I’ve been reading forum posts from college confidential for many years but finally have made an account because I feel very confused and am in need of some guidance. I am a third year Psychology student and have been recently feeling uninterested in actually spending my life as a psychologist (I am aware that it is a very broad field with many different job opportunities).
For about a year now I have been working on projects with my brother and friends who work more in the field of architecture/engineering/technology and I have been captivated by this new realm of information that I was previously unexposed to. We work with 3D printers and many other tools and create an assortment of products that for our friends and family during our free time. We are starting to get more serious in this line of endeavor and I have a thirst to learn more about these various forms of technology and would like to gain more technical skills because I have started to realize that as we move forward in this technological era, acquiring technical abilities and being scientifically and mathematically literate are becoming more and more important.
This is where the dilemma is, I am almost done with my psychology degree but now am interesting in studying Mechanical Engineering. I am not sure if I should finish my degree in Psychology since I only have a year left or if I should start all over and take begin taking the pre-requisites for the Engineering degree now (basically throwing away the past 3 years of my efforts). I began studying Psychology because I was highly captivated by the way human behavior and the mind work and continue to hold these interests but simply do not want to actually practice Psychology for my career. Would having a degree in Psychology add value to my resume in any way? I feel pretty determined to pursue engineering now and am just trying to determine the best course of action.
I would truly appreciate any guidance on this matter… I apologize for writing so much, thanks in advance for taking the time to read it.
oh wow this is quite a dilemma. If I were you, and this is purely what I would do, I would complete my psychology degree first otherwise the last 3 years of your life would be completely wasted and then pursue engineering. Nothing wrong with holding 2 degrees right?
Thanks for the response 12345n! I agree that is good advice but I just realized that the 3 years won’t be completely wasted because the first 2 years were for satisfying pre-requisites anyways so essentially it’d be more like a year wasted (but not really because studying psychology has contributed to my intellectual maturity). What I’m thinking to do now is after this semester ends, to transfer to a community college and do all of the math prerequisite courses there and really get caught up in that regard because I know that having strong mathematical fundamentals are essential to survive engineering courses… Then after I finish my math pre-reqs to get into a mechanical engineering program and grind, grind, grind in the classes, join a few engineering clubs, and continue to do projects with my friends on the side.
I think this is a good plan but I also see the value in what you suggested. I still have a semester before I make any drastic changes so I am going to continue thinking about it and welcome any and all feedback on the matter.
I’d finish the psychology degree, then do the mech eng. Could open up some fascinating possibilities for you in industrial psychology, etc. Having a dual degree (or 2 degrees) has its perks. My brother did music first, then civil engineering, and has had a great career.
Thank you for your input MidwestDad3! Now that two people have recommended this course of action I will definitely give it serious consideration. It would only make sense considering how little of it I have left, I’m just a little anxious to start taking some mech. engineering classes because it is so relevant the projects I’m working on. I think it is definitely a good idea to try to get both degrees, it would definitely broaden my horizons.