<p>I want to major in mechanical engineering, but i would also like to minor in another area. Maybe spanish (since thats that only other language i know), or photography, or even computer science or computer engineering... can i do that? Another question, what is the difference between computer science and computer engineering? I really like constructing things, but i also really like programming.. so i dont know which would be best! From computer science and computer engineering, which allows you to work in more places... like you have more job opportunities. Another question, have many minors can you get? is getting 2 minors possible? and how long does it usually take to get a minor? sorry im very confused on how one gets a minor :P Also, which school is best for engineering in California? I would love to go to CalPoly Pomona, but ive heard that alot of professors discriminate and some students are forced to transfer to another universities. ANOTHER question, which classes are best to take in my community college while still in high school? I want to take some classes so I can be some what ahead once I get to college... should i take an art class or a political science class because I know you need those for your GEs? Another question, the ratio of men to women in the mechanical engineering field is it a large difference? (if you couldnt tell by my thousand similar questions, im a girl) Im just wondering because my uncle is a mechanical engineer and he said that there are barely any women in mechanical engineering... would that make it harder for women to find jobs as an engineer? OKAY let me just thank you before for taking the time to read my crazy questions :) THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS</p>
<p>Depends on if your school offers minors that fit within the schedule space around your major (it may depend on whether your minor overlaps with your existing major or breadth requirements).</p>
<p>Can’t answer all of your questions but I will answer a few. </p>
<p>Yes you can minor in any field that you want. I major in optical sciences and engineering (one degree program) and minor in mathematics and history. So yes, it should be possible to get two minors if you wanted to. Keep in mind though: 1) You don’t want to overload yourself, and 2) You want to make sure you can regularly fit minor classes around your major classes, especially if your minor field is not in any way related to your major field. It was easy to fulfill the mathematics minor because my engineering major required that I take18 credits of math already. Fulfilling the history minor was harder because I had to squeeze in those classes around my major classes. I think every college is different as far as how you declare a minor. I had to go to the academic advising office in the department that I was interested in minoring in and they were able to declare a minor for me. What classes you have to take for a minor could also vary. For me, in order to fulfill my minors I had to take 9 credits of lower division courses and 9 credits of upper division courses for a total of 18 credits.</p>
<p>I have a friend who majors in computer science and the way he talks about it, it seems like you do more coding and programming in computer science and more problem solving and hardware in computer engineering. I think a loose analogy would be comparing theoretical physics to engineering. You deal more with theory and how things are done in theoretical physics and more with applying theory in engineering.</p>
<p>If you know the types of courses that you need to take for gen ed credit, I would go ahead and take community college courses that transfer and will fulfill those. In addition, you said that you liked programming. I would take one or two programming classes to get a good foundation in at least one language. Most engineers are self taught programmers, so if you get familiarity with a language early on you will be ahead of the curve.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for the men/women ratio for Mech Es. But I will give you the ratio in my field. My senior class consists of about 40 students and 5 of them are females, myself included. This will obviously vary by engineering field, but it gives you a rough idea of what it is like. Women have always been a minority in the engineering field, but that does not mean it is harder for women to succeed. My current internship at a federal contractor has brought me into contact with a number of successful female engineers. So long as you work hard, you will succeed.</p>
<p>Ok, where do I start…</p>
<p>Yes you can minor in something else. I am an Aerospace Engineer and I’m minoring in Comparative Literature just to keep myself sane. Also I think the writing will look good.</p>
<p>Computer science is coding and coding and coding and coding, while computer engineering is a mix of coding and hardware and electronics and circuits. I think for computer engineering you may have better job opportunities because of the mix, but I am not expert on the subject.</p>
<p>I don’t know about 2 minors. I know I would have to stay in college another year for that to happen. As it stands, my schedule is inflexible for all 4 years of college (I will be a sophomore next year) when I include all my major and minor classes. My minor is 6 classes and I have 1 done. </p>
<p>Best school for engineering? Probably CalTech or Berkeley. I wouldn’t worry too much about going to the BEST school as long as it is a good school. I go to UC Davis and It’s ranked up there with UCSD but it also has lots of connections to Silicon Valley because of how close it is.</p>
<p>In community college, take math and chemistry classes. That will just make your life easier.</p>
<p>There are more men in engineering, but at least here in Davis I am surprised how many women there actually are in engineering. They definitely admit lots of women into engineering to try to counteract the male stereotype :). That would definitely make it EASIER for women in engineering to find jobs because employers want “diversity”.</p>
<p>Thanks… you guys are truly awesome :D</p>
<p>is a major in engineering and a minor in digital art reasonable?</p>
<p>Do you have the stats to get into Harvey Mudd? They are quite specific about wanting their STEM majors to also take classes and have a secondary focus in a humanities subject. It is a bit easier to get admitted if you are female, too.</p>
<p>Please re-read what ucbalumnus posted. Everyone who responded “yes you can” did so from the perspective of their experience at their school. In reality, the answer for some schools is “no you can’t.” It strongly depends on the depth and breadth requirements of the individual school. For instance, minors in almost anything are pretty doable if you’re a student at Viterbi, USC’s engineering department. It is very difficult to minor in anything other than Math if you’re at Cal Poly. It should not be seen as either good or bad, but as a choice. The breadth the minor adds will impact the depth and breadth of your engineering experience. There’s no way around that, even if the school doesn’t have an extremely rigid engineering curriculum.</p>