Son was admitted to Georgia Tech Industrial Engineering (full oos cost) and Alabama Operations Management (full tuition scholarship). He is a good fit for both. Net difference is about 30k per year. I have the money. Is it worth spending it? Anyone with experience with these programs?
One is an engineering degree, the other is a business degree. Graduates would work in very different jobs. Have you research the type of jobs that are available? An ISE working for Boeing, vs. a Logistics Manager working for Walmart? Both are great jobs, but very different.
You and your son may want to take a closer look at the curriculum for both programs and determine which one is more appealing. 
Good Luck!!
As far as I can tell, there is some overlap in the type of jobs available, though I am certainly no expert on the subject. I see many job postings requesting either major. Both are appealing to him. He wants something combining engineering and business, which seems to be applicable to both majors. I would expect IE opens more doors, but is it that big a difference as far as job potential?
All advice is welcome, thanks.
As you know, Georgia Tech is #1 in industrial engineering… Recruiting there should be great. OM is in the school of Commerce at Alabama. According to their career services, the average OM starting salary for May 2013 was 58,500 (. Industrial engineers would more likely start somewhere in the 60’s but that is not THAT significant a difference if he prefers OM. If you can get an idea of what recruiters come to Alabama, recruit for OM, what kind of jobs kids are getting, etc., that may help in the decision making process. That being said, a $30,000 per year cost difference is pretty significant but only you can decide if that cost would seem worth it. Congratulations on the great acceptances for your son and good luck with the decision.
In looking at GT for industrial, their website says about 40% of their graduates go to major consulting firms . At Alabama, they say Operations Management kids are doing quality control, inventory management, supply chain , logistics type jobs at places like Ford, Frito Lay, GE, Target, etc. GT also places at those kinds of places too but also at consulting firms . So, industrial may provide some broader opportunities and GT industrial possibly may be a little more in demand but I’m no expert either on that.
How much does he like math? Industrial engineering tends to be substantially heavier in math and statistics than typical business school offerings.
Yes, IE will have lots of math and statistics-calculus, differential equations, etc. . More math than OM at Alabama so it really depends on what he wants to study and what kind of job he sees himself in. http://www.ua.edu/majors/opmanage.html
We’re a math family. Mom is an actuary with degrees in math and CS. Brother is electrical engineering major with math and physics minors. Even grandma is a retired math teacher. Math is not a problem for him. It’s just that he also likes the business side of things, and has the personality to be successful in “business” jobs. Consulting might be a good choice for him. He has the people skills and the brains to back them up.
i usually counsel folks to save money and make the most of the school they attend but Ga Tech’s reputation is soaring right now in Industrial Engineering and related fields…Mercedes just announced that they are moving their entire worldwide corporate headquarters to Atlanta partly because of Tech’s work with driverless cars. And NCR this week said they are building a headquarters for 4000 employees literally on the campus of Georgia Tech because of the expertise there – http://www.ajc.com/news/business/ncr-moving-to-midtown/njnHM/
If you can afford it and if he can hack it and if he prefers it, GT seems like an excellent choice. Bear in mind that engineering at GT usually takes more than 4 years to finish ( bec of scheduling - don’t know if they have a handle on that yet) and there is a relatively big drop out rate.
I don’t worry about him dropping out. He has taken 4 years of college level engineering classes in high school, loves it, straight A+. Strong in calc and physics as well. He has basically been through the weed out stuff already. He will have some AP credits as well, so finishing in four should be no problem unless he wants to co-op. He has a friend already at GT, I’ll have him ask is there is any problem with scheduling.
It sounds like Georgia Tech would be a far superior choice if you can afford either school. Keep in mind that should he decide to change out of industrial engineering to business, the Scheller College of Business is the second best in Georgia and extremely well recruited. A high school student with four years of engineering classes, excellent math skills, and an interest in IE should not be forced to go to a school without the desired program.
I think that really sums it up.
Industrial and Systems currently seems in demand so he should not have any problem getting a well paying job out of college, especially from the #1 program in the field.
^ I know that, I just wonder whether the same potential comes from an operations management degree at Alabama (or UNC, his other choice).
GT will have a superior program/degree, but remember that the money saved at Alabama could be used to pay for an graduate degree in five or six years that might provide a better career path in the long run. It might also be used to pay for start up costs for a business, a down payment on a house or the parents needs in an elderly care facility. You never know.
Well, the really big reason Mercedes Benz is relocating to Atlanta is because their main US manufacturing plant is outside Tuscaloosa, AL. Atlanta is the perfect location for their US operations since it will be close to their plant and has direct flights to Stuttgart.
I would think he should have good recruiting opportunities out of Alabama or UNC in OM as well. I would also think the programs themselves and the university’s Career Services department may be able to help you with questions about recruiting and salary. This seems to be a matter of preference for a program and cost for the degree, as well as possibly which school he likes better in terms of social and fit issues. What is your son saying?
Agreed. IE appears to be a far better fit for this student than typical undergraduate business offerings.
Really, it looks like his choices here are based on major and price, not school and price. Did he apply to any other less expensive schools which have IE majors?
If he does go to Alabama, he may want to supplement his course work with upper division math courses in optimization, stochastic processes, etc… But he may still find the business school course work to be uninteresting due to the low math content.
What did you say to your son about what you would pay? Where does he say he wants to go? Were the cost constraints laid out before the applications went out? Was he told he could go to Georgia Tech if he got accepted, regardless of cost? Your son doesn’t really need to commit to IE at the time of application at some schools. NC State has IE. Virginia Tech has IE ( only ranked # 6 in 2014 so well below GT but well respected) . Frankly, I believe you have been asking similar questions for months and am curious as to why you /and or your son feel the need to box yourselves in so early . Once your son gets to school and explores more math, science, engineering classes, he may very well figure out what is most appealing to him. He seems very focused for a high schooler on OM and IE, but that could change as he gets to college. You never know.