Is this really what I want to do?

msuitepyon

So, for the past 3 years, I've been attending Georgia Tech in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering program. It started out okay, but it feels like the luster is gone. My grades have steadily declined to a 2.92 (out of 4.0) which consequently has lost me a very important scholarship (which knocks around $7000 off the out-of-state tuition). Right now I'm taking two classes as a part-time student because that's all I can afford. I tried finding a part-time job during this semester, because, hey, I've got the time. After hundreds of applications (may or may not be hyperbole, I can't remember anymore), I got two calls, one interview, and no job. This has led to me asking for money from my parents (who aren't well-off themselves) and my fiancée. I feel like I'm leeching off of them, making me depressed and/or agitated which has led to some rather heated arguments with the aforementioned fiancée.

Now, next semester, I'm working as a co-operative education student for a nuclear operating company in Birmingham, AL. I've worked 2 terms before with the same company at a different location (nuclear power plant before, corporate office now). Let's just say these work terms haven't been too rewarding. I've always ended up depressed and spent damn near all of the money I made. Part of the problem there was being stranded in a podunk town in the middle of nowhere.

My fiancée and I were sitting down for dinner talking about money. I don't know what sparked it, but suddenly I was wondering if being a nuclear engineer is really what I want to do.

My dad and uncle (who coincidentally got me looking into nuclear engineering) are gearheads: they enjoy a fine automobile. My dad had a mid-70s Porsche 911 that he imported from Germany while he was there that he adored (and unfortunately sold) and longs for again. My uncle used to race Porsche 914 and motorcycles and currently has an Audi TT that has had a lot of performance work done to it. The two of them next May are going to be riding the Tail of the Dragon with a bunch of other Audi enthusiasts. I was introduced to a big world of cars and racing.

Since then, I've loved driving and working on cars. I've done brake jobs, belt jobs, oil changes, air conditioning repair, tune ups, everything and anything to my car and my fiancée's. I've toyed with doing performance work, but nothing has really come to fruition (apartment parking lots aren't incredibly conducive to major projects). I bought an engine and transmission for a 1971 Triumph GT6 with hopes of building and restoring a car around it. Unfortunately, the tools of the trade are well outside of my means.

So, is nuclear engineering really what I want to do? I feel I would be better suited as a mechanic. Work as a brand service technician (I've got a lot of experience with Volkswagen) and maybe open my own shop later on and all-the-while having access to tools and knowledge I wouldn't have as a nuclear engineer to continue my hobby.

TL;DR - I'm having doubts of being a nuclear engineer. I like working on cars and think I could be a mechanic.

PirateJon

TL;DR - I'm having doubts of being a nuclear engineer. I like working on cars and think I could be a mechanic.

So you want permission? that's easy. Go for it. You only live once (so far).


Tell them *I* said so.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Well, I'm a sophomore in college, but one of my friends just dropped out of college to go learn automechanic stuff... he had an internship with Bentley last summer and then he was sick of school/didn't like where he was and now he's doing this stuff full time, training and going to England to work on this stuff for Bentley and when he starts working eventually after training and whatnot he's gonna have a base $50k salary as someone with 1 frickin year of college education... so, I mean, hey, go for your dreams.

Shinto

Yeah, be an automechanic.

dvsherman

If the OP really said, "Dad, Uncle, I'm dropping out of the Nuclear Engineering program to become a mechanic. PirateJon from the internets told me to go for it." That would be excellent.

Add another vote for "pursue your dreams."

msuitepyon

Well, I wasn't really expecting permission from someone, but thoughts.

grungebox

What about mechanical engineering? You probably have all the basics done (physics, calculus, thermo). Hell, at UT nuclear engineering is in the mechE department, I think. You're obviously smart, since even a 2.92 in nuclear engineering at a top-10 school puts you ahead of most people in the US in terms of intellectual ability.

The problem with being a mechanic is a) no upward mobility and b) cars are becoming so complex that it's hard to be a general mechanic anymore, and being specialized limits your mobility even more. Every car company needs a mechE, or an EE. What if Volkswagens lose popularity for some reason?

It really just sounds like you hate nuclear engineering, and who could blame you? It's a tough, somewhat esoteric major with limited job prospects that are highly affected by politics. It's like being a climate scientist or an aerospace engineer. There are zillions of majors, especially at a place like Georgia Tech, and it'd be a shame to not think things through.

starmanbrand

One word of advice: Some people like to do things, for me it is cooking.

So I was like "lolz ima cook for a jawb"

Big mistake. Doing something you enjoy as work does not always equal loving your job.

Seems like getting out of school after the already initial investment and turning down the probably greater salary needs more thought than "I don't know if I like it anymore."

My next door neighbor is an engineer who loves cars. He has some variety of classic truck in his garage that he is totally redoing in his garage. Consider this type of lifestyle, as well.

HalberdBlue

This post kinda hits a chord with me because I'm in NRE as well, but I say follow your dreams.

grungebox: Its true that mechanics don't have much upwards mobility, but he doesn't have to keep the same career forever. He could be a mechanic for 5, 10, 20 years, whatever, and then maybe go back to school and start a second career after that. Also, NRE is in the MechE department at Georgia Tech as well. The classes for the first couple years in ME/NRE are nearly identical.

I'd suggest talking to the counselor about this, but from the few times I've visited her I get the impression that our counselor is kinda not good, so I don't know what help she would be.

ElJeffe

Figure out what you want to do in life, and then find a job that allows you to do it. If you want to work on cars, there are a number of different ways to go about it.

You could be a mechanic. You'll work on cars eight hours a day for the rest of your life. You may love this, or you may wind up hating cars.

You could be a nuclear engineer, which would pay a lot more, and then fix up cars as a hobby. The advantage of this is that you'd work on the cars you wanted to when you wanted to. The disadvantage is that you may hate your job.

You could be a mechanical engineer with a focus on automotives, and actually design cars (or parts of cars). This would also pay pretty well, facilitate working on cars as a hobby, and be somewhat car related. I would imagine a lot of the core classes for ME would be shared with your current major, so while it might add a little time to your degree, it might not be that bad.

I would recommend staying in college and getting a degree. You've gotta be well over halfway there at this point, and if you drop out now, that's 3 years of time and money thrown away. Even if you switch majors, stick it out. Engineering degrees are pretty valuable.

I would also recommend you kill the idea that you must love your job or else you're a loser. Most people don't love their jobs. Most people aren't capable of finding decently paying jobs that they love. And many people get jobs doing things they love and wind up hating them anyway. Loving your job is a perk, not a necessity. The most important thing is finding a job that facilitates the sort of life you want to lead, and that doesn't always mean a job that pays really well.

JohnnyCache

If you're real close to finishing college, you should go ahead and push on through, just to avoid sort of being stuck money for the first three years. You don't have to do it in NRE though, I mean, if nothing else, you could jump over to another degree - paper on the wall sets you apart from all the people that don't stick it out, even if it's in Sanskrit Studies or something.

But there's no shame in being a mechanic, you will never be broke as a mechanic, and if there is an apocalypse you will be with doctors and sharpshooters in the ranks of people welcome in any hardscrabble community. If you're a mechanic with a little bit of extra business savy and/or education, you can actually do very well running a shop of your own, as well, which certainly puts some upward mobility back on the table.

PirateJon

If you're real close to finishing college, you should go ahead and push on through,

wise words.


here's an anecdote - I know an exhaust specialist. Replaced the whole system on my truck. Guy has a one bay shop, he's the only employee, he only does his one thing, he's not open more than 4 days a week, not open later than 4pm and he makes a good living judging from his high end pickup.

also, I subscribe to a mag called "Motor" that's for auto shop owners (yes, i have unusually diverse reading materials) they often complain about how hard it is to find quality techs and the intro pay seems to be about $20 an hour. Not a bad amount. http://www.motor.com/ and you can check the archives.

JohnnyCache

I guess the big thing is to push back and really decide if this is a case of senior ass-drag, a case of you being in the wrong major, or if you really don't want any degree at all.

Quid

I'll second the idea of finishing the degree and, with the large amount of money you'd be making, fixing up old cars as a hobby. I love to cook but don't especially like my job. However I'll soon be making more than most cooks and have the fun of screwing around with something I love to do whenever the stress from my real job gets at me.

FearTheCow

If you are serious I recommend Wyotech, had 4 friends go there. One friend was 2nd in his class, had BMW offer him a job, payed for bmw school, started making $18 an hour, 3 months later got bumped up to $30/hour. And since he is a master tech. he gets gets the snazzy pay of by-the-job, so a brake job is said to take 2 hours, he can do one in 15min, gets paid for 2 hours work. Moral of the story, go for what you think will make you happy and there is good money to be made if you are good at it.

HalberdBlue

One thing you might want to consider is whether you are thinking about this solely because of your current financial situation. Are you trying to convince yourself (subconciously or not) that you don't like nuclear engineering because you are having a hard time finding the money for school, or because you genuinely don't like it? Are you considering alternate career paths simply because it will solve the money issue more immediately? Etc.

JohnnyCache

FearTheCow wrote: »

If you are serious I recommend Wyotech, had 4 friends go there. One friend was 2nd in his class, had BMW offer him a job, payed for bmw school, started making $18 an hour, 3 months later got bumped up to $30/hour. And since he is a master tech. he gets gets the snazzy pay of by-the-job, so a brake job is said to take 2 hours, he can do one in 15min, gets paid for 2 hours work. Moral of the story, go for what you think will make you happy and there is good money to be made if you are good at it.

Yeah but you have to go to college in Laramie, Wyoming. Home of the Nothing, from Neverending Story.

A place where the liquor stores hang out banners that say, "Welcome back students and faculty"

SageinaRage

Dude I can feel your pain. I went to GaTech, and spent 3 years in the cs program before realizing that it was not for me (due to both bad grades and lack of interest). Take some time off - go be a mechanic for a while. If you find you don't like it and want to finish your degree, your classes will still be valid for 10 years after taking them. I took some time off and then came back to finish a Computational Media degree, and had a much better time.

ASimPerson

I feel your pain as well, though in a more general sense - I kept my GPA up and got out of Tech alive in CS. Based on the other info your post (NRE, job in Bham) are you also from Alabama? Anyway....

Do you really want to be a mechanic for the rest of your life? As other posters have said, what about MechE? The program at Tech isn't shabby in that department, that's for sure - of course, since NRE is in that school you probably already know this.

HalberdBlue also raises an important point.

When does your co-op term start, in January or May? You may want to go to the job and see how it works before getting too down on yourself. If it sucks, change majors or transfer somewhere you'll get in-state tuition at and finish school.

Blake T

I would suggest just finishing up your course if you are only a year or so out from finishing, because having a degree under your belt is always useful.

The people that are all "Hey, become a mechanical engineer!" are wrong. Literally <5% of all mech eng work with cars. The vast majority work with heatflow and plant design and cooling systems or in construction. While it's possible you could get into the automotive industry. If you do 95% of your time will be spent hunched over a computer trying to push out an FEA of a part that's already been designed ten thousand times but you are trying to not 10 grams of steel off it.

I would suggest strongly to finish your degree then weigh up your options. Degrees do not reflect what you do in the workforce. Degrees teach you to learn and the basics of your desired job. Working and what you learn in university are two very different things.

Screw trying to get a fancy pants job though if you are learning part time go down to a starbucks or something and just get something that pays bills and stop being so choosey.

Demerdar

I don't think anybody mentioned this, but Engineering degrees can get you jobs outside of Engineering if you look in the right places. An Engineering degree is very well respected, so don't think that you have to go into the nuclear engineer field when you graduate. Hell, half the stuff you learn in college is obsolete anyway.