So, i need some help picking an engineering stream. Marks wise, I shouldn't have a problem getting into any stream, but interests wise I have no idea what to do.

I like physics 1d03 (the mechanics/kinematics course), but not 1e03 (electricity and magnetism).
I liked materials eng, but didn't enjoy chemistry.
I wasn't a fan of the c03 or programming courses. I liked doing the programming, but not memorizing oddly specific facts about the way computers handle numbers. I liked using Inventor, but not doing the drawing. I'm not a huge fan of math, but don't mind it and do well in it.

So far I'm leaning towards materials because I enjoyed the materials class the most, but am worried about the level of chemistry in it. I was also looking at electrical, but am worried I won't like it because I didn't enjoy 1e03 at all.

Any help is appreciated!

Sounds like Civil, or Mechanical field. Materials is also applicable, but the field itself is dying out. Tron is not for you, as it's mostly circuits and programming with a fistful of mechanical.

So if I went into materials I would have a hard time finding a job?

Not necessarily, this is university, if you make something out of yourself during the years here you will get a job in no time. But if you look at the grad pictures, you will see that the number of students graduating from the materials department drops.

Materials is dying? Didnt know humans are switching away to 'non-materials'.

Job availability is proportional to the number of people in the field. If there are a third as many matls engineers as there are mechanical engineers, they'll probably be 1/3 as many jobs. So yes, there are less mateials jobs, but the job availability will be comparable. I know it just seems like i'm defending my faculty, but i dont think i'll have that many problems finding a job. I already have a summer research job through materials thanks to my profs (which they are more than happy to get you a job if you just ask), and just like in any faculty if you graduate with a lot of co-op experience and things on your resume it makes it leagues easier to find a steady job after graduation.


What type of chem do you not like? In materials you do the most thermo out of any faculty, so you better not hate that haha. Or you can be like 95% (or 99%, lets be real here) of the materials kids that hate that stuff too, but they just man-up and try to survive it.

What i would recommend is to look up the courses you'd take in 2nd, 3rd and 4th (and 5th if you're doing a minor) and see the courses and see if they'd interest you.
http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...13/pg1220.html

Woah, no need to bite my head off. I just said that the number is going down. If it is going down then the field is dying. I didn't say you won't be able to get a job, or that all the jobs will disappear. I said if you make something of yourself, you will find a job with ease. You did something of yourself, and got a job, good for you. Also remember metallurgical engineering? It is gone, doesn't mean humanity stopped using metals and the metallurgical job market collapsed.

I wasn't really a fan of chemistry in general. I'm very interested in how things work, but find the "classify this reaction", "name this molecule" stuff to be quite boring. I enjoyed going to class and learning the topics, but not so much the homework they gave. I found the enthalpy, entropy type of stuff to be really confusing and didnt really like it, but still got a B with very little effort (didn't do any homework, no tutorials, studied for tests day before/day of). However, the chem prof also curved our tests to increase the average, so I'm not totally sure what grade I actually deserved.

Would you say matls 1m03 is an accurate picture of what you do in later years, or is it a lot more chemistry?

Thanks to everyone for helping btw!

Lulz.

Materials is not dying out. Numbers are not going down. If you like materials, you will have no problem with it.

I don't know how to say this without sounding offensive, because MrPlinkett has taken such a stance on the matter that I have to completely contradict.

Materials Engineering can be whatever you want it to be, and is probably one of the most wide open fields! You could go into the field of plastics, or metals, and be useful in the production or extraction of these materials. Or there's micro- and nano-technologies which are a component of the Materials stream: Go into the production, manufacturing, research and/or development in these fields. Or you could go towards even more eng-phys-y stuff like photovoltaics or nuclear fields. That's not to say Eng Phys, or another field might not be better to get you into those lines of work, but a Materials Engineer could very easily be hired by companies doing all of these kinds of work.

Here's my question to you though: What have you heard from upper year students? What have you learned from extra-curriculars? You've had a whole 8 months here now: What did you take away from the opportunities in your spare time? That's how many people end up choosing their stream.

"Here's my question to you though: What have you heard from upper year students? What have you learned from extra-curriculars? You've had a whole 8 months here now: What did you take away from the opportunities in your spare time? That's how many people end up choosing their stream."

Part of my problem is that I didn't really do any extra curriculars. I really regret this now, and am already trying to get more involved in clubs and things for next year, but as far as this past year goes I was a bit of a shut-in. Too many videogames, not enough doing worth while stuff.

I did do a bit of programming in python (made a webcomic scraper) and ive done some circuit design using logic gates (designed a punchcode lock on the computer) for no reason other than I found it interesting. As far as classes, I found materials the most interesting but am worried there's a disconnect between the level of chemistry that seems applicable in 1m03, and the amount you actually do in upper years.

If you love materials and think you will do there better than anywhere else, then take it. Like I said, just because the amount of students is low, doesn't mean its bad. You can still succeed there.

Plus its better to get A+ in program that you like, than C- elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Injekt

Part of my problem is that I didn't really do any extra curriculars. I really regret this now, and am already trying to get more involved in clubs and things for next year, but as far as this past year goes I was a bit of a shut-in. Too many videogames, not enough doing worth while stuff.

The regret part is what gets me. Every year, hundreds of people say this. I don't comprehend it. It's beyond me how anyone could go 8 months with hundreds of amazing, cool, interesting opportunities being shoved in their face. This result, the lack of experience and ability to decide your way forward in engineering, is repeated YEAR. after YEAR. 'A fool learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise man learns from the mistakes of others'

Anyways... That's not helping you I guess, since you must decide what you will study for the rest of your University degree, and then ultimately what field you would work in. You can at least make a slightly educated guess by saying "Materials because I like it". You could then use the next couple months to try and make amends for the past 8 months, and try to meet people in these different streams, talk to some professors if they will give you the time, and then talk to the academic adviser to see if they can switch you into another stream if you find something more suitable (if your marks are good enough as you suggest).

The summer is a tough time to get involved, but you might get lucky. Depends where you live too: In Hamilton, you might find some engineering people still hanging around and doing stuff. Just don't continue making the mistake of shutting in. That's all.

In my experience, first year courses do not reflect the streams they are supposed to represent AT ALL. 1E03 doesn't give you a good look at electrical, for instance. The only thing that's an accurate depiction, in my opinion, is the math courses. Engineering is such a massive field, you should have gone to the careers/stream info nights..

You're here to choose what you want to do for the rest of your life, you should be researching your options. Most people choose their stream at a whim, many not liking it or find themselves gravitating to other types of things during the years or even post-grad. You can play video games or just generally dick around with nothing, but if you're not getting involved, you're not really making much use of your university years...

For the summer... pick up a hobby, learn something, try to get in with a few of the clubs (at least one!) or at least make some money... you should honestly take a look right here for things that interest you, because for a lot of people, club involvement (or not) has made or broken the whole university experience for people.

As ryan says, the point of first year is to shed some light on some stuff you encounter but doesn't have to impact your decision. If you love electrical but didn't like 1e03 electrical can still be good for you unless you know you hate that stuff.

To your criteria I'd say Mech/civil/software

Originally Posted by Leeoku

To your criteria I'd say Mech/civil/software

I'd remove software from that list for this guy (not only because it doesn't fit his requirements, but also because it's a shitty program). Mech too since he says he doesn't like sketching. Civil sounds about right.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I'd remove software from that list for this guy (not only because it doesn't fit his requirements, but also because it's a shitty program). Mech too since he says he doesn't like sketching. Civil sounds about right.

Seriously? Its my first pick.