How to find "your" ideal area in Engineering?

[mika-ella]

Hi!

I am planning to apply masters program in Engineering this year. The question is I do not know which engineering area is interesting me. Now I am studying at 3rd year and majoring at B.Eng. in Construction and Civil Engineering. To be more detailed, my specialization will be translated into English as "Manufacturing of building materials, products and structures", so it is closely to Materials Science.

Today I searched some universities in Canada and find that Civil Engineering is divided to another specialist as Transportation, Mining, Environmental, etc Engineering and this information made me confused.

At high school and first course I was very interested in Chemistry, but then I was interested in Construction Materials, and now I do not know what to choose. If someone can help with that please, give me some advice. Thank you!

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

On 5/26/2019 at 10:23 PM, mika-ella said:

Hi!

I am planning to apply masters program in Engineering this year. The question is I do not know which engineering area is interesting me. Now I am studying at 3rd year and majoring at B.Eng. in Construction and Civil Engineering. To be more detailed, my specialization will be translated into English as "Manufacturing of building materials, products and structures", so it is closely to Materials Science.

Today I searched some universities in Canada and find that Civil Engineering is divided to another specialist as Transportation, Mining, Environmental, etc Engineering and this information made me confused.

At high school and first course I was very interested in Chemistry, but then I was interested in Construction Materials, and now I do not know what to choose. If someone can help with that please, give me some advice. Thank you!

Well, the thing about engineering is how interdisciplinary all of it is. They are all connected in one way or another. However, of course, you will learn specific and different things in each one. So, when you are trying to decide on what you want to do, first think about your interests in general not based on the engineering fields, themselves. Then combine those interests to see what engineering fields fit them. You will have to look into the fields themselves to see what they focus on more and decide from there which curriculum you like better.

For example, I like biology, chemistry, polymers, most materials science, biomaterials, math, and some physics. I like them all on their own, but especially like them together. When I combine them, I could either do chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, or materials science/engineering. However, I chose materials science/engineering at my undergrad degree because I liked the focus it had on chemistry, physics, and materials. However, I have decided to choose biomedical engineering for my PhD because it has more of an empathize on biology, polymers, and biomaterials while still being to focus on materials science, and chemistry. I never chose to do chemical engineering because even though I could combine all of my interests in this field, the work in it was too focused on the chemical side of things rather the materials and biology sides (which I like more). I also didn't do mechanical engineering because it had too much physics for my liking.

I hope this helps and make sense. It is kind of like putting a puzzle together. Good luck!