Hi everyone, it’s me again (〃´ω`〃)!
As I am writing this, I am on my flight back home for the mid-semester break ✈️
Since it’s already mid-semester, you all must be thinking (hopefully not panicking) about what specialisation you want to choose for next year 🤔☁️But never fear, Kimberley is here, and I will share insights to help you choose what you want to do! 🤝
I mentioned my reasoning for why I chose software in my first post too, but I’ll expand on my reasoning more right now 🤩
Process of elimination…
I chose engineering initially due to the many options that it gave me (basically, I’m indecisive 🤡). Initially, I was most interested in biomedical, engineering science, and software. I was also open to learning more about the other specialisations. To narrow down my options more, throughout the year, I basically did a process of elimination after trying out each specialisation’s designated paper:
(Disclaimer: no hate to the other specialisations, these are just based off of my opinions and experiences).
Why I didn’t do biomedical engineering:
- After doing 140, which is meant to be the biomedical paper, I learned that I really had no interest honestly😥. I think 140 did biomedical engineering dirty and didn’t sell it well enough for students as it didn’t delve much into the biological side of things (which I think is the coolest part about it).
- This might be a hot take, but in my opinion, biomedical degrees are also the least flexible engineering spec, with their unique niche of being involved with the medical field. That being said, as an ex-premed student, the medical field is still very cool and exciting. BUT the thing is you can still get involved in it and not be limited to the medical feild as a software/mechanical/mechatronics engineer… hence why I didn’t choose it.
Why I didn’t choose civil / structural / mechanical / mechatronics / electrical / chemical materials / computer systems:
- I grouped all these specs because I essentially had the same reason for not choosing them: a lack of interest.
- I did enjoy ENGGEN 121 and Jason and Hazim’s lectures, but it wasn’t enough for me to choose either mechatronics/mechanical/civil/structural engineering.
- I also was definitely not choosing electrical after the horror of the ELECTENG101. I fully respect the electrical engineers, though – they must have it rough.
- I also enjoyed the CHEMMAT121 paper, although I didn’t really see myself enjoying learning the content in the long run.
- As for computer systems, I was curious about it but, for similar reasons to electrical, I didn’t choose it.
The final stretch: software vs engsci:
Around this time of semester 2 last year, I narrowed my choices between software and engineering science. I looked at each spec in terms of a pros and cons list.
| Engineering Science | |
|---|---|
| Pros: | Cons: |
| • I really liked the ENGSCI111 paper in semester 1 – the lecturers sold the course well. • I really liked how broad of a specialisation it was – allowing opportunities in the data science and analytics sector and beyond. • Enjoyed the math 🤓🤓🤓 | • It is too broad 💀 while this was also a pro for me, I just thought I wanted something more specific for long-term employment and when searching for jobs… • I didn’t want to explain engineering science to employers. It sounds trivial, but hear me out. For instance, when somebody hears civil, electrical, mechanical, and software, you know exactly what that specialisation entails. Although engineering science is a big question mark for many people outside of the University of Auckland and overseas. • Despite liking math, I was also worried if I liked it enough to continue…😿 |
| Software Engineering: | |
|---|---|
| Pros: | Cons: |
| • Project-based specialisation. I saw what cool projects the software engineering students were making in the second year, like an escape room game, and it immediately made me want to do the same thing. • Enables you to be creative 🧑🎨🖼️ – unlike engineering science, software engineering allows more creativity in designing and implementing software solutions. Engineering science, at least from my view, only focused on complex mathematics and data analysis. • Flexibility in types of work. Software is everywhere, so there is demand in any discipline ranging from health, business, construction, and more. I found interacting with many different fields super exciting as a future career. | • The fear of being taken over by AI 🤖 – with the rise of chatGPT, many of my cohort (and me included) were worried about being made obsolete from LLMs. But as I mentioned in my first post, it will probably be a while until that happens. Even if it does, a software degree is extremely valuable and applicable to not just roles as a software developer (e.g., project management, etc.) • High GPA entrance requirement. It fell from my year, but software has had a history of needing a minimum of about an A- to get into. |
The final decision…
Ultimately, with the help of a pros and cons list and talking to friends and family, I chose software. As you can see from the uneven distribution of each pro and cons list, I likely already made up my mind a lot earlier – but I could only finalise my thoughts once I put them onto paper.📝
Final take home advice in choosing your spec:
- Find out what you don’t like: It’s often easier to know what you don’t like than what you like, so make your life easier and remove those options asap to narrow down your options✅
- Write out a pros and cons list: This may not work for everyone, but if you are like me, visualisation often helps me sort out my thoughts and feelings more easily. Plus, physically writing things out can help you process information better.
- Talk to friends and family: I remember when I was choosing my specialisation, I had to discuss a lot with my friends and family for their opinions and better gauge what I wanted for myself too. Of course, take their advice with a grain of salt as, ultimately, it is up to you. Although, sometimes verbalising your thought process can help you come to conclusions.
- Reach out to anyone in that specialisation and go to information nights: After attending one of the software introduction events for part 1 students last year (held by SESA), I learned more about what software engineering looked like in my studies next year and beyond. Seeing the projects the software students worked on also blew me away, and I immediately knew that it was what I wanted to do.
I think that is all from me for now though! You can also reach out to me if you have any questions regarding software 🙂
Hope this was useful to you and see you next time!
Kimberley ( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )