Switching from Chemcial Engineering to Materials Science

cinnamontoast
Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:20:57 +0000

When I started as a freshman last year, I registered as a Chemical Engineering major. My background in math was very weak and I had no background in physics, but I was determined to finish so I sucked it up and pushed through my first year. I squeezed by with a 2.52 GPA.

This semester things did not go well at all. I was failing all of my classes even though I had a lighter load that last semester. I plunged into depression with suicidal thoughts, so my mom let me drop my classes and come home.

I’ve been home for about 3 weeks now and the depression is gone :), but now I’ve been trying to come up with a new plan for when I return to school. In retrospect, I realize that my shaky background in math and physics meant that I was doomed from the start, so I’ve decided to take some math classes at a community college. I’m also considering a chemistry class because even though I passed chem in college there is still a lot I don’t understand. I want to change my major from Chemical Engineering to Materials Science because it focuses more on understanding the properties of materials and figuring out ways to change those properties. I’m interested in working with either polymers or metals; any field that will involve changing the properties and behavior of materials. But before I make an official change I want to make sure I understand what I’m getting myself into. When I compared the Chemical Engineering track from my school the Materials Science and Engineering track from the school I want to transfer to, the core classes for Freshman and Sophomore year are the same except for the introductory classes. My biggest fear is that because I had trouble with Chemical Engineering, I will have trouble with Materials Science and end up back home :(. I’m also worried that I will fail because I’ll be working full time. I believe that engineering is difficult no matter where you go. I want to be sure that I will do better in this major than I did in the last one. Can anyone tell me more about Materials Scientists? What are the classes like? What careers are out there? Do I have to be a researcher or can I work with a company that focuses on practical uses? Thank you!