Kari, Norway AddedMonday, February 9, 2015 at 1:46 PM Did you always have the passion for engineering? Hi! I'm currently studying mechanical engineering, but I'm starting to doubt my choice of career. I'm considering to study medicine instead because I have hard time being passionate about machines and robots. However, since I'm only in my first year, the passion might come later on? I'm afraid that without the passion, it will become boring. I think I'm also more of a people-person, and I'm therefore thinking of medicine instead. How was it for you? Were you always sure and have you always had the passion? And is it easy to see a connection between the job you are doing and people around the society? Related to Choosing a Degree, Mechanical, Self Doubt Reset Sort By Default Kim Linder , Honeywell FM&T Answered Monday, February 9, 2015 at 1:46 PM Hello. Following your passion is definitely important! I have a number of thoughts around the different topics you brought up, so here goes. I'm a people person - Engineers almost always work in teams. So to be successful, being a people person is very important. I have found that those engineers that are naturally this way, are far more successful and bring a lot to the profession. Machines and robots - There are a lot of different areas of mechanical engineering than machines and robots; thermal dynamics, fluids, design, numerical simulation, structures, controls - so don't be dismayed if robots are not your thing - there are a lot of other areas. What I find most interesting is not the specific subject, but the applications. I view these as the tools to solve other problems - and is what I have experienced in my career. The company you end up working for will drive the possible applications. I have worked with the following fields: medicine, agriculture, geophysics, defense, construction, concrete, gemstones, and probably more! Passion - I have always liked to be a problem solver, so that has really been my passion. I have been lucky to work somewhere where I get to problem solve in so many different areas and meet experts in all these different fields. I too am a people person, so this has helped when interfacing with others outside my field and on my teams. Medicine - I too debated medicine. Perhaps a field such as biomedical engineering could be of interest? What drove me from medicine was actually the classes like biology, microbiology. I found them to be memorization and no problem solving. I think if I could have go through it, I would have seen them as tools. Connection to society - I very much see the connection to society in my work. This again can depend upon the company you will work for. Perhaps getting an internship or summer job at an engineering company could help? Also, see if you can spend some time with a medical student or resident to get glimpse into that world. Good Luck!