<p>I'm a senior in high school.
I was wondering if my decision is wise:
I was thinking about taking engineering (just plain, general engineering) for my bachelor's degree, and then moving to another school for a master's degree in a more specific field of engineering.
Is this possible? Is it a wise move?
Some people told me that having education from multiple universities would be attractive on my resume.
Some others also said that majoring in a specific field of engineering from the start onwards would give me more opportunities for jobs, while others said that in making a choice for what university to attend, I should just pick the best school for now and then take a specific major later on and transfer if necessary.
See I don't want to have to transfer a year into college just to get into the specific major I'm looking for.
So what should I do?
Any and all advice is much appreciated!!!</p>
<p>There are a couple of potential problems associated with going for a general engineering degree for undergrad:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When you eventually apply for a job, that job will be related to a particular engineering field (i.e. mechanical, aerospace, civil, computer, etc.), and having a “general” engineering foundation (which is very broad) may put you a disadvantage when competing with people who have degrees in the field they are applying to.</p></li>
<li><p>This problem is related to the first problem in that a Masters degree doesn’t cover everything about its particular field. In other words, there are certain field-related topics that will not be covered at the Master’s level that would have been covered at the undergraduate level (since the undergrad degree is broader). A Master’s degree is a specialization degree afterall - it hones in on one or two areas of a particular field, which is useful if you want to become a specialist in these areas.</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>This is true. Diversifying your background is a good thing.</p>
<p>Apply as an undecided engineering major and try to choose a specific field in your first year. Most of the first year courses are the same for different engineering majors. You can always shift a bit for a Masters degree but it is often a good idea to work for a few years before deciding what Masters degree to pursue.</p>