Keep your options open with a UBC Engineering degree
As you head into your final years of high school, you are undoubtedly facing a lot of big decisions. You’re probably asking yourself:
What should I study in university?
Where should I go to school?
If I choose engineering, what kind of engineering should I pursue?
What kind of work do I want to do?
Right now, it’s normal to not have all the answers. These questions are big and this stage of your life is about gaining the experiences and finding the information you’ll need to make an informed decision.”
Luckily, we’re here to help by offering four reasons why an engineering degree from UBC supports you to keep your options open and sets you up to succeed professionally and personally.
1. Gain valuable, in-demand and transferrable skills
Deciding what to study in university is an important decision. You might be torn between engineering, science, a pre-med program, the arts, business or economics. How do you decide?
As Paola Telfer, a UBC Engineering alum and co-founder of a leading neurotechnology firm, says, “Your bachelor’s degree will form the foundation for how you think through problems. Being a great problem solver improves your ability to contribute in the future and opens up more opportunity for personal freedom…. engineering – physics and math specifically – provide superior logical reasoning that can be applied across fields.”
A degree in engineering can take you anywhere.
In addition to being a highly respected credential that enables you to start working in your field right after you graduate, engineering teaches you the highly transferrable skills of critical thinking, problem solving and collaborative teamwork.
You can use these skills to design new wastewater treatment facilities, being a test engineer for electric powertrains for aircraft or managing technical growth for an international mining company. They are also the foundation for career options beyond engineering. Some of our recent alumni, for example, are now training to be airline pilots, studying medicine, transforming the public sector [LS1] and working as business consultants.
And if you’re really keen on those other subjects you were interested in studying? UBC Vancouver offers the option to do a minor in arts, entrepreneurship, commerce, math and science, as well as a dual degree in arts and engineering.
2. Make an informed decision about which engineering program is best for you
Lots of universities require you to choose your engineering program specialization before you’ve even stepped on campus. And while you’re not locked into that choice, it can be a complex process to switch to a different engineering program if you realize your original pick is not the right fit.
UBC takes a different approach.
Our students take a foundational first year program where they learn how to think like an engineer and get to work on interdisciplinary hands-on projects.
They meet and talk with upper-year students and professors from all the various programs. And then they use this data and their own personal experiences to choose a program that aligns with their interests.
If you read through our student and alumni profiles, you’ll quickly discover that there are very few students who stick with their original first-year plan. Almost everyone chooses a different path once they’ve learned more about the specific programs on offer.
4. Build a balanced life
We’re all more capable of making decisions about our future when we feel a sense of balance and purpose. Being a university student is a time to learn how to organize your time and create a rewarding and healthy life.
Whether you choose our Vancouver or Kelowna campus, as a UBC student, you’ll benefit from a range of student support services, access to state-of-the-art on-campus fitness facilities, and the ability to join more student clubs that you can imagine, whether your passion is dancing or debate, music or snowboarding.
British Columbia has a reputation as being a laid back place to live. “I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver,” says alum Han Yu. “The Vancouver lifestyle was so different from what I was used to growing up in Korea. It’s a slower pace of life where people seem to take the time to enjoy themselves.”
Adds Neil Mitra, winner of the Gold Medal Student Award from Engineers Canada, “UBC has an amazing and exceptionally strong sense of community and positive energy that truly cultivates the engineering student experience.
The physical environment of where you study – as well as the overall “vibe” of the place – can make a big difference in your confidence and outlook.
When you’re living and studying in an environment like UBC’s, where you feel supported and are able to have a balanced life, you’re more likely to push yourself out of your comfort zone and explore new opportunities.
Build a well-balanced life as a UBC Engineering student
Optimize your future with an engineering degree from UBC
First-year students learn how to use the engineering design cycle to come up with innovative solutions. It’s a way of thinking that’s equally applicable to making big decisions about your future.
That’s why we recommend you should collect data (by thinking about your values and goals and browsing through other Why Engineering? articles), test out your assumptions (by pursuing a range of academic, co-op and extracurricular experiences) and be open to changing gears if the initial results don’t match up with your objectives.
An engineering degree from UBC is one of the best decisions you can make if you want to keep your options open and make the most informed decisions possible about your future.
