Which engineering discipline is the hardest?

Question

Hi,
I'm tryin to do a survey to see which engineering discipline is the hardest and which one is the easiest?

The common engineering discipline:
Mechanical
Computer
Software
Electrical
Chemical
Physics
Civil

Thanks

Answer 1

You can make just about any topic "hard" if you go to a high enough level.

If I had to pick one, I'd say chemical. First off, there is the chemistry which is hard in iteself. Add to that the control and dynamic aspects of a large chemical processing system. Mix in a bit of risk in designing VERY expensive processing plants and hoping it works. And top it off with the danger of having a chemical explosion that could wipe out entire neighborhoods.

For risk and technical complexity, I vote for Chemical.

Answer 2

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RE:
Which engineering discipline is the hardest?
Hi,
I'm tryin to do a survey to see which engineering discipline is the hardest and which one is the easiest?

The common engineering discipline:
Mechanical
Computer
Software
Electrical
Chemical
Physics
Civil

Thanks

Answer 3

the actual course work of all of these are similar up to a point and then after the 2nd year they diverge and become fairly specialized. mechanical is very similar to aeronautical and physics. All of these require a fairly high level of math (less so with chemical I think). differential equation is commonplace in mechanical and electrical when you have to solve systems. Interestingly, mechanical systems can be modeled the same way an electrical circuit can be. The problem with classical mechanical methods for solving problems is that they are often very simplified. In most cases a real problem is not as simple as a book problem and numerical methods must be used. One thing to consider is that electrical engineers are often working on cutting edge stuff. What has really revolutionized the computing world was not so much the microprocessor (although it played its part certainly), but it was the ability to store huge amounts of information in minuscule amounts of space. Thanks the electrical engineers for that. But thank the mechanical engineers (and actually the chem e's too) for actually making them because without advanced manufacturing processes, the storage systems are just neat theories.

Answer 4

It all depends on what you like doing. You did forget one of the major ones in your list; Aerospace. It also depends on the teachers in the program. I wouldn't recommend trying to pick a future career by easiest or hardest. I was always told Civil was easier, however I'm more of a mechanical person so the Mechnical field came easier to me. All of my buddies say Mechanical is the hardest if you need an opinion for a survey. It's all about what you like and dislike so you can't assume everyone thinks the same thing.

Answer 5

Well, I don't think you can really rate them by saying some are hard and some are easy.

Look at the pay scales you'll see that Chemical has the highest starting pay. But that's really about supply and demand. I graduated in chemical engineering, but I always liked chemistry and enjoyed the engineering part. So its not hard if you're interested in it.

All engineers in my day had to take some basic courses in mechanics of materials and statics. That stuff was hard for me, so civil would have been hard for me because I wasn't interested in it.

Answer 6

I have an electrical engineering degree and civil. Although I think that schooling for electrical engineering is more difficult. Civil is more difficult as a profession. In order to be a civil you need to have a license, which makes you legally responsible. Electrical engineers have it easy at work playing with diodes, electrodes. Civil is hardest as a profession.

Answer 7

Its a question relative to your natural interests and abilities. So there is no one definite answer.

My opinion is that electrical engineering is the hardest because of the amount of mathematics electrical engineers use in formulating and solving problems. In my opinion, mechanical is the easiest because you can easily visualize what you are studying and trying to solve- ie. it is most adept to man's everyday experience with the world around him!

Hope that helps.!

Answer 8

Either Computer or Engineering Physics (properties of high energy and nuclear systems).

Both use super level mathematics and require a pretty high degree of unconventional thinking.

Civil can be difficult due to the requirement of getting certified and staying proficient enough to continue in certification throughout your career.

Answer 9

LOL, only engineers will know how difficult it is. A person who have studies all the above subjects in its fullest level will be abile to differentiate the difficulties in its descending order.

Answer 10

hardest = electrical & computer system
easiest = civil

i'm in civil and i would say civil can be easy. it's still a lot of work, but if you love being out on the field and seeing how things are built/design...go for civil.