stingc

I'm a physicist, but have always been interested in engineering (and have friends in it), so I think I can give some perspective.

As others have said, hands-on experience is very important. Engineering is a massive field, and changes constantly. Your courses will only cover the basics, and much of what they tell you won't be relevant for long (depending on your specialization). Employers want to see that you can be creative outside of coursework.

Calculus and physics are very important for most types of engineering. The point of engineering is to apply physics, so doing something innovative usually requires you to understand it well (and therefore math too). Physics will also make most of your courses a lot simpler. Engineering texts tend to annoyingly separate out things that are really the same idea looked at a little differently.

Engineering will always be needed, so jobs will always be there if you can adapt. By that I mean that things can change very quickly, and your knowledge could become outdated within a year or two. This is especially a concern for certain parts of electrical engineering. Semiconductors probably won't be the only game in town 15 years from now. I suppose similar statements can go for materials engineers too.