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Civil Vs. Mechanical Engineering

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smooticus
Posts: 1798 - Karma: 27
hows it going NS. So I am currently a freshman going towards a bs in environmental engineering, and I am not really liking all the science. I want to change my major but I am just stuck between mechanical and civil engineering. I was set on mechanical for a while but now that I really need to choose i am torn. I like mechanical because it is so broad, and the salaries are generally more than civil. But I like civil because I think I would like to focus on the project managment side of engineering. I know its a personal decision, but if anyone has any insight on the pros and cons of the two it would be much appreciated.
May 12 2011 4:53PM
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SmokeyTheBear
Posts: 492 - Karma: 24
Awesome, thanks.  Aerospace definitely seems like it appeals to me more, so that might be the way I go.  Thanks for the info
May 13 2011 9:02PM
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skiskate
Posts: 787 - Karma: 823
Im not a civil engineer, but I am a civil engineering technician who will probably go back for civil soon enough. I already have a good job out of it and like what I do. I work really closely with the project engineers and alot of them are in their 20's and love their jobs.
May 13 2011 9:58PM
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VT_FLO
Posts: 3806 - Karma: 147
mechanical you will have a job if you're top 20% of your class. Civil you will have a job if you're top 5% of your class. estimates are based on the amount of lazy losers in civil engineering as compared to mechanical.
Where are you going to school?
May 13 2011 10:11PM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
Not true. I'm a civil major and I still ski almost every day, I'm on the school's ski team. Pass every class too. You just can't party on weekdays, you will fuck yourself over that way.
May 13 2011 10:18PM
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Mt_P0wDerJuNkIe
Posts: 1506 - Karma: 58
This is greatest statement ever!
May 13 2011 11:43PM
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I_liketobutter
Posts: 2664 - Karma: 997
i know what you mean. its funny because as a ME student, all the general classes I take are easy as shit. i always tested poorly in reading and comprehension as a kid so I should have a tough time w the general english, social, and writing classes right? i have yet to not get an A in a general class. and that's what the rest of the world calls college? what a joke. meanwhile i put in hrs a day for eng. classes to get a B.


And for the OP, i'd suggest ME b/c as others have already said, its a whole lot more broad. there are much more companies and areas of interest to work in. CE's usually work for the state/gov or one of the few small firms in a city.
May 14 2011 1:22AM
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reBlocke
Posts: 762 - Karma: 1,502
I remember reading a paper that showed that math ability could be predicted from how long students were willing to try to solve a problem. I couldn't find the paper, but it suggests that you're right- people that aren't good at math have trouble because they don't try as hard (whether that's laziness or attention issues etc.)
May 14 2011 10:53AM
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fdsa
Posts: 686 - Karma: 19
Have you worked in the oil and gas industry? You sound like you have, but you also make it sound like all fun and games, which leads me to believe that maybe you've just heard slick presenters talk about how awesome it is.

The other side of it is: get ready to:

Work 60,70,80 hrs a week when you're really busy.
Get ready to be away from your family a LOT when you have to travel.
Possibly have to live offshore. Fun for about a week. Then SUCKS.
Have to travel to, and live in, some REMOTE areas.
Work for a huge corporation and deal with all the bullshit attached to that.

I worked as a refinery engineer for a year before grad school, so I dealt with refining, and knew lots of people in upstream. It has its ups and its downs. Represent them accurately.

As for OP. You can be a project manager with just about any Engineering degree, except for Industrial. You can't do shit of value with an industrial degree, but also don't think you're going to start out as a manager. That is a common misconception amongst engineers. You still have to work for the positions you want. It's just that it will seem like nothing compared to what you dealt with in school.

Getting an engineering degree is a huge investment in your future, and will literally prepare you to do just about anything. There is a reason that, even in a tough economy, I have 1 job offer and am talking to 3 other companies. I worked realy hard, and so should you.

All that said, I would go Mechanical.
May 14 2011 2:10PM
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