Why I switched from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Science
So I am currently a 4th year studying computer science at the University of Souther California (feels like the beginning of an elevator pitch). Pretty standard, but it has been a wild journey to get where I am, and while it may be non-traditional, it is a path I do not regret.
For those of you who are in college/university, I’m sure you can remember what the college application process was like. Mostly stressful, but also pretty terrifying to choose a major. I mean, how do I know what I want to do? So naturally, I just browsed the internet checking out good paying careers. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineering, the list goes on. To be quite frank I didn’t really care about any of these professions, I just wanted to make good money. I thought, “Planes are cool, I’m good at math and physics, I guess I’ll choose aerospace engineering, whatever that means”. I know what you’re thinking, the title does say Mechanical Engineering. I’ll get there.
I ended up getting into USC, one of my dream schools, in 2016 as an aerospace major. That picture you see up on the left was my “explore SC” day where we got to tour labs, design teams, and get hyped for the school year. Having read a few college confidential posts saying that aerospace engineering would pigeonhole you to the defense industry, I changed my major to mechanical engineering that day at explore SC. And that’s how I ended up a mechanical engineering major. No pros vs cons, passion, childhood dreams. I just wanted a secure future and mechanical engineering seemed like the vehicle that would get me there.
In my first semester at USC, I got lucky. Like really lucky. My dad met a business owner that ran a mechanical design firm and long story short, that turned into my first internship. It was an absolute blast. I got to 3D print, make prototypes, and do all sorts of fun handy work. What I would later come to realize is that I was enamored with the idea of not working for a corporate company, not mechanical engineering. Working for the owner, who was also my direct supervisor, was an amazing experience. He had a small, but friendly team that felt like a little family and that is what I loved about it.
Fast-forward a year and I’m just getting into the thick of mechanical engineering. I was taking statics, physics, differential equations and more. I didn’t really care about any of my courses in all honesty, but I thought that was just college. In the Fall of 2017, a lot changed. I took an intro to Python course and was blown away. I was trying to use Python for everything. I used it to play with my file-system, connect to the Google Drive API and even made a simple project management GUI using TKinter. At the time, I just thought it would be an awesome hobby that could supplement my skills for my career in mechanical engineering. That Fall, I also attended a conference called the SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) National Conference, where I was able to get an offer for a co-op with Toyota Motor North America in Ann Arbor, MI. I took the offer and took the next semester, Spring ’18, off of school to work for Toyota as a body design co-op.
Between January 2018 and August 2018, I slowly came to the realization that I was actually passionate about something. How I came to this realization was a combination of many things that would be too much to write, but I will talk about a few major factors.
- 85% of the time I was at work, I thought about how I could incorporate programming into my workflow to make things more efficient.
- None of the projects, at school or at my job, motivated me or excited me.
- During my free time outside of work I would work on coding projects for fun.
- I joined a MeetUp group for programmers and professionals in the area.
№4 on that list was probably one of the most influential for me. I met a new-grad engineer at a local Ann Arbor tech start-up, and he shared his academic and professional experiences with me. The more he explained, the more I realized that is what I wanted for myself. You know that feeling that you got as a kid on Christmas morning in your bed, heart racing, looking forward to opening your gift? That is exactly how I felt when I went to those MeetUps. I was really self-aware about that feeling, especially since nothing I had studied or done had made me feel that way within the scope of mechanical engineering.
I sat on that feeling for a while, wondering what my future would look like. I felt nothing but excitement and enthusiasm. I couldn’t think of any reason not to pursue it, other than the repercussions at school. After speaking to my academic advisor before the start of the school year, I saw that it would require no extra time to complete a degree, so I changed my major to Computer Science.
That is why I changed majors, but I am very pleased with my choice. I am a year and a half deep into my new curriculum and I have no regrets. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I will say the following: I have never been more passionate about anything in my entire life. I can say without a doubt that this is the path meant for me, and while it may have twists and turns, the tech industry is where I am meant to be.
Tl;dr — I passively chose mechanical engineering, did a couple of internships, discovered programming, and realized: woah, this is actually cool.
My advice to readers wondering about their career choice: try new things. As cliche as it is to say, you really just need to experience things yourself. Coding sounded disgusting to me as a 17 year old high-school student, but I had never actually done it. SO, don’t knock it ’til you try it. Put yourself out there and try out new things. That way, you can find your passion or even just confirm that your passion is truly your passion, which is equally as satisfying.
