Product Design Engineer as a Career Questions!

Hello! Hopefully this is the right subreddit to post in not sure if i can ask questions here or not.

So to try and keep things short, I’m a fresh graduate from high school about to be attending college at Central Michigan University. I’ve been very interested in the graphic design/digital art kind of fields but i know money really shouldn’t be a problem if i’m passionate about something, but as much as i love something i need to make a certain amount or else i won’t be happy with myself really, i won’t live comfortably.

I’ve been looking into various careers and so far i’ve been intrigued with Engineering. I’ve been doing tons of research trying to find information until i came across the concept of getting a degree in Product Design Engineering which just sounds perfect for me, i like creative things, i love designing stuff and have a few years of experience with photoshop. I’ve taken an Engineering course at my high school which involved SpectraCAD, and Solidworks? (it’s been about a year since then so sorry if those are wrong) but we would design many things like nails, boxes, chairs, cabinets and all sorts of stuff including a small rocket we got to 3D print and i honestly loved that class so much.

I just really want to get an idea of what this career is about and what i should know about it before i make a decision starting college in August.

1. How much money do you generally make per hour/salary with this degree?
2. Do you mostly work with Freelancing? Or more with company design teams? A company that helps clients design products?
3. How difficult will it be for me to find work? I will most likely be living in a warmer state then michigan when i graduate (i hate it here so much). What is usually a starting salary?
4. What should i prepare for in college to pursue this kind of degree?
5. How much of this is related to physics and math like engineering is? I know a lot from research seems to be based mostly on materials, budgeting costs, and design efficiency to cut costs and improve usefulness.
6. Would you give and tips for this career?
7. How much will a Masters degree help me over a Bachelors?
8. Where do Product Designers usually work? From home? In offices?

Overall, any information you can give me about the career would greatly be appreciated! Means a lot!

Submitted May 22, 2019 at 09:46AM by EcoLaps http://bit.ly/30yc0NI