How do I make the most of the next few years?

I have found engineering fields can be broadly placed in 3 buckets. There are the hands-on machining design options with civil, mechanical, construction, materials engineering etc. Then the electronic fabrication in electrical engineering, computer engineering. Then the abstract thinking in programming such as computer science. These are generalized breakdowns.

Programming will enter all majors but the breakdown helps filter whether you enjoy building things with your hands or enjoy reasoning through programming logic. Interdisciplinary fields of biomedical etc. will enable all the options. Robotics for example will have the electronic fabrication and programming. Picking a general major such as mechanical or electrical provides flexibility with specialization into biomedical or aerospace and gives you some cushion from market downturns.

Experiences are so helpful. I recommend going to maker spaces, boy and girl scouts, science museums and letting yourself have experiences without the pressure of deciding if you like it for a degree. The more experiences the better. Some clearinghouses for opportunities for woman-supporting camps are listed by the National Girls Collaborative Project.

Explore the Landscape

Take introductory courses: Your first year will likely involve foundational courses in math, science, and perhaps an intro to engineering. These are crucial! They'll expose you to core concepts and help you identify areas that spark your interest.

Attend departmental events: Many engineering departments host events, workshops, and guest lectures. These are fantastic opportunities to learn about different disciplines (civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, etc.) and hear from professionals in the field.

Talk to upperclassmen: Connect with students in different engineering majors. They can provide firsthand insights into the coursework, career paths, and what they enjoy (or don't enjoy) about their chosen field.

High School: Talk to a guidance counselor to discuss any extra-curricular opportunities available there (robotics club, computer science courses, engineering courses, etc.)

College: Get involved in engineering organizations on campus to find what you like. Many universities and colleges have extracurriculars (such as Engineers Without Borders, Concrete Canoe, Formula SAE, etc.) that can also give real world experience as an undergrad. Recommendation to work in a research lab or applying to a variety of internships.

In terms of what to do now to help find your direction: What interests you the most? Do you want to help people or animals? Do you want to explore the depths of the ocean or the furthest reaches of space? Do you like writing code or building a robot? What would you want to say you’d be proud doing as your job?

Don't be in a rush to choose your specialty as you are correct, engineering crosses so many different careers. The first 2 years of study are primarily general in nature to allow you to determine what keeps you energized and enthused. When you start your course of study, get involved in several lab projects to see hands-on what you enjoy. Also, be open to summer internships and co-ops and these are really the best opportunities to determine the field you truly enjoy.

Then, even if you decide you want to move into another area, engineering is the springboard of opportunity to leap across industries/companies. I've known many electrical engineers who are designing bridges or mechanical engineers who are leading clothing supply companies supply chains. It's a field that allows you to continue to learn and grow.

When I was your age I took advantage these four activities:

1) I visited nearby colleges and universities that held engineering summer events for high school students so I could learn more about the different types of engineering,
2) I was in the Girl Scouts and took advantage of their scientific programs and offerings,
3) I visited the closest science museums and aquariums,
4) I went to the local library and found books on engineering!

Remember, too, that many engineering universities do not ask you to declare a major until well into your freshman year, so you still have some time once you are on campus, and you even can still change majors after that, although it does get harder the farther you progress. I changed majors at the beginning of my sophomore year from biomedical engineering to chemical engineering with a biomedical option and still graduated with my class! I have found that my biology background was very helpful to me in my chemical engineering career. Good luck!

First, take a breath. There are as many successful paths to becoming an engineer as there are people, and they are all good paths. So know, whichever path you end up on will be a good one. Don't feel like there is only one track and that you can't switch or change. The best engineers I have worked with are generally well-rounded, and often have the most unpredictable backgrounds.

Have fun over the next few years doing STEM related and non-STEM related activities. You are in a stage of your life where you have so much learning about life! Embrace the unknown and enjoy the ride. I know you will make the best decisions when options are presented.

Don't look back and second guess yourself. Learn from past decisions, but don't dwell on it. Now and in the future, the best thing you can do to find your direction is to simply experience life, say yes, try things you have never tried and don't be afraid to fail. Believe it or not, your experiences will help you find your direction even without a preplanned roadmap.

Engineers may look like they have it all figured out, but we were in your shoes once, unsure, overwhelmed, anxious, and we just kept learning and trying different things and made our own paths - just like you will. Breathe.

My experience is doubtless not for everyone, but I will share it in case it resonates. I started college as a tentative biology major -- I knew I liked science, but wasn't sure what branch of science I wanted to major in. Then someone told me, "You know, math undergirds everything, and from math you can go into anything. It will be easier to learn the math first, and then gain the knowledge of the domain to which you want to apply it, than it would be to start with the application domain and then have to 'go back' to get the math you need to progress far in that domain." I had always loved math, so that made perfect sense to me.

I changed my major to math, which gave me the space to eventually discover what I wanted to apply it to (transportation engineering), while also giving me a rigorous quantitative foundation that has served me well throughout my career. For me, math (the "queen of sciences") is the hub, and science and engineering domains are the spokes that all radiate from that hub. If desired, I can return to the hub, to branch out along a different spoke.

To generalize my experience a bit, try to find a route that keeps your options open until your interests solidify. Try to test out as many pathways as you can before committing to one. (Specific example: subscribe to a general, popular-audience engineering magazine such as Popular Mechanics, and see which kinds of articles appeal to you the most). If you love more than one thing, then there may not be only one right answer -- there may be many right answers. In that case, if you are doing something you love, perhaps you don't need to second-guess the "roads not taken." On the other hand, if you become convinced that the road you are on is a mistake, it is seldom too late to change to a different road! Even if it costs you another semester or two of school (and I realize that constraints may prohibit that, even as a sacrifice), it can be worth it in the long run to find the fit that is really comfortable for you.

The field of engineering offers an overwhelming number of options. To navigate these choices, I recommend engaging in opportunities that provide mentoring and real-world experiences across various engineering disciplines. This will help you explore what's available and discover what truly interests you.

Don't feel pressured to choose a specific branch of engineering right away. Most universities offer general engineering programs that include introductory courses to help you understand and evaluate different types of engineering before making a decision.

You are absolutely right that the paths in engineering are plentiful, and hopefully you’ll be able to see that as a good thing! There is no one singular straight road that will lead directly from here to your perfect dream (even once you know what that dream is!) – everyone who I work with has taken their own unique path and ended up in the same place, and everyone who I went to school with has taken a different path after school to end up in a completely different job.

So my best advice is to enjoy the experiences and explore different opportunities. The best thing you can do is make connections with people (peers, teachers, community, etc) and try different things to see what you like and don’t like. The people connections are what will last way beyond the assignments and projects, and if I could go back to my college days I would go to more teacher office hours, get to know my peers better outside of class, and just savor those moments because school is probably just a short period of your life compared to post-college.

You do not need to have it all figured out. Good luck, I know that whatever happens you’ll be able to handle it.