<p>I'm a smart kid with a good GPA (3.9 uw) and good standardized test scores (35 ACT, 1550 out of 1600 on the SAT), but I'm not sure what to major in as a freshman when I enroll. At the moment, I seem to be teetering between international economics with some language minor and engineering (computer engineering, nanoscale, biomedical, etc.) Could any of you give me any reasons to (or not to) pursue engineering as opposed to economics as an undergrad?</p>
<p>There are many reasons to go in to engineering, however, you must ultimately decide for yourself if the work interests you at all. Engineering is a unique occupation. The work is generally intense (i.e. fast schedules, limited funding, expectedness to perform under stress), usually requires a major time committment (both in school and on the job), and demands a high degree of resourcefulness. </p>
<p>In return for all of the stress, you are rewarded with respect from the general public. Additionaly, the job market for engineering positions is usually pretty stable. Pay is also relatively good for starting positions. </p>
<p>As for your final question, it really depends on what interests you. Engineering is NOT a field you pick because you aren’t sure what you want to do. You can’t just coast through your life as an engineer… it’s something you really have to be passionate about.</p>
<p>It does depend on the university. In many universities, engineering is harder to get admitted to, so that, once admitted, it is easier to switch from engineering to another major than it is to switch into engineering.</p>
<p>You should also note that if you take freshman year courses for engineering, switching to economics is relatively easy in terms of scheduling, while if you start as an economics major and do not pay attention to the freshmen year courses for engineering, you may not be able to switch into engineering without delaying graduation, due to the longer sequences of prerequisites in engineering.</p>
<p>I’d like to thank you both for your advice. You both seem to recommend going into engineering first and switching out if I happen upon boredom, disinterest, et cetera. Could either of you talk about what you enjoy about engineering (if either of you are engineers) and why it is or isn’t a better career choice than international economics? So you know, I enjoy math a lot but had a poor experience this year in AP Physics which could have contributed to my inability to make a decision between these two majors/career paths.</p>
<p>In addition to all the posts above, engineering tends to open doors to more than just tech jobs. I’ve seen many end up in finance, consulting, etc. The reverse, however, never happens.</p>
<p>Could anyone speak to the “fun” that each job could offer? Traveling sounds cool but at the same time, technology has always intrigued me. I mean salaries and job availability are key issues, but in the end, I want to enjoy my job. Does anyone really love engineering who wants to make me love engineering?</p>
<p>Do you like designing things using principles based on math and science? If so, that is what engineering is.</p>
<p>Note that if you like math, but not so much physics, you may want to consider the following majors:</p>
<p>computer engineering
computer science
economics (math intensive)
industrial engineering
math (pure or applied)
operations research
statistics</p>
<p>Note that the non-engineering majors above may be doable relatively easily as double majors or major/minor combinations, depending on the university.</p>
<p>I’m leaning towards economics at the moment. Would I be bored to tears?</p>
<p>It all depends on what you find interesting. I took a few classes in economics in undergrad and was bored to tears every day.</p>
<p>VBlock - my son has stats like yours. He wanted to major in econ and was also interested in electrical engineering. He just finished his freshman year and took the engineering courses to stay on track as well as both micro and macro econ. He impressed his physics prof 1st semester and was offered a freshman research grant. He is glad he covered off on both majors to give himself the flexibility to change over. The new plan he is working toward is the 5 year EE masters program and then he still wants to pursue a PHd in Economics. He wasn’t bored in the econ courses, but he thought they were much easier and required much less study time.</p>
<p>Stay flexible!</p>
<p>Look around the room in your AP Physics class. If you see a bunch of nerdy kids, study economics. If not - you are the nerdy kid, study engineering.</p>
<p>Engineers tend to know they are engineers. I added a timer to my mom’s coffee maker when I was 16. I built my own christmas light flashing circuit even though they only cost a few dollars. We tend to work long hours, mostly solitary, churning out huge quantities of technical documents. Technical excellence is a must, work ethic needs to be solid, personality is useful but not necessary.</p>
<p>Engineering is a lot of work, and your GPA could suffer.</p>
<p>A lot of it also depends on what you want out of your career and your college life.
You should tell us more about what you like about economics.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about GPA and stuff at the moment. Right now, I’m just concerning myself with picking the right major so I don’t waste time in college. I like economics because of its heavy math base, job potential (Wall Street sounds good to me), and frankly, earning potential. I also have connections to business via family members so I could snag a job fairly easily. On the other hand, engineering is booming and I think I would be passionate about whatever field I apply myself to. I’m just looking for some pros and cons at the moment. If I had to decide today (which I clearly don’t), I would double major in computer science and economics with a minor in language. I hope this helps anyone willing to offer any advice. Thank you all for your support.</p>
<p>@f4lcon not true. my mom has a ba in Art and she is now a computer scientists commanding a salary of over 200k.</p>
<p>
CS is not quite engineering and it has less need for formal training (independent learning can work for a lot more people). I’d have a much harder time trusting a “self-trained” engineer to build bridges/reactors/machines/electronics.</p>
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<p>Really. Wait until you get that Wall St. job. If I came from a well connected family, I would talk to them about my future instead of asking a bunch of strangers on some anonymous boards.</p>
<p>@jvtDad Excellent point! I definitely haven’t spoken to ANY family members about my future especially those with said connections. As a result of your incredible insight, I may just go ahead and talk to my parents about what I want to do for the rest of my life and my future job prospects (end sarcasm). Are you kidding? First of all, this thread is to weigh those job opportunities with those in those in engineering. I was seeking the opinions of others regarding engineering because there aren’t any engineers in the family. Furthermore, how could you even think this hasn’t been discussed within the family? Your ignorance is truly astounding. I, along with the rest of CC, thank you for your invaluable input.</p>
<p>I think you’d fit in nicely in finance or business.</p>
<p>Many engineers go into Wall St. In fact, I would say that engineers have a higher chance of breaking into Wall St. than Econ majors, simply because engineering is more quantitative (even more quantitative than Econ) and more rigorous.</p>
<p>The problem is that almost no econ majors can go into engineering.</p>
<p>You should talk to any family members you know working on Wall St. about their experiences and how they like their job and lifestyle. The thing is, I too used to be really enamored with the idea of earning big bucks on Wall St. But after doing more research, I decided against a career in finance because in investment banking the lifestyle really sucks. You have to work incredibly long hours as an analyst and an associate, also sometimes working on weekends, sometimes working for a day or two straight with no sleep, and this daily grind really does not end until you make managing director after many years (which btw, 90+% of people never make it to this step). And the work, at the entry-level, is boring and mind-numbing (just time consuming). </p>
<p>However, the reason so many people choose banking is because if you are able to make it past the first 6 years or something (making it to MD, or moving into private equity, or hedge funds, etc…), the pay is very large and the hours are not as bad as before.</p>
<p>The point of this story is that you should ask around before you decide that the career you want is in Wall St.</p>
<p>One advantage of engineering is that it creates more career options. As terenc stated engineers can compete for jobs with Econ majors but not vice versa.</p>
<p>The other thing about engineering is that you have a chance of using the information you are learning in school - especially in the higher level electives. It is rare for an econ major to use any of the stuff they studied apart from some basic micro concepts. The issue is most econ theories don’t actually explain how the economy works - witness the mess of the past 5 years - hence the term ‘dismal science’. On the other hand, engineering theory does explain why a bridge stands or a chemical plant works.</p>