<p>Hey guys, I recently received transfer acceptance into SMU, UTD and Purdue University. I'm in the process of picking which one to go to. I already have a pretty set goal to get a masters in petroleum engineering and to minor in business at whatever undergrad school i got to. So in short the two schools I'm really considering out of my choices are SMU and Purdue. My main question is if I pick purdue does it make any sense to pick aerospace engineering as my major if I plan to master in petroleum later or should i do something like chemical engineering. I ask because Purdue is one of the best in the world as far as aerospace so it might open up some avenues as far as graduate schools. (I do not plan to get my masters at SMU or Purdue.)</p>
<p>You should major in the field you want to go into. Why aren’t you majoring in petroleum?</p>
<p>Doing aerospace just to later get a masters in petroleum is not even close to the extra work that is involved in aerospace as opposed to just doing petroleum in the first place. Why are you so committed to not getting an undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering? It sounds like that is the way to go and then you could just skip the masters (since petroleum engineering masters degrees don’t get you anything beyond a petroleum bachelors).</p>
<p>IMO: Most oil companies prefer BS over master in petroleum unless you have a PHD. Seems like you picked Petroleum because of money factor since you wanted to do BS in Aerospace. Pick something that you like or good at it.</p>
<p>If you really want to do master in PE, I suggest you do BS in mechanical engineering and then do master in PE.</p>
<p>I appreciate the input but understand that I know its preferable to major in PE, but none of the above listed colleges offer that program. I’m just looking to see what major will be best for a transition into a PE masters, its not just a money matter I picked aero because purdue is one of the best in the world when it comes to aero so I figured doing well in that at purdue would open up a lot of avenues grad school-wise.</p>
<p>Doing a degree just because the school is good at it is no way to choose what to study. If you don’t like a field, you likely aren’t going to do that great in it because it just doesn’t interest you. This will be compounded at a top-flight program like Purdue, where competition and rigor will both be high.</p>
<p>If you really want to do PE when you eventually join the workforce and can’t go to a school that offers it, then do a degree that can potentially get you into PE out of undergrad like ME or CivE. You can often get PE jobs with those degrees without even bothering with graduate school. I graduated ME and know several people working in oil refineries and oilfield technology centers doing oilfield research. I also know ME’s who work out in the field as drilling engineers. Don’t waste your time with aerospace.</p>
<p>K thanks, the main thing i wanted to understand was if there was any connection between aero and PE, so if there isn’t I’m not going to bother.</p>
<p>^The only connection would be the required standard courses such as math, physics and first year chem. What you are suggesting doesn’t really make any sense but anything is possible. You will have to take some prerequisite petroleum engineering courses though.</p>