Mechanical Engineering Vs Software Engineering (Need Advice)

[تھانیدار]

Hi All,

Need a bit of discussion regarding choices students can have after their Intermediate exams in pre-engineering, particularly for females, as i have been asked this question by a friend who's daughter wants to make an educated decision..

In my view, students may choose to go for:

1. Mechanical Engineering
2. Petroleum Engineering
3. Software Engineering (Although a different field).

As my personal field is finance, have been out of the country for decades and hence i am not very well aware of pros and cons of above, specially first two of these.. However it seems like Number 3 may suit females more in working environments like we have in Pakistan (could be wrong), .. Also, if parents and students are going to invest their time, energy and savings in funding these studies, they would naturally expect some nice decent rewards in terms of employment and career prospects..

So if someone with better understanding of choices and best choices pre-engineering students can have, specially in Islamabad/Rawalpindi area for study (as it depends upon course being offered as well), than please share your thoughts..

I would really appreciate some healthy and relevant discussion here.

 

[aimless]

Mechanical Engineering has very less jobs ... sep for Females ... I have no idea about Petroleum Engineering ... Though SE is a very good field, as all you need is a computer and internet and you can make anything ... Also all jobs of SE is desk base which also suits female in Pakistan .


And for SE, I think best places are LUMS , FAST , COMSATS , ITU don't go to NUST or anyother becz they are pretty bad in this field ...

 

[Aadmi]

Electrical is the best

 

[NeutralMafia]

Software Eng

 

[chacha jani]

My suggestion is don't go for Software eng.

 

[saeenji]

As long as one knows what they are doing and have the passion for the field, they should be alright. Ask the girl what she wants to do and what she is good at. It could be that she doesn't like programming, physics, chemistry or mathematics and might want to take an entirely different route, like arts or social sciences. It all depends on the interest of the individual. For Mechanical a strong base in Physics+Maths is a pre-requisite and for Petroleum Chemistry should be amongst the strong suit. If she likes programming then by all means go for a field related to Computer Science. There are not many job opportunities for Mechanical Engineers in Pakistan. Petroleum Engineering jobs on the other hand are highly paid but consider the working environment aswell.

 

[تھانیدار]

Mechanical Engineering has very less jobs ... sep for Females ... I have no idea about Petroleum Engineering ... Though SE is a very good field, as all you need is a computer and internet and you can make anything ... Also all jobs of SE is desk base which also suits female in Pakistan .


And for SE, I think best places are LUMS , FAST , COMSATS , ITU don't go to NUST or anyother becz they are pretty bad in this field ...

Thank you. .. I had similar sort of view regarding mechanical engineering, as it is more "Male" dominated area..

 

[تھانیدار]

Electrical is the best

Thank you. Why do you think, it is best for females and particularly in Pakistan ?

 

[تھانیدار]

My suggestion is don't go for Software eng.

Thank you - And why do you think so ?

 

[Tyrion Lannister]

if you wanna get international standard job even before graduating then software all the way

 

[Tyrion Lannister]

Electrical is the best

still living in 80's?

 

[Syed Haider Imam]

Dude.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Just watch three Idiots....You know what i mean ?

Right

 

[GeoG]

I have gone through a similar experience couple of months ago when I had accompanied a relative of mine in an open day at Warwick Uni.

Although you are asked for your preference in Mechanical or Electronic but during first year they all study same subjects and second and third they chose their fields. Once students are in the campus, they will have a better idea of their own choices.

A female student, assuming she will work in Pakistani, Electronic engineering may be a better choice and i will not elaborate on this fearing being labeled as racist.

 

[تھانیدار]

As long as one knows what they are doing and have the passion for the field, they should be alright. Ask the girl what she wants to do and what she is good at. It could be that she doesn't like programming, physics, chemistry or mathematics and might want to take an entirely different route, like arts or social sciences. It all depends on the interest of the individual. For Mechanical a strong base in Physics+Maths is a pre-requisite and for Petroleum Chemistry should be amongst the strong suit. If she likes programming then by all means go for a field related to Computer Science. There are not many job opportunities for Mechanical Engineers in Pakistan. Petroleum Engineering jobs on the other hand are highly paid but consider the working environment aswell.

Sounds good advice... I have a feeling that student at this stage either aren't very confident or a bit confused about their career choices,, good thing is that they are asking parents to help them make choices... however i completely agree that their choice should be based upon what the like and what they would be proud of doing..

It seems like SE could be a go, bearing working environment and possible locations of work area...

 

[chacha jani]

It not stable, 2nd you have to upgrade so quickly and just a gap of few month will take you way back.
It's good pay good as other eng you mentioned. BTW software eng is going little by little towards automation and hard to predict but not the best option in my opinion.

Thank you - And why do you think so ?

 

[تھانیدار]

I have gone through a similar experience couple of months ago when I had accompanied a relative of mine in an open day at Warwick Uni.

Although you are asked for your preference in Mechanical or Electronic but during first year they all study same subjects and second and third they chose their fields. Once students are in the campus, they will have a better idea of their own choices.

A female student, assuming she will work in Pakistani, Electronic engineering may be a better choice and i will not elaborate on this fearing being labeled as racist.

Ok thanks, a bit intrigued by your suggestion for electronic engineering.. why do you think it can suit females more in Pakistan ?

 

[aamir_uetn]

بہترین فیلڈ تو وہی ہے جو پیشن ہو لیکن ہمارے ہاں پیشن کا پتہ ہی نہیں چلتا ، بھیڑ چال ہے ، جس کا میرٹ زیادہ ہو جہاں جابز زیادہ ہوں سب وہیں بھاگتے ہیں ، اگر تو اس سٹوڈنٹ کو اپنے پیشن کا پتہ ہے تو وہی بیسٹ ہے، اگر بہت سے دوسرے سٹوڈنٹس کی طرح نہیں پتہ تو سافٹ ویئر انجینیرنگ میں جانا چاہیے ، مکینکل اور پٹرولیم کی جاب اکثر فیلڈ جاب ہوتی ہے جو کہ فیمیل کے لئے خاصی مشکل ہو گی

 

[GeoG]

Ok thanks, a bit intrigued by your suggestion for electronic engineering.. why do you think it can suit females more in Pakistan ?

Mechanical Eng is likely to have more male interaction on shop floor in comparison with Electronic Eng.

 

[تھانیدار]

It not stable, 2nd you have to upgrade so quickly and just a gap of few month will take you way back.
It's good pay good as other eng you mentioned. BTW software eng is going little by little towards automation and hard to predict but not the best option in my opinion.

That make sense.. So your point is that you need continues professional development if you want your horse to stay in the game... So this shows dilemma, i mean each field seems to have pros and cons, pretty much expected but no wonder why student gets confused...

I believe if someone has passion and they are lucky enough to get their job secured in a decent firm, they can keep themselves updated with all changes with the help of organisational training progs and colleagues help

 

[تھانیدار]

بہترین فیلڈ تو وہی ہے جو پیشن ہو لیکن ہمارے ہاں پیشن کا پتہ ہی نہیں چلتا ، بھیڑ چال ہے ، جس کا میرٹ زیادہ ہو جہاں جابز زیادہ ہوں سب وہیں بھاگتے ہیں ، اگر تو اس سٹوڈنٹ کو اپنے پیشن کا پتہ ہے تو وہی بیسٹ ہے، اگر بہت سے دوسرے سٹوڈنٹس کی طرح نہیں پتہ تو سافٹ ویئر انجینیرنگ میں جانا چاہیے ، مکینکل اور پٹرولیم کی جاب اکثر فیلڈ جاب ہوتی ہے جو کہ فیمیل کے لئے خاصی مشکل ہو گی

Agree... In-fact developing economy mei change unforseen hota hey, students ko achi guide nahi mil paati, baray apne experiences share kerte hein aur woo tumaam k tumaam mukhtalif hotey hien.. it makes student more confused ... i remember my own time, it was exactly same..

I mean if it is me, i would tell kids to do something that is your passion and something that can make people's life better.. but obviously this equation doesn't work in all economies, as people sometime are more concerned about short term and personal benefits than overall benefits for the society... However, it is what it is, and is seen as only way of survival and people sometime cannot do experiments with their career.. and for most it is a one time decision and it has to be correct..