Bachelors in Civil Engineering is killing me, help please.... 16

[pra713]

I am in a situation right now and I blame myself for it. I want some advice on this matter....

I am in about to complete my fourth semester in Civil Engineering Bachelors. It's not a subject of choice, I went into it because of my parents. Again I can't stress this enough, I blame myself... But in my defense, the place where I live, it's very common. The subject of my choice would be computer programming or something similar.

I am good at computers, and I am fairly good at Maths. I am a fairly bright student, or at least I used to be. In my first semester, I had the highest grades in my class but now it is going down, I am barely managing to keep up. I think the main reason is that I hardly have any interest or motivation in Civil Engineering. I am hardly being able to grab the concepts. So far, I hate Hydraulics because it's so empirical and I hate soil and foundation engineering even more. The only subject I can at least stand is the Structural Engineering part. But I am only in my fourth semester.

I like programming and I want to incorporate it with Civil Engineering. My grades are falling. I have a feeling I am going to hit rock bottom soon unless I find some kind of motivation to drive me forward. I spend my free time trying to learn programming on my own. I know C and FORTRAN because they were in my first semester. I am learning C++ on my own and I think I am doing fairly well. I am about to start learning Java. Is this a good idea? Am I wasting my time trying to learn programming just because I love it and am good at it? Am I wasting my time with Civil Engineering? Can I keep working on my programming while learning Civil Engineering? Is there any way I can incorporate my programming knowledge with Civil Engineering and make a living out of it?

Right now, my plan is to finish my bachelors in Civil Engineering, which means 2 more years and then giving Civil Engineering a try. If I fail, I will go into programming. Is this a stupid idea? There is no way to go for Masters in Computer Engineering or Computer Science after finishing bachelors in Civil, is there? Will it be too late if I finish Bachelors in Civil Engineering and find out that it's not something I can spend my entire life doing? Will there still be time to switch to Programming? Is this a really stupid question to ask??

I am really confused. Again, I have only myself to blame. But now that I am in this situation, I don't know what to do. So can anyone please help me and give me some good advice??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zdas04]

Its your life. You (most probably) only get one. Spending it doing work that you hate is a really silly way to go through it. I love what I do. I get up every morning thinking about how I'm going to approach the next challenge. If I didn't I would change careers (I've done that three times so far).

"Programming" is an interesting concept these days. When I started in 1980, the only people who wrote code were serious programmers. Today the tools have gotten so powerful that everyone is doing it. I don't know many Engineers who have not written some amount of code. A friend of my son's just graduated from MIT with a Computer Science degree and is having hell finding a job, and the things that are being advertised don't pay much. I know 9 computer programming languages and use the one that makes the most sense to the task at hand. That makes me more effective as an Engineer. I say that learning programming is a very useful skill, but unless you are able to write tools (like operating systems) then it is a crappy career.

If you find the subject matter of Civil boring and tedious, then get the hell out of it. As a sophomore, most of what you've done so far would apply to other Engineering disciplines, much of it would apply to Arts & Sciences disciplines, some would apply to business school.

I often tell people who are trying to make similar decisions to spend some time reading the threads in eng-tips.com. Look at the ME topics and see if you get excited by HVAC, Thermo, Fluids, or Devices. See if you can follow the discussions (mostly you will be able to). Then do the same in EE, ChemE, Petroleum, etc. When you start seeing thread titles that make you say "I was wondering about that" or "THAT is how you do that" then you've probably found where home should be. There is a sister site to eng-tips.com called tek-tips.com that is all about programming stuff. Do the same thing over there. Find somewhere that would make you excited to go to class.

As to your question about getting an MS in some other discipline with a BSCE, basically that is no problem at all. In my MSME program about half of my class had undergraduate degrees in other disciplines (your graduate adviser will look at your transcript and identify deficiencies that you have to satisfy prior to starting graduate classes, for example my adviser made me take Fluids and Controls, 6 semester hours).

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

 

[rb1957]

you're driving the car. you can drive yourself or have a chauffeur. if your parents are footing the bill, tell them how you feel and that you want to change your subject.

do you see how you'd apply progamming to civ. eng ? the better you understand your destination, the better chance of actually getting there (if it exists).

if you like structures, i'd've thought that soil mechanics would've been attractive too, describing the strcuture supporting the building ? (but then what the heck do i know about soil mechanics ??)

 

[zelgar]

I think you should think about the following:
1. Is civil engineering what you want to do for the rest of your life. Take a career test and see if your interest lie elsewhere. There may be another field in engineering where your interest lie.
2. Have a serious talk with your parents. They really want what's best for you and don't want to force you into a field that you hate. They may have hopes and expectations, but in the end they should want you to be happy and interested in your career.
3. Remember that most engineering fields have multiple disiplines. Depending on your school, Civil Engineering may include Structures, Hydraulics, Geotechnical, Environmental, Construction and Material engineering. Even though you'll need to take the "core" course for Civil engineering, your interest may still lie in civil engineering.
4. Finally, if you plan to stay in CE, think about getting copies of Lindeburg's books from Professional Publications (e.g., CE Reference Manual, EIT Reference Manual) These books are good reference books for an engineer as they consolidate a lot of information and have some examples on their application.

Whatever you do, good luck.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I strongly suggest you do WHAT you want - otherwise you will be miserable!!

That said - I got my CE and PE and had a minor in computer science and have done BOTH for almost 40 years!! Been very happy. I have written many structural engineering programs!!!

 

[djs]

Try electrical engineering. Embeded electronics is all about programming. However it is a multi disipline activity, you need to know how to design circuits and also how to program computers. Also as a ophmore changing majors should not be a problem.

 

[KENAT]

When selecting a career path you need to balance at least 2 potentially conflicting requirements:

1. Earn enough money to keep you in what you consider an acceptable life style.
2. Make sure the method of making that money doesn't make you so miserable it impacts your health and well being etc.

You don't necessarily have to have a job you love 100% of the time day in day out, and you can potentially compensate for some job deficiencies by picking up hobbies or other interests to compensate.

Not sure that helps you but wanted to be a bit more grounded than the Oprah style 'live your dream' cr*p some people seem to have in their heads. For the people that get to do that great, and if you can good on you.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[FixedEarth]

There is some cultural issues here. Go to your parents & tell them you respect them but you have a chance this month to switch from civil engineering to computer engineering. But next semester, because of poor grades, you will be kicked out of university and have to sell newspapers by the bus depot. Close with "Mom and Dad, what do you recommend I do now before it is too late?" If this doesn't work bring in your allies- all the relatives that side with you & ask them to explain it to your parents. Good luck.

 

[rb1957]

"Mom and Dad, what do you recommend I do now before it is too late?"
"i recommend that you work harder you lazy ..."

 

[kylesito]

The software field of Civil Engineering, particularly Structural Engineering, is exploding. There is a huge future in continuing to develop the programs we structural guys now use routinely. And companies like RISA and Bentley pride themselves on having licensed/educated engineers on their staff...I can't tell you how awesome it is to call up one of them for support and find out they actually have a background in what you are trying to do.

I'm just suggesting that it doesn't have to be inclusive/exclusive. You should definately listen to your own desires though and do what makes you happy. If you do enjoy some of the structural stuff though and still want to do programming...there may be a future applying one to the other.

On another note, I hated my time in school and struggled as well. I tried many ways to get out of CE including the military and teaching. In the end, I decided it was better to have a degree in engineering under my belt no matter what profession I ended up in. Now, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. The real world of being an engineer is not the same as a student. I enjoy working much more than I ever thought I would as a student.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[MrHershey]

Could definitely look at combining the two. Structural analysis software is pretty huge right now. You have to know mechanics/dynamics of structures and you have to know coding. Way over my head, but can make a great living doing it and if you really love it, there's nothing better. I enjoy coding and I enjoy structural engineering, but the nitty gritty of the mechanics was just a bit much for me.

I have bachelor's/master's in Civil Engineering (structural) and hated hydraulics and soils too. So you're not alone. Civil's a huge field and there will be parts you hate and parts you don't hate. I couldn't imagine doing hydrology or designing pavements for a living. Yet my degree would seem to suggest I'm competent enough to do so. It's a huge field, just have to find your niche. And if you don't find it, do something else.

 

[pra713]

Thank you all so much for your replies. To be completely honest I'm still not sure what I am going to do. But I have come to a few conclusions:
1. I am going to talk to my parents at the end of this semester and see what they have to say. I don't think they will be comfortable with me giving up now. Let me see how much I can convince them and how much they are going to support me...
2. Like zdas04 said, programming can be a "crappy career". That is one of my concerns. Mainly because of where I live. Here civil engineering is more of a secure career path in terms of job opportunities. As Kenat says, job should also be about earning enough money to be able to keep an acceptable life style.
Thus my dilemma is that if I quit now, I am giving up a promising career path or a relatively insecure one. Also in my country, civil engineers generally have higher salary than computer (strange I guess, but that's just how it is....).
3. As many of you pointed out, civil engineering is a broad subject. Most of all, kylesito's reply has given me some hope. I have no idea what Civil Engineering as a profession is going to be like. Since I have already completed two years of it, I still don't feel secure giving it us now. Making a career out of what you love is surely the dream, but staying grounded, I have consider the negatives as well. Giving up what I have for what I love sounds good but it is equally scary....

My main question right now is how practical is it for me to think that I will have enough time to change my profession after completing my BE? If I decide to try out what Civil Engineering will be like a profession, how much will life limit me in my choices?

Also learning that I can choose another Engineering field for Masters after completing BSCE is particularly comforting. I am still now sure what I am going to do, but I am getting a better perspective at things.

 

[MrHershey]

Lots of people go through school and come out on the other realizing they don't want to do what their degree qualifies them to do. Those people then go get a PhD or a Master's or an Associate's or a certificate or whatever you need. It's not a big deal. Happens way more than you'd think. Hell, half the professors I had in school were only professors because they got out of school and figured out they hated doing consulting work.

 

[rb1957]

maybe "consulting" in the previous post (2nd last word) is redundant ?

 

[kylesito]

Seems like you have a tough choice but at least a good idea of where to start...

I would also add the fact that Civil Engineering (or any engineering) is not a bad degree to have. Most people respect the rigors associated with getting it and the background in math, science, and problem solving skills transfers very well to most other professions. Many people I graduated with never worked a day of real engineering work but have gone on to be very successful because they had a engineering degree in their resume.




PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[MiketheEngineer]

And if you have only completed 2 years - you have barely touched the real Engineering courses.

 

[beej67]

Run screaming from Civil Engineering, particularly if you are savvy at computer code.

My wife and I both have masters degrees from top 5 engineering universities in the United States, and our *combined* salary, in our mid 30s, is less than my old college roommate who dropped out and started working for a software company. Civil Engineering is for suckers. Tell your parents they're dumb for steering you into it. If I wasn't 15 years into my career, I'd abandon it and learn Oracle or something.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[Twoballcane]

I beg to differ. There may be exceptions or your friend is in the top 10% of the pay scale for his industry as a programmer. However programmers make on average $71,380 per year where Civil Engineers make $77,560 per year which is a delta of about $6000. Which is not a huge gap, however, due to the dot com bubble bursting there are a lot of people out there you may have to compete with. And, new software and systems come out every year, so for you to stay viable for employment you have to keep abreast of new technology and how to use it, which may mean constant training on your own time. Also, you don’t really need a degree to become a programmer, so you may be competing with very smart high school graduates. Also, from my observation, the salary has been on the negative slope since the dot com bubble bursting which led to a lot of people in the same industry trying to work with less companies still existing, and more are coming in.

Source:
Computer Programmer:

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm

Civil Engineering: http: //

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"

 

[Twoballcane]

Also to add that prediction for job growth for Programmers is 12% where as for Civil Engineering is 19%. It is starting to look like the Programmers may want to become CE.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"

 

[beej67]

Don't know if you've heard or not, but there's been another bubble since the dot com bubble, and it hurt civil engineers more than the dot com thing hurt programmers.



Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com