<p>I was admitted to NYU Stern (Business-Undecided) and CMU-CIT (Engineering-undecided) recently, and ever since, I have been constantly debating my options. After all, business/engineering degrees seem to send people down totally different career paths. It is not just a decision of what I want to study in college, but also what I want to do for the rest of my life! Given the gravity of this decision that I must make in the next few weeks, I want to make a decision that I wont look back on (too much, anyway) later in life. </p>
<p>If I went to NYU Stern, I would probably double major in Finance and Actuarial Sciences (or something that involves rigorous use of math), and get an MBA if I feel it is necessary. If I went to CMU-CIT, I would probably major in chemical engineering and take classes involving economics/financial engineering where possible, with the goal of eventually getting an MBA and shifting into some business field.</p>
<p>I'd like to hear your general opinions on either option, as well as the respective programs at NYU Stern and CMU-CIT (everything from the culture to the job opportunities). In a way, it is like comparing apples to oranges; they can be quite different. But overall, if you were in my shoes, which program/major/college would you pick, and most importantly, why?</p>
<p>Ah, I just visited Carnegie and the Tepper school seems very top. It was like 4-5 years and you can leave with a double major in engineering and MBA business or something (I wasn’t paying much attention to that, I’ll go into robotics myself). That’s sounded pretty sweet. Also they have that information school which is like a mix of business and engineering, it was like, the statistic of their graduates was high pay only second to the school of science graduates (it’s in the 6 digits). I think if you’re not sure of business or engineering and want to keep your options open go to CMU. But if you’re for sure into business, CMU is still a good place but it’d be more a decision.</p>
<p>Nex, if you want to do finance or business, more and more companies are requiring the MBA.</p>
<p>With a ChE. degree you could always get an MBA.</p>
<p>with an undergraduate business degree you could always get an MBA but you would not have that knowledge of an engineering degreed that would help round out your MBA an expand you horizons.</p>
<p>For instance, if you wanted to work at a big Oil company, you would be more sought after if you had a BSChe. and MBA than just an business undersgraduate degree with an MBA.</p>
<p>go CM for ChE…if you like the pure ChE. then continue the path to maybe a MS in ChE…if you feel that you want the business part of it, then get the MBA thereafter…</p>
<p>how do I know?</p>
<p>Princeton ChE.
Stanford MBA
Corporata Planning for a big Energy Company, then Investment Banking…</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input. I am getting the idea from these forums, friends, family… everywhere pretty much, that a leveraging a technical degree (such as BSChe) with an MBA would be the way to go, and it appears that JohnAdams12 has personally found that such a combination packs a powerful punch. I must admit that I am ultimately interested in entering the field of investment banking, but it just seems a bit redundant to go all the way around with a BSChe, just to end up at investment banking. It is like engineering is just a way of covering all of one’s bases. On the other hand, many undergraduates in strong finance programs (such as in Stern) just make it their goal to enter investment banking right off the bat (and, in many cases, are able to focus on their goal by acquiring internships related to investment banking). </p>
<p>I would say that I lean slightly towards business simply because it <em>seems</em> interesting at this point (possibly because I don’t know much about it yet). I have been taking Chemistry, physics and biology classes all throughout high school, and while I am capable of doing the work well, it really comes across as forced. That is, I don’t really take great interest in those subjects - which involve heavy memorizing and knowing things by the textbooks. My perception of the volatile financial world makes it more interesting to me, since it appears that one has to actively strategize in response to new factors rather than regurgitate learned information (if anyone feels this is an inaccurate perception of business and engineering, feel free to comment).</p>
<p>If getting an engineering degree, followed by getting an MBA is my best shot at a good job in the financial sector, then I am willing to endure four more years of engineering school, but if an u-grad business degree at Stern gives me just as good a shot, I think it is definitely worth considering as well. I was wondering if anyone had any opinions about this…</p>
<p>Yes, I do see how an MBA is important for many finance jobs, and how a BSChe can make the applicant more well-rounded when applying to such MBA programs. But I was wondering whether going business in the undergrad be just as viable option for entering competitive business fields?</p>
<p>Again, thanks everyone for your opinions - I value them greatly.</p>
<p>nex, if in high school you are already fascinated by the markets and finance, then maybe you should follow your heart and do then NYU Stern Business route.</p>
<p>@JohnAdams12 - Yes, that was what I was thinking… but of course, being 18 years old, what do I know about what I like? I want to hedge my bets in case business goes horribly (and I mean horribly) wrong, but should I find myself dissatisified with engineering, I would be kicking myself for not choosing business. </p>
<p>I suppose this is really something only I can decide in the end, but if anyone has anything else to add, please feel free to do so.</p>
<p>It is easier to leverage an engineering degree into business than vice versa, this is true. If you like solving problems with a large degree of freedom you will learn this in engineering. If you want to get a good grasp of math, engineering will give you this. </p>
<p>You can learn everything you’ll learn in business school in an MBA program.</p>
<p>If you can’t decide look at industrial engineering or applied math. </p>
<p>I’m a ChemE, MBA and am still an engineer and not a finance guy, I’m a technology developer and the MBA helps me speak with and understand the concerns of those who will have to sell the tech. Maybe I will go into finance one day, though I doubt it. I like to tinker and invent and make new things… if I find myself fretting over the finances too much one day I sure as heck it’s because I own my business.</p>
<p>if you are interested in wall st, you will be better off at nyu stern than carnegie mellon. plus CMU is in a ****ty location, whereas stern is in manhattan :P</p>
<p>There are a significant # of jobs out there for engineers who have “just” a BS or BEng vs. very few for folks with just a BA in business, if that gives you any “food for thought.”</p>