Mechanical Engineering or Material Science and Engineering?

[tactic]

Hi guys, need some insights on my question as above.

Narrowed down to these 2 courses, but can't decide between both. Mechanical engineering seems like its more broad and more focused on the application of math and physics. On the other hand, material science and engineering seem to be a hybrid of both science and engineering, and it seems that it requires more chemistry and less physics compared to mech?

What's the pros and cons for each course? Correct me if I'm wrong, I've got a feeling that mech is much harder than materials since its more broad and has a wider base. Materials looks to be much more fun and interesting to study(compared to mech, which seemed to be rather 'dry'), which is an important consideration since sustained interest serves as motivation to study harder. But materials seemed like a specialized field, and I'm not sure whether I will work in the engineering field after I graduate.

My considerations are the difficulty and stress levels of both courses and which course is more applicable to life in general. I would like to read a course that is more holistic and beneficial to personal development in terms of analytical skills and problem solving beyond engineering.

Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

 

[tactic]

Any inputs will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[speeding_bullet]

Hi guys, need some insights on my question as above.

Narrowed down to these 2 courses, but can't decide between both. Mechanical engineering seems like its more broad and more focused on the application of math and physics. On the other hand, material science and engineering seem to be a hybrid of both science and engineering, and it seems that it requires more chemistry and less physics compared to mech?

What's the pros and cons for each course? Correct me if I'm wrong, I've got a feeling that mech is much harder than materials since its more broad and has a wider base. Materials looks to be much more fun and interesting to study(compared to mech, which seemed to be rather 'dry'), which is an important consideration since sustained interest serves as motivation to study harder. But materials seemed like a specialized field, and I'm not sure whether I will work in the engineering field after I graduate.

My considerations are the difficulty and stress levels of both courses and which course is more applicable to life in general. I would like to read a course that is more holistic and beneficial to personal development in terms of analytical skills and problem solving beyond engineering.

Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

As a NUS mech eng student, I can only say everything boils down to your passion. If you like mechanical stuff like cars, planes you will like ME. That being said, I'm not too sure if "interest" is enough to pull you through any engineering course cos I'm telling you the stuff you learn here can be seriously tough.

I'm not too sure about materials but the course does seem to be more "science" than "engineering" from my POV. But you do get to study quite a bit on materials here in ME and can even choose to take up additional materials modules as technical electives.

I would say ME is pretty general, it is afterall one of the "core" engineering discipline which is why you get to specialize in aeronautical, marine, offshore O&G, etc. Which is why ME grads have pretty good employability or so they claim. I may be slightly biased here but I feel that the stuff you learn in ME has more applications in life and sometimes you even get the chance to design and develop some really cool stuff

In terms of difficulty, ALL engineering courses are tough and trust me, your analytical skills will definitely be tested day in day out.

P.S. If you do choose NUS ME be mentally prepared for some crazy workload and brush up your math cos in here math is everything!

 

[socket_athlon]

"and I'm not sure whether I will work in the engineering field after I graduate."

Please don't take engineering.

 

[tactic]

"and I'm not sure whether I will work in the engineering field after I graduate."

Please don't take engineering.

Why not? Engineering degree is no doubt difficult but is rather adaptable and can traverse different career fields more easily compared to other degree programs. It's great for improving your problem solving and analytical skills, so I don't see anything wrong in undertaking an engineering degree program if one is still unsure of what to do in the future.

 

[tactic]

As a NUS mech eng student, I can only say everything boils down to your passion. If you like mechanical stuff like cars, planes you will like ME. That being said, I'm not too sure if "interest" is enough to pull you through any engineering course cos I'm telling you the stuff you learn here can be seriously tough.

I'm not too sure about materials but the course does seem to be more "science" than "engineering" from my POV. But you do get to study quite a bit on materials here in ME and can even choose to take up additional materials modules as technical electives.

I would say ME is pretty general, it is afterall one of the "core" engineering discipline which is why you get to specialize in aeronautical, marine, offshore O&G, etc. Which is why ME grads have pretty good employability or so they claim. I may be slightly biased here but I feel that the stuff you learn in ME has more applications in life and sometimes you even get the chance to design and develop some really cool stuff

In terms of difficulty, ALL engineering courses are tough and trust me, your analytical skills will definitely be tested day in day out.

P.S. If you do choose NUS ME be mentally prepared for some crazy workload and brush up your math cos in here math is everything!

Thanks for your detailed information!

So from what I understand, mech is more of the application of lots of math and physics. How does the math and physics in mech engineering compare to say, H2 math and physics in A Levels in terms of depth and difficulty?

And you mentioned that ME is pretty general compared to other engineering disciplines. Does that mean that ME students are required to study a wider variety of modules/topics?

Thanks again!

 

[socket_athlon]

Why not? Engineering degree is no doubt difficult but is rather adaptable and can traverse different career fields more easily compared to other degree programs. It's great for improving your problem solving and analytical skills, so I don't see anything wrong in undertaking an engineering degree program if one is still unsure of what to do in the future.

My opinion only:

1. You are taking up someone else's slot whom might be deeply into engineering.

2. I don't see how an engineering degree program will improve your problem solving and analytical skills. Most of the great engineers I know of already possess that before any formal training in education. (think replacing a lost shirt button with a paper clip) Innovation and critical thinking is already inbred in born engineers.

3. Oh and last but not least, engineering is absurdly easy if you like it, as with anything else you like.

 

[speeding_bullet]

Thanks for your detailed information!

So from what I understand, mech is more of the application of lots of math and physics. How does the math and physics in mech engineering compare to say, H2 math and physics in A Levels in terms of depth and difficulty?

And you mentioned that ME is pretty general compared to other engineering disciplines. Does that mean that ME students are required to study a wider variety of modules/topics?

Thanks again!

I was from poly so I can't really comment on the difference. You will have to go through a few math and science mods during your first year but to be honest they are relatively easy as they focus more on calculation rather than analysis and application so whacking past year papers DO help

Engineering is all about application and it requires you to use all that math and physics as "tools" to solve real life problems and frankly this is where many students fall short.

It's not exactly true that we take a wider variety of modules. I would say that the modules we take in the lower years are more general. For example the fluid mechanics covered in ME may be slightly more generic than that in Chem E but they all have the same fundamental principles. This actually offers you the flexibility to choose your preferred area of specialization during your upper years such as aero, automotive etc.