/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.5560676]

How did you know you wanted to be an engineer? What traits do typical engineers possess?

I'm in my first year of undergrad and I'm not sure what I should major in. I don't detest math and the highest class I've taken was pre-calculus/trigonometry.

I enjoy chemistry so I'm entertaining the idea of chemical engineering.

[Anonymous No.5560696]

I went from engineering to theoretical research. it all depends on what you want to do. do you want to do incremental refinements of a design model in physical form? do you want to be doing major changes on paper?

you need high math for both.

[Anonymous No.5560721]

>>5560696
>do you want to be doing major changes on paper?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. I thought that research and theory-heavy fields processed at slow speeds?

I've no problem with having to learn higher level math. Honestly, I might have developed an interest for math if it wasn't for my 11th grade teacher.

What type of engineering did you study?

[Anonymous No.5560723]

I have done an engineering degree however I have never been employed as an engineer, so I can't call myself an engineer.

I studied engineering because the idea of using science to design real things appealed to me. However, the graduate job market is extremely hard to break into and I was unsuccessful in doing it.

I don't know what traits are required to be a successful engineer in industry are, however, you need to be extremely strong academically and to be able to perform extremely well in interviews to even get a shot.

[Anonymous No.5560724]

>>5560721
>processed
*progressed

[Anonymous No.5560727]

>>5560676
I picked civil because it was the easiest/fastest, but I had zero interest in the material. Lots of beta type nerdy people. At least I could be a Matlab code monkey if all else failed.

Luckily I am a good looking non-nerd gut and was hired by Wall St.; I have never worked as an engineer.

[Anonymous No.5560731]

Homosexuality.

[Anonymous No.5560750]

>>5560727
>I have never worked as an engineer.

So what's your occupation?

[Anonymous No.5560770]

For those of you that have engineering degrees or every thought about becoming an engineer, what major did you have in mind before university and what did you graduate with?

[Anonymous No.5560816]

Give me some input, guys.

[Anonymous No.5560824]

>>5560750
With a degree in engineering you can get hired in numerous fields since employers like their problem solving abilities. It doesn't hurt that they are known for being smart.

You just have to put up with the math and a lot of intensive credit hours that a lot of people in my classes seem to have a problem with.

[Anonymous No.5560834]

>>5560824
Give me an example of a semester in your first two years of undergrad.

[Anonymous No.5560835]

I originally wanted to be a veterinarian in high school, but the summer before college I had a sudden change of heart after I realized that I was very unsatisfied with today's technology. Luckily I was good at math and decided to follow the honors math track.

[Anonymous No.5560837]

>>5560676
>I enjoy chemistry so I'm entertaining the idea of chemical engineering

from what I've heard this logic will NOT serve you well whatsoever

[Anonymous No.5560838]

I was 6 and in an arcade. While madly hitting a button trying to make my ship shoot the little aliens, I wondered how it worked. I wondered how it worked for my entire childhood.

I found out when I was ~15 and figured out how to research things on the internet. I'm a CS major now.

I don't know if you'd call CS engineering, but it's how I decided to be what I am.

[Anonymous No.5560842]

>>5560837
How come?

[Anonymous No.5560854]

>>5560834
Assuming you start out in calc 1 on freshman year, and have a basic understanding of chemistry then your average credit hours per semester will be about 16. Looking at my schools basic track for a mechanical engineer the first semester is gen eds and calc 1 since it's a pre requ. for everything. The second semester is eng 2 (3), health gen ed (2), calc 2 (4), phys 1 (3), phys lab (1), C++ (2), auto CAD (2). for a total of 17 credit hours.

The difficulty of the classes depends on how good you get it, and managing your time if you don't.

[Anonymous No.5560872]

>>5560750
I started as a building analyst trainee, but now an a supervisor. I also get to work in one of the richest parts of LA(century City). Fox is here as are the two big talent agencies ICM/CAA and several second tier modelling agencies. Great place to spend your day. Pic: 5-11 Kendall Jenner, I see her around here quite often.

The best thing is I go to NYC every other week.

[Anonymous No.5560878]

>>5560842
In general, high school X is a far cry from college X.

[Anonymous No.5560879]

I don't want to be an engineer. I just want a job.

I'm a junior in EE right now. Yeah, I know going in it for the money is a bad idea. I know because I'm miserable already, but I feel like when I start getting paid it'll feel better. The problem is I don't really learn anything in my classes, the info leaves my brain as I walk away from the final exam.

[Anonymous No.5560883]

>>5560837
>>5560878

Every person I know who was a chemical engineer ended up switching majors. All of them said they liked chemistry but chemE was miserable for them

[Anonymous No.5560928]

>>5560883
My roommate freshman year made it all the way through ChemE. He was definitely dedicated to it though.

>>5560879
My program was full of guys like you, shit. Nobody does anything for the love of it anymore.

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5560944]

>>5560879
>tfw mech engineer looking at anon posting your feels
Funny thing is i feel i learn more at home then at school.

[Anonymous No.5560946]

>>5560928
>My program was full of guys like you, shit. Nobody does anything for the love of it anymore.

That's the thing though, most of my classmates are actually pretty enthusiastic about things.

I'm in the minority and it makes me feel like a fucking piece of shit. I feel dumb. I don't really have any interests in the field. To be fair, I have no real interests at all.

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5560991]

>>5560928
I used to and still love the idea of engineering...Just don't like creating ideas to have the credit given to lockheed for menial pay from a job I had to work like shit in school to get and beg for from multiple companies...
What's scaring me?...The prospect of actually getting the fucking job is scaring me, since, ya know? Outsourcing? Oversaturated U.S. job market.
>inb4 become a chinese citizen to get below avg wage.

[Anonymous No.5561010]

>>5560991
Yeah I'm pretty sure you don't know shit about aircraft which is probably why Lockheed didn't want you

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5561032]

>>5561010
>not finished with schooling yet
Calm down..but i am hearing horror stories...
See
Any /sci/ thread mentioning engineers

[Anonymous No.5561064]

>>5561032
Dude don't even worry. McDonalds is always hiring well educated, well rounded, and intelligent individuals such as yourself.

[Anonymous No.5561095]

>get computer science degree
>start interviewing
>everyone wants someone with Personality

I got a bunch of job offers anyway because I'm normalfag material but seriously fuck those people.

[Anonymous No.5561129]

>all college degrees suck for getting you a decent paying job
>the job market is always terrible

Why is the world so miserable?

[Anonymous No.5561133]

>>5560946

That sucks for you bro. The first thing any interviewer is going to ask you is why you want to be a _________. and hopefully your sentence won't begin with an "uhhh"

[Anonymous No.5561134]

>>5560676
You gotta qualify in a few areas.. If you miss some it's okay - being around others with these inherit traits means they will soon rub off on to you.

- Know it all attitude.
- Condescension towards those who are learning.
- A dire need to be the smartest man in a room.
- A complete and utter lack of empathy
- A complete and utter lack of humility
- Low social skills

Some bonuses that aren't necessarily required but will nonetheless see you exceed include:

- Autism
- Being overweight
- Acne
- A strong mistrust towards women
- Being a general shitlord

Good luck with your degree!

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5561138]

>>5561064
Cool, I'd make a great district supervisor

[Anonymous No.5561141]

>>5561134
I got 9 of 11.

[Anonymous No.5561145]

>>5560883
Was it the amount of coursework they were required to do or the monotony of it all?

[Anonymous No.5561149]

>>5561141

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5561150]

>>5561134
so any frequent browser of /sci/??

[Anonymous No.5561161]

>>5561138
Our supervisors are the best in the industry, we give premium benefits, and our salaries are highly competitive. Join our team! See what McDonalds can do for you!

[Carbon !5XmfGkN7AQ No.5561167]

>>5561161
lol "We care about our employees" I hate how all employers lie like fuck and expect you to eat that shit up

[Anonymous No.5561174]

>>5561167
Yeah they really do lol

[Anonymous No.5561248]

>>5560676
>How did you know you wanted to be an engineer?

I decided to be a computer engineer when I was in kindergarten. Cyberpunk was really popular when I was young and impressionable. Movies like Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner made programming and electronics the coolest sexiest badass thing someone could do. I taught myself programming and electronics years before university. I feel bad for people who have trouble deciding what to do with their lives.

[Anonymous No.5561289]

>>5560676
You don't major in chemical engineering to do chemistry because chemistry is a small part actually.

[Anonymous No.5561319]

>>5561134
EEfag here, i can reassure this is true

Pro tip, 3rd world countries like mine (Mexico), add up some other qualities to engineers

- Being drunks
- Most of time in depression
- Demasiado tacaños
- Too poorfags to buy any decent equipment or build anything interesting

I expected something "better" when I chose this career, something as creative people with the will to investigate and create things or at least , willing to cooperate... but no... it turns out these things i call classmates have pride of all their "qualities"

[Anonymous No.5561321]

>>5561248
You're goofy m8

[Anonymous No.5561324]

>>5561319

> - Demasiado tacaños

my bad i was thinking in spanish, i actually meant

- too stingy

[Anonymous No.5561328]

>>5561134
>lack of empathy
>lack of humility
+
>low social skills
But those things can never EVER go together.

[Anonymous No.5561327]

>>5561248

6/10 for making me reply

>computer science
>a real science
>a real engineering

[Anonymous No.5561354]

>>5561327
i'll still make more money than you

[Anonymous No.5561374]

>>5561327
>computer science is nearly the same thing as computer engineering

[Anonymous No.5561383]

I first started making explosives, extracting alkaloids and synthesising recreational substances when I was 16. I thought chemistry, but you need a chemical engineer to do it industrial scale. So I am studying engineering.

[Anonymous No.5561407]

>>5561383
>infantile cartoon

[Anonymous No.5561429]

I really like hands-on stuff and love seeing mechanisms work. I started off doing a biology degree because I thought I liked medicine but that was quickly shot down (thankfully) due to the first semester weed-out biology course. I hated the idea of not doing anything math related ever again, so I wanted to change to a math major. Then I thought about it and wanted to do something hands-on, which lead to mechanical engineering.

So far my favorite classes have been thermo., statics and dynamics, and ODE. Hopefully PDE goes the same way. Can't wait to get into strengths of materials!

[Anonymous No.5561434]

By the way, I'm introverted by nature. Am I screwed with my future career as an engineer? Not that I lack social skills or the ability to work in teams, I just prefer individual projects. I know that when you go for interviews they are looking more for people that are out-going.

Also anyone on here working for a company? If so what was your GPA when you got hired? I'm at a 3.05 right now average, I'm so worried about that screwing me over, even with experience.

[Anonymous No.5561442]

>>5561434
don't believe in "u need to ppl skillz too!1!!1" career advice bullshit. social skills are pretty useless for an engineer as long as you are capable of shutting up.

[Anonymous No.5561457]

>>5561434

>am i screwed

Probably not at a career level, but certainly it will be hard to get an initial position if you aren't a recruiter's dream.

>gpa when hired

The only ones that ask are the massive national general intake programs that need a way to filter thousands of applicants before they spend money.

If your experience is relevant, why can't you pursue a more permanent position with the company you worked for previously?

[Anonymous No.5561460]

I'm practical but I have a thirst for knowledge. Working in factories may have given me useful practical skills but I never really got to use my brain enough in a way I wanted to. Have went back to school to improve myself professionally and to get a deeper theoretical background in my work. I will definitely be applying my new found knowledge outside of school and work.

[Anonymous No.5561485]

>>5560676
>>5560676
Wow, I'm surprised no other chemical engineers have posted yet.

Hi OP, I'm a senior in chemical engineering (ChE) at a top 5 school. While you certainly take a large # of chemistry courses in the ChE curriculum, it is not the focus of the degree. If you have not taken it already, I believe Physics I is the best indicator for whether or not to pursue engineering.

Chemical engineering focuses on three major topics:
1. Heat transfer - Primarily thermodynamics with some chemistry - how does a coal based power plant work, how can I increase the efficiency of the plant? What's the maximum rate I can produce this exothermic chemical reaction without damaging my system?

2. Fluid mechanics - This deals with flow rates of liquids, you'll really get an in depth understanding of how fluids work, probably my favorite part of ChE - What kind of pump and what size pipes do I need to output 450 tons of oil a day?

3. Mass Transfer - Lots of applications here, also where you'll see the most chemistry, primarily deals with diffusion - If I have a packed container filled with a catalyst, what rate can I pump fluid A in to get a sufficient product yield? Or even as simple as, if I take a Tylenol, how long will it take my body to break down the protective coating and begin diffusing the Acetaminophen throughout my body?

This is of course a very brief approach. There are a lot of different directions to go with chemical engineering, it is a challenging subject, but if you have a natural curiosity about the world, it should be enough to satiate your curiosity. You can go into materials engineering, energy, biology (ChE has one of the highest acceptance rates into med school out of any major), environmental engineering, process engineering, food science, you name it.

[Anonymous No.5561487]

>>5561485
Just one thing I wanted to note. When I say fluids, I mean liquids and gases. Chemical engineers deal with both of these all the time.

[Anonymous No.5561490]

>>5561485
dont do chemical engineering its too hard

reactor engineering is too hard

you need to take pde's too and shit f*ck that shit nigger cot damn.

do petroleum engineering, easiest engineering.

you take 1-2 dumbed down versions of chemical classes thats it

[Anonymous No.5561505]

>>5561490

>do petroleum engineering, easiest engineering.

Maybe if you do it at some hack school with lazy lecturers that give watered down chemical engineering courses and pass them off as the real thing.

[Anonymous No.5561512]

>>5561490
lol?

Might as well elaborate on this though: Most ChE curriculum have gen chem 1&2, organic chem. 1&2, physical chemistry 1, and a minimum of 1 to 2 chemistry electives (and of course all of the classes I listed have labs)

And they're not dumbed down courses, you will be sitting in classrooms filled with chemistry majors when you take these classes.

Still, you don't use too much chemistry in ChE. Unless you go into graduate level, you'll be primarily dealing with well documented reactions and just extrapolate recorded data into whatever ChE process you're dealing with. So again, do not going into ChE solely because you enjoy chemistry. It's a plus, but there's just a lot more to ChE

[Anonymous No.5561524]

>>5561512
reread my poast dummy

cot damn work on that readnig comp

[Anonymous No.5561541]

im a civ eng senior

feels meh

[Anonymous No.5562030]

>>5561487 >When I say fluids, I mean liquids and gases.

Uhm, no shit?

What else is a fluid that isn't a gas or liquid?

[Anonymous No.5562044]

>>5562030
He might of referred to the term "gender fluid".

[Anonymous No.5562267]

>>5562030
OP is new to the subject, just trying to be as clear as possible without being a dickhead...

[Anonymous No.5562999]

>>5561512
Most of the earlier requirements for chE are the same prerequisites for medical school so hopefully I'll be able to take some classes to see if I enjoy it or not.

The retarded thing is my school doesn't allow nondegree students to take the engineering classes, even introductory classes. I guess I'll have to change my major.

[Anonymous No.5563019]

i wanted to make money, and i'm very practical at things. i also graduated from HS as an IT technician, so i figured i would have an easier time.
if you want to do research though, don't get into it. engineering is more about the techniques and how to solve problems in a practical way that knowing things for the sake of knowing

[Anonymous No.5563060]

>>5563019
I couldn't disagree more with you on the note of avoiding engineering for research. At least for an undergraduate degree.

Ample research opportunities are given for undergraduates in the engineering department. Currently there's a surplus of PhDs in most science-based fields. So getting an undergrad in engineering allows one to get a more marketable degree, while still being able to do research and being a perfectly viable candidate for grad school. Meanwhile if someone picks a chemistry undergrad and grad school doesn't work out, then well...they're likely fucked.

[Anonymous No.5563069]

>>5563060
oh yeah, in my country there're no good engineering research programs, kinda forgot to take that into account. i'm getting a masters in business intelligence after i finish the engineer's degree. no research for me lol

[Anonymous No.5563084]

>>5562999
True, same at my school. But, assuming this is OP, you haven't taken calculus I or Physics I yet. It might be worth taking these two classes with some basic core curriculum courses next semester if you want to make sure.

Depending on your performance in both classes (at least B's in both) and your affinity towards the subjects in your physics class, you should get a good gauge on which major to pursue.

Regardless, if you do go into engineering, even if you don't like it there's some decent job security and money involved. Plus, there's always management if you'd want to avoid the technical side of things.

[Anonymous No.5563308]

I hope I don't regret doing physics instead of engineering. Engineering isn't as interesting to me but it would have been somewhat easier and probably easier to get a job with.

[Anonymous No.5563334]

>>5563308

>easier to get a job with
>engineering

This is a myth.

You still need the perfect transcript with everything else to get anywhere with engineering which is exactly the same as any other field.

[Anonymous No.5563369]

>>5562030
>What else is a fluid that isn't a gas or liquid?
plasma

[Anonymous No.5563368]

is it too late to become an engineer if i'm 19 and have a GED?

[Anonymous No.5563386]

>>5563368

As long as you can find the money, a university to enroll you and the work ethic, you complete an engineering degree without a problem.

Whether anyone would employ you as an engineer after that is another story.

[Anonymous No.5563395]

>>5563386
well, in your opinion, would it be worth it to get an engineering degree if i can?

[Anonymous No.5563423]

Any GT students on here? I'm starting there in the fall as a ChemE.

[Anonymous No.5563439]

>>5563423
I'm a PhD student in Mat Sci.

[Anonymous No.5563473]

>>5563334
I'll choose to believe you're right in order to make myself feel better. Thanks.

[Anonymous No.5563490]

>>5563423
I'm going here to study maths.
A-am I stupid?

[Anonymous No.5563503]

>>5563490
Just out of curiosity, what letter does your last name start with? I know a guy who's a couple years into a math major at Tech

[Anonymous No.5563512]

>>5563503
I haven't been there that long.

[Anonymous No.5563523]

>>5563368
I'm actually in the middle of this. I decided to go back to school when I was 20 (2.5 years ago) after realizing I fucked up really hard by avoiding college.
Just treat it like a second chance. Work hard, keep your grades up, and prepare to grind through a few math classes you probably already understand because of prerequisites.

If you like it, and are willing to dedicate yourself to it, you'll be fine.
Don't do it for the money, every semester I see people fall off because that was their motivation and they're realizing it's not all as easy as the first semester or two.

Just remember this >>5563334
You're not going into some plentiful easygoing job market. You still need to stand out and prove you're worth employing.
There's always going to be people better than you at what you do, just do everything you can to make it as few people as possible.

[Anonymous No.5563530]

>>5563512
Well tbh I don't really know him, I only know his sister (also a hs senior). I just know that he's a math major, he actually may only be a freshman at gt

[Anonymous No.5564164]

Bump.

Why is it that engineering courses require you to pay higher tuition rates?

[Anonymous No.5564201]

stick with your guns, OP
chemical Engineering is a great major. work your ass off every day. thank me later.
mechanical here

[Anonymous No.5564259]

>>5564164
What school is this in?
>source needed

[Anonymous No.5564610]

>How did you know you wanted to be an engineer?
Pretty much wanted to be an engineer since I can remember, partly from my family and mentors who thought I was talented and/or once aspired to be Engineers themselves, but mostly as a personal choice. Also the fact that the results of every single aptitude test I took basically just said 'engineer'. My own interest in the profession was sparked by seeing the marvel of the applications of Science, simply studying nature would never be enough; I also want to create.

I don't have delusions of grandeur of course, I know I don't have intellectual capability to ever build something truly great, I'm satisfied with building elegant industrial processes or making incremental improvements to our specie's technological capabilities.

>What traits do typical engineers possess?
All you really need is to be innately proficient at creative problem solving, everything else can be learned, including the absolutely vital communications and social skills.

>I enjoy chemistry
You should know that high-school classes have almost nothing to do with the real field, most people say they like science when they actually like pop-science and would be better suited to reading that in their spare time while pursuing more stable professions.

>>5561485

Well, I'm a third year ChemE and I don't mention the whole ChemE =/= Chemistry thing anymore because while Chemistry is indeed a small part of Chemical Engineering, I learned that we finished the entire B.Sc. Chemistry programme (the core modules, verbatim) in the first two years. For example our Analytical Chemistry in our 4th semester had exactly the same textbook, professor and exams (confirmed by professor) as the 3rd year BSc module of the same name.

So except for specialization modules, we do everything they do.

Of course, if you're ONLY interested chemistry, then doing ChemE is a very bad idea.

No pic as I don't have my folder of nice distillation columns with me...

[Anonymous No.5564608]

I knew when I got a C in Physics II that I wanted to be an engineer.

[Anonymous No.5564618]

>>5560879
>but I feel like when I start getting paid it'll feel better.
No, you've been tricked by a society desperate for cheap technical professionals, getting a job in engineering is even harder than other professions, and you have to work a lot harder for the same amount of pay (you get paid more monthly, but also worked a lot harder to get that paycheck)

>The problem is I don't really learn anything in my classes, the info leaves my brain as I walk away from the final exam.
Yes, you are exactly the type of person that will never get a job in engineering, regardless of your academic record, you will be tested on what you learned in undergrad for years after receiving your degree.

[Anonymous No.5564622]

>>5561129
>Why is the world so miserable?
We let idiots run the world because some idiot long ago thought it would be a good idea to give every idiot in society a vote.

[Anonymous No.5564625]

>>5561328
...wat.

[Anonymous No.5564628]

>>5561319
>- Being drunks
>- Most of time in depression
>- Demasiado tacaños (GoogleTrans: too stingy)
I can confirm these
>- Too poorfags to buy any decent equipment or build anything interesting
We actually have some pretty decent equipment, and scholarships so we live comfortably, but then again we are the best uni on the most irrelevant continent in the world so we have more money than most first world unis (we have over 50k students majoring in some shitty made up degree paying tuition fees).

[Anonymous No.5564630]

>>5561434
> I'm introverted by nature. Am I screwed with my future career as an engineer?
Being introverted or extroverted is not even related to having good communications skills; the ability to express your thoughts and ideas coherently is.
>Not that I lack social skills or the ability to work in teams, I just prefer individual projects.
Who doesn't? In the modern world we all have to learn to work in teams though, but you'll get used to it once the retards are filtered out of your programme
>I know that when you go for interviews they are looking more for people that are out-going.
People who are quiet, shy or lacking in confidence are like that because they are either undereducated, uncultured or just plain stupid, the exception being if you're still in high-school and you're smart enough to know you aren't worth shit, you might outgrow this eventually so don't worry about it.

The interviewers are going to be asking you relevant questions. Questions you'll be confident in answering if you're worth hiring, the only people that bitch about this are idiots that stutter because they slacked through undergrad.

>out-going.
I can assure you, some of the most gregarious people I've met prefer to study instead of wasting their times at drinking "partys" and crap that isn't related to their interests. Actually you are only required to be sociable for networking; attending seminar, establishing shallow relationships with other professionals etc.

>GPA
Fairly irrelevant tbh, unis have very different standards and employers know that, it'll only be a problem if you're applying for certain companies directly after undergrad.

[Anonymous No.5564632]

>>5562030
>What else is a fluid that isn't a gas or liquid?
-Plasma
-Bose–Einstein condensate/super fluid
-Solid particles can be modeled as a fluid

Please go be a faggot somewhere else, he was obviously just elaborating for someone that clearly hasn't taken a relevant S/E course yet.

[Anonymous No.5564633]

>>5561248
>I taught myself programming and electronics years before university. I feel bad for people who have trouble deciding what to do with their lives.

Same here bro. Computer Engineers are the best people.

[Anonymous No.5564635]

>>5564164
At my school (the third world country one) the minimum entry requirement for an Engineering degree means that the university will give you at least a partial scholarship.

Also most of our class fees are cheap, maintaining the lab equipment we use is more expensive than that what they get from tuition fees in some cases, except for classes from the Math department, fucking poor ass mathfags.