<p>Okay so I will be going to Rutgers University (New Brunswick) next fall. I have been accepted to both the School of Engineering and Rutgers College. I am unsure as to whether I should major in Finance or Computer and Electrical Engineering. I would like to later go on and get an MBA. I have heard that an undergrad degree in business is not worth it because you will be taking similar courses in business school when going for the MBA. I really don't want to waste money majoring in Finance or another business related field when I will be taking the same courses again in business school. Plus, I have heard that Rutgers Business School is crap and that the School of Engineering is much better at Rutgers. What do you guys think is better? Will an engineering degree from Rutgers or a business degree from Rutgers be more beneficial? Do Computer and Electrical Engineers have the same oppurtunities as those who major in Finance as undergrads? Do engineers have less opportunities, in terms of jobs, than do finance majors? Will majoring in finance be beneficial for me when I go on to pursue an MBA? Please help I am very confused and open to any feedback. I need to enroll in a school within a week so I really need some help here. PLEASE HELP!!!</p>
<p>Personally I can't imagine someone successfully and happily completing a 4-year program to study electrical engineering if they don''t want to be an engineer. It's a heck of a lot of work, beliieve me. </p>
<p>Do you want to be an engineer? I mean have you looked into engineering as a career? Do you like taking gizmos apart and building things? Are you really good at math and science? If the answer to all of the above is yes, then engineering may well be right for you. Otherwise it may well be wrong for you.</p>
<p>Personally I wouldn 't sign up for a specialized program of studies if I hadn't researched it first and had some reasonable basis to suppose that I wanted it.</p>
<p>B-school at Rutgers is rated quite low down the list. If you have an interest for engineering, I'd do an ECE and try to maintain a good GPA throughout your 4 years.. With a good GPA, and an engineering degree, you'd have better chances to get into a good graduate school for business or for an MBA</p>
<p>You should have decided what you wanted to do way before applying to college...</p>
<p>Good luck with electrical engineering.</p>
<p>But then I hate science.</p>
<p>Good luck with electrical engineering. I heard it's insanely hard.</p>
<p>But then I hate science, and I plan to major finance.</p>
<p>The thing is, whether I major in engineering or finance, in the end i will be running my father's hotels after i get my mba. also, i am NOT going to get my mba from Rutgers. I am only going to get my B.S. in engineering or finance and then apply to a much better grad school. and ideas for me?</p>
<p>You can transfer out of Rutgers to like, Brown or something...then you can land a nice, highpaying job and in turn get into Wharton more easily, then do whatever.</p>
<p>I hope you know that finance probably has just about as much math in it as engineering does.</p>
<p>I broached this notion, in some form, on another thread and was abused for it.</p>
<p>I think we are both wrong and right.</p>
<p>At the highest levels, the mathematics underlying derivatives valuation and risk management is highly complex.</p>
<p>However I believe it is true that most "regular" business majors do not pursue these topics to the nth degree. For example ,they might just use a canned Black-Scholes calculator to solve options valuation problems, rather than delving heavily into the derivation of the Black-Scholes formula itself.</p>
<p>So while finance does have about as much math in it as anyone might want, not all or even most finance majors would be expected to tackle the subject at the highest level of mathematcal sophistication.</p>
<p>what should i do, i like math, but NOT science. will getting a B.S. in Finance at Rutgers allow me the same oppurtunities at a good business grad school as getting a B.S. in engineering? The only reason I am leaning towards engineering at Rutgers is because it has a better reputation than does the Rutgers Business School. I would probably like business better. I do not want to nor do I intend to transfer out of Rutgers. It was my first choice school. So, any ideas once again? </p>
<p>BTW, thanks everyone for the help!</p>
<p>Then do finance. If you hate science, then it's not worth going for the better reputation at engineering. If you do engineering, it's insanely hard and you won't do too well. Remember, a 4.0 in finance at Rutgers business is better than a 2.6 in Rutgers engineering, regardless of reputation. </p>
<p>Besides that, the avg GPA at Wharton's around ~3.44 and HBS around ~3.6. AND since they play the so called "numbers game", they could care less where you went undergrad, as long as you went to a half-decent school. And Rutgers IS a decent school. So do finance. </p>
<p>The reputation only matters if you're going to go into investment banking, management consulting or something like that. Well get a 4.0 for your BS in finance, and try to land some internships. A 4.0 in finance from Rutgers is certainly no easy accomplishment.</p>
<p>Thanks alot for the help ihateCA. It has really given me a better understanding for things. I guess Finance it is!</p>
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Besides that, the avg GPA at Wharton's around ~3.44 and HBS around ~3.6. AND since they play the so called "numbers game", they could care less where you went undergrad, as long as you went to a half-decent school. And Rutgers IS a decent school. So do finance.
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<p>Actually, I would argue that these figures show that these schools do NOT play the numbers game. After all, these admitted GPA numbers, while good, aren't THAT good. All of the top school have plenty of applicants with near-perfect GPA's, and plenty of them get rejected. If these schools really wanted to play the numbers game, they could simply admit more people with excellent grades, thereby boosting their admitted GPA's. Hence, all of the top 10 B-schools could easily admit average GPA's of above 3.8 if they wanted to. The fact that they don't do this indicates to me that they are not playing the numbers game. </p>
<p>What seems to be far more important is your work experience. I've known plenty of people with excellent grades and GMAT scores who nonetheless didn't get into any of the top B-schools. In contrast, I've known people who were basically screw-ups in college, and yet got into the very top B-schools. What seems to be far far more important are your work experience and your interview skills.</p>
<p>What kind of work experience are you talking about --- something related to my major, or any old summer job? My question is that if I major in engineering, my work experience would be engineering related, something completely different from business... Wouldnt B-schools want work experience in the BUSINESS field?</p>
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Wouldnt B-schools want work experience in the BUSINESS field?
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<p>I suppose that depends on what you mean by the 'business' field. Most engineers are hired by for-profit businesses. Most engineers either work to determine ways to produce goods profitably, or to invent new products that can be sold profitably. Is that not a business function? </p>
<p>Just think of it this way. Most engineers work in the R/D or engineering/production division of a company. These divisions are no less "business"-related than, say, the corporate finance division or the HR division or the marketing division. After all, the whole goal of the company is the make money, and the engineering division is supposed to help the company do that. Why even have an engineering division at all if it doesn't help to make money? Engineering divisions are subjected to the same business rules such as profit-and-loss, capital structure, investment decisions, and return-on-investment decisions as any other business division.</p>
<p>Besides, I'll put it to you another way. One of the largest cohorts of students of almost any elite B-school consists of people who have no connection to business at all. I'm talking specifically about ex-soldiers. I would estimate that something like 10-20% of the entire class at both HBS, MITSloan, and Wharton had served in the military in some capacity, the vast majority being commissioned officers. For most of them, military experience is the only 'work experience' they have. In fact, lately, a number of them have had to interrupt their MBA education while in the middle of it because they were recalled to serve as officers.. Most officers will fulfill their active duty commitment still incur a commitment to serve in the reserves for a number of years in which they agree that they can be recalled to serve in emergency situations, and the current military situation certain qualifies as an emergency situation. Heck, the other day, I was just talking to a guy who had come back to finish his last year of his MBA at MITSloan after finishing 1 year at Sloan and then serving a year as a captain of an combat engineer's unit in Northern Iraq. </p>
<p>So the point is, if you are talking about B-schools requiring business experience, then what about all these military officers? Most of these people have had NO "business" experience in the sense that the military is obviously not a for-profit business. Yet the fact is, while these former soldiers have no "business" experience, they have undisputed leadership and crisis-management experience.</p>
<p>Back to the original topic: </p>
<p>I'm studying ECE without a desire of entering the engineering field. Engineering is a hobby for me, I enjoy it but would never want to do it as a job. I plan on using my degree in ECE (with an additional major in economics) to pursue a career in the "business world," preferably banking or consulting somewhere. I'm looking for business-related internships for the summer and hoping that my analytical skills acquired through engineering will put me at the top of the list over the finance majors.</p>