<p>engineering grads are given the critical thinking skills necessary for a broad range of careers. many of them end up going into buisness, law school or medical school. could it be that engineering is the best degree someone could get at the undergrad level</p>
<p>yes </p>
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<p>Um yeah, all other degree's are flat out worthless.</p>
<p>But it's still engineering.. and thats how its always been... and liberal arts is still liberal arts....</p>
<p>There's a difference in what you are speaking of. People with L.A. degrees who go into different fields must do so b/c there's not much to do with a L.A. degree, on the other hand people with engineering degrees go into other fields out of choice.</p>
<p>A lot of people think that liberal arts and engineering are mutually exclusive but I'll be majoring in engineering at a liberal arts school. I don't think that there's less to do with a l.a. degree per se, it just isn't as clearly defined as an engineering degree. The former could go into lots of things but most people don't bother to ask what you're going to do with an engineering degree even though there are definitely non-engineering options.</p>
<p>I agree. Engineering is a great stepping stone to other fields.</p>
<p>Great posts--from the mom of a freshman engineering student! Lawyer husband has several clients, including drs who went to engineering school first. I think in some respects they thought med school was fairly easy compared to obtaining that engineering degree. We are certainly hoping that the engineering degree son (hopefully!) attains will lead to many other interesting ops.</p>
<p>the only problem with engineering is how tough it is to maintain a good gpa</p>
<p>gpa doesn't matter.</p>
<p>Sorry, GPA does matter. Between a LA and engineering student of equal ability, the liberal arts grad will have the better chance of going to med school due to the GPA gap. Also, a lot of non-engineering employers does not compensate for GPA deflation.</p>
<p>I have no real experience with engineering in general, but I think the tone of employers and people in general these days seems to indicate they many are beginning to understand the difficulty of an engineering degree. Therefore, I have to wonder if many do understand that a lower GPA in engineering might be understandable. Almost everyone we talk to either tells us how hard engineering is to major in (no matter what school) or their comments have been that if son can make it thru engineering, he can handle just about anything. Of course, I still hold on to the belief that GPA is important, but we have heard some very interesting comments since son has started in engineering.</p>
<p>"Therefore, I have to wonder if many do understand that a lower GPA in engineering might be understandable."</p>
<p>When I visited a certain college, I met with the chair of the engineering department. He told me that they had a relationship with an Aussie college and that 40 juniors get to study in the land down under each year. The students' GPA greatly affected whether or not they were selected to go. The engineering department found this unfair, since engineering students almost always have lower GPA's. So, long story short, they set aside five extra slots for engineering students only.</p>
<p>Anyway, my point is, I think some people do understand that engineers usually get lower grades. Of course, I could be totally wrong; I'm certainly no expert.</p>
<p>I know when I have went for jobs and internships for IT work, usually in the business sector, I am a computer engineering student, they have all said that my 2.8 is more respected than a 3.8 or so business administration degree.</p>
<p>Also what does a GPA indicate, I sum it up here</p>
<p>Not an important as you think and in no way indicates how smart somebody is.</p>
<p>
[quote]
engineering may be the liberal arts of the 21st century...engineering grads are given the critical thinking skills necessary for a broad range of careers...could it be that engineering is the best degree someone could get at the undergrad level
[/quote]
Before you get carried away, remember this...there is one important field where the engineering BS degree is becoming devalued, and where liberal arts degrees -- like sciences, math, or even English -- are increasingly promoted as viable alternatives.</p>
<p>That field, of course, is...engineering. </p>
<p>Many engineering organizations now believe that the first professional degree in engineering should be the MS, not the BS. ASCE, for example, has officially endorsed this position. The idea is that engineering will become like law or medicine: a future engineer could major in anything, even Ceramics or Comparative Literature, as an undergraduate, as long as certain basic science and math prerequisites were addressed. Professional training in engineering would then follow in graduate school, in the same way that medical or legal training already does.</p>
<p>NCEES (the national organization of engineer licensing boards), has officially incorporated this concept into their new "model law" for Professional Engineering licensure. The model law calls for states to replace the BS with the MS as the first professional engineering degree by 2015. Since practically all civil engineers have to get PE licenses, it's likely that civil engineers will make this transition over the next 10 years. </p>
<p>The new NCEES model law explicitly allows undergraduate liberal arts majors to become Professional Engineers, as long as they get an engineering MS after college. An engineering BS is not required.</p>
<p>engineering used to be a professional degree like medicine and law, why would hey change it back.</p>
<p>the most important reason I chose to do engineering major is because if I don't do it now...I'll never be able to do it in the future (other than to redo an undergraduate degree)</p>
<p>^freaky, I thought exactly the same thing =O ........</p>
<p>I'm afraid that if you make engineering a graduate degree you will find yourself with a shortage of engineers. On the other hand, engineering salaries will begin to match those of doctors and lawyers. Which means that more engineers will try to get into engineering grad schools to the point where you have competition like you have for medical school, and all the current "engineering" jobs that require little to no actual engineering/analysis/math will go to the BS.</p>
<p>GPA does matter quite a bit, just not as much as professional schools.</p>
<p>1) internships recruit based heavily on gpa and often have a cutoff for consideration (3.0 or 3.5 usually). I know people say its who you know, but I knew a lot of people, and eventually they want to see a proven ability to handle work well (i.e gpa).
2) When you apply to good grad schools, the people you are competing with are invariably good in all categories: gpa, gre (even verbal though it doesnt matter), and research experience. To be considered, you need to be in this bunch.
3) If you want funding for grad school
4) What else would your first-year employer look at? Remember everyone takes similar classes; so how do you stand out on a piece of paper?</p>
<p>Overall since its so tough, I think its easier to go from engineering-> anything as opposed to the opposite. You don't hear about too many pre-med/law students deciding to "go for" engineering.</p>