Edward Chiao Chiao is a third-year
electrical engineering student and Daily Bruin Senior Staff. E-mail
him at echiao@media.ucla.edu. Click Here
for more articles by Edward Chiao
Attention all engineering students: stay in your major and get
your degree ““ whether you like it or not. Don’t let
anything stand in your way. It’s by far the most practical
major around, and 10 years from now, you’ll be glad you were
in college studying William Shockley’s transistors instead of
William Shakespeare’s sonnets.
However, most engineering students don’t care to look 10
years ahead. Instead, they only see the countless number of
“weeder” courses they must take and become discouraged
by their first “C.” With these hurdles on their path to
graduation, it’s no wonder why the majority of engineers
become uninspired by their classes or don’t think they have
what it takes to stay in their major.
Last fall, 2,707 undergraduate students were enrolled in the
Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, but only
three out of five students will make it to graduation in four years
““ if at all. SEAS students make up nearly 11 percent of the
undergraduate student body at the start of each year, but they
account for less than 6.5 percent of the total graduating class.
This means engineering students are either dropping out of school
or switching out of their major in droves ““ talk to any
economics or biology student and there’s a good chance they
used to be an engineer.
But don’t listen to these defectors if they tell you
engineering is “too technical” and
“unfulfilling,” or “you should do what you
like.” You tell them to stuff it. With all due respect,
they’re just jealous you can cut it and they can’t. If
engineering were easy, they’d still be in the major. It may
be too late for these econ and bio students, but those in the major
who are still struggling to keep their head above 3.0 must resist
the urge to change majors, no matter how enticing “Management
1A” may look.
Let these deserters take their management and accounting courses
““ you can get your engineering degree now and still study
business in graduate school. In fact, The Anderson School at UCLA
accepts more engineering graduates than any other major.
Twenty-four percent of Anderson’s graduating class are
engineering majors ““ 4 percent higher than undergraduate
business majors and 5 percent higher than economics majors. This is
because graduate schools understand the intensity of the
engineering discipline and tend to place a high value on students
who can demonstrate the ability to think and analyze critically and
quantitatively.
And the value of an engineering degree doesn’t just stop
with graduate schools. Engineering graduates have more
opportunities to find jobs that offer intellectual development, and
often times, your work has profound social impact. And don’t
forget about your financial security.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
estimated in 2000 the average starting salary for electrical
engineering graduates was $50,086. Accounting majors averaged
$40,747, while liberal arts graduates averaged $33,305.
NACE also found that 85.2 percent of employers say there simply
aren’t enough engineers to go around. So while male engineers
may not be in high demand with the ladies, it’s still nice to
know companies are knocking at the door with fists full of
money.
This windfall doesn’t have to come by way of working
inside of a clean room for the rest of your life, either. Contrary
to popular belief, most engineers don’t work in labs testing
silicon wafers all day. Instead, they can do anything from
designing buildings and medical equipment to developing wireless
technologies to improve cell phones.
Even if you don’t ever want to think about Maxwell’s
equations ever again, there is still good reason to have the
degree. The reason is, engineers have the freedom to do just about
anything they choose. The beauty of engineering is that it’s
not limited to only circuits and test tubes ““ it’s
about applying the principles of math and science with common logic
to create things that benefit people. There are no boundaries to
engineering, and there will be no other time in your life when you
have the opportunity ““ with the mutual support of peers your
age taking classes with you ““ to learn this discipline.
I bet Leonardo De Vinci, Jimmy Carter, Boris Yeltsin, Neil
Armstrong and Lee Iacocca were sure glad they were engineers at one
point in their lives.
Hardly lab rats if you ask me. Engineers can become artists,
astronauts, businessmen and politicians, but it doesn’t work
the other way around. Ask a history major to solve a differential
equation and he’ll scratch his head.
History students and those who switched out of engineering may
find their new majors more interesting. But for you uninterested
and struggling engineering students, keep your goals in sight
(after all, our counselors and professors aren’t much help
there). There is light at the end of the 200-unit tunnel, so
don’t quit now. Finish what you started.
I’ll see you in class.