Hi, I’m planning to major in Aerospace Engineering and am tossing around the idea of minoring in management. That way I will have something to relate when employers look for that type of experience. I will be coming into college with about 5 classes of the curriculum already completed, and the minor requires 5 courses, so I think I could pull it off. Anybody want to comment?
Thanks!
What do you mean by “when employers look for that type of experience”? No employer is going to be looking for management experience in a new hire fresh out of college and no fresh graduate is going to be going straight into management. They certainly may look for some evidence of leadership and the ability to work well in groups, but this isn’t necessarily proven by a piece of paper that says you’ve completed a certain number of courses on management. Ultimately, you still need experience before you will be considered for management.
That said, I suppose what you learn in those courses might give you some degree of personal experience with project management that could help you move up the ladder a bit faster, but even that is a bit dubious in my opinion in most cases. Maybe someone else with more industrial experience than myself could chime in.
@boneh3ad, by “that type of experience” I meant the leadership/teamwork sort of ability. I realize that management and leadership are different, but if I took courses in things like “Building Effective Work Teams” (which is an offered course) I think it would at the very least show involvement and interest that general arena. Of course being part of clubs and such should also help.
And I know that no entering engineer would ever become a manager right off the bat. That’s not what I’m trying to do.
There are also different kinds of managers… program managers, for example, generally aren’t very technically-minded, and a good number of them don’t even have engineering degrees. Project managers/group leads are technical managers, and most started out as working engineers.
After a bad experience with a double major, engineering and management, an application with such a double major was the first (and quickest) into the round file.
Echoing what @HPuck35 said, I had 5 years of actual managerial experience (small business and large corporation) and PMP education (not enough experience to sit for it though) and I had to swear up and down during the interview for my last engineering internship that I was NOT seeking a managerial position. Having since removed all work experience prior to re-entering college I have gotten 4 internship interviews and 3 offers including JPL. I’m sure also appearing younger on paper also helps, but I also brought up my managerial experience/ability with an engineering recruiter last year who openly mocked it- “any idiot can be a manager.” I replied, “I know, that’s one of the problems I’m hoping to fix at your company.” I didn’t hear back from them 
" leadership/teamwork" - That would probably be best learned on engineering project teams plus perhaps an EC with leadership position. A management class or two would not hurt. One was required for my MechE degree, and I found it helpful even though I’ve always been on the employee side of the desk at annual reviews.
Well, my point isn’t to become a manager right off the bat (or even ever), it’s to demonstrate some interest and experience with teamwork/leadership. Would there be a better minor than management for that? Please, suggest away. Thank you for your replies, @da6onet, @HPuck35, and @colorado_mom. @HPuck35, are you saying you had someone who double majored in that but wasn’t good to have working for you? I’m not questioning the experience, but that seems a bit short-sighted to classify all engineering+management people as “bad” from one experience. So any “management” interest and you are seen as trying to jump in and take control, yet they do want you to be able to work with people in a team - as if a manager doesn’t? I certainly hope there is more to good management then just telling people under you to do stuff.
Why do you feel you need a minor to display leadership and teamwork? Join an engineering-related club on a topic that interests you. Ultimately, when you go to get a job, the interviewer will likely bring up teamwork and leadership. It’s your answers to those questions that will display that your experience is valuable moreso than any piece of paper.
@boneh3ad I don’t know that I NEED it. I just thought it was an interesting idea. I do plan to join a rocketry club. Thanks for the input.
“to demonstrate some interest and experience with teamwork/leadership” - I agree with the engineering-related clubs (mini baja, chem car, etc) or other campus organization (student govt, frat, etc). Also think about taking a project management role on some team projects and/or senior capstone team project.
I don’t have a problem if someone wants to cherry pick some management classes that would enhance their understanding of how people work together in a company. But the management programs I am familiar with don’t include teamwork as a class. For example; Harvard has two management degree paths, “finance” and “general management”. Finance is obviously not what you want. One might think that the general management would be. However their description of the program is; “Our coursework leads you through foundational topics in economics, accounting, finance, strategy, marketing, organizational behavior, and management.”
My problem was that the 2 dual degree people I had working for me wanted tasks associated with their knowledge in accounting, finance, strategy, and marketing when I wanted them to learn engineering. The dual degree also takes away class time from getting more than the minimum (or nearly the minimum) credits to get the engineering degree as the two degrees are quite far apart in subject matter. I want the best prepared ENGINEER that I can hire for the position. Teamwork skills, as others have pointed out, are learned and demonstrated by clubs, projects and internships while in college. I would look for people who would be good team members.