I am going into college as a freshman this fall at UNC Charlotte, and will be joining the ROTC program with hopes of commissioning as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army. That being said, there’s a chance that I will change my mind about the military; I want to be prepared with a good degree that will set me off happily after graduation in the civilian life, just in case.
Basically I’m interested in achieving a Management (business) degree. But I’ve been in 3 AP Calculus classes in high school and believe that I could do well in Engineering as well. Most sources I find on the internet regarding double-majoring in Engineering and Business suggest that it is a waste of time, money, and effort to do both in full. The only thing that I am concerned about in Engineering is that I don’t want to solely do math as a career; I simply wouldn’t enjoy it. I don’t know much about a day in the life on an Engineering job (btw I’m thinking about Mechanical Engineering), but any insight on this issue would be very helpful. ROTC scholarships do in-fact take Engineering degrees into account much more than business, but money isn’t too big of an issue for me.
In conclusion, I want to know if you guys know of a good solution for me, and I want to know your thoughts and opinions on what I should do regarding both degrees.
Thanks in advance.
If you make the Army a career, then you almost certainly will not need to concern yourself with this problem. If you get out of the army after one tour, you probably can choose a different path than engineering.
This is true for the Navy and Air Force. Not sure that it is true for that Army. Generally, my impression has been that the Army does not care all that much what its cadets major in. I recommend that you research this more deeply.
Personally, I have always thought the best major for an Army officer was history. I know that many of our most famous generals were history buffs (Patton, for example).