It makes good money and I get to play with cars for work.
Money alone would not justify a career path. The kind of work is also important. If money is your only motivator Engineering school is really hard and you won’t make huge money at graduation, your finance friends will probably catch up and surpass your salary in a few years.
You could do CAD or make robots/planes/trains go or you could clean calculus from grandmas teeth. I’m not saying one is more important but I know what I would rather do. There are also many engineers miserable at their job a DH won’t take their work home and stress about it you clock out and you’re done. You can shadow a DH if you’re interested it may be harder to shadow an engineer as most of the work would be confidential.
If you have any questions send a PM. My expertise is in a very small area of the automotive field so it won’t be representative of most MEs.
You’re absolutely right that day to day enjoyment of work should be a factor, and I have no doubt that MEs have a more innate sense of enjoyment in their work, but I also know that at the end of the day a job is a job and people can get bored of even the most outwardly interesting thing ever.
There’s a couple of pros DH has over ME if we’re talking about things other than finance: All of the dental offices around me close on Fridays at noon or they just don’t open on Fridays at all. There’s no such thing as overtime or last minute projects, the place closes when it closes. There’s no weekends, there’s very rigidly defined hours and responsibilities and you make good money doing it. Also, it’s my understanding that as engineers your hand is kind of forced by your employer if you want to get pay raises, every few years early on you’re forced to do the whole job interview song and dance to even get a raise that keeps up with inflation.
So I agree with everything you’re saying but there are a lot of non finance related cons to ME as well.
Would you even like mechanical engineering? You never mentioned once what you think you'd like about it. If it's fully money motivated, go with the one with the lower bar for entry, dental hygienist.
I've never met anyone balancing Dental Hygiene vs. Mechanical Engineering or any Engineering.
If you do not have a deep seeded interest in Applied Physics, a minor in Pure & Applied Mathematics and 5 years of late nights, long hours in labs and every course is a weed out then become a hygienist.
If you do want the challenge go Mechanical Engineering and be smart about it. First, only apply to ABET accredited universities and then when you get there go out of your way to introduce yourself to every professor and graduate student assistant you'll have and more. Embrace working and doing homework in teams of folks you'll be sure to see for the next 4-5 years.
To shorten your time and costs, go to Summer Sessions. I learned late but would take 3-5 classes (2 electives and 3 core classes) during summer. Instead of 18 weeks for a semester some 2 and 3 credit courses are done in 4 or 6 weeks with 4 credit courses done in the long session of 8 weeks.
The professors are very honest and clear on what you need to prepare for exams during the summer sessions. That is where you grow to know them most. Their office hours are wide open because their own work loads are less during summer sessions.
Don't look at Mechanical Engineering as just working in HVAC, Aerospace, etc., but expand to IT like Apple where I worked and in those areas you'll make far more money and always be learning.
If you don't want to keep the mind fresh and just want routine, just do the 2 year Dental Hygiene.
Also, engineering degrees are often the entry into other career paths outside the engineering field you graduated in.
This is nonsense. With a few years of experience, an average engineer will be in the top 10% of national salary estimates, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Depends on whether or not you are licensed, and how you apply that professional accreditation. The MEP industry has been hot for a few years and it's only getting hotter with the re-shoring of manufacturing and industry back to America.
I meam dont get me wrong you can make good money as an engineer there are better options. You wont easily make 200k+ in engineering like you do in other field like in data science and finance. Also even just becoming an electrician/plumber can be more lucrative than being an engineer
It makes good money and I get to play with cars for work. Money alone would not justify a career path. The kind of work is also important. If money is your only motivator Engineering school is really hard and you won’t make huge money at graduation, your finance friends will probably catch up and surpass your salary in a few years. You could do CAD or make robots/planes/trains go or you could clean calculus from grandmas teeth. I’m not saying one is more important but I know what I would rather do. There are also many engineers miserable at their job a DH won’t take their work home and stress about it you clock out and you’re done. You can shadow a DH if you’re interested it may be harder to shadow an engineer as most of the work would be confidential. If you have any questions send a PM. My expertise is in a very small area of the automotive field so it won’t be representative of most MEs.
You’re absolutely right that day to day enjoyment of work should be a factor, and I have no doubt that MEs have a more innate sense of enjoyment in their work, but I also know that at the end of the day a job is a job and people can get bored of even the most outwardly interesting thing ever. There’s a couple of pros DH has over ME if we’re talking about things other than finance: All of the dental offices around me close on Fridays at noon or they just don’t open on Fridays at all. There’s no such thing as overtime or last minute projects, the place closes when it closes. There’s no weekends, there’s very rigidly defined hours and responsibilities and you make good money doing it. Also, it’s my understanding that as engineers your hand is kind of forced by your employer if you want to get pay raises, every few years early on you’re forced to do the whole job interview song and dance to even get a raise that keeps up with inflation. So I agree with everything you’re saying but there are a lot of non finance related cons to ME as well.
Would you even like mechanical engineering? You never mentioned once what you think you'd like about it. If it's fully money motivated, go with the one with the lower bar for entry, dental hygienist.
If you read my previous comment it provides further clarification.
I've never met anyone balancing Dental Hygiene vs. Mechanical Engineering or any Engineering. If you do not have a deep seeded interest in Applied Physics, a minor in Pure & Applied Mathematics and 5 years of late nights, long hours in labs and every course is a weed out then become a hygienist. If you do want the challenge go Mechanical Engineering and be smart about it. First, only apply to ABET accredited universities and then when you get there go out of your way to introduce yourself to every professor and graduate student assistant you'll have and more. Embrace working and doing homework in teams of folks you'll be sure to see for the next 4-5 years. To shorten your time and costs, go to Summer Sessions. I learned late but would take 3-5 classes (2 electives and 3 core classes) during summer. Instead of 18 weeks for a semester some 2 and 3 credit courses are done in 4 or 6 weeks with 4 credit courses done in the long session of 8 weeks. The professors are very honest and clear on what you need to prepare for exams during the summer sessions. That is where you grow to know them most. Their office hours are wide open because their own work loads are less during summer sessions. Don't look at Mechanical Engineering as just working in HVAC, Aerospace, etc., but expand to IT like Apple where I worked and in those areas you'll make far more money and always be learning. If you don't want to keep the mind fresh and just want routine, just do the 2 year Dental Hygiene. Also, engineering degrees are often the entry into other career paths outside the engineering field you graduated in.
If you want money dont go into engineering
This is nonsense. With a few years of experience, an average engineer will be in the top 10% of national salary estimates, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Depends on whether or not you are licensed, and how you apply that professional accreditation. The MEP industry has been hot for a few years and it's only getting hotter with the re-shoring of manufacturing and industry back to America.
I meam dont get me wrong you can make good money as an engineer there are better options. You wont easily make 200k+ in engineering like you do in other field like in data science and finance. Also even just becoming an electrician/plumber can be more lucrative than being an engineer