Thinking about switching to an engineering degree...

[Dejan]

Hey all, quite recently, I have been thinking switching to an engineering course from an Arts course mainly because the Arts degree
isn't really worthwhile given the current state of the job market since majors and degrees in STEM are in more demand. But the problem with me switching to an engineering course is the fact that I haven't taken a maths and science and or chemistry subject since Year 10. To make matters a bit worse, throughout my schooling, I never took subjects like physics, maths and chemistry etc. very seriously and so I put little to no effort in these subjects and as a result, I barely passed these subjects and occasionally did failed tests. Therefore, I haven't really developed the necessary foundations required to go into engineering straight away. (just to point out: I am not 100% sure if I want to go ahead with this plan, it's still very early days). If I decide to go ahead with this, I am planning to take a year off in order to self-teach since tutoring will cost so much money. What is the best way to self-teach? (broad question, I know). What are good resources and materials in order to do this?. Is it even possible to teach myself all these subjects within in a year?. Probably really unrealistic expectation I know (I would like to remain in Monash since it's a good university for engineering and I really enjoy Monash). If I did end up learning all the maths from Year 7 to Year 11 (I am assuming this is what I need to learn), could I just learn Specialist Maths without the studying the other math subjects? (Further etc.). Also, what WAM is required to get into a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)?

If the plan doesn't work for whatever the reason, I was just going to drop out of Arts in order to avoid getting myself in more deb and just find a job. Would this really impact my employment opportunities for jobs that don't require a degree?. What do you guys think about my plan?, I would appreciate any opinions on what do to and how to go about it since I am not completely sure. Thanks!

[_fruitcake_]

Hey all, quite recently, I have been thinking switching to an engineering course from an Arts course mainly because the Arts degree
isn't really worthwhile given the current state of the job market since majors and degrees in STEM are in more demand. But the problem with me switching to an engineering course is the fact that I haven't taken a maths and science and or chemistry subject since Year 10. To make matters a bit worse, throughout my schooling, I never took subjects like physics, maths and chemistry etc. very seriously and so I put little to no effort in these subjects and as a result, I barely passed these subjects and occasionally did failed tests. Therefore, I haven't really developed the necessary foundations required to go into engineering straight away. (just to point out: I am not 100% sure if I want to go ahead with this plan, it's still very early days). If I decide to go ahead with this, I am planning to take a year off in order to self-teach since tutoring will cost so much money. What is the best way to self-teach? (broad question, I know). What are good resources and materials in order to do this?. Is it even possible to teach myself all these subjects within in a year?. Probably really unrealistic expectation I know (I would like to remain in Monash since it's a good university for engineering and I really enjoy Monash). If I did end up learning all the maths from Year 7 to Year 11 (I am assuming this is what I need to learn), could I just learn Specialist Maths without the studying the other math subjects? (Further etc.).

If the plan doesn't work for whatever the reason, I was just going to drop out of Arts in order to avoid getting myself in more deb and just find a job. Would this really impact my employment opportunities for jobs that don't require a degree?. What do you guys think about my plan?, I would appreciate any opinions on what do to and how to go about it since I am not completely sure. Thanks!

Dont you have 1 more year of arts? Finish your course and see what happens from there, you could also try to get into graduate programs.. dropping out isnt your best option.

[Dejan]

Dont you have 1 more year of arts? Finish your course and see what happens from there, you could also try to get into graduate programs.. dropping out isnt your best option.

I am in my first year so I really just started. For me, it seems it would be better if i gained more work experience and build up my CV instead of continuing on with my degree.

[keltingmeith]

Do you enjoy your current course? Are you ACTUALLY interested in engineering? Particularly given you haven't touched any related subjects since year 10? Is it just job security that you're worried about? What do you think you'd major in if you were to continue with arts? Which stream of engineering do you think you would do?

Answer me these questions (2*)3, ere the other side ye see.

[Dejan]

Do you enjoy your current course? Are you ACTUALLY interested in engineering? Particularly given you haven't touched any related subjects since year 10? Is it just job security that you're worried about? What do you think you'd major in if you were to continue with arts? Which stream of engineering do you think you would do?

Answer me these questions (2*)3, ere the other side ye see.

I do enjoy my current course, I recently started to look into engineering so I am not completely sure but software and or computer engineering appeals to me. I am more worried at the fact that a) I won't get a job and b) job security and therefore, I feel l am wasting my time and money. Well philosophy would be major but not sure what would be the second major/minor since I didn't enjoy History.

[Kanon]

Why not give the B.Eng/B.Arts double degree a go for a semester? You'll retain your Bachelor of Arts (whilst still making progress) and you can experience a bit of Engineering.

[appleandbee]

Why not give the B.Eng/B.Arts double degree a go for a semester? You'll retain your Bachelor of Arts (whilst still making progress) and you can experience a bit of Engineering.

OP doesn't have the pre-reqs to transfer into a B.Eng/B.Arts. Instead he/she could probably do introductory maths/science electives first, and see how it goes.

The prospects in computer and sofeware engineering are decent overall (especially when compared to other streams of engineering where job prospects can be kinda shit), but as with most courses you still need to be good (academics, communication, experience, networks) to experience decent job prospects. There are many average/above average engineering grads (with almost empty resumes) out there struggling for career opportunities (it's still a competitive world out there)

An arts degree is seriously not as bad as people make it out to be, if one is good at it and actively involved in extra-curricular activities. Considering relevant careers for arts grads are writing, media, NGOs, teaching, management consulting (which is pretty lucrative but competitive), politics and academia ( there are probably more, but these are the obvious ones), good communication skills as well as networking/experience is required. Most of the time, it's best to do something you are good at, as no matter how unemployable a field/career may seem (e.g. law- where there is a mass over- production), there will always be some people that find employment in those areas.

[Dejan]

The prospects in computer and sofeware engineering are decent overall (especially when compared to other streams of engineering where job prospects can be kinda shit), but as with most courses you still need to be good (academics, communication, experience, networks) to experience decent job prospects. There are many average/above average engineering grads (with almost empty resumes) out there struggling for career opportunities (it's still a competitive world out there)

An arts degree is seriously not as bad as people make it out to be, if one is good at it and actively involved in extra-curricular activities. Considering relevant careers for arts grads are writing, media, NGOs, teaching, management consulting (which is pretty lucrative but competitive), politics and academia ( there are probably more, but these are the obvious ones), good communication skills as well as networking/experience is required. Most of the time, it's best to do something you are good at, as no matter how unemployable a field/career may seem (e.g. law- where there is a mass over- production), there will always be some people that find employment in those areas.

I recognize the fact that going into this degree will not guarantee me 100% with a job and that it won't be a walk in the park. The things that I think I might be good at is in the law field but that field is overly populated with law grads who are struggling to find employment. Engineering for me might be the last option I could take for pursuing higher education or else anything else really is not worth pursuing anymore imo.

[pi]

I think it's worth noting that the job market is pretty terrible *everywhere*. Even in "safe" degrees like dentistry and medicine.

For you, I think it's really important to think about what you want to be doing in 10 years. Now that's easier said than done, you may need to do a few different subjects to get a taste for this and that (eg. some basic maths units) before the answer comes, but I strongly believe in having an end-goal to work towards.

[huaxiadragon]

As someone who's about to graduate from an engineering degree.

I can tell you that the job market for engineering is quite terrible at the moment. You absolutely have to be brilliant, hard working and motivated to land a job. Most of the people from my cohort will be unemployed when they finish University. Such is the way of things at the moment.

Though the market for IT and software engineering is better, but still getting a job is not easy. As a minimum expect to have grades in excess of 70, good internships and excellent extracurricular activities.

As software engineering students you have to have your own software projects portfolio to show them on top of this. So yeah, think carefully.

[Dejan]

As someone who's about to graduate from an engineering degree.

I can tell you that the job market for engineering is quite terrible at the moment. You absolutely have to be brilliant, hard working and motivated to land a job. Most of the people from my cohort will be unemployed when they finish University. Such is the way of things at the moment.

Though the market for IT and software engineering is better, but still getting a job is not easy. As a minimum expect to have grades in excess of 70, good internships and excellent extracurricular activities.

As software engineering students you have to have your own software projects portfolio to show them on top of this. So yeah, think carefully.

Thanks for that.

[Aaron]

Though the market for IT and software engineering is better, but still getting a job is not easy. As a minimum expect to have grades in excess of 70, good internships and excellent extracurricular activities.

THIS. Being in IT, you need to be expected to fight for even a graduate position. It is difficult to get employed when you're up against international students who are cheaper to employ through 457 visas. These are the facts, even in IT.

Look, the thing is, with any engineering degree, you're going to be required to do a significant amount of mathematics. I'm not going to say it's impossible, because it isn't. Anything is achievable when you put your mind to it. Even in a general IT degree, the mathematics is quite significant because it underpins all of what "computers" are about.

I think it's a good idea to first learn some fundamental university level mathematics (such as discrete mathematics), then you can expand from there. Good luck.

[heart]

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/#cat=engineering good to use to get a taste of engineering