I am a student at an engineering college (a school of mines, to be specific), and have not yet decided upon a major. So, does anyone from the Mises community have any suggestions about engineering majors? My school offers just about every engineering degree I believe. I would like a degree that would allow me to get a job with a private company at the very least, although it would be awesome if I could work as an engineer in an anti-state way. Thanks for any advice in advance.
Petroleum engineering gets you paid the most. You can go work for an independent company and talk trash about the government all day. That’s what I did last summer.
Mechanical engineers are like general engineers. You can work anywhere with ME.
Another reason why mechanical would be a good choice for you right now, is that you could easily switch to a different major if you change your mind. If you are still not sure, then at least you will have a broad range of options after you graduate. Same with electrical, if that interests you more.
Don’t do civil if you want to work in the private sector. Don’t do enviromental either. Even if you work in the private sector, you will likely be working on your company’s compliance to government regulations.
Good luck.
I vote for Electrical engineering. I think it is by far the most comprehensive and challenging.
You also get to apply the laws of logic for something other then argumentation, and unlike philosophical debate, you can’t get away with misapplying it.
I think it’s also by far the most unhampered by government out of the various branches of engineering.
I’m an ME undergrad, but I’ll try to keep the bias out. Aerospace- forget it, lots of soon-to-be unemployed with years of experience people out there, and MIT/Hahvahd grads, and even then, for the forseeable future, all public sector/military.
Electrical/Mechanical/Computer/Computer Sci (last 2 are hardware vs software[not sure which is which]) all can go just about anywhere, and for Mech, the HVAC/R area, and buildings in general are going to be large. That pulls everyone, but is buildings- and often may have public sector involvment.
More to come- ASCE Concrete Canoe meeting have I
With Mechanical, you can also go just about anywhere- my school is starting a nuclear plant specialization to offer with the ME program.
Geology, Petrol, etc I do not know as much about, sorry I can’t help there.
But I have found, and have been told, branch out and look at as much as possible (clubs, visits, talk to professionals) to see what you like, and yeah, some are “better”/less gov’t oriented than others, but also go where you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
… All engineers basically take the same classes. We’re building oil and gas reservoir simulators. The governing equations are exactly analogous to electrical loops and capacitors.
But as an undergrad engineer, you should come to terms with the fact that you will be doing monkey work if you don’t get a masters. The only reason engineers have to do things for companies is because it is illegal for them to hire “non qualified people”. The tasks wind up being very repetitive and are easily learned by summer interns. They even have techs come and help out with the engineering work, but an engr needs to sign off on it, and they can only do certain things.
Like it or not, getting your PE helps too. But then that should be one of your goals anyway.
I know some people who’ve gotten an engineering degree, a computer science degree, and a masters. Those are the ones that tend to be the most versitile in this environment. Seems almost anything and everything these days involves a solid computer hardware or software engineering background. One friend has an MBA, but I don’t think that’s helped him as much as he was hoping it would.
My only concern is that we could be in a position where even the best degrees will be impacted by the economy and an expected increase in government intervention regardless of which political party takes over. Engineering is a higher order profession than say farming or mining, so if we see Mises’ Crack-Up Boom it may be a while before you see the more complex engineering programs. At the same time, it’s during the down years that the greatest opportunity for long term wealth is available for those in position to seize the moment.