So I'm not really sure if this question is even answerable, but I'm going to ask it anyway

In terms of research, quality of teaching, curriculum content, overall reputation, and job opportunities available at the end of the degree, which engineering stream do you think is the "best"? Or are they all kinda the same?

I'm by no means going to select my second year program based on these answers, but I just wanted to know the general opinion

well the main ideas that come to mind when someone says eng relates to civil/mechanical/elec. in terms of job opps, these fields prob have the most since they are the biggest but hvae the most competition. imo, (and some other relatives in eng field) say civil is dying since there is like no place to build. however one can argue that more buildings are being torn down/rebuilt and with the current canadian economic action plan. i think the safest thing to do is prob elec

Lol. Let's clarify this.

If you're asking because you want to go into the stream with the most credibility, you're headed down the wrong path. I flip flopped every day when I was choosing, but I never, ever asked "What's going to get me the most money, What's the most credible here, What's easiest to get into". It's about the material you like.

That said, I'm in Civil now. And Civil is not an engineering stream that requires open land in order for it to be an employable stream. Civil engineering is involved in every construction project you see. The day Civil dies/begins to slow down is the day that all construction ceases to exist. And Civil is involved in everything structural, and environmental. Again, Civil Engineering will become only LESS relevant if humans literally STOPPED construction, and gave up trying to treat the water you drink and flush away. I say "less" relevant because Civil engineers would still be needed to MAINTAIN all of this stuff. Who do you think reapproves bridges, watermains, and more, every few years? I'll give you a hint: It's not PeeWee Herman.

No offence to many first years: Lots of love from me. But many first year engineers will stereotype the streams SIGNIFICANTLY, to the point that they get it very, very wrong. So look for upper year input. Sure, we still stereotype other streams a bit, but we'll tell you the accurate information about the stream we're in.

Don't worry. I'm not going to make that decision based on this I was just wondering because I noticed a lot of universities usually have one or two engineering streams they're well known for. I was wondering what people thought Mac was well known for

But then again, you can't really blame first years for generalizing and stereotyping streams. We don't really know what's what until we get there -________- But thanks for replying

Probably BioMed since mcmaster is known for sciences and medical

Its not possible to classify which stream is "best". It all depends on the person. Like Mike went into civil, I went into tron because we both thought the stream we were going into was the best for us.

Liking biomed so far.. it combines computery thingies with biology basically, but theres still lots of math... elect eng would have been my 2nd choice.

You need to pick what YOU'RE INTERESTED IN. Not what's "the best" because at the end of the day, they're all equivalent.
I know you've probably had a ton of people tell you that you should study what interests you:
If you have, LISTEN TO THEM.
If you haven't, them I'm tell you now, study what you enjoy doing.

So my thesis was confirmed: this question is not answerable.

Sad face :(

But since you are all here anyway, I'll tell you I was thinking of choosing between tron and E&B Eng because I like the idea of integrating different disciplines together. E&B was kinda random actually considering I've never taken a single Biology course in my life. But for some reason, the application just seem really really interesting :) So are the science courses you would have to take in E&B manageable if you've never taken them in high school?

Yes, its managable...

From what I've heard based on your question of "what's the best stream" I'd say electrical and biomedical eng. I'm pretty sure it's specific to McMaster University and I've also heard it is one of the streams with the most opportunities.
However, as many others have said do what interests you, unless you're a robot who doesn't care what they're doing and will do the work no matter what

I like sanitation engineering but you have to wade through alot of crap before graduating.




pun intended.

Originally Posted by cypher

So I'm not really sure if this question is even answerable, but I'm going to ask it anyway

Originally Posted by cypher

In terms of research, quality of teaching, curriculum content, overall reputation, and job opportunities available at the end of the degree, which engineering stream do you think is the "best"? Or are they all kinda the same?

I'm by no means going to select my second year program based on these answers, but I just wanted to know the general opinion

My impression based on my research (which includes talking to profs in other Universities) is that:

- Undergraduate Eng. degree is equal as long as it is accredited. Don't worry about reputation/research/etc because it doesn't matter in Undergraduate.

- If you want to enter Biomedical field, you need at least a Master (Ph.D prefer - This assume you want to do research and not be merely a technician setting up equipments). As long as you aren't doing something like Civil, you can enter Biomedical branch from any discipline. It is after all, merely applying engineering concepts into the medical field. In this field, University of Toronto (1st pacemaker was tested here) would actually be a better choice comparing to McMaster (Once you finish your undergrad and start applying for master)

Jobs opportunity is relative on location. Where do you want to work? Wanting to stay in Hamilton would have a drastic different answer than wanting to work in Toronto. Certain fields barely exist in Canada all together (like Biomedical).

This question is not easy to answer. I would suggest you to use Government of Canada Career Information website. It has information like current wages, future outlook, etc. It will be more accurate than the type of answer you are getting here.

I did a sample search for Civil Engineering job in Hamilton just to show you.

http://www.workingincanada.g c.ca/r...play=outlo ok

Originally Posted by cypher

So my thesis was confirmed: this question is not answerable.

Originally Posted by cypher

Sad face :(

But since you are all here anyway, I'll tell you I was thinking of choosing between tron and E&B Eng because I like the idea of integrating different disciplines together. E&B was kinda random actually considering I've never taken a single Biology course in my life. But for some reason, the application just seem really really interesting So are the science courses you would have to take in E&B manageable if you've never taken them in high school?

Originally Posted by RyanC

Yes, its managable...

Noticed the elipsis? Everything is manageable. The University is not going to create a course where everyone fail. But E&B, when compare to other courses, are intense. Studying for Biology isn't the same as studying for Physic.

Im like a bird i wanna fly away, i dont know where my home is

duh dummm duh dummmmm

Thanks so much for you help! What do you mean Biomedical doesn't exist in Canada? So I haven't been on top of any research on this, but I thought it was a new and growing field in Canada?