MamaSprout Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Don't quote me, please. Dd hasn't even started the semester yet and is considering a change in major. I think it makes sense for her goals. I know she plans to talk to her guidance counselor, but she's gotten a little push back from some engineering family members, so thus a crazy check. She wants to go from Mechanical Engineering to Civil. She has said she wanted to Mechanical Engineering since she was 12- driven by a love of Aerospace. At her college Civils get teased for being in the "easy major". Given that they take Organic Chemistry just for the Civil minor, I think that's a relative term. She's always known she would probably do grad school outside of engineering and she is interested in urban planning, food production, conservation, and political science. Even more so now that she went to Europe. She wants to travel abroad a lot more and her language skills plus a knowledge of drainage lets her have lots of opportunities for that. Sound logic? What would she do for grad school? Law school? Economics? Urban Planning? PoliSci? Are these things that she can make a living at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Is there even any difference in the first semester? Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 Yes, a surveying class, and she’s bringing in most of the freshman math and science. She’ll be behind after the second quarter if she switches then. Her schedule will be tight b/c of the double major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 4 hours ago, MamaSprout said: She's always known she would probably do grad school outside of engineering and she is interested in urban planning, food production, conservation, and political science. Even more so now that she went to Europe. She wants to travel abroad a lot more and her language skills plus a knowledge of drainage lets her have lots of opportunities for that. Sound logic? What would she do for grad school? Law school? Economics? Urban Planning? PoliSci? Are these things that she can make a living at? Given her eventual career goals, I think Civil Engineering makes more sense. You can make a good living with it if her grad school plans fall through. My bil is a civil engineer with the Coast Guard and moonlights subcontracting as a specialist in drainage issues for FL's required building inspections. Together, that adds up to a very good income and excellent benefits. Dh is a MechE. He has an MBA and specializes in downstream oil and gas (and is branching out into charging stations for electric vehicles). He hasn't used his engineering background much. His bff switched from MechE to ChemE and has a PhD. He works in control systems consulting and is an adjunct professor for fun. They've both spent most of their careers in Oil & Gas, which I wouldn't recommend going forward but was almost inevitable for a Venezuelan in the 80s. Neither of them regrets their career path and both are financially successful. I think Civil Engineering would be best if she wants to work with land and water use issues. If she wants to concentrate on renewables, EE might be a good path. MechE would work if she's interested in aviation or electrical cars, but imho doesn't translate as well into public policy if that's her ultimate goal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 It sounds like your dd knows what she wants. Even if she switched now and decided later to go back, it really should not mess her up too much (former advisor here). As for grad school, there are many paths and most will earn a fine living. My own dd is in environmental engineering (which at her school is part of the civil department) and she plans to go into ecology, environmental science, maybe even forestry for grad school. None of which is very lucrative at the BS level but should be a more viable career path with the engineering combo. But considering most people stray far from their majors during their careers, it might not matter at all! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I think this is super common and I wouldn't sweat it at all. I also wouldn't overthink grad school options at this point. She'll have lots of doors/options open. I'd encourage her to use her summers to explore some career options if possible. I do know a several number of people who got themselves into problematic debt and weren't happy being practicing lawyers after law school. If a grad school path was going to require significant debt, I would especially encourage exploration of those types of careers to make sure they will be a long term fit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 (edited) My bachelors is in civil engineering. What your daughter is interested in would fall under building and estate management/urban design at my alma mater. The only time I have to do urban design for engineering school was for the traffic engineering part of civil engineering. If she wants to change majors, that’s really up to her as she is the one putting in the hours. I won’t worry about graduate school at this point. I worked in tech after engineering school since I worked in my alma mater’s computer center all through my engineering years. Besides being better for my health since there is no construction site work, tech also paid much better for me and paid for lots of business trips to other countries. Edited August 9, 2022 by Arcadia bad typing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, MamaSprout said: ... grad school? Law school? Economics? Urban Planning? PoliSci? ... Sounds like a Master's in Urban Planning is what would be needed, if that is what the occupation most of interest. And yes, Civil Engineering would be a good undergrad degree if wanting to work with land and water use issues, as @chiguirre says above. From the US Bureau of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook:Urban Planner "Urban and regional planners develop land use plans and programs that help create communities, accommodate population growth, and revitalize physical facilities in towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas... from an urban or regional planning program accredited by an organization such as the Planning Accreditation Board. Master's degree programs accept students with a wide range of undergraduate backgrounds, including economics, geography, political science, or a related field, such as architecture.Civil Engineer"Civil engineers design, build, and supervise infrastructure projects and systems...need a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, in one of its specialties, or in civil engineering technology. They typically need a graduate degree and licensure for promotion to senior positions. Although licensure requirements vary by state, civil engineers usually must be licensed if they provide services directly to the public. 4 hours ago, chiguirre said: Given her eventual career goals, I think Civil Engineering makes more sense. You can make a good living with it if her grad school plans fall through.. Civil Engineering would be best if she wants to work with land and water use issues. If she wants to concentrate on renewables, EE might be a good path. MechE would work if she's interested in aviation or electrical cars, but imho doesn't translate as well into public policy if that's her ultimate goal... Agreeing with most of this, except not entirely for the last bit about MechE... MechE is actually becoming very flexible and diverse, and can have quite a bit of overlap with other Engineering concentrations, depending on what required engineering 400-level electives you chose to fill out the degree -- and that is what can make you more flexible than just aviation or mechanical for engineering jobs. It may also depend on what kinds of engineering needs a company has. I'm starting to hear stories from a number of friends with adult children in their late 20s to mid 30s who are hiring these young adults who don't have the specific engineering or computer concentration, but are willing to train them to fit the company's specific needs. Close to home example: DS#1 just graduated with his BS in MechE and is working at a small engineering firm that does fire sprinkler system design, which is much more closely related to building / architecture / civil engineering than traditional mechanical engineering. Of the 5 engineers at DS#1's firm, 2 are MechE (one being DS#1), 2 are ChemE, and I think the other guy is a Civil Eng. Also, 2 young relatives (late 20s) both got MechE degrees -- and both hired on with a big Civil Engineering company to do civil engineering work. Just a few more thoughts, FWIW. 😉 Edited August 9, 2022 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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