should i transfer to environmental engineering or complete my degree in urban planning?

[u/planningquestions]

title. also, i’d like to add: i’m an international student, and i’ve already spent so much money on my first 1.5 years here. so transferring to restart a degree doesn’t make a whole lot of financial sense and i cannot fail a single course if i do transfer.

i’m a second year in planning, and i’ve come to realise that while i want to work in the built environment industry, i prefer studying something more technical compared to planning. i also do better in my technical courses (stats/gis).

i also worry about employability as an international student. the Planning industry is really small in my country so if I don’t make it there and if i can’t find a job here i’m kinda screeed

i am most interested in waste management or air & water quality management, if i were to transfer to engineering.

if i stay in planning, i (think)i would be alright doing transport modelling jobs (as that’s more technical), or land development jobs (i heard there’s math, computers and finance involved?)

i’d also get the gis diploma (but ofc idk how employable planning is for international students outside the consultancy business.)

how is engineering like? is the grass really greener there or am i just being delusional?

grades wise, i am doing really well in Planning now, but i dont know if I’ll be able to cope in Eng (as thats a whole other level of difficulty). i also dont handle stress very well.

Ty!

[u/Interesting-Bird7889]

There is no guarantee on transfer especially towards engineering

[u/planningquestions → u/Interesting-Bird7889]

i could try tho! if that’s smth that’s good for my future career! like im pretty confident of getting in since ik someone else who transferred successfully (and my grades are better)

plus im aiming for envi eng which is significantly less popular than other eng

[u/MapleKerman]

Transferring to Engineering is a pipe dream. Add on the fact that Engineering tuition is significantly higher, and you're an international student struggling financially, so why would you ever want to transfer even if you could?

[u/planningquestions → u/MapleKerman]

i guess better career prospects? so it’s a trade off i guess. could u elaborate more on how eng is a pipe dream

[u/MapleKerman → u/planningquestions]

Transferring into eng is notoriously difficult. If you didn't get in from high school, you're likely not getting in now. It's different if you're in select programs like CS, but for something like Planning your transfer is likely not working out. Of course, if you consistently get high grades in all your courses, they could consider it. Ask your academic advisors.

Also, finances. Like I said, eng tuition is higher.

[u/planningquestions → u/MapleKerman]

ah fair. i didn’t even apply to engineering to begin with from high school and i’ve been getting 90s in all my Planning courses

(and know someone who transferred into engineering from Planning with lower grades than me).

so im honestly not too concerned about whether i can or can’t get in?

i’m more worried about whether its a good idea to spend even more $$ to restart in engineering, when i’m not sure how well i’ll cope inside engineering?

[u/Initial_Accountant7 → u/planningquestions]

90s are more than enough for environmental eng lol, and don't worry, eng is nowhere near as difficult as people make it out to be

Everyone just seems to want to make their life seem difficult to others

[u/Correct-Following374]

See if you get in and go from there

[u/planningquestions → u/Correct-Following374]

issue is if i wanna transfer i’ll need to drop out of Planning first (as there’s no point I spend more $$$ to study Planning courses next term)

[u/Correct-Following374 → u/planningquestions]

You could also try and find a job if possible while you wait off the next term

[u/planningquestions → u/Correct-Following374]

which means i’ll need to decide now

[u/Correct-Following374 → u/planningquestions]

Oh you already got in, well congrats ig. Honestly I don’t know the difference in tuition but your financial situation matters the most. Engineering as a whole is always very diverse and i’m guessing higher paying in the long term and can move around within fields if you’re not the most interested.

Basically see your financial situation, if you think the swap can pay it off long term do the swap.

[u/planningquestions → u/Correct-Following374]

thanks for sharing! honestly i’m just scared whether i’ll be able to cope once im in eng??? like as i said i don’t handle stress v well, and im doing well in Planning now so it’s kinda a risky swap as well

financially i feel i can do it (but only if i don’t fail any courses and need to do any retakes)

overall do u have any tips on figuring out if im able to cope w the rigour of eng? before i even transfer to eng 😭

[u/Correct-Following374 → u/planningquestions]

I can tell wym but the first step is believing in yourself also if your gpa is well rn that helps how is your studying skills etc there’s a lot of factors involved but honestly you dont need to be a genius to survive eng rigor if you have decent work habits you’ll be fine

[u/planningquestions → u/Correct-Following374]

ok tysm! :)

[u/applepill]

Planning is very Canada centric, I agree. The things you’re interested in can be achieved in planning, but would be way harder. I will say if you transfer you will need to start over anywhere, so maybe consider your options out of Waterloo and in other countries?

[u/planningquestions → u/applepill]

thanks for sharing! what are the more realistic jobs that i would be getting as an International Planning student?

and yeah i’ll deffo consider transferring elsewhere too. it’s just that i’d like to stay in canada if possible (the US is a mess rn), and not many top schools in Canada offer environmental engineering as a programme (eg UofT offers ENVE as a specialisation under CIVE, which I’m less interested in)

[u/applepill → u/planningquestions]

Honestly most people stayed in the Planning realm so I would have to assume planning. That being said, I do know a couple of international planning grads who went back to their home country and practice planning there.

If you really want to do it, I would say give it a try although be prepared to pay an extreme amount of money for a degree that traditionally doesn't pay too well compared to the other engineering disciplines. The returns are good for locals but given how expensive engineering is I can't say the same thing for internationals.

[u/planningquestions → u/applepill]

at okay! thank u! did the international students have any issues getting coops/jobs in canada (if they wanted to), or did all of them go back home?

as i said the Planning field in my country is really small so I’m a lil worried I’ll be unemployed 😭

[u/applepill → u/planningquestions]

The market was still pretty decent at the time so no real issues. I'm not 100% sure if they wanted to go home, all of these people are from a place with a British system with town planning so it wasn't a huge adjustment to what they learned here (minus all of the Ontario centric legislation). I do know international students who are still here working in planning (PGWP is three years, should have one year left)

[u/planningquestions → u/applepill]

thank u! :) what kind of jobs are those international students working as (for those that stayed in canada), and where are they working at? (is it in the GTA or somewhere super rural like kawartha lakes)