Hi, I currently attend a 4-year institution and my major is Mechanical Engineering. I am thinking about minoring in a discipline. I have thought about Psychology because I would only need 8 more additional credits toward the minor in Psychology. Is this a useful minor in the job market? If not what other disciplines should I take into consideration?
No! If I were an employer, I would look at your transcript and see how many elective ENGINEERING classes you too. For example, as a structural engineer, I took extra classes in wood design, long span structures span, etc. I would not be impressed with a psychology minor.
So maybe a minor like Information Technology and Management, Information System Network Management, Information Security, Information System Administration, Industrial Technology and Management or Games Design is more marketable? Hmm from my research on the asme.org website I found that A psychology minor could be just the ticket, says Ryan Towles, an undergraduate academic advisor for Michigan Technological University’s mechanical engineering school. “We have some students who get really interested in human factors and it’s often involving operating machines,” Towles says. “They’re interested in how people react with controls, how do they look at signals with an interface. And it allows them to understand how the human brain relates.” But it also can assist when you get ahead on the corporate ladder. “In a management position it can help you get a sense of how that employee is doing and what will motivate them,” Towles says.
IF you want to do graduate work in human factors, then take some extra psychology. It’s applicable. Otherwise it isn’t. The general consensus here is that minors aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. It’s your classes that matter and as @MaineLonghorn said, their direct applicability to the job you’re applying for.
You’ll find HR departments of both views, I bet. If getting into user interfaces sounds interesting, it might be just the thing.
Also, a university degree should be more than just a trade school diploma, IMO. If psych. really interests you, you may find long term benefits to it that go beyond the job and into your long term personal satisfaction.
The exact question was: “Is this a useful minor in the job market?” And the answer is no.
There is a need for engineers interested in user centered design etc. But I think courses on that kind of topic would be lots more helpful than a “psychology” minor would/
@tallkekepink95 - Do a search of these threads for discussions about minors (and double majors). Typically this group recommends that extra coursework in areas of interest are more useful. There is not much value to an official minor, and often it gets tricky with class scheduling (especially at small schools with just one section per year pr alternate year of certain courses).
I agree that even if there’s an interest in human factors, a student would be much better served (from a hiring perspective) by taking courses in human factors from something like the industrial engineering department. That would be a lot more helpful than Freud and Jung.
But what if your self driving car asks how you felt about your mother? :))
I kind of assumed the OP would take applicable psychology classes (if available) in keeping with @MaineLonghorn’s original point.
I am sure that programs vary a bit from school to school. But here’s an example psych minor - http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CLAS/Departments/psychology/Programs/Minor/Pages/Minor.aspx
The degree requirements listed below are for a minor in psychology. These include:
At least 15 hours of psychology (grades of C or better), including:
PSYC 1000, Introduction to Psychology I
PSYC 1005, Introduction to Psychology II
ONE of the following TWO courses:
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PSYC 3222, Principles of Learning and Behavior
PSYC 4144, Human Cognition
ONE of the following THREE courses:
PSYC 3205, Human Development I: Child Development
PSYC 3305, Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 4415, Experimental Social Psychology
One additional 3 credit course in Psychology
[/QUOTE]
The above is a lot of work, without much crossover with human factors / user centered design. Instead, this kind of course would be more useful: http://www.colorado.edu/catalog/2015-16/courses/engr/b-atls/5620-user-centered-design-1
PSYC 456 at IIT looks like the only applicable class. Just like Denver, IIT’s minor is 15h. Nearly all of it would be wasted.
As an engineering manager, maybe the class in “abnormal psychology” would help manage some employees!
Seriously. Unless you can tie the classes you would be taking into something DIRECTLY related to the job you are looking for, they are not worth it.
Okay thank you everyone I have decided I will just take more Engineering electives toward my bachelors degree. Man you guys are awesome! 
I graduated with my associates degree at a community college so many of my classes did not transfer to IIT which puts me back a lot than many of my peers. So it would be useful to take more engineering electives rather than minoring in something not applicable to an engineering degree.