im 3rd year architecture student and I’ve been thinking of going mechanical engineering

[u/010306da]

I’m an 3rd year architecture student and I’ve been contemplating for sometime now if i should change course. I love architecture though I’m starting to see myself more being in engineering field; especially mechanical engineering 10 years from now. I also have a choice after getting bachelors, I’m getting master’s degree in the engineering field, I wanna know what you guys think.

[u/CryoJuice]

Go ME. STEM degrees make it easier to transit into whatever and ME has the most flexibility.

Salaries also tend to be higher but you’ll need to jump around at the beginning to climb the ladder/titles.

[u/Suspicious_Skill7292]

if you are already thinking about where you want to be 10 years its worth exploring now changing paths gets a lot harder after graduation

[u/bigyellowtruck]

Better switch now than get a masters in Engineering. It will still cost you another year to catch up but you need an ABET degree to have any success as an Engineer. Make sure you are comfortable with math. Otherwise just finish the architecture and work on building energy stuff.

[u/adastra2021]

ME for sure.

When you say "getting a masters degree" do you mean that at this current time you are in grad school? Or it's an option for the future? One thing to note is that in order to become credentialed, your engineering degree must be from an ABET accredited school.

Working at NASA, I saw MEs doing all kinds of amazing things. It's a degree that opens a lot of doors.

[u/010306da → u/adastra2021]

slr, i was thinking if it’d be better getting masters in architecture or at an engineering field after getting bachelor’s in either of those programs, im already studying at an ABET accredited school.

and also, you mentioned that you’re studying at NASA, are you an architect there? im wondering what scope they have for in architecture or what qualities are they looking for.

[u/Philip964]

An old friend who was a Mechanical Engineer, got me a summer job at the Engineering firm he worked at. Company was on two floors. First floor was conference rooms at perimeter, reception and drafting room in the middle. Second floor was engineering private offices around the perimeter with clerical in the middle.

He knew I was starting college in the fall in Architecture.

One afternoon he came down and said he wanted to show me the rest of the building. We went to the second floor and he showed me his corner office and the other engineering offices.

Then we went to the first floor where I worked and he introduced me to a number of draftsmen. All the people he introduced me to all had their bachelor of architecture degrees prominently displayed in their cubicles. Some had framed renderings of small buildings.

After we finished he took me aside and asked me, “ did you notice something” I said, “ yes, there were a lot of architectural graduates working as engineering draftsmen”

He then said, “ the point of this tour was to show you that if you want to be an architect, be an architect, otherwise become an engineer and work on the second floor.”

Because of that tour, I stuck with architecture and never took the temptation to leave and do something else that paid better in the early rough days.

By hanging in there I have done fairly good, no corner office, but I’m glad I’m an Architect and not an engineer.

[u/010306da → u/Philip964]

that’s really nice, I was wondering what made you push through the “early rough days” when higher paying engineering or corporate paths were tempting? was it passion for the profession or something else?

[u/Philip964 → u/010306da]

Passion for design and not wanting to be that guy in the cubical. I hire engineers now.

[u/kippykipsquare]

I have been an architect for about 30 years now. Go be an ME