College Major problems

[renegade7]

So I'm a freshman starting out at college. I started in the school of engineering thinking, "What the hell, I like computers and I really like robotics and things like that, plus I'm a geek and geeks are supposed to end up engineers, right?"

Well, I also had a few general education requirements, one of which is music. I played the piano when I was little and actually ended up being extremely good, I was playing Beethoven and Mozart by age 9, though I ended up stopping around 11. So anyway, there was a level 1 piano course that I could enroll in to satisfy that requirement and I figured it might be an easy A since I was good when I was younger.

6 weeks later I am leading everyone enrolled in that class (almost 200 in all sections) by almost a full letter grade. I was very rusty at first, not having touched a piano in 7 years, but I picked it up again pretty quickly. Now, I'm not going to come out and say that I'm perfect at it (there is another thread further down this board asking for advice on how to coordinate my left and right hand ) , after all I've only been playing for 6 weeks, but I absolutely LOVE it. Practicing, which I am now doing around 2 hours every day, has become my favorite thing to do on campus, and I enjoy every second of it.

So, with academic advisement coming up soon, I'm thinking of taking some more advanced music classes. The trouble is that engineering being a very intensive major, I would not be able to graduate in 4 years, as engineering pretty much requires you to take only engineering courses.

But here's the other thing: I HATE engineering now. I like programming and electronics and machines, but every time I think of doing that as a 9 to 5 (with a high probability of overtime and general soul crushing boredom) the idea seems less and less palatable. I am honestly considering quitting engineering. The coursework doesn't bother me, I understand that no class truly reflects real world experience, but I've been doing research into majors and careers and every time I read about it I get a bit less interested. I just feel like it would be such a waste.

And then there is consideration of my career further down the line. Engineering is a nice, safe degree. There is a relatively strong job market for them and most end up making 6 figure salaries over the course of their careers. Music, on the other hand, is not quite as safe, and I do NOT want to end up teaching high schoolers or some crap like that.

I just need help deciding. The first thing that comes to mind is to just take courses in both for a semester and then make a decision. But if I do that and change my mind about engineering, it will be very difficult to graduate in 4 years, and I just don't know that the money exists for a 5th.

 

[NinjaSniperAssassin]

Well, if you can't stand the thought of being an engineer for the rest of your life then don't do it. Sure, the job security and pay is pretty good, but it that really worth hating the thought of going to work every day? If piano is really your passion then work at that. Go to music club meetings, talk to the music professors, get to know people. You can get a good job doing almost anything if you're good enough at it and you meet the right people.

Captcha: swan song. In a topic about music. Freaky.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I know the dream is to get a job that you love doing, I went through four years of collage with that exact thing in mind. My major was animation, but with my degree I ended up with a job in graphic design, which obviously isn't exactly what I wanted, but has better hours and better pay. I don't regret the choice at all and on my free time, I draw what I want to draw and I animate. I'm not getting paid for it, but I still get to do it.

Keep in mind that a job is always a job, doing what you love certainly makes the work more tolerable, but you also stand the chance of burn out, where you do so much of it on demand, with a supervisor breathing down your neck that it no longer becomes fun anymore.

My advice is to continue the engineering and when you get a job and stable income, practice music on the side, that way you won't have to worry about getting a job in the music industry (and potentially hating it after a while) and you can play what you want to play, when you want to play it.
Of course as Aylaine says, it's ultimately your decision and none of us can make it for you.

 

[Quaxar]

I actually had a very similar problem last year.
Went into robotics because I liked programming and experimenting but after about a month I realized that I really couldn't stay doing that for decades so I transferred to science and I gotta say I'm much happier now.

Not that I'm saying you should do anything but to offer a comparable anecdote.

 

[renegade7]

Keep in mind that a job is always a job, doing what you love certainly makes the work more tolerable, but you also stand the chance of burn out, where you do so much of it on demand, with a supervisor breathing down your neck that it no longer becomes fun anymore.

That's really what worries me....no matter what I do, I can't think of anything that I won't get frustrated with over the course of a 40 year career.

What's really stressing me out isn't that choice alone, between music and engineering. What's really bugging me is that, if I take engineering and expect to graduate on time, I will not be able to take a single non-engineering course. Not even a single introductory course in a different field.