<p>im seriously thinking my parents are retarded. no matter how many stats i show them and how much data i give them, they refuse to listen to me. They think Computer science and business management are the only degrees worth going to college for. I initially wanted to major in Industrial Engineering, but my parents are REALLY stressing out, and we had a huge fight. i gave them an option. i told them, if i get into school x,y,z then i want to study industrial engineering. (the schools are georgia tech, usc, and a couple others). and if i dont get in, then i will study electrcial engineering at a state school that i get accepted into. but now they keep telling me why i keep choosing stupid majors like electrcial engineering and industrail engineering. i understand some people might be 2 sided on industrial engineering, but how can anyone think electrical engineering is a useless major. i have no idea what to even do. they want me to apply a comp sci major everywhere, and i have ABSOLUTELY NO programming knowledge. i learned HTML a long time ago, and i hated it, and i forgot it ALL. what should i do? should i just apply a comp sci major and struggle through and try passing? how else can i convince them to accept my deal of studying electrical engineering, if i dont get into school x,y,z for industrial engineering.</p>
<p>Did they give a reason why they think you should major in CS and BM? I went to my son’s back-to-school night last night, where he is a senior at a selective Computer Science Academy through our local district, and the Comp Sci teacher remarked how there will always be jobs for CS majors, bright future for programmers, yata yata yata. (My son is interested in engineering.) Perhaps your parents are thinking you will develop the next big thing and with your business know-how, will make millions? Most schools that offer engineering programs will also offer computer science and business management. You can explain to them that you want to start off in IE or EE, and take CS and Business classes to “try them out”. There is always the option, then to switch majors. Or have minors in other areas. The only school that you would need to start off as a CS major, that I know of, is Carnegie Mellon, because they have one of the best CS departments in the country and you are not able to switch your major to CS if you are accepted in anything else. You may want to talk to your school guidance counselor who may be able to have a meeting with your parents. They may be more open-minded hearing it from them. </p>
<p>@Spender i really dont want to get into comp sci. i dont even want to get into electrcial engineering too much, but i thought thats the only way for them to settle on letting me pursue industrial engineering (if i get into the schools i told them). and electrical engineers are often hired for the same jobs as computer science. both have VERY overlapping job prospects, but i want to have a more hardware/technical job, than a programming based job.</p>
<p>Why don’t you study what you like? Then you get to please yourself and no one else. EE is not that good either. Maybe they are right.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle how is EE not a good major? it has one of the job prospects. i would say EE is just as good as CS in terms of job prospects.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, they have absolute veto power over your college decisions, because of finances (and cooperation with financial aid forms) until you are 24 years old, married, or a military veteran.</p>
<p>If they are unyielding on your major, try to find a school with an EECS or ECE major which includes CS to satisfy your parents, but where you can take mostly EE courses for your upper division major courses.</p>
<p>Industrial engineering graduates may have well paid opportunities in the finance industry. Perhaps your parents may be interested in that.</p>
<p>There are a lot of subfields in EE, so it depends on the subfield. Years ago, my husband also had a PhD in EE with sub concentration in RF/Microwave and he realized after graduation that he did not want to work in defense industry so he switched to computer/software. And some of the jobs he had been doing in the last 35 years are slowly going away too or may have disappeared all together.</p>
<p>If you have high stats, you may be able to out from parental restrictions by taking a full ride merit scholarship, so that you will need no parental money or financial aid form cooperation, eliminating their veto power. See the linked threads here, particularly the automatic and competitive full ride lists.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“The Most In-Demand (And Aging) Engineering Jobs”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/emsi/2014/09/12/the-most-in-demand-and-oldest-engineering-jobs/</a></p>
<p>That article could help alleviate some of their fears. Also, I graduated with an industrial engineering degree and got a 60k+ job as an IE at a large company at 22.</p>
<p>Perhaps they know friends (or children of friends) that have done well in Computer science and business managemen But I agree… it seems an odd and limited combo of picks. It’s unfortunate they are being stubborn about it. I hope they come around to a more reasonable view. </p>
<p>For now, just try to propose flexible plans that keep your options open. Also keep collecting info about various fields. It won’t do much good to get into confrontation. </p>
<p>Whatever you decide, just don’t apply to undeclared engineering at UCB because that is the toughest major to be accepted.</p>
<p>There are always a possibility to change major or add a second major for most schools. At the end, it is not just what you or your parent want you to study. It is whether you can enter that program and whether you are able to graduate with that major.</p>
<p>This, in my opinion, is what’s wrong with the modern parent, they won’t let their kids make decisions for themselves. There’s two MAJOR problems with that. First, when will the child, rapidly approaching adulthood, begin to make decisions for themselves? Will their parents veto their home purchase? Choose their car? Schedule their routine colonoscopy when they are 50? Second, and more important, the child will never develop resiliency, the ability to handle negative outcomes well. It is, along with independence, the most important skill a parent can help a child learn. Not to mention, being saddled with a career you do not enjoy has all sorts of offshoot problems. As a parent who just dropped off a freshman ME student who absolutely would not enjoy sitting in front of a screen hammering out code all day, I fully understand your resistance. I hope they see the light and realize that your excitement about your major is the most important factor in your success. Good luck!</p>
<p>@eyemgh you forced your kid into mechanical engineering? why are you telling me to not do the same thing you are doing then?</p>
<p>@toesockshoe How did you draw that conclusion from that post? The implication was that the kid wouldn’t enjoy CS and was doing ME instead.</p>
<p>That’s not what I interpret he said, sitting in front of a screen could be Computer Science major.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad @DrGoogle @eyemgh my apologies. i interpenetrated it that way cause ive heard from people who work engineering jobs that almst all engineers end up sitting in a cubical infront of a computer. </p>
<p>That is true on most fields nowadays, not just engineering.</p>
<p>@toesockshoe That’s not what he meant at all. The ME student would not enjoy writing code</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that your parents are being so rigid about this. But, given that they are, it is probably best to avoid the big fights for now. Once you are actually in college, you will have an easier time selecting which classes you actually take. One thing that you could do now is to research the job opportunities and salaries for the various majors to have some concrete data to show them. </p>
<p>For now, try to apply to schools that offer all of the majors that you are interested in. Make sure to apply to a range of safety/match/reach schools. You might also want to look into schools that offer good scholarships for students with your stats. If you are not depending upon your parents to finance your education, you will have more control over what you do.</p>
<p>Look at the suggested curriculum for the various majors when selecting your first semester classes. There is generally a lot of commonality the first year among the engineering majors. </p>