<p>What would you think of approaching it like this, together with your son:
First, look up the ABET accredited programs in mechanical engineering. You can find them here by first clicking “find an accredited program” and then putting in “mechanical” as your search criteria:
[ABET</a> | Accrediting College Programs in Applied Science, Computing, Engineering and Technology](<a href=“http://www.abet.org/]ABET”>http://www.abet.org/)
Then, look up some of the programs and see what their requirements are. Look up those course descriptions. Would your son be interested in taking those courses? Look up the professors and see what their areas of interest or work are. Do these interest your son?
If so, your son can contact an engineering organization, such as the American Society of Black Engineers:
[NSBE</a> - National Society of Black Engineers](<a href=“http://www.nsbe.org/]NSBE”>http://www.nsbe.org/)
He can ask if there is a member who communicates well with teenagers who would be willing to provide an informational interview and/or shadow experience so that your son could learn more about what mechanical engineers do. If your son likes this experience, you can then look at the accredited programs and see which ones also are at universities that offer music lessons and ensemble experiences for non-music majors. Your son can keep communicating with this contact person, because he or she could potentially become an important connection for your son!
(Some posters will say that it is not important to attend an accredited program. To that I say, there is no reason NOT to attend an accredited program at this stage of the game.)
Along with this, you can see if there is interest and aptitude testing at his high school to test whether engineering comes up as a good fit for him.
If your son does not think that he would enjoy the engineering courses or work, then you have eliminated engineering and you can start a new thread!</p>