<p>I'm a rising sophomore and I'm thinking about being an engineering management/philosophy double major. The philosophy's well-underway, but I've always planned on tacking on another major to challenge myself & pursue my interests. I'm good at math and love physics as well as philosophy (and the three tie in together quite well). However, I'm wondering if it's too late to start an engineering management major so late in college-- I'd be a year behind everyone else. What do you guys think? Have you done something similar?</p>
<p>PS, I go to Sweet Briar College. We have a pretty decent Engineering</a> program, and we just received a huge donation, which is great.</p>
<p>Add an MBA later in your career. I find it hard to believe that there is a high demand for graduates with that degree who have little experience in their engineering field. In the engineering world “management” is something earned through work not necessarily through education.</p>
<p>If you want to get into engineering management, you will probably want at least a bs in engineering. In order to become a manager, chances are you will have to prove your technical ability first. I have never heard of engineering management as an undergraduate degree but I can assure you that you will not graduate and become a technical manager or any manager for that matter right away. I think a bs in engineering will carry a lot more weight than an engineering management degree. After this you can get a MS or a MBA or even both. Any of these paths will provide opportunity to get into management but ultimately it comes down you demonstrating technical expertise in your area and willingness to advance as you gain experience in the workforce.</p>
<p>If you do somehow manage to get a technical management degree and job it is likely that actual technical people you work with will consider you to be a moron and resent your existence. That may sound harsh, but I’ve seen this happen in quite a few cases. Someone with some technical background (although far from being proficient) becomes a manager and then has absolutely no idea what his employees are working on. Your coworkers will quickly pick up on the fact that you really don’t have any idea what’s going on.</p>
<p>On the flip side, I’ve seen people with bountiful technical experience become managers and they can be just as incompetent due to a lack of management skills.</p>
<p>I think you REALLY need to get an engineering degree, work for a few years, and then get some kind of management training. That’s really the only path to successful management.</p>
<p>It’s quite possible to be a good technical manager without an MBA and quite incompetent with an MBA. Simply put, I don’t think a large percentage of people are cut to be management (and getting an MBA doesn’t change that).</p>