Which engineering?

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^ ^ I think this last post sounds good.

Generally, I have been through a similar process as a mature age student. I actually still dont' know for sure what I want to do. But, I'm getting there. I was in Chem eng last year, and though I loved the ethos (is that the right word??) of Engo, it wasn't really me.
I realised that ultimately Engineering is best for people, say, who grew up building stuff. Or, taking cars apart, even, for mech eng'ers.
It wasn't just that Chem Eng is boring because it's about furnaces and enormous orange juice vats, it's that my natural skills and work needs didn't quite match with Engineering. I'm now in (Medical) Science and it's going a lot better (just waiting on final first semester grades now).

You mentioned computers and if that's something you're naturally interested in, why not try that?

Well, I thought I should share that my choices are now slimmed down to Electrical-Electronics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. I've narrowed down to these because form what I've heard they are the two most general fields of engineering, hence they're more marketable when I start looking for a job at 28 (I'm 23 now), they're are more related to nanotechnology (I dream on working with it but I know the chances for an "old" 3rd world engineer are more than slim) and because of civil being a branch that depends too much on political and economical climate. Besides the employment part I also believe these two to be the ones that better suit my interests.

Am I right to think these two are the most general fields in engineering? Also, between the eng. school in my alma mater, that offers and Electrical Eng. program (one later chooses a specialty between power, communications and electronics), and one that offers separate programs for Electrical and Electronics, which one should I choose? (Keep in mind that the school with separate programs has a better eng. school than my alma mater, not by far, but certainly more demanding, prestigious, better equipped, more internships, etc.

Unless you are truly happy and/or motivated by doing stuff you don't like simply for the sake of income and having a job, do what you enjoy.

If, however, you don't know what you enjoy, then pick the one you feel you'll enjoy most, and try it and see.


In the current climate (I am posting from Australia but I believe the States has a very similar situation with engineers) any kind of Engineering will get you a job, basically. There are areas like Project Management that any kind of Engineer can be employed in, and these are usually lucrative positions as well. You gain the skills necessary in any type of Engineering degree, in other words.
I don't think you need to be able to sketch or draw to do Engineering. Some engineers don't even have all that great an array of writing skills either. A lot of engineering is about learning the rules, protocols and procedures and sticking to them.
Also, I wouldn't dismiss getting to do what you want because of age. I'm 33 and I started my Engineering degree last year at 32 (I've now switched to Science but wouldn't mind finishing an Engo degree at some point if I had time ~ Masters, maybe?!). There was never any areas I was aware of that I could not work in because of my age.
If you haven't done so already, maybe you could seek out some people in your department to talk to about career options? eg What is it like working in Electrical Engineering? What will I end up doing?

Best of luck

My bachelors was in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, my masters in Biomedical Engineering.

I work in neither field, but absolutely loved studying them.

Anyway, when I was choosing I could not decide between the various kinds of engineering so I found a degree course that in the first two years gave you a good grounding in all aspects of engineering (Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical, Civil & Structural) and during those two years figured out what I liked most, so I had more time choose....