should i switch major?

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im an aerospace engineering major but if i switch to a science/CS major, I need 20 fewer credits to graduate (12 from AP tests). I'm starting to lose interest in engineering but I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm thinking of medicine or business.

I can type 120 words per minute and am very good at math/physics. I dont want to do meaningless things like filing paperwork and dont want a stressful job either. I die under stress.

Advice?

I think you should talk to your guidance counselor about this. I think you should consider your financial future as well. How many opportunities are you (as in, you the individual with your own abilities, desires, challenges, and quirks) likely to find in either field? I think you should look at current job descriptions for both, and maybe go for an aerospace engineering internship. I think you should consider why you chose aerospace engineering in the first place. What about it seemed fascinating and fun? I think that if you're going to consider switching, you should really consider it.

I agree with what BetwixtBetween said, talk to your school's counselor and see what advice and options you've got.

Personally speaking, I did switch from engineering to CS (mechanical in my case). I worked as a cad manager supporting the work of mechanical and electrical engineers for a long time. It was good, but, I realized I didn't want sole responsibility for project budgets that large and I find a lot of the construction industry practices distasteful (aka stressful).
I ALSO realized I'm good at organizing complex data. So, I thought I might want to become a DBA. That can mean some long hours depending on the company. The hospital I worked for, I talked to their DBA's and they said it wasn't nearly as stressful as working at other companies. The only opening came about before I finished my degree, so I couldn't get in there.
But, I have found that working as a system admin for an important, but, NOT mission-critical application is working out well for me stress-wise. It's hard enough not to bore me, but, not too stressful.

I'd like to complete my master's in Applied Analytics, but, I can't justify the cost, I'm happy with my current job trajectory.

Hi Miss Dorkness,

What's a DBA?

Is it Database Administrator?

Oh, sorry, lol, I love me some TLA's (that's Three Letter Acronyms )

That is a Database Administrator

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/just-what-does-a-dba-do-all-day/

Woof, that is kind of a scary job description.

Do you think Excel is too simple for a corporate environment?

Most of the time, it seems as if companies use Excel.

Me?

I think most companies use it appropriately (for crunching numbers and reporting) but a lot of companies under-utilize it (by using it to statically track data... like, here's a list of clients or here's a list of whatever).

There's SO MUCH you can do with it.
Lists and pivot tables and conditional formatting and statistical analysis... I could go on.

I would like some access into my Inner Daria!

(Or, perhaps, a Daria by my side )

I am so clumsy when it comes to technology.

You impress me, Ms. Dorkness, with your flexible knowledge of technology.

lol, thanks Kortie, it's been a long, slow process. I knew nothing of excel's power in 2003 when I started conducting surveys for an organization, and I slowly got better at manipulating the data, with help from a couple of friends, and the classes I took at Uni. I'm a believer in the POWER by now.

I'm a terrible teacher at it, though. Last fall, my DH took on a job where he had to query some massive datasets every month, and he doesn't have a database (nor is he interested in having one), just excel (not my preferred way to go about that type of thing), so, it was a bit complex anyway, and he wants to hear me talk him through it, and I just want to do it and have him learn from watching... the whole talking thing tends to frustrate me to no end. It took a couple months of back and forth, but, he's got it down now.

If you major in business, you probably won't have a job when you graduate. If you major in medicine, you'll have to go to school for 8 more years to have a job when you graduate. If you major in aerospace engineering, you'll more than likely have a secure, stable, and high-paying job when you graduate. The power is yours!

what about CS? how is it compared to engineering?

With regard to job opportunities?

I know that it was VERY hard for my last company to find mechanical engineers and network specialists and desktop support techs.

Desktop support was high turnover because it's so so pay and a lot of stress, the networking folks are just harder to find and well compensated. IT Project Managers tended to be a somewhat frequent job posting as well.

Check out Indeed.com for various CS specialties; support, system architecture, project management, programming, system administration, etc. Note which postings have been available for awhile (indicating small applicant pool) and try to get electives in those specialties, bam! Instantly increased chance to get experience.

I'm no expert so take my post with a grain of salt. But I think that computer science is a highly variable field. There are literally tons of people with degrees in computer science, so finding a job will probably be more difficult initially...I get the impression that there is a lot of competition. I get the impression that jobs in the field are highly variable too, and largely dependent on how skilled you are. I think that computer or electrical engineering would be a better option if you want to go into that field, as those would give you an extra leg above the competition. Plus, you're probably already taken a few engineering classes that will carry over to those. I have kind of a thing for engineering though, since it's been such a good career move for me personally.