Once you have identified engineering as a potential course of study, you may be wondering how to choose a specific discipline. With 18 disciplines at NC State, and many other specialized disciplines represented at other institutions throughout the country, narrowing down to just one can be a difficult choice!

Almost half of students who consider studying engineering in college don’t know in which kind of engineering they will major. Understanding engineering requires a little digging. If you look at a university web site, you will usually see a list of different kinds of engineering degrees that you can get. How do you decipher the differences between them? How do you know which of them will let you have the kind of career that you can be passionate about and enjoy? Read on, here is our prescription:

1. Explore Your Motivations and Interests – What interests you? What are your passions? What makes you get out of bed in the morning? Understanding your preferences, interests and motivations is the first piece to determining which discipline is best for you. Take some time and write these things down — maybe you love to learn about how foods are processed and packaged, or the environment really motivates you. Or perhaps you constantly find yourself trying to make any task or process more efficient. Whatever your interests, write them down and understand them.
2. Explore Jobs First – When looking at which degree to study, many people look first at the classes needed to obtain that degree. But in fact, classes are only a means to an end. It is possible to love a series of classes and not want to do the job they prepare you for. It is also possible to dislike classes and love the job they prepare you for, although it is of course preferable to like both! What that means is you should look at job opportunities first, match them to your interests and then determine which course of study will prepare you for that job. Below are some reliable sources for exploring jobs:
   • Engineering Catalog: Use our Engineering Catalog to explore different disciplines and see which might be best suited to you!
   • American Society for Engineering Education
3. Chat it Up – The Engineering Catalog and the aforementioned websites are by no means a complete picture, but they will help you to begin the exploration process. Do be careful because making a decision about your future is not the work of half an hour and a single web site. Talk to people who are engineers about their jobs. Talk to teachers and professors about their work. Ask them why they decided to become engineers.Beware of advice that says, “Well you’re good at math and science. Be an engineer.” Engineers certainly use math and science, but we also use art, social studies, language arts and more. Remember, it is what you want to do and what interests you that makes the difference. Ideally, your career should be something you do because you love it. But know that many engineers begin in one discipline and work in many others over the course of their career. With engineering, we don’t think you can make a bad choice!

Engineering combines creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving to design solutions to real-world challenges. Successful engineers use critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, mathematical reasoning, and persistence to understand problems, evaluate ideas, and develop effective solutions. Engineering also requires a willingness to experiment, learn from failure, and improve designs. These skills can be developed through hands-on experiences and are valuable not only in engineering, but across many academic and professional fields.

1. Engineers work to solve global problems such as world hunger, clean water, protecting the environment and improving the quality of everyday life.
2. Engineering allows you to use your creativity every day.
3. Engineering gives you the chance to collaborate with other professionals such as lawyers, doctors, government officials, scientists, statisticians and more.
4. Engineering is a global endeavor, frequently affording the opportunity for travel.
5. Engineers have the opportunity for rapid advancement in their companies.
6. Engineers frequently have a high level of responsibility and autonomy in their positions.
7. Engineering salaries remain high.
8. Engineering degrees provide excellent preparation for other professional degrees such as medicine, law or business.
9. While working as a scientist frequently requires advanced degrees, engineers are very employable with a bachelor’s degree.
10. Engineering has more impact on the world than any other profession.

1. Computer Science High School Internship Program