Hi everyone, I am currently a Senior in High School, and my top two choices are CSM and CU. I am having a really hard time deciding which school would be the best for me. I am interested in mechanical, automotive, aerospace, and petroleum engineering, and slightly more interested in aerospace and automotive engineering. I have heard that if I get a degree in mechanical engineering, I could get a degree in either aerospace or automotive engineering, is this true? Also, if it is true, would I earn a similar salary as someone who has a specific degree in aerospace or automotive. My big question is, which school should I go to if these are my interests, and which school would give me the most options since I am not dead set on one degree yet. Thanks in advance!
My s’s HS engineering class met with the hiring engineer for Lockheed Martin in CO this past spring and he said just get an engineering degree- they hire all types. The general view we are hearing is a mechie degree is more versatile re job hunting because it is needed in all sorts of workplaces, aero, auto, building, etc. Mines and CU have very different school cultures. Pick the one that fits you best. Have you visited both? We find students we know have strong reactions one way or the other to them.
Are you in-state? If you are an OOS they will be expensive schools to attend.
The upside of CU is if you change your mind re an engineering degree, you have lots of other options re majors.
CSM alums we know either loved it there or were not happy at all and say go elsewhere.
I see in another post you asked about finishing Mines in 4 v. 5 years. In general, some engineering students take 5 years due to taking time away from school to do coops/internships which are normally paid.
I have visited both, and slightly prefer Mines. It can be noted that I am very certain that I want to go into engineering, and I am in-state. The only thing I am worried about is getting a Mechanical engineering degree to get paid less as if I were to get an aerospace engineering degree, something that I could have prevented.
That is not an issue from what we are hearing. Mechie is more versatile. If there is a downturn in aerospace hiring by the time you graduate, over specializing can be a hinderance.
The other thing everyone is telling my s is if you are going into an area of engineering for the $$$ you will be unhappy and less sucessfull. Pick an area you enjoy.
The general rule on CSM is it is easier to get in than to graduate. It has the rep for being a weed out program. What are your stats?
I’m not trying to get into engineering for the money, but my thought was that I might as well maximize my salary by getting a different degree if I can. Anyways, I have a 29 on the ACT, 4.3 cumulative weighted gpa, 3.9 unweighted, with most honors or AP classes taken.
You should get into both schools. The school you believe you will thrive at will be the best one to go to because you will be more likely to complete an engineering program there.
I agree with @goldensrock. If you like CSM over CU, I’d go to CSM. My daughter prefers a large campus and loves Boulder so she would choose CU but many of her friends are choosing CSM. Go where you feel like you are at home! You will be much happier and do much better in the long run. That really is the most important factor in deciding. Also, I wouldn’t fret about the degree too much.The classes for most engineers are essentially the same the first two years. You may find another major you love more in that time. Many students switch at some point because realistically, at 17 or 18, you have little clue what the differences in the degrees are or what you really want to do with that degree. I started out as a computer hardware engineer in college. At the time, most of those jobs were going overseas. I ended up co-oping for IBM as a computer programmer and loved it so I switched majors after 2.5 years of school. Worked out well as the industry was growing for computer scientists but not for engineers.