So I am debating on whether or not to choose engineering or nursing as my major. I have done much much research on both professions, I have also shadowed a nurse that I know during her job to get an idea of what nursing is about. I have interest in both engineering and nursing, those are the only two things that I would want to go to college for (aside from maybe political science, but I wont go there:lol2:). I believe I am competent enough for either path, I am fairly good and both enjoy math, and love science and philosophy/theories. So my general question is, have any of you or anyone that you know had a career in nursing that went to engineering, or vice versa? How about have any of you studied engineering and went to nursing, or vice versa. If you were an engineer or a nurse and changed, what made you? I realize that this forum is mainly towards nursing (there really isn't any engineering forums like this one, and if there are I would love to visit it), but do you enjoy your work. I figured if I wanted to be a nurse I would want to work in critical care or ER, mainly because I'm a guy and feel that as more "manly" (corny, I know), and if I was to choose engineering I would most likely choose mechanical engineering. Thank you for your responses.
Also I'd like to make a note of some of my far-future, personal goals I have for myself. I would like sometime in the future to get into politics, so my general question is being on a nursing forum, how easy is it for nurses to get into politics and can they find success in that detestable area of human ventures ?
In the beginning I found lab science to be intellectually satisfying. I loved using my hands and my brain and being surrounded by relatively intelligent people.
What I came to realize is that my work had zero immediate impact. It is possible that what I studied may bear fruit one day but I highly doubt it will happen in my lifetime. For example, the paper on which my thesis work is based on has been cited 10 times. Five years of work and ten citations.
I considered practical alternatives to a career in science and applied to a few nursing schools. Matriculating in a nursing school is more of a pragmatic decision rather than a passionate choice. From experience, I know it is entirely possible for passion to fizzle and then what are you left with?
Do you see nursing has having an immediate impact? Would you consider engineering to have an immediate impact? Thank you for your replies
Nursing most definitely has a clear impact on people's lives.
No doubt, the goal of biomedical research is to improve humanity.
The difference is a question of time.
Nursing is direct application in the here and now. Research application has a more ambiguous time target.
Nursing and engineering are very different career choices. If we were to consider a Venn diagram of the two fields, I imagine I would see very little overlap.
I have a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for approx. 20 years. I left a couple of years ago and recently got my BSN. I left engineering because I had other interests and hobbies and got tired of the long hours. Don't get me wrong, engineering was my passion ever since I was a teenager and throughout most of my engineering career. As I got older, I realized there was more to life than work and since I have a family history of diabetes and heart disease I wanted to learn more about health. I talked to some nurses at Stanford Hospital when I was participating in some clinical trials and that's what led me to go into nursing.
My advise is to find what you're passionate about and go that route. I've met too many people in both engineering and nursing who just go through the motions every day to get that paycheck. Spending 40 hrs/week at something one doesn't enjoy doing is not a good way to spend the rest of one's life in my humble opinion.
I am an RN and my dh is a structural/civil engineer. I don't think I can find anything at all in common with the two, other than we both have people asking us for stuff all of the time. One you will be on your feet and doing physical stuff a lot, the other you will be sitting in a cube. What sounds better to you? One you will be doing most talking via phone or email, the other is mostly face to face. You do have to work with others in both... Nursing you will have odd hours but your shift generally ends and you go home. Your off time is YOURS. There is the odd call about something off duty, but it doesn't have to be your life. Engineering... Well, it is part of your life/is your life and the two go together. My husband has his own business now, and works from home. Sure, he is home and sees the kids a lot, but he is working and is always on call. Many dinners are without him, he works after kids are in bed, he lives with his phone on his body. He can not run to the store for milk or take a kid to pre-school without having his phone on her person. I do not have to carry a phone like that. I can eat and shower without having to answer right then. If I am called from work, it is something like needing a clarification that can usually wait 15 minutes, or can I work such and such date. If dh misses a call, he loses a job or client. OUCH. I work holidays and weekends, he does not. Neither of us get a 4 day weekend. For instance, Thanksgiving. If a nurse gets it off, they will work the day before, the day after, and the weekend. The engineer gets the holiday itself off. Before doing his own business, he could take vacation and not really be available whenever he wanted, as long as it wasn't a busy season. Now that he has his business, he works while on the beach. Like I said, he works it into life. He gets to be at all of the cute little kid stuff, like pre-school graduations. With his phone, of course. That doesn't happen to easily for nurses. You miss a LOT of kid stuff. You miss a lot of holidays. Many times you have to find someone to cover the time you want off. I had to do this for my wedding. But when you are off, you are OFF. You can forget about work. I will say he makes about triple what I would if I worked full time. So money is a big thing to think about, how much of it you desire. I am unavailable when at work. I can't really take 5 minutes to call home and check on the kids. If a kid gets sick, I can not go home. He has to take them to the dr. or Er or wherever. He can call off if he is sick, generally nurses go to work unless they can't physically make it there/are hospitalized. Looking back, if I was able, I would choose engineering over nursing. The mandatory overtime, swing shifts, weekends, and holidays get to you after awhile. So does missing your kids stuff.
I'm happy to say that I am now a practicing RN on my local hospital's stroke and neurosurgical unit and just recently received a nice little pay raise.
?
spore2008
165 Posts
No, I never studied engineering. But I have a PhD in Molecular Genetics and was a bench scientist. I am starting nursing school in January.