Which branch of engineering?

Ok here's my 2 cents....

I'm an Engineer - I work in Offshore Oil and Gas - Subsea, Mechanical...

I get to play with incredible toys everyday, go to work on Helicopters, essentially land on the moon everyday by having to design kit that will work autonomously on the seabed, 6, 7, 8000 ft down....  for 30 years+...  it's freaking awesome the stuff i get to do and play with....  best part is - I love the oceans and get to work in them or on the bottoms of them where we generally know more about the moon then we do deepwater oceanic environments.... and get paid a sh*t tonne...  . Plus - in this game, all the engineers have charisma, are funny and drink more then you could ever imagine.  Working all around the world with all these guys and all they want to do is work hard, then drink hard - big party lifestyle.... on a high budget... it's pimp! Yes you will travel the world on pay if you want...

And for all the environmental people out there who hate on oil - i have one thing to say, I'd rather be in the industry, responsible for design and making sure my sh*t is tight and actually doing something about it, improving technology all the time, then standing with a beard waiving a placard....   

Go Mechanical .....

yeah its got its pros/cons. a lot of the friends you meet won't be engineers, so they go out a party 3-4 nights a week. sometimes its enticing to say fuck it, drop your school work, and then go get messed up. The plus side is that, at least from what i've experienced, the girls are wayyyy better looking in other majors, and there are a lot of really uncool people in engineering. It doesn't help that engineering appears to be 90% male.

That is possible.  Engineering classes are usually the easiest to skip since you generally have a very well written and informative textbook, whereas bullshit gen ed classes count attendance as part of your grade. 

And to the OP.  I'm currently in my third year of ME and I enjoy is for the most part.  You just have to learn how to balance school with skiing and drinking which isn't too bad.  You can also have a normal social life except for the occasional 5 test week.  The best thing you could possibly do is to befriend fellow engineers with a similar outlook on life and collaborate or trade off assignments. 

As far as what branch I personally would go ME.  Computer programming does not interest me for the most part and the few classes I have had in it were terrible.  I don't know if I read this correctly, but it sounded like you were going to try to get an AE degree and then try to serve in the military.  That would be quite dumb.  As others have said, with an ME degree you will have the same basic knowledge, just less specified.  Also, with an ME degree you can put emphasis on either thermodynamics, strengths, or fluids/aero via technical electives which will be sufficient to get into the aerospace field if you did decide that is what you wanted to do.  But when it comes down to it do whatever you want.  You shouldn't make important life decisions based on what people on ns say.   

where did i say it wasn't possible?  i said to be careful

'riding every single day' - yeah right, i highly doubt it, you're a huge exaggerator dude,
peace

If you knew about how working for Yeti is, then you would realize he's right. Everyone who works at that factory rides every day that it's possible.

whatever, like i care anyways, i'd never even consider buying any of their bikes.  riding a bicycle is not a huge deal after all,
peace

If you want to have a part in the development of planes, it would be a better idea to go for something like mechanical or materials engineering, since these degrees will be much more versatile when it comes to finding a job. Basically, any physical design project will require many different types of engineers, but by choosing aerospace, you would be limiting your options when it comes to jobs. For engineering, I think its very beneficial to be as versatile as you can be, so that you will be able to take on many different types of problems in various different fields. I am in 1st year eng. at UBC, and I am choosing Integrated Engineering as my first choice of major for next year. Basically, integrated engineers are taught to be competent in all types of engineering (maybe not all, but a lot). You get to do projects based on your interests, so it's more self-directed. Remember the new COC-style airbag landing that you can actually ski away from? That was designed by 4th year IGEN students. Integrated engineers are always on high demand because of their well-roundedness. you also aren't limited to the title of an Integrated Engineer, you can choose to become a P.Eng in different specializations as well (pretty sure).

computer is a good choice as well, the software industry is becoming bigger and bigger all the time, and programmers get paid very well from what I hear. If you want to design hardware, electrical might be a better choice.

Stop saying peace after all your posts tool bag.

hahahah.

I agree with what you had said earlier. I'm struggling trying to balance friends because none of them have a strict schedule like mine. They think I'm always bailing on them when in reality I'm just trying to become a successful individual. I'm now jealous that I didn't go to a engineering school.

just develop a high level of arrogance. It will come in handy after you get your degree, engineers are know to be pricks, you don't want to let people down.

I'll be honest, I didnt read any responses, just the original post. I just thought i would give my own two cents. I apologize if I am repeating anything anyone else said or if this thread has deteriorated into a discussion of global warming, health care, or lil wayne like every other thread on the site. In any case, my brother graduated college in 08 from University of Buffalo with a Mech Degree. He worked at a firm that makes sensors for industrial equipment for a year and a half and he just got hired and started working at a plant that designs an makes pacemakers and artificial hearts. He did an internship in college with Boston Scientific and became really interested in the medical field. Getting the job he has now was really big cause hes making more money but mostly, hes working in exact field he set out to work in. Also, I have a lot of friends now at my school who are Mech majors. A few of them are Mech and Aero becuase its literally like two or three more classes. they share a lot of credits. I feel like that might be a good thing to look into. That'll allow you to branch off either way. Even if you can only do Mech, i believe you could still work in the aero industry. Thats about all i know. Engineering will reward you in a tough economy like this so good luck with whatever you choose.

Im in my 3rd year electrical engineer major. Honestly if you keep your shit together, you will have plenty of time to ski/party and whatnot. The job outlook for anybody with an engineering degree is solid.

Once again, thanks for all of the help.

I have decided that I will not be pursuing an engineering degree. Once I transfer, financial aid will sky rocket even for in-state tuition. I have found a major that I think will be rewarding, and I can stay at the school I currently attend.

My current plan (even though they always seem to change and never go the way we hoped) is to double major in Environmental Planning/Policy (interdisciplinary degree) and Geography, since the two share many of the same courses. After that, my goal would be grad school.