By Brenda Ward
Is someone in your family thinking of majoring in engineering? Many young people are. In fact, enrollment in undergraduate engineering programs reached its highest point in 10 years, a 54% increase since 2008!
And why not? Engineering is a great major. Engineers are in demand and earn good salaries right out of college. There are many branches of engineering and many kinds of engineers. Some engineers focus on design and are creative and innovative; other engineers enjoy project management where they put their collaborative and communication skills to work. Engineers enjoy good working environments, too, and can make life/work balance a priority.
Engineering isn’t for everybody, however. In fact, as a major, engineering has a very high attrition rate, with some sites reporting that only 60% of undergraduate students who start in the major graduate in it. The curriculum is challenging. Required math, science, and engineering courses take up about 90% of the student’s schedule, leaving only about one elective per semester. And while right-out-of-college salaries are high, a Harvard study noted that engineering salaries fall by 50% after the first decade out of college as other majors are catching up and exceeding the average earnings of engineers.
How do students know if engineering is right for them? A great place to learn more about studying engineering is right in our neighborhood—the College of Engineering at UW-Madison. The College offers many outreach opportunities for high school students (you can find a listing of them HERE) as well as College-specific academic information sessions (you can register for them HERE). The College outlines all of its engineering majors and careers on this web page. Students looking at the selective engineering programs, should minimally plan on taking AP Calculus AB and AP science courses, including physics. The most selective engineering programs often recommend SAT Subject Tests in Math II and a science.
There are many curricular and program options for engineers: Big research universities are not the only option for pursuing a major in engineering. Students should research a variety of program options before deciding which college is right for them. Here are some colleges (not a comprehensive list), organized by type, to kick-start the research:
- Big, Research Universities with Doctorate programs:
UC-Berkeley, UCLA, University of Texas, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Colorado, Colorado State, University of Maryland, Penn State, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Washington, and many more…
- Ivies or Universities with Ivy-ish Admission Rates:
Cornell, Stanford, Penn, Columbia, Duke, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon…
- Universities that focus on STEM/technology/engineering:
MIT, Cal Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Michigan Tech, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Purdue, Olin, Colorado School of Mines, Embry Riddle, Rochester Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Harvey Mudd, Cooper Union, Rose Hulman Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology, Kettering…
- Medium-Size Universities with Engineering Programs:
Case Western, Vanderbilt, Washington University, Gonzaga, Marquette, Santa Clara, Tufts, Tulane, St. Thomas, Lehigh, Bucknell, Boston University, Miami of Ohio, Villanova…
- Small Colleges (less than 5,000 students) with Engineering Programs:
Calvin, Lafayette, Swarthmore, Union, Valparaiso, Smith, Hope, Farleigh Dickinson, Trinity…
- Military Academies and Military Prep Colleges:
West Point, US Naval Academy, US Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, Virginia Military Institute, The Citadel…
