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Hi, I'm a grade 12 student in Australia, and will very soon be sending off University applications.

I particularly enjoy (and achieve reasonably well) in physics and maths, but do not come from a practical background. I've never had a passion in cars, computers, or electronics.
From reading course outlines, electrical eng, photonics, and communications are probably the majors that sound most theoretical and most interesting to me.
At the moment I will likely do a double degree in engineering and science.

What I really am interested in how applied is engineering? Is there a lot of theoretical work, or is most of it highly practical? And how does this vary from major to major?

All answers related to this will be greatly appreciated.

Michael:

Engineering is the application of scientific principles to solve practical problems.

Your engineering education can be very practical or it could be very theoretical. A lot depends on the university you attend. Yes, there will be a lot o theoretical work, you need to understand the basic theories and laws which govern engineering principles before you can apply them to practical applications.

If you are more interested in understand theory and then exploring those theories to better understand the world or a small aspect of the world focus on a science major. If your are interested in solving problems and developing real products go for an engineering discipline. The first two year of both majors will be fairly similar.

Niel Leon
engineering.com