Suggested High School Courses

There are no set courses you have to take in high school in order to become an engineer. These are merely some suggestions for courses you can take in order to pursue engineering in college.

Four years of English: It sounds odd--English as a course for future engineers--but engineers need to be able to communicate effectively with other engineers, work colleagues, and potential customers.

Four years of Math: Math is extremely important to engineers. Take as many high- level math courses such as Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus and Statistics as possible--if your school offers them. They can really help prepare you for challenging college-level courses.

At least three Sciences: Chemistry, biology, and physics are very important to an engineer. To take a more in-depth look at these subjects, take them as AP or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, if offered in your school.

Two years of Social Studies: An engineer needs to have an understanding of the political, social, and economic forces at work in the world in order to match her designs to the context of a project.

Two years of a Foreign Language: Projects may require an engineer to travel to other parts of the world. Having a good grasp of at least one foreign language can ease the travel experience and facilitate communication with engineers and colleagues in other countries.

Engineering Technology: This course allows you to see what an engineer's work is really like. The designing, planning, and construction processes of projects in this class are modeled after what engineers do every day. This class could help you decide whether you want to be an engineer.

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