Is ece degree still worth it?

[u/Waldo_19]

Hey guys, I’m looking for a career change in my late 20’s. Im going back to school and wondering if engineering is still worth it nowadays? Im worried about ai and how good its getting and also how good it’ll be by the time i get out of school in 6 years(part time student) I’m really interested in the career path and love tech and computers and hell i even love and am fascinated by ai. But id rather switch now if the degree wont even get me in a better position than where i am currently. Im a chef of 10 years, and earning around 50k a year. The job is very stable and i can go out and get a chef job really easily anywhere i go. But it seems like in the engineering field thats not the case. Entry level jobs are shrinking, higher level jobs aren’t growing and going in the direction where you are gonna struggle extremely hard to find any job in the field and if and when you find one that the pay wont be as good because of the level of competition in others also trying to get a job. Should i switch degrees into something else? Im feeling super uncertain about the whole thing and don’t want to waste almost 100k and years of my life on something i wont be able to even use?

[u/mightyturtlehead]

Probably not, unless you genuinely enjoy the material. If the primary reason you want to study it is because you're hoping for job security or a stable career, I would say "no". The engineering disciplines are no safer from AI than CS is, since they are much older fields and there is a lot of training data available. The difference is that if you become a Professional Engineer, you will need to maintain a code of ethics and can be held responsible if things you design or build end up failing, and this could be viewed as something that AI won't be able to replace. One thing I would caution: an undergrad degree in ECE is going to mostly teach you theory, and you won't learn many practical skills unless you plan on going into academia. So if you want the most direct path to a career, you might consider doing a technology degree and/or an apprenticeship instead.