Double Major with Engineering

<p>Hi Guys! I'm new here, but already have a lot of questions. I just finished my junior year, and I'm still looking into colleges for where to apply and what to really do with my life. I'm considering a double major in Biological or Chemical Engineering (although from what I've been reading recently, Petroleum Engineering might be the way to go) alongside a degree in either Business or Economics.</p>

<p>Is this possible, while still graduating in four years? A lot of the colleges that I am planning to apply to are high-caliber, like MIT and Harvard, and I know some of them don't allow for double majors.
I have AP credits in US History, Biology, Chemistry, English Language, and Calculus BC. </p>

<p>Why on earth would you want a double major in two engineering disciplines? With a lot of AP credit (if the university you enroll in allows the credit), you would be much better advised to get a B.S./M.S. combination. This goes for the engineering/non-engineering combination as well.</p>

<p>Check for old threads. This has been discusses a lot. Double major for engineering is usually not feasible or necessary. </p>

<p>I would add not desirable to future employers, either.</p>

<p>Echoing the above. I’m not sure what the point of an engineering + business/econ double major would be.</p>

<p>Given the information, I would say just study Chemical Engineering. For the rest, the former posters are right.</p>

<p>Why would a combination of engineering and business not be desirable? Employers have no use for engineers who also understand how the rest of the company works?</p>

<p>Not at the entry level, they don’t. If that’s the goal, work a few years and then get an MBA.</p>

<p>I like the BS/MS 5 year programs instead of 4/2. Or a BS/MD combined program.</p>

<p>Regarding a MBA, companies want engineers to have work experience before going into the MBA program. Otherwise you are two years out of an engineering discipline acquiring your MBA before you get back in. To be more competitive and compensated you want to achieve the MS engineering degree, not be limited by the BS engineering. </p>

<p>If you want to present a business acumen to your prospective employer, I think a minor in Finance will do until you get an MSE or MD, then on the employers dime get the work experience and enter a MBA program. </p>

<p>FYI, a student completing multiple majors that have the same degree, i.e., Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, will receive a single degree. The transcript will list the one degree and each major. To clarify, two B.S. majors equal one B.S. degree with noted recognition for second major on transcript. One B.S major and one B.A. major equals two degrees, one of each.</p>

<p>Are you extreme, there is the 3 level self study for a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), that’s most impressive, but it is extreme, takes about many years (3 years average and 250 hours of study for each level) to complete. It is the certification you see on the CV of many a quality CFO or Hedge Fund manager as well as young turks in finance. Many people just take one or two levels and are working in finance, but to complete the certification you are required to acquire a few years of financial work experience. To plan your case BSE-MSE- 5 years working and MBA program- Director 3 years and CFA program - V.P 5 years - CEO. </p>

<p>Why exactly are you suggesting an MD? There are very, very, very few engineering jobs where an MD would be even remotely relevant.</p>

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<p>That is not a universal truth. It is true at some schools but I am pretty sure other schools give you two degrees rather than a dual degree. Either way, it doesn’t really matter, as most employers aren’t going to care about it either way.</p>

<p>@xraymancs “Why double major in two engineer…” Some colleges have engineering programs that combine a degree an will give you credit in both majors because of the significant overlap. Most dual programs require an extra semester. It is advantageous if for example you are passionate about an Aerospace Engineering degree even if the industry is in a declining cycle due to cuts in defense. The value is a combined program is structured to include the Mechanical Engr. degree. and thus a BS ME/AE. So you can comfortably solicit work as an ME grad if the recession is tough on the aerospace industry. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t walk away from the opportunity and just go AE or ME single.</p>

<p>@boneh3ad “Why exactly are you suggesting an MD?” You’re right, it was a mistake to suggest the BS/MD.</p>

<p>@boneh3ad, what if someone studies both business and engineering, and at the end decides they prefer the business side. Wouldn’t having training in both offer more options, i.e. technical sales, consulting, etc.? </p>

<p>OP, why Harvard? It’s not exactly a hotbed for engineering.</p>

<p>To contradict everyone else here, I double majored (and also had another minor), and I have no regrets. </p>

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<p>The thing is, that is unnecessary. Aerospace companies hire mechanical engineers in droves anyway, and while it is less common, aerospace engineers do get hired outside of the aerospace industry (wind energy and automotive, to name a few specifically). It may help slightly, but the two degrees are both based on the same science, mechanics, and as such largely overlap already. They’re the same topics with different examples. The advantage of doing a dual degree in the two fields is negligible because the difference between the two is so small and can be made up on the job relatively easily anyway. Employers care a lot more about your specific skills for the job opening, not the name of the major on your degree.</p>

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<p>You can do those things without a business degree. People do it all the time. Maybe then you go back 5 years down the road to get an MBA so you can advance further, but the entry-level positions such as those don’t require an undergraduate business degree.</p>

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<p>I don’t think anyone here is saying that double majoring is a complete waste of time and energy so long as you aren’t going into it expecting it to make you super candidate for all the job postings, because it won’t. On the other hand, if you have genuine interest in multiple subjects, it may be quite personally enriching even if it doesn’t drastically change your job prospects. At that point is is a personal choice weighing the cost of extra semesters versus how much that second major is worth to you personally.</p>

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<p>I think there was a job prospect value for me having two majors, and a variety of other benefits as well. The only downside I can see is that fulfilling all the requirements of the 2nd major took away time that I would have otherwise used for taking graduate classes in the main major. </p>

<p>I guess it’s fair to say that’s it’s not automatically useful just because you have 2 majors instead of 1 though.</p>

<p>@boneh3ad “It may help slightly”, it’s a bump, I’ll take it, for an extra semester of work why not. </p>

<p>By it may help slightly I meant it may slightly help you make the switch between a job utilizing primarily one or the other. In most, if not all cases that I am familiar with, such a double major confers effectively no advantage for your ultimate hirability (is that a word?). For some jobs, having that aerospace degree on your resume would be the thing that helps really qualify you, in which case you could have gotten that job with just the aerospace degree, and the same with jobs looking specifically for skills unique to mechanical engineers. All the jobs looking for overlapping skills would need only one of the degrees.</p>

<p>@boneh3ad I credited you for a more pregnant bump. The employers consideration is that an AE/ME degree recipient has had greater rigor in their undergraduate studies. Their base of knowledge has more depth than a the single AE or Single ME. </p>

<p>Regarding the ultimate employability factor, it is often the AE who sings the blues in a tight job market as oppose to the ME. Fair or not, an AE is too often peg holed by employers as specialized, or not a fit, to be competitive in the much larger ME marketplace.</p>

<p>My final conclusion is the employability trend favors the ME at all times.</p>