hmmmm - proof?
My sister was accepted to MIT (she went elsewhere). Our dad wears the brass rat.
I have been the most vocal here about not wanting to hire engineers with dual majors in business. The company I worked for (now retired) was big aerospace. We did ENGINEERING. We had other groups that did the financial stuff (bean counting, etc.) and still others that did marketing, totally different career paths.
The marketing group could be an interesting group to work in but they didnāt hire right out of college. You needed to understand what the products were before you could have any credibility in marketing. They typically took in experienced engineers who wanted a career shift, and it is quite a shift.
If you were interested in doing engineering management, then you needed to understand the engineering part very well first. And your role as an engineering manager was a multi-role position; people management, mentoring and cost and schedule estimates. All skills that came after some years of experience, not usually from business school. If you wanted to move into engineering management, then the company offered classes in the skills you needed. In fact, the company required that you take those classes and earn a certificate to even be considered for engineering management. My experience, which I limited after my first hire of a dual graduate, was that they had these business skills and so wanted tasks to utilize them. I had no such tasks in the group, we did ENGINEERING. And they didnāt have the skills I talked about above for engineering management. Frustrating for me and the person I hired. They left the company after a short stay.
That said, there is some value in taking a few classes in the business would that would directly relate to an area such as manufacturing management. I took such a class as an undergrad and found it useful, but I certainly wasnāt going to make it my career. I took it as one of the classes that every engineering major has to take to gain some breath within their college education.
When hiring, I would look for the best prepared engineering applicant. The one with the most classes that pertained to the job I was offering. Most hires did more than the minimum engineering classes needed for their degrees. A dual degree in business takes away opportunities to enhance oneās college engineering experience.
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I loved UVA and would have loved to have gone there. However, it was hard to get to. I think that alone would have me taking a hard look at GT if those are the two schools left standing.
If your son doesnāt intend to travel to/from school often, it may not matter. Pretty drive, but not fast.
There are companies that specifically hire new grads for Engineering Leadership Development Programs (ELDPS). In these roles, having business classes is a plus.
And depending on a schoolās AP credit, there can be plenty of room to do a deep dive in engineering and have room for electives in a non engineering minor.
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The OP says they are within driving distance of Charlottesville, 5 1/2 hours. That would be a plus for me but my kids stayed instate and even with that one was over 2 1/2 hours away and the other was a 5 hour drive away. We enjoyed being able to drive to their schools but that may or may not be an issue for the OP one way or the other(drive or fly).
Agree. There are many companies (obviously not all) that could see it as a plus to have more than technical skills. Even my husband back in the 70ās had one of the first dual degrees in engineering and publc policy from Carnegie Mellon. It has served him well. Business, entrepreneurship, public policy, global issues, etc. are parts of many schools these days.
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Thatās what I mean - far. To Atlanta you just fly and it is faster than 5 1/2 hours.
I lived in Baltimore at the time I was looking at UVA. It was a long drive (4 hours? we lived pretty far north of the city). could have been to the airport, flown to Atlanta and been done with it. But I did really really love UVA.
Well, to fly it can take driving to the airport or getting an UBER, paying for parking, hassling with the airport and potential delays, etc. Could easily take hours too, with possibly less control over the process. But, it doesnāt really matter what we think. It matters what the OP prefers.
As it really just matters what the OP and son prefer with engineering/business possibilities that the OP and son may be interested in. Doesnāt matter that some here donāt think itās a good idea. It matters what THEY want and both UVA and Georgia Tech have great opportunities to meet that possible goal.
UVA tours are conducted by students. A student tour guide said that?
Sorry - the info session - second one i ever went on (first was IU for Sophomore day). Was for my son in 2018. They actually led with it - early in the slide presentation.
I appreciate it - it gave a lot of perspective.
Here is one of the top universities in the nation - and still having to sell the program. They were hungry and I like that!!!
It is different, but finances were not a deciding factor (fully funded 529 for either school). Two very different situations. Georgia Tech really shines in its entrepreneurial opportunities, which is why my current HS senior chose it, but the facilities are also vastly different. The engineering department at UVA is across from the old dorms and has none of the flash and bang of what is going on at Georgia Tech, nor does it have the funding. Being in Atlanta is a benefit - Google is across the street - but it is not just that. My guess is the student will have a strong opinion either way but GT with a scholarship is very difficult to turn down.
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You donāt have to drive to the airport or get an UBER from Georgia Tech - Marta goes directly from campus into the airport terminal. Not sure where the OP is flying to and the logistics on that end but it is very easy to get anywhere an airplane goes from Georgia Tech or Atlanta.
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I understand that. Atlanta is a major hub for air travel. My point was that some people prefer to avoid airports and prefer to drive. Or vice versa.
UVA and Georgia Tech are both great. The OP canāt go wrong with either. Fit will be important since the costs sound fairly close. There will be good outcomes, good recruiting at either for a good, motivated student. Some care about flash and bang more than others. The OP and son have narrowed it down to these two schools and they will be deciding soon. All the best to them and donāt get too distracted by us here. Go with your gut!
Hmmm ā¦ true, flying is faster but more expense. I just looked at plane tickets to Atlanta for the Golden Carpet event - $418/pers without any baggage, not even a carry-on (Spirit) - insane. If I add carry on and hotel for 2 nights, we reach $2k easily. I think Iām not going to beg them to put me on Golden Carpet list - weāll just go next week to regular visit.
Also interesting enough - all year long he said UF, UF, UF - and I was very ok with it. You all parents should understand me - sometimes he drives me so crazy that Iām looking forward to the moment he leaves the house. Now that we are so close to decision day - both of us (me and him) are having second thoughts about the distance. He also told me that from UVA is a train (Amtrak maybe ?) that comes to NY/NJ ā¦so yeah, distance matter and UVA wins here.
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Yes, there is an Amtrak train station in Charlottesville. I believe there are also buses that go to New York for breaks, also ride boards. Plenty of kids/families going to the NY/NJ area from UVA.
What exactly is MARTA - Iām sure Iāve heard about it ā¦is it like a shuttle that runs from airport to the university ?
Also - can anybody give me a suggestion for an affordable hotel in Atlanta. We have never been there and our first impulse was to find a hotel close to GT. Now Iām thinking, maybe we can go a bit further and cheaper and Uber to GT.
MARTA is a public transportation networkā¦ itās a scaled down subway/lightrail/etc. It does not go everywhere in Atlanta, but covers a pretty wide area.