<p>My dad (MIT grad of Course 6.3 and MBA) is pointlessly arguing with me (17 years old accepted to URochester '19) that I should do (Interdepartmental Engineering degree + MBA) instead of (Computer Science + minor in Mechanical Engineering for Engineering Design + MBA) or (An actual engineering field + minor in Computer Science for programming basics + MBA)</p>
<p>I say I want to also work in industry before going into Wall Street or company management.
He says the computer world will change in the next five years and that my knowledge will be obsolete by then.
He says I may not like programming and he is dissing the idea of being a straight programmer.
I say I work with computers really well and that my time with learning how to program shouldn't be too rough.
He says that knowing a little bit of all types of engineering would be beneficial when working on Wall Street doing the buying and selling of engineering and industrial companies.
I say I should just focus on the computer degree and add a minor in mechanical engineering so I study the engineering drawings and basics of mechanics; essentially that would make me a little more knowledgable and would be able to make better decisions about industrial companies in Wall Street.</p>
<p>Can someone help me understand the pros and cons of both sides (general education side and industry specific side)? I would like to have backed up facts next time I talk to him. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>This isn’t a question of facts, but one of preferences and what options (as in courses and majors/minors) are available at Rochester. Once you start taking classes, you may find the flexibility of an Engineering Sciences degree is more appealing, or perhaps the additional depth of a ME degree. Don’t feel you must have a plan set in stone (at age 17!) before you’ve taken your first class, go, learn, experience and then develop your plan. </p>
<p>Any one of those options would be fine for a job. Your father should realize that college is not vocational training and what you learn is transferable to new technologies and environments. It is simply not relevant to think that your CS education would be obsolete. Programming is not CS. Anyone can learn to program independent of their college education if they have the talent for it. Computer Science is a much more academic discipline.</p>
<p>As for the differences between your listed choices, form my experience as a physics professor at an engineering school, I think that an engineering degree with a lot of programming experience is an excellent flexible choice. Computer Science is also good but note that most CS programs are light on science and heavier on math so there is a distinction there.</p>
<p>Indeed, this is very much like the CS curriculum at my university, Illinois Tech. When I was an undergraduate, I took many of those same courses on the side while getting a Physics degree. They have been valuable to me over the years.</p>
<p>Sure, you have some time before settling on the details of your major. Take a semester to ask around and talk with your academic advisor about it. Ultimately, you need to choose a major which you really enjoy studying.</p>
<p>He should know that the foundations of CS will remain current for decades, though new things will be added. CS jobs require continuing self education through a career, using the foundational knowledge you learn in school.</p>