What's up with all the engineering majors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think engineering is a major that can be suitable for many careers. If kids like science and math, but they don’t want to go into medicine, it’s a good choice.

This! Both my kids majored in engineering and it's just such a flexible degree. No regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's great...until you spend your days breathing in carcinogens in a refinery or paper mill.

Tell us you don’t know what engineerings do.

[Anonymous]

It's called cancer alley for a reason, but you can make great $!

[Anonymous]

It is important to look at the curriculum.

Not every engineering degree is made equal if there is no objective bar and learning curve.

[Anonymous]

It’s always been popular, I think Cs has been really popular the last ten years, but some of those students may be pivoting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great...until you spend your days breathing in carcinogens in a refinery or paper mill.

Tell us you don’t know what engineerings do.

Ummm - the days that engineers walk around refineries are in the past. Like decades in the past. But ok.

[Anonymous]

Engineering is an extremely versatile degree. And it is a grind making your way through it. Engineering requires serious smarts, creativity, discipline and an ability to work well with others. These are valuable skills in every industry.

Today, even finance and consulting are more likely to recruit engineering majors rather than econ or other social science/humanities majors. The world is your oyster with an engineering degree from some of the better schools.

Plus, the AI carnage is just beginning for Gen Z. An engineering degree is more insulated from that nightmare than 99 percent of other majors. It's a perfectly rational choice for smart kids today and I don't really see that changing any time soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of the kids at my child's high school and those from closeby schools are deciding to major in engineering. I'm curious as to why its become so popular, as it wasn't as common when I went to college in the 90's.

Do parents guide their kids towards engineering now because they think it will be AI-proof?

You just didn't hang out with the right kids in the 90s.

Yeah, I guess not! Most of my friends and acquaintances went into law or medicine. There were very few engineers.

[Anonymous]

Selection bias, OP.

I know many engineering majors because my college kid and my high schooler, who are not doing that, are nerdy people who hang out with other nerdy people, and in that group, engineers are over-represented!

[Anonymous]

My dad, brother and several of my nieces and nephews in their 20s and 30s are engineers so it’s not totally new in my family. I can also think of at least 4 guys who I was pretty good friends with in HS who went to engineering programs (Harvey mudd, RpI, Colorado mines and someplace in Texas).

I do think it’s popular with children of immigrants (like my dad) and I wonder if the increased immigration over the past 20 years or so has increased the number of kids applying for engineering. I also think we’ve been pushing STEM at kids on a way no one did in the 70s, 80s and 90s, so it’s not surprising to me that kids are choosing my those careers. My kids went to a tech camp starting at age 7, which is certainly not something I did (although I did take an afterschool programming class on a Commodore 64.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been popular, I think Cs has been really popular the last ten years, but some of those students may be pivoting.

Yes. The CS students are pivoting to engineering, which makes it even more competitive. Anyone getting into an engineering program - and finishing it - at a top 50 school is pretty extraordinary these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of the kids at my child's high school and those from closeby schools are deciding to major in engineering. I'm curious as to why its become so popular, as it wasn't as common when I went to college in the 90's.

Do parents guide their kids towards engineering now because they think it will be AI-proof?

You just didn't hang out with the right kids in the 90s.

Yeah, I guess not! Most of my friends and acquaintances went into law or medicine. There were very few engineers.

For the 90s child:
Did you play risk?
Did you play dungeons and dragons?
Did you watch Star Trek or read x men comics?
Did you own a graphing calculator?
Did you know what an electronic bulletin board was?
If so, you probably knew some engineers! I knew lots and I can only answer yes to two of those things!

[Anonymous]

The PLTW program, which is new since the 1990s, has exposed a lot of students to engineering in high school.

[Anonymous]

Ummm. It was extremely popular in the 90s.

I’m from NoVA. I was a bio major, but I know so many who went into engineering. It was one of the most popular majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many wash out after the first year.

This. Very tough major.