Which other subject would be most beneficial for engineering?

Question

Hello one and all : ) ,

I will be starting an access course to higher education (engineering) in 2 weeks time.I am supposed to choose four modules that suit my future career path.I have picked maths 1,maths 2 and physics (all equivalent to A level).That leaves one more choice.After scaling them down,i have been left with

1.statistics (eq. to A level)

2.computing ..... (eq. to A level) *not ict*

3.Chemistry (equivalent to AS level).

Not fully decided which branch of engineering to venture in to as i dont know the diffrences apart from what i have read from books and the internet.After some research,electrical & electronics,mechanical and possibly computer engineering sound quite interesting.

So,which subject would best compliment the other 3 (maths & physics) bearing the above engineering branch interests in mind ?

Not exactly keen on chemistry but if it will be helpful later, i don't mind doing it but it is not a pre-requisite.Do you need chemistry for mech,elec or comp engineering?

Statistics:How much statistics knowledge do you need for the above branches of engineering ?

Computing:I have read alot of negative things about it i.e poor syllabus that hardly prepares you for anything,let alone higher education.

I would highly appreciate your answers and advice.Thank you.

Answer 1

Electrical and Electronics.

Answer 2

I think you should have some of all three.

Let's say you were going into Electrical Engineering with an interest in semiconductor fabrication.

You would want Statistics to analyze the processes. I sat at my desk using statistics to isolate a problem down to one maintenance event machine in a large fab. I called maintenance and prevented thousands of dollars in lost product. Statistics can be very useful in many places.  

Chemistry is also important there, such as knowing what various acids do and how to clean the acid to reuse them. Many engineering disciplines have a need for an understanding of physics.  

Computer would be the least important to me.

Answer 3

I'm in biomedical engineering and I needed to take all three (several courses of each) at the Univ. of TX at Austin.

Both computer and electrical engineering will require computing and everything from lower-level (binary and assembly language) programming to higher level (C, and above) programming.

Mechanical requires chemistry because you need to know how chemicals react when making materials and products. Electrical engineering does NOT require chemistry, although it might be helpful if you specialize in making computer chips, etc.

All three engineering programs will no doubt need some sort of statistics. When researching ANYTHING, whether you're making programs (ECE) or building a go-kart (MechE) you will need to take statistics to determine effective modules, etc.