Am I doing the right thing?

This question constantly invades my thoughts.....especially when I get back my exam results or when I'm just stuck on a homework problem. Why am I in engineering? Do I really like what I'm doing? Is it really for me?

I've given in some thought and the only reason I can give as to why I'm majoring in EE is that I like to play with electronics. I love gadgets. Owning them and tinkering with them. But I dont want to know how they work! I dont want to get in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of electric charge, or how magnetic fields behave! I just want to play with tech toys!

I've been taking my engineering courses with mixed feelings. I realized that things seem fun on the surface, but when you get more and more into the details and theories things start getting tedious and boring. Exams and homework assignments dont help either.

I've probably told a few friends of mine how much I envy those who have chosen their fields based purely on interest. I think the people who really enjoy their studies are the students who are in the arts stream. Like my brother for example, who's in Mass Com. He totally digs the stuff. Fiddles with broadcasting equipment, edits videos and creates ads. Now that's what I call fun.

I believe I'm majoring in Electrical Engineering because I did really well in school that qualified me for a scholarship, and there weren’t any scholarships for people who were interested in photojournalism or horticulture. Because seriously, if there were, I would have jumped right into it. Yeah, surprise, surprise, I'm really quite an artsy fartsy person.

Looking at the current trend, I feel that Engineers arent revered as much as they used to be. Just like how the prestige of being a school teacher today isnt quite where it used to be, Engineers wont be held in such high regard pretty soon. It's so easy to get a college degree now really. All you need is moolah and you're on your way.

The biggest joke to me right now is witnessing the hoards of Medical students around today. Almost everyone's on their way to becoming a doctor. It really makes me wonder if there is any point in really pushing oneself in high school. Simply because, in the end the only difference is if it’s your parents paying for your tertiary education or it’s someone else. Funny people I know are en route to becoming doctors…..I sincerely fear for the future.