<p>I originally sent this as a pm to shizz, but he hasnt responded so i thought i might post it here.</p>
<p>I was wondering about the job opportunities for students who do an undergrad and/or grad in AEP. What about salaries? I've read that electrical engineers usually have the highest starting salaries. What about for engineering physics and mechanical? Also, is the rigorous nature of the EP program recongnized by employers?</p>
<p>The AEP salary statistics are volatile due to the low respondence rate. You might want to discard them totally.</p>
<p>The rank (at Cornell at least) is:
1. Computer Science
2. EE
3. Mechanical ~ Chemical ~ ORIE ~ Materials Science (All roughly the same)
4. Bio/Environmental
5. Civil</p>
<p>But if you get a master's, EE beats all. The master's adds $10k+ to your salary, on average (although admittedly, the EE master's students might be of significantly better quality, and would thus get better pay anyway).
Check back during the summer for the latest salary statistics to better gauge the salary prospects. You could do so even after freshman year, to help you in picking a major.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. Really helpful stuff. Maybe I'll rethink EE...</p>
<p>I think about 80% of EP students continue on to graduate study to do either an M.Eng (in AEP or another field) or a PhD, or in very rare cases a J.D. or M.D.</p>
<p>The other 20% or so that end up in the workforce end up in a variety of places. Last year's class had students in investment banking, national defense labs, defense companies (like Boeing), , and other random tech/engineering companies like Tektronix and Google.</p>
<p>If you are interested in industry, then there is a good chance you will find yourself doing an M.Eng. If you're smart and diligent enough to do a double major or a minor, then the job you get will depend on what your area of expertise is. Some employers acknowledge the difficulty of EP but all they really care about is whether or not you have the proper skillset and background for the job. </p>
<p>If you are picking your major based on starting salaries, then I highly recommend you rethink your choice of profession.</p>
<p>I'm mostly undecided in major. Thinking of doing Aerospace eng. Since I'm not entirely sure, though, I was thinking of doing AEP, and then follow up with a masters in Aerospace. I've got Mech, ECE and AEP on my mind, so I'm weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Besides, eng. is the only profession that suits me (other than music, lol :D)</p>
<p>MetallicManiac, freshmen year you should take Physics 112, an ENGRI (Intro to MechE 117 should be interesting), and Computer Science 100... that would give you some sort of idea what you want to do.</p>
<p>Last semester I took ENGRI 111 Nanotechnology, which convinced me that ECE and Materials Science are not for me and helped me narrow my career choice to CS.</p>