PLEASE I really need help???

Question

I'm confused because I want to study engineering and I'm between electrical or civil engineering but I don't know which one I should study because electrical engineers have to take electronics courses and I hate electronics and civil engineers have to work outside and I hate the sun and the hot weather but I only like this fields of engineering.What should I study????I need an advice,What do you think????Help me to decide....

Answer 1

I'm an electronics engineer, and my dad was a civil engineer, so I know a little bit about the topic. First, let me say that you are mistaken if your concept of a civil engineering job requires you to work outside all day. Yes, you'll need to go outside for a site survey. Yes, you'll need to go outside to review work in progress and resolve problems that may arise. And, yes!, you'll need to go outside for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. But this is just a small part of your day. You'll spend most of your time in a nice air-conditioned office behind a desk or computer screen doing analysis and design, making tradeoff studies, writing reports and specifications, supervising the draftsmen, checking plans, attending to business matters, going to meetings and seminars, reading professional publications, and on and on.

If you don't like electronics, stay away! Don't get into a career that you won't enjoy. I just happened to have an interest in electronics, otherwise I probably would have become a civil engineer like my father. And I really can't say that one specialty pays better than the other, because there are so many factors involved. However, if you don't like electronics, you probably wouldn't be a very good EE, and wouldn't earn much.

So my advice is to study civil engineering. But let me suggest that you also study structural engineering, and get licensed in both. In California where I live, a civil engineer may be able to design a roadway, but it takes a structural engineer to design the bridges. You'll want to do it all.

I just got another thought: most jobs in electronics are with large companies, whereas many more civil engineering positions are with small firms. There are pros and cons for each, and it is something you might consider in making your decision.

Answer 2

Both Electrical and Civil Engineers could work outside, depending on the kind of work/project you are involved with.
I am an Electrical Engineer, and the second project I worked in was in a flour plant (not only heat and sun but also all of that noise and flour dust!) designing and installing the fire detection and alarm system and also remodeling a lab, for 6 months, so..
And yes, in Electrical, you will have to take allot of electronics (I also had to take Basic Mechanics and Thermodynamics, which I don't like at all), but it doesn't mean you will end working on that area.
So, for such important life time decision, you shouldn't look at minor details, but the important ones: once you know you have the abilities to work/learn Engineering as a career, think about the big picture: civil work on structures, electrical work with power... which one will you be able to do for the rest of your life?
Good luck!

Answer 3

Not really sure where you got your information. I'm a civil engineer and I am rarely outside for work. I think you are thinking of construction management rather than civil engineering. If you hate electronics courses then I would suggest staying away from electrical engineering. Jobs in civil engineering are way easier to find too.

Answer 4

It sound to me like you don't like those fields of engineering...

I am a sophomore at Ohio State University, and I spent my first year in the Honors engineering program. If you're interested in engineering at all, most universities will let you declare that you are "undecided engineering" as your pre-major. This will let you explore the different types of engineering so that you can make a choice.

Why do you want to go into engineering? What do you like to do, like hobbies and such? What are you good at?

Chances are, you think that engineering would be a good fit because you are good at math and science. That's what I thought too, and that's what a lot of people that go into engineering think as well. Don't get me wrong, if you're willing to do the work, you can be an engineer.

But, I would suggest going to school for something that you LOVE to do; there are TONS of options, you just need to explore a little bit. No one ever told me that I could go to college to become someone that designs toys for a living, but that's an option. It just depends on what you like.

Don't get all worried about it either; you have plenty of time, even once you're in a college, to make up your mind about what you want to do. Just keep an open mind, and don't be afraid to get out there and explore!

Good luck, and you can email me if you'd like to hear more.

Answer 5

well, i am studying electronics...not on an engineering level, but on a college level, and it seems to me that there are so many branches of electronics that you could probably find one you like.
on the other hand, civil engineering is such a broad feild im sure you could find one in which you dont have to like be onsite all the time...or you could live in the Northwest, (assuming you are american) where the sun comes out less often than the full moon.
i guess i didnt tell you either way, but you think it over.

Answer 6

What i hear from you is that you don't like a possible job aspect of one field (CE), but you hate a fundamental core principle to the other field of study (EE). If you already know you are going to hate something, just wait until you're four years into studying it! (much less 20 years into a career of it)...

As much as i encourage people to study EE, i think you should probably consider focusing on CE. Being college, you can always change your mind, but the engineering classes for CE and EE aren't very similar, so if you change it will be like starting over.

Answer 7

Choose civil engineering, and try to find work in a northern city or in a place that has a lot of fog or rain (like Seattle).

Answer 8

Stop whining and take the one that earns more. Electrical Engineering, Baby. I got my Masters from M.I.T. in EE and I earn a fortune.

Answer 9

there ARE tons of different kinds of engineering i happen to love engineering and chemistry so i'm a chemical engineer...but theres also mechanical, aeronautical, biochemical, biological....see the link below it has all the different types and descriptions to go with it

Answer 10

I think you can deal with electronics better then outside work.