types of engineering - so that might also be something to consider.

[KungFuPanda]

Dh is a systems engineer but he got in through mathematics.  He’s never held a degree in engineering.  If your DS loves math, he can lean into being a mathematician. They get hired to do all sorts of things that other people go to specific schools for. If he has any interest in working for the government he’ll have access to job choices he never knew existed. There is a very real shortage of mathematicians. His employment prospects would be excellent and they all have quirks, so being a little different is expected. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I know University is vastly different in USA compared to Australia, but here not having physics would limit the type of engineering degree a student could get into

Edited May 8, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I know University is vastly different in USA compared to Australia, but here not having physics would limit the type of engineering degree a student could get into

I would think so too. Especially any even slightly competitive university. But it seems like her child will have time to take Physics before needing apply to university and is trying to think of things so they can plan their high school career.

[Teaching3bears]

11 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Dh is a systems engineer but he got in through mathematics.  He’s never held a degree in engineering.  If your DS loves math, he can lean into being a mathematician. They get hired to do all sorts of things that other people go to specific schools for. If he has any interest in working for the government he’ll have access to job choices he never knew existed. There is a very real shortage of mathematicians. His employment prospects would be excellent and they all have quirks, so being a little different is expected. 

He used to adore math and spend all his spare time doing math.  Now he does not and gets mad if I encourage him to do math but he is still doing really well in math in school and finds it easy, probably because of all the self-teaching he did before. He prefers calculation over problem-solving.  
Unfortunately, he is not thinking seriously about career choices right now.   Although he is doing moderately well in school he seems to be fueled by a fear of failing more than anything.   He has been turned off by the expectations of high school and says he wants an easy job where you don’t have to work hard.  I am hoping he will find his passion for math again.  

[KungFuPanda]

47 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

He used to adore math and spend all his spare time doing math.  Now he does not and gets mad if I encourage him to do math but he is still doing really well in math in school and finds it easy, probably because of all the self-teaching he did before. He prefers calculation over problem-solving.  
Unfortunately, he is not thinking seriously about career choices right now.   Although he is doing moderately well in school he seems to be fueled by a fear of failing more than anything.   He has been turned off by the expectations of high school and says he wants an easy job where you don’t have to work hard.  I am hoping he will find his passion for math again.  

It sounds like he’s more interested in arithmetic than mathematics. Has he considered the accounting fields?  
 

Getting comfortable with failure is a life skill. I know a writer whose goal is to get 100 rejections a year. It means your pushing yourself and that’s the only way to improve. You LEARN so much more from failure. They really should have a “Fail Better” summer camp for kids. 

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

Unfortunately, he is not thinking seriously about career choices right now.   Although he is doing moderately well in school he seems to be fueled by a fear of failing more than anything.   He has been turned off by the expectations of high school and says he wants an easy job where you don’t have to work hard.  I am hoping he will find his passion for math again.  

Ahh so you want to motivate him towards a STEM career. In that case, see if there is a program or summer camp or something nearby that tout something along the lines of explore STEM stuff. If there isn't anything nearby you can also get one of those subscription kits like MEL Science or Kiwi Crates to explore the fun parts of science. The building, tinkering, experiments without the grades/academics/write a report bogging it down. 

Then he can find his interest/passion and that's when he'd be more likely to deal with crushing failure, and working hard.   

[Drama Llama]

How old is he?  

[Teaching3bears]

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

It sounds like he’s more interested in arithmetic than mathematics. Has he considered the accounting fields?  
 

Getting comfortable with failure is a life skill. I know a writer whose goal is to get 100 rejections a year. It means your pushing yourself and that’s the only way to improve. You LEARN so much more from failure. They really should have a “Fail Better” summer camp for kids. 

He was interested in Algebra and then he became very interested in Calculus.  

[Teaching3bears]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

Ahh so you want to motivate him towards a STEM career. In that case, see if there is a program or summer camp or something nearby that tout something along the lines of explore STEM stuff. If there isn't anything nearby you can also get one of those subscription kits like MEL Science or Kiwi Crates to explore the fun parts of science. The building, tinkering, experiments without the grades/academics/write a report bogging it down. 

Then he can find his interest/passion and that's when he'd be more likely to deal with crushing failure, and working hard.   

He did some of those programs when he was younger.  I used to get him Kiwi crates and then I got the crates for the older kids and he said they were too hard and stopped doing all of them.  I now have a pile of unopened Kiwi crates😛

I am not 100% sure of the STEM career.  If he said he wanted to be a mathematician again I would think that was perfect for him.  I wonder if he might like business.  

[Terabith]

Isn't the child in question 12?  

[Teaching3bears]

1 hour ago, Baseballandhockey said:

How old is he?  

he is 15.

[prairiewindmomma]

You can’t drag a kid into engineering. It’s too much work. There needs to be a hefty degree of tolerance for doing a lot of math and physics even if the passion is elsewhere. My uni engineering student works hard…especially in the labs. You can be quirky, you can be scattered, you can be a lot of things….but even if you are dang brilliant, there’s not much room for laziness. 

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

I used to get him Kiwi crates and then I got the crates for the older kids and he said they were too hard and stopped doing all of them.  I now have a pile of unopened Kiwi crates😛

Why don't you bring those out and and say "Hey let's do this." Either a parent and him or the whole family. I know the crates are suppose to be able to be done individually by the child but you don't have to do it that way. It's much nicer to at least have a partner to struggle with the hard problems and even a partner to fail with you.

 

2 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

I am not 100% sure of the STEM career.  If he said he wanted to be a mathematician again I would think that was perfect for him.  I wonder if he might like business.  

Business is STEM. So when I say explore I don't mean just in the engineering fields. My mom is good at math and she is an accountant. She wasn't able to be super ambitious in that field because she was a mom already when she began to pursue it. She works with CPA's and it can be a good career too.  She likes it because it's more procedural rather than problem solving. (In simplified terms) She can take some numbers push it through some math and out pops some answers. According to my mom finance/accounting/business the college academics is a little less intense than engineering (when comparing her schooling with mine). The math tends more towards the statistics side rather than calculus. 

Law is also a good career choice. If he is interested/doesn't mind the science and math, patent law can pay pretty well. Then you get to see cool ideas, touch the cool ideas but you don't have to be the one to come up with or make the cool ideas work. 10+ years ago when I was an entry level engineer speaking to an entry level patent lawyer our starting salaries were similar and the partners seem to be doing very well for themselves.

[Clarita]

19 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

You can’t drag a kid into engineering. It’s too much work.

Can not stress this enough, because you have to do loads of schoolwork while everyone else has a college experience. 

I went to a university on a beach (UC Santa Barbara) never once did I study on the beach. I attempted once it was an epic failure. 

[Teaching3bears]

16 minutes ago, Clarita said:

Can not stress this enough, because you have to do loads of schoolwork while everyone else has a college experience. 

I went to a university on a beach (UC Santa Barbara) never once did I study on the beach. I attempted once it was an epic failure. 

Hmm … are all the streams of engineering this much work?  I think he likes to focus on one thing.  That is why I think math might be better.  I don’t know why he turned against it.  

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

He was interested in Algebra and then he became very interested in Calculus.  

Has he done any math in between Algebra and Calculus?   There's a lot to be said for NOT skipping levels in math just because it's boring to him and he'd rather do something more interesting.  eventually - it will trip him up.

He's 15 - what he's interested in can change A LOT in the next few years.

[Teaching3bears]

6 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Has he done any math in between Algebra and Calculus?   There's a lot to be said for NOT skipping levels in math just because it's boring to him and he'd rather do something more interesting.  eventually - it will trip him up.

He's 15 - what he's interested in can change A LOT in the next few years.

What do you mean: which math between algebra and calculus?

yes, I know his interested could change!😀