Abby, Acworth AddedSunday, January 22, 2017 at 1:31 PM Hi, I am tied between some careers ... Hi, I am tied between some careers including industrial design and mechanical engineering. I am pretty right/left brain balanced so I love sciences/logic and the arts/creativity almost equally. I don't really like math (I did until it stopped making sense. I'm willing to persevere through math classes in college, though i'm not sure if i want calculus or higher to be a part of my everyday job) and i'm not a fan of physics. However I love inventing and building things and understanding how things work (this is usually a mostly visual process and I don't always understand why the things work.). Does mechanical engineering sound like a place I would enjoy, or would design perhaps be a better fit? Related to Choosing a Degree, Engineering Branches, Industrial, Mechanical Reset Sort By Default Laura Halverson , Affiliated Engineers, Inc Answered Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 5:17 AM Abby, calculus is one of those things I look back at associated with my college career and realize I never use it in my day to day work as an engineer. I use math daily, but it is the match that "makes sense" focusing on the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. First, let me explain my career since mechanical engineering career choices are extremely broad - as a consulting engineer I design the mechanical systems internal to buildings including the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This means understanding the needs of the space and completing calculations and then selecting equipment and understanding the physical constraints for where things can be placed and how you assemble all of the pieces together to work within the structural conditions and meet the architectural design intent. I like that every project is different with very little repetition. I also get to meet owners, architects and users for each project making every day a new day. I also have friends who have similar degrees, but work on the contracting side coordinating and witnessing the equipment installation and consistently seeing progress on the construction site. We all have the opportunity to see buildings designed by many different groups come together to be one great facility. It is important to choose a career you enjoy, as that is how we all thrive, but engineering has come a long way and the key to being a great engineer is not the ability to sit at your desk alone and do math, but to be able to work with people and discuss ideas. If you enjoy building things and seeing how everything fits together, I think you would do well with engineering.