<p>Hello,</p>
<p>My son recently got into both of these schools (in-state tuition for Berkeley). Our family makes around 150k, and he is our last child. We have discussed the situation plenty of times, but have still not come to a conclusion.</p>
<p>He would like to go to Brown and study Applied Math/Economics, but I worry that this route may not lead to as many job opportunities as a degree in Engineering from Berkeley.</p>
<p>Any input you guys have would be appreciated. Thank you</p>
<p>If you can afford either, I’d lay out your thinking, but let him choose. (And there is something to be said for going far away to school if he’s adventurous.) (Not all engineers with only a B.S. are finding it that easy to find employment these days.)</p>
<p>Engineering fields tend to be cyclical so employment opportunities aren’t guaranteed even if a student has managed to avoid being weeded out of first year engineering and related core science courses. </p>
<p>Just talk to many engineering/CS majors who were laid-off/unemployed for long periods right after the dotcom bust of 2001. </p>
<p>Whether your son chooses engineering or applied math/econ should be up to his academic interests and talents. Someone who is forced into engineering is unlikely to do well to stay in that major…and is unlikely to do well in life after graduation if he manages to graduate. </p>
<p>Know far too many friends/acquaintances who are undergoing therapy, having personal crises, and/or feeling trapped in a career they dislike/loath because they allowed their parents and/or salary/marketability concerns to completely dictate what schools/majors they took.</p>
<p>He’d have a much more interesting range of opportunities with the Brown degree.</p>
<p>Applied math / economics at Brown looks like aiming for investment banking jobs. Well paid, but [may</a> be hazardous to your health](<a href=“Warning: Banking May Be Hazardous to Your Health - WSJ”>Warning: Banking May Be Hazardous to Your Health - WSJ).</p>
<p>Would he rather do that or engineering (what kind of engineering?) after graduation?</p>
<p>Note that Berkeley is also very good at math and economics, though probably not as well connected to Wall Street recruiting (though finance does pick up some of the [applied</a> math](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm]applied”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm) and [url=<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm]economics[/url”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm]economics[/url</a>] graduates). Brown does not seem to have any career surveys on its web site.</p>
<p>Is there a significant net cost difference?</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. We would have to pay about 25k more each year for Brown. At Berkeley, he would be studying electrical engineering, which is a booming field in the market right now. However, he does not have the same affinity for it as he does for economics/math. </p>
<p>I think my biggest concern is if there is a large market for applied math/economics majors. I just want my son to have good career opportunities and a sustainable future. Do you guys know if the applied math/economics track is attractive in the job market?</p>
<p>If he does not like electrical engineering nor has as great an affinity for it, perhaps he won’t excel as much.</p>
<p>I think engineering is one of those fields that make parents feel safe but kids shouldn’t be pushed into.</p>
<p>We have no idea which jobs will be outsourced (well health care can’t be obviously), so it’s hard to make informed choices.</p>
<p>However, in general, I think kids do best in things they love and have a special affinity for.</p>
<p>Is he committed to EE at Berkeley or could he change to Math/Economics if he chose? If he can change, fine. But if he can’t, it might be a recipe for disaster to force a kid to major in something he already has doubts about.</p>
<p>“I think engineering is one of those fields that make parents feel safe but kids shouldn’t be pushed into.”</p>
<p>LOL, so true. And ‘safe’ is relative. Of the three young engineers in my family one is unemployed (laid off after 3 years on the job) and the other a barista at Starbucks because he decided he hated being an engineer. Only one person is employed as an engineer and happy about it, though he IS considering getting an MBA (if his employer pays at least some of the costs) because he noticed the people making the big bucks are not the engineers but the businessmen who are their bosses :)</p>
<p>"Apple"math at Brown is well respected.</p>
<p>There is an engineering program at Brown, too, but maybe it’s not electrical engineering? It would be easy to switch out of it if he didn’t like it. Besides the cost difference, these two universities are very different in a lot of ways.</p>
<p>The UCs are so crowded and poorly run. I keep hearing nightmare stories about kids not getting into their classes. This has been going on for years and isnt getting any better with the budget problems. I vote Brown if u can afford it.</p>
<p>Parent of a June 16 UC graduate. Four years, double major. You can in fact graduate in 4 years, though I think engineering is 5 years?</p>
<p>Mrscollege, in no way is UC a perfect system.
But, We are lucky in California to have a great selection of absolutely TOP public universities. And money is a big factor…$25,000 x 5 years is $125,000 that could be spent on grad school, a house in most parts of this country, or a couple of shares of Apple stock.
In my world that is a lot of money. Brown is a great school, no doubt…lot’s to think about.</p>