Engineering Degrees Ranked By Difficulty (Tier List)

Here is my tier list ranking of every engineering degree by difficulty. I have also included average pay and future demand for each degree. So if you're trying to figure out what to study, this video is for you.

0:00 intro
1:05 #16 Manufacturing
1:40 #15 Industrial
2:18 #14 Civil
3:42 #13 Environmental
4:13 #12 Software
4:52 #11 Computer
5:33 #10 Petroleum
6:10 #9 Biomedical
6:42 #8 Electrical
7:17 #7 Mechanical
8:16 #6 Mining
9:00 #5 Metallurgical
9:56 #4 Materials
10:42 #3 Chemical
11:32 #2 Aerospace
12:14 #1 Nuclear

[calliastah]

I've met a lot of people who say Electrical Engineering is so much more complicated than Mechanical due to EEs having to work with literal microscopic components, math & what they cannot observe compared to ME work. And Radio Frequencies might just be one of the most complicated things in general, The Smith Chart being an example of this.

[gregebert]

For anyone desiring a career in engineering, DONT base your decision on which discipline to pursue based on perceived difficulty or time-to-graduate. Find your strengths, follow your area of interest, and go from there. There is no 'easy' vs 'hard' in engineering; all of it is difficult.

I'm a recently retired EE from 1985 and the most-difficult problems I've dealt with at work were not the technical ones; those are straightforward and can be solved with perseverance and discipline. Being creative and solving problems is what keeps me going. The worst things are ridiculous program schedules forced on you by upper management, employee turnover that results in a lack of experts, and inefficient methods that are forced onto the design teams that were developed by people who dont do any "real" work other than creating an empire for their own career growth.

[aknighton]

Probably the most difficult specialty is the one you're least suited for, and the 'easiest' is the one that feels like an invigorating challenge. I am 57 and a senior EE major (up late studying now, as a matter of fact). Oldest in my class, but I love it. So thankful to have the opportunity, even though it's late in life. I hope to do signal processing and have begun taking grad courses as electives for my BS. I feel like a dumb impostor, even though my GPA is good. I have to work so hard. Hope I can become competent in my field. Hat's off to the many successful engineers on this thread!

[MikeinVirginia]

I'm an Electrical Engineering (EE) Graduate (Univ. of Tenn, Knoxville - Class of 1981. I have a 3.2 GPA, close to the average. Getting through it was difficult, in fact, I still consider it the most challenging period of my life, but it also made my life after I graduated. I was fanatical about getting through it - failure was not an option! But then I had a fascinating career of 32 years before I retired. I did circuit design, software engineering, software management, and a lot of system engineering. I have zero regrets and a lot of good memories. I worked in factory automation and later public safety radio manufacture, installation and maintenance. I worked in 18 different countries. A degree in EE is valuable across many disciplines. I guess what I'm trying to tell you is "Go for it!" You can be proud of your accomplishments in school and later during your career!

[spencerrichardson]

Aerospace Engineer here, don’t let the difficulty scare you too much. Yes, it’s challenging, but if you love airplanes and space vehicles, you will love aerospace engineering. I finished in 4 years with about a 3.4 GPA and I would say I have pretty average intelligence for an engineer… some of my classmates were much much smarter than me, which helped me learn from them.

[juzoli]

Do NOT choose degree based on difficulty, or future pay. Choose the one which is actually interesting for you.
If it is boring for you, you will not be motivated to grow, and you will never reach your potential. But if you are really motivated to grow, because the field is very interesting for you, you will more likely to get above average pay.
Also you will be more satisfied with your career, and have happier life regardless of salary.

[edfederoff]

Retired ME here - Class of '81. Worked Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, Commercial Products, Rapid Prototyping, and Medical Devices. I agree for the most part with your Tier and Ranking list. My comments are primarily related to real world vs academic experience. The most important thing in school is high-level math skills, because school is mostly theory. Math will not be so critical in day-to-day work, practical experience will rule then. In my entire career, I only knew a few engr's who could step up to a board and work through the entire process of problem solution - including descriptive equations and solutions. It was rarely needed. Speed and efficiency rule the engr. process, because time=money, and it goes without saying that you're expected to be correct. From this POV - practical experience has the most value. Wise assumptions and knowing what will and will not work go a long way. Something needed every day, but barely taught in school, is Design, Fabrication, and Assembly. Study the Machinery's Handbook - and any other one specific to your specialty. Learn a good Solid Modeling program - e.g., Solid Works, and be able to run FEA and dynamic kinematic analysis on it. Learn Statistics, and Data Base manipulation. On top of all that - be the best damn communicator you can possibly be - Concise, Precise, and Accurate.
Two disciplines not listed that you'll find prevalent in Industry are: A) Quality Engineering, and B) Safety Engineering. Ranking them is really difficult - because they often draw the least-competent people, and in some places they get the least respect - but when the chips are down, these positions are where you want your sharpest tools - for two reasons - Quality will save your company, and Safety will save your life.

[abpob]

Graduated with my Civil Engr degree in 1988. Spent the next 32 years designing and building things people need and use. There will always be jobs and work for Civil Engrs. It's not the highest paid or most glamorous but it may be the most consistent and steady of all. I liked that I could work in an office doing design or in the field overseeing construction or many things in between. I was able to find my niche that I did well and enjoyed working. Life is so much better when you like your job.

[LetterToGodFromMeToYou]

I loved being a materials engineer straight out of college. Worked pretty consistently in RnD groups and learned so much over the years. If I wasn't in a lab, I was pulling favors characterizing for others or participating in standups and brainstorming with other talented engineers/scientists. A lot of students see materials engineering as an easy course path, but only because the materials classes taken by other disciplines are very surface level. Most people don't really think of materials engineers having an affinity for quantum mechanics. For anyone who wants to study the compromise between scientific curiosity and engineering empiricism, I would definitely recommend MSE.

[lipschutz]

ChemEng here, 47yold.
I still have nightmares about being late for Thermo and Unit Ops - 25 years ago!! Hahaha
However, I did not regret a single second. One of the best decisions in my life.
Young fellas: I strongly recommend engineering.
All the best.

[alfredjohnson]

When I graduated in the 1960s with a BS in Electrical Engineering, the number of credits required for graduation was considerably higher than what you quoted. Significantly more math was required, including partial differential equations (needed for electromagnetics), vector analysis (needed for electromagnetics), and complex variable theory (needed for Fourier analysis and the Laplace transform). Although not usually required, linear algebra is necessary to really understand signal analysis.

[Strongman]

The avg pay for some of these is wildly low

[HankTube]

Great video...and great comments. I'm glad that, today, there still are some serious and sane folks around.

[FullmetalScientist]

Materials engineer here! I earned my BS, MS, and PhD in materials science & engineering so I could probably speak to the difficulty during degree progression. Relatively speaking a BS isn’t too difficult in that the classes are fairly broad and you may or may not specialize in something as a senior. Even at the upper levels, courses can sometimes feel like a repeat of undergraduate content but presented in more depth or require more math to understand which is where PDEs and matrix analysis come in. In my opinion, what makes materials engineering both interesting and difficult is when you conduct materials research. Depending on the materials or applications, you might need to understand chemistry, solid state physics, thermo, mechanical behavior, electronic behavior or other higher order relationships. It’s such a great field to be in right now since new materials lead to new technologies that are likely limited by the materials we currently have!

[dustingermain]

The "hardest" engineering degree is the one where the subject matter is of the least interest to YOU. And if you're pursuing engineering as a career solely because you think you'll make a bunch of money, not only will you be disappointed, you'll also be miserable.

[ionpopescu]

The Math for Electrical Engineering is one of the hardest math (Maxwell's Equations, Schrödinger equation, Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation, Laplace Transform etc etc )

[timothymurphy]

For people considering which engineering discipline to study, in the grand scheme of things Tiers S through C are more or less comparable in difficulty - don’t get discouraged!! The average person will get through any of these majors if they are willing to dedicate what it takes! If you are willing to spend 4 years and commit to your academic success over everything else, you will be just fine. The majority of people who drop out are people who weren’t serious enough about the major and who weren’t willing to commit to the lifestyle. Sincerely, a 3rd year aerospace engineering student. :)

[nickv]

I used to be good at math but then I discovered weed.

[jaqueitch]

Chemical Engineering is definitely one of the most difficult. Consider doing it in 4 years while working a full-time job and still achieving a 3.7 GPA. The pay is MUCH higher than what they say here. I am making over $200k as a senior-level program manager in the pharma industry

[doughoffman]

Take all of the highest level math, physics, and chemistry classes you can handle. Engineering materials is useful also. I would look at what will make you most valuable to a potential employer. Don't neglect English writing courses. It does not matter how good your testing is if you are unable to communicate the results and recommendations, both in written words and in-person spoken presentations, to small and large groups.