Hi everyone,
I've just finished a foundation year in engineering and physical sciences and I'm now looking to choose my actual degree course for September. The plan was always to do Chemical Engineering, which I originally chose because i enjoyed maths and chemistry at A-level. I have now found out that very little actual chemistry is studied in Chemical Engineering, and that enjoying chemistry is a wrong reason to choose the course.
Nevertheless, I have found that I have really enjoyed the Maths component of the foundation year, and having done some brief reading ahead of some engineering science textbooks (topics such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics etc.) I think I really would enjoy a course with this sort of content in it. This prompted me to look at the other engineering courses on offer and I have found that Mechanical Engineering also covers the same maths and engineering science content that I think I would enjoy. My only gripe with Mechanical Engineering is the rather large amount of practical group design project work which increases over the years - while I would enjoy project work, I'm unsure at to whether I am a particularly hands-on type of person and thus don't know if the course would suit me. I'm aware that Chemical Engineering also has similar group project work but I am unsure as to whether it is as hands-on in nature compared to Mechanical projects?
Secondly, I have been advised by a course tutor that there are less Chemical Engineering graduates than Mechanical Engineering graduates, making Chemical a more "exclusive" field to be qualified in.
Overall, what I really want is the course that suits me the most and I really don't know how to choose between the two. I know I want a course with lots of mathematical content but I also would prefer one with less group project work, which having done it as part of my foundation year, is something of a chore. Ideally, I also want a broad degree that leaves a wide variety of career options open! Really sorry for the essay here, but I just don't know how to choose between the two and I really don't know what I want to do! Any opinions/which choice to make and why would be very appreciated!
TL;DR - Trying to decide whether to do ChemEng or MechEng. Really like mathsy work, don't think I'd enjoy hands on group work, want a broad degree to leave as many options open as possible. Don't know which to choose, help!