<p>Right now I'm a freshman majoring in EE. However I have a strong interest in mathematics, and I've thought about trying to pull a double major in EE and Mathematics. </p>
<p>So if you're an engineering firm or a graduate school, do you give a significant boost to the applicant with a double major in math, especially if your work/research is math intensive?</p>
<p>First off, ask yourself if you really like EE, or if you're just majoring in it because it's easier to find jobs in or something :) </p>
<p>If you double major in math, your math coursework will be taken into consideration if that's important to your field, I imagine. You have to do the right KIND of math though. Not all math for all practical purposes finds itself immediately applicable to EE. I don't think just piling a double major on just because EE is mathematical is wise, but if you see <em>specific</em> applications of your math work to EE, that can be good. Else, I think they'd rather you get more depth in EE itself.</p>
<p>Math majors often get deeply theoretical. I can see EE finding a use for advanced calculus and the like, but seriously, there are even higher math fields that I have never heard of. Electrical engineering generally remains practical. Math skill is good, but a math major is not necessarily compatible; advanced abstraction versus advanced practicality. Consider which one you like most.</p>
<p>Just to bump this thread.</p>
<p>Through the use of advance credit, I noticed I would be able to double major in math and Chem. E and finish in four year regularly (perhaps taking an extra class every semester or so). Now, would it be worthwhile to do this? </p>
<p>From an employment perspective, I’d be taking the classes most relevant to the field. For example, I’d take ODE, PDE I/II, Numerical Analysis, Applied fourier analysis, etc. in order to maximize the most I can get from the math major.</p>
<p>Aside from that, math is something I have passion for. I love it, and it’s something that if the time comes for it, I don’t want to be unable to get a job involving it because I don’t have a little paper that says I’m capable of doing it. </p>
<p>My main question is, if it’s just better to self-study the classes on my own, and save myself any trouble I could get from perhaps overloading myself (albeit I doubt it) or perhaps making an already hard Engineering curriculum harder? Is it just not worth it?</p>
<p>If you want it, go for it. You only ever get to do undergrad once, you know. If you’re committed and pretty on the ball, you can pull it off. And you can always drop a double major at any time… and just stick to ChemE. I doubt that it would even show up on your transcript, and if it did, who would care? You still took the math classes and got your ChemE degree.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about getting the double major on paper, you can always get your minor and stick on any extra classes you feel are worth doing. If it’s enough to add up to a double major, then great. If not, you still took all of those other advanced classes, and you’ll be able to talk about them in an interview if needed.</p>
<p>Not really. The real advantage is that you got to study something that you loved. Its probably not going to help you get a job at the BS level and will only help you to get into grad school if you want to do interdisciplinary research like you suggested. Otherwise if you apply to a “standard” EE program, they usually consider your EE classes seperate from your other classes. They are looking for students who have a demonstrated aptitude for EE and not necessary mathematics (or not only mathematics, rather).</p>
<p>When you are applying for a job in a technical field, double majoring is good, but not as much as one might think. What I mean is if you can pull that off, especially with math, so much power to you, but not at the expense of the GPA, the breadth and depth in the primary major that the employer is looking for. Make sure you do well in the main major, then math can be a boost.
I am an employer and that’s how I see it.</p>
<p>Double majoring is somewhat beneficial, but for the purposes of having an attractive resume, you’d be better off covering your original major in more depth. for example, by taking graduate level courses, doing research, or finding internships in your field</p>
<p>I’m sort of in the same boat. I like math and physics a lot more than EE, I think, and if I wasn’t worried about jobs after graduation (even though I plan on going to grad school) I think I’d just be a math/physics major. But, because I don’t really want to be a professor and go through the ****ty postdoc life that entails, I think I’m just going to major in EE or CompE. It kind of makes me sad.</p>