<p>The problem is not specifically confined to metallurgical engineers around Toronto, but all engineers. Many in that age group are now unemployed or underemployed and I believe it to be a North American problem, not just in this market. People should understand that universities are in the business of making money, not guaranteeing life long employment in the field of choice. Age discrimination is definitely out there, that can’t be denied, but there is currently no way around it. Engineering is no longer the stupefying superior degree it was portrayed as in the 1970s. There is a lot of competition and many graduates will never have a satisfactory work experience due to lack of opportunities and the flood of immigrants from India and China that saturate the market. Real wages have been stagnating for decades and it is now possible for someone with a two year part time nursing diploma to make more money than an engineer. I know because my wife is doing that now. Her community college diploma has surpassed my great vaunted university engineering degree. Don’t worship engineering, it’s not justified.</p>
<p>The reason you’re out of a job is because… well, you majored in metallurgical engineering. this is a dead field. I’m currently a ugrad in mechanical engineering (at a top 20 engineering uni) and I’ve come to realize mechanical engineering is dead as well. At least traditional MechE. (the best I can do is apply thermal mechanics theory to new age issues & problems)</p>
<p>You need to look at the next 20 years – what is going to be the focus of science and engineering then? When going for my PhD I will be switching to some other engineering, most likely biomedical. Biomedicine and biotech is where I feel most innovation and work will be done in the future.</p>
<p>Also, as an engineer you need to have the drive to continually learn – as in lifelong learning. This may or may not be the case with you, but if you’re not keeping up with the new curriculum, of course you’ll be obsolete very quickly. </p>
<p>OP: I think there is more to engineering than just the job prospects. Engineering will hone your problem solving and analytical skills unlike most other majors – a truly valuable skill. I would look outside the box a little before making my decision.</p>
<p>Some people have been advocating minoring in or taking a concentration in computer science. If you think you might end up on the computer side of things, you will be infinitely better off majoring in computer science, unless you want to work your ass off earning the additional credits to show proficiency in computing. Most companies won’t consider someone without a comp sci degree unless they have a lot of courses on their transcript for entry level work.</p>
<p>Another note on engineering: You must have an engineering degree from an accredited institution to sit for professional licensure. In some fields of engineering you cannot advance further unless you are professionally licensed. This is something that you should consider strongly if you think you might want to go into engineering for work. Math kind of leaves you high and dry here.</p>
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<p>Well…if there is any major that can compete for software jobs with CS majors, it is math majors. While I agree that one has to take a good amount of CS courses, it can be done as a math major since math and CS have a lot of overlapping courses. Another thing is that ABET means much less in computer science than other engineering majors.</p>
<p>If you have a strong interest in both math and science, would you recommend engineering? Or something else?</p>
<p>I would recommend engineering if you want an engineering job after you graduate.</p>
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<p>Actually, I would recommend an applied math/applied science undergrad major that gives you freedom to dive into either the math/science OR the engineering. Those majors would be: Math w/Computer Science emphasis, Physics w/EE emphasis or Engineering Physics. All 3 of those major allows you to go the scientist route or go into some engineering-type jobs. Now I would not get a masters in Math or Physics. I would go engineering in grad school.</p>
<p>^What about M.S in Applied Math?</p>
<p>The M.S. needs to be in a specific professional field. GT has a math undergrad degree and a master’s in systems engineering. The options within the applied math subject are:</p>
<p>Acturial science
Statistics
Operations Research
Industrial Engineering
Computational Engineering/Science
Systems Engineering</p>
<p>There are others, but what you’ll find is that different schools have many different types of applied math degrees with specific purposes and various names. Like NCState has a Master’s program in Advanced Analytics, which is undoubtedly an applied statistics degree.</p>