<p>My main major is currently chem e. I was once told by an adviser that double majoring in engineering and math would greatly help me for both grad school as well as industry since doing a lot of math would allow me to think abstract, and both recruiters as well as grad schools want to see that.</p>
<p>More recently, however, people on this forum told me that double major is basically a waste of money, time, and a compromise of my gpa. It doesn't help in industry OR grad school. I was told that I should only double up if my intellectual curiosity overcomes the cost.</p>
<p>So who should I believe?</p>
<p>Right now, I'm trying to decide between two options:
math double major
or
math minor + com sci minor (which is suppose to be a lighter load since [major = (~5)minors] in terms of # of credits.</p>
<p>I would double major before double minoring… unless you’re legitimately interested in both Math and CS equally. Know that it pains me to say that, since I think every engineering/science type should take some actual CS courses so they know what the hell they’re doing with code. [/rant]</p>
<p>Don’t double major for the money. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: people on this forum are too worried about life after college. Take some time and study what you might enjoy. You won’t have time to make a full-time job of it ever again in your life.</p>
<p>The only thing that gets you into grad school is research. Grad schools don’t even care too too much about your grades (you still want to be at least in the B+ zone though). If you can publish as an undergrad, and get good research recomendations, you can go basically anywhere for grad school. (talking about PhD)</p>
<p>And yeah, only double major if you genuinly like the second major.</p>
<p>Yeah and the greatest problem I see with your argument is “since doing a lot of math would allow me to think abstract, and both recruiters as well as grad schools want to see that.”… taking a class won’t help you think abstract lol it’s supposed to be intuitive.</p>
<p>first of all, I was told everything I said in the 1st post. Second of all, I was wondering if double major would help me get into a good grad school. The courseload would be enormous and I would really be able to show that I’m challenging myself. On the other hand, following someone above said, I could use the time I would spend in a difficult math class to work in a lab. So my question is answered. weight(math double major) < weight(working in a lab)</p>
<p>That being said, I’m going to do a math minor and a com sci minor. cuz I like both and it’s not too much work.</p>
<p>mde. you must be a art major or something to think that math doesn’t help you think abstractly. By intuitive, you are referring to plug and chug (something a 6 year old can do to ace the SAT math section). A math major really requires you to understand thoroughly the mathematical concepts that goes on in the equations that you see in the txt books so that you can manipulate them with confidence.</p>
<p>Math classes are both intuitive and abstract. For example, in the Alan Kay talks they were showing how using intuition gets better results; a poll showed most famous technical people used intuition, only a few thought symbolically. Of course, this intuition isn’t available to everyone, so they might solve the same problems with a more abstract understanding. Also, intuition isn’t formal, so it has to be proved rigorously anyways.
I think both can be developed, though.</p>
<p>Well, having a boat load of math credits won’t impress employers. They are interested in how well you can do your job and what you bring to the table, not whether or not you can do proofs. Many people get mislead into thinking that the extra work will help them in the job market but this is not the case. Do your required math class for your CS major, and actually Physics would be more beneficial, especially if you were wanting to go into video game development. A good understanding in physics is really needed to code for large gaming producers. Although you will need to take calc lineup and differential equations for a CS major anyway. Only do the math if it satisfies some intellectual itch you have as others have mentioned. Also, as others have mentioned, grad school is about research, research, and more research. If grad school is your goal, skip all the second major garbage and get to researching.</p>
<p>Eh, I’m going to grad school and I double majored. I suppose my case is special in that my research area(s) will involve both fields, but then again, I think that if you enjoy studying something, study it. That being said, I wouldn’t have done the double major if it interfered with doing undergrad research (been doing the max the university will let me do since 2nd semester freshman year).</p>
<p>If you have a few fewer classes because you double majored, grad schools will understand this. They are academics. They know there is value in learning beyond how useful it is.</p>