<p>Hello CC,</p>
<p>I need help deciding what form of engineering I want to go into, if I choose to go into this general field (either that or major in biochemistry –> med school). Obviously all forms of engineering have a few things in common. That said, what are the basics of these forms of engineering (Skills to succeed, difficulty, pay, good non-ivy colleges for undergrad, etc):</p>
<p>Biological Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering</p>
<p>Thanks for your time!</p>
<p>That’s a huge question you’ve asked. It would be better for you to do a little legwork first to narrow down the scope of your question. Start here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.eweek.org/AboutEngineering/TypesEngineering.aspx[/url]”>http://www.eweek.org/AboutEngineering/TypesEngineering.aspx</a></p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.google.com%5DGoogle%5B/url”>http://www.google.com]Google[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I’m just pulling random facts out:</p>
<p>-ME is the safest major
-ME is impacted major everywhere
-PE is risky, little job opportunities
-CE/CS could be outsourced and very hard if you have no experience</p>
<p>I believe all engineers start out at about 50k and 75k with a masters and it goes up with experience. Go with ME though, it is very versatile, after you get the bachelor’s you can get a PhD in any field.</p>
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</p>
<p>Fixed that for you.</p>
<p>I don’t have my degree yet, but I’ll share what I know about one of the engineering specializations you actually asked about! :)</p>
<p>This may be true for most of the engineering fields, but I’ve been taught that Nuclear Engineering students need good math skills to be able to succeed in coursework. So far after 2 years, this has been the case. Just getting through the first 2 years of Calculus, Diff Eq, Physics, Chemistry, and possibly Biology (I had the option to take a Bio class as one of the 8 N.E. prereqs at UF) requires excellent reasoning and math skills. Attention to detail has been important. Following your professors’ directions to the letter is important.</p>
<p>I can’t speak about the specific difficulty of upper division N.E., but I’d imagine difficulty is all relative. Who here has actually taken multiple engineering majors that you listed and can compare their difficulty firsthand? Obviously, all engineering majors are harder than most liberal arts majors, due to the common prereq sciences and maths, and their being few subjective answers in those classes. There is often only 1 right answer almost every time.</p>
<p>Starting pay for B.S. holders of N.E. degrees are usually ranked very high, sometimes as high as #2 highest paying to start with, under Petroleum Engineering. It seems that N.E. drops off to about #10 highest paying average wage after several years in the field, and many Nuclear Engineers have said that pay starts great and you don’t often get much of a raise from then on. There are always exceptions, though, if you’re at the right place and know the right people.</p>
<p>As far as good non-Ivy schools… From what I know, most Ivy league schools aren’t top rated for their engineering programs. Nuclear Engineering is a very rare major for undergraduate study, too. I believe there are only like 33 universities in the USA that offer it as a major. There are program rankings out there on the Internet, but I’ve heard that any ABET accredited program will be good enough to give you a competitive chance in the nuclear field. I believe most if not all of those 33 universities are ABET accredited, but just go to ABET.org and check to make sure your specific school has the specific engineering major accredited with ABET.</p>
<p>Basically, if it’s not ABET, don’t bother with it.</p>
<p>Ok! That’s my piece. Anyone more experienced can feel free to clarify/correct if needed.</p>
<p>[Architecture</a> and Engineering Occupations : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm]Architecture”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm)</p>
<p>[Career</a> Cornerstone Center: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine](<a href=“http://www.careercornerstone.org/engineering/engprep.htm]Career”>Career Cornerstone Center: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine)</p>
<p>Different specializations along the right.</p>
<p>
Interesting…<em>strokes chin</em></p>
<p>This thread is a nice encapsulation of what’s wrong with CC. There’s no way to weigh the quality of the advice. </p>
<p>Sorry to call you out AznSkyDragon, but as a person who hasn’t even applied to college yet, you are better seeking advise as opposed to offering it.</p>
<p>In retrospect, this was a really general question, my mistake. I had hoped to find out information about what kind of classes one would need to succeed in for each of these majors, ie Chemistry, Biology, Math, etc. That said, the advice I’ve gotten is still good, especially from Gator, that wall of text was helpful.</p>
<p>Honestly the easiest way to find out what sort of classes you’d be required to take and what you’d have the option of taking is to pick up a course catalog from a school you’re thinking of applying to. They’ll all have sample schedules for four years, the mandatory sequence, plus a listing of all the classes accepted for your restricted technical electives.</p>