Job prospects for Engineering vs Physics major

GladGradDad
Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:46:29 +0000

he originally for the longest time wanted to be an engineering major, now he wants to be a physics major

Then he should consider studying both. If he’s an engineering major he’ll most likely be taking some physics along with higher level math anyway so he’ll have some exposure to that. After he takes a few courses in each he’ll have a better idea of what he’d like to go into. Avoid the heated discussion until after he’s taken some courses in each, but really, by that time he’ll be more matured in his thoughts in this area, he’ll have more experience, and HE can make the decision of what he wants to do since it’s his life/career anyway. It should be out of the parents’ hands by then other than as advisors if the student is willing to be receptive to that.

Note that ‘engineering major’ is very general and there’s a huge difference between the different branches - i.e. electrical engineering vs mechanical engineering vs chemical engineering vs computer science, etc.

Also note - at many colleges an engineering major needs to declare it up front or apply to the school of engineering up front and they also typically start taking courses in their major right away. This can present some logistical challenges for someone who isn’t sure but also remember that a lot of people start out in engineering and then switch out to a different major for a variety of reasons. People do this switching out with lots of other majors as well. This is fine - they learn more about a subject and might decide they don’t like it so much and they learn about other subjects that they might develop a new and greater interest in. That’s all part of the learning process.