Which degree will make more in the long run?
Which one is easier to start your own company?
What type of jobs do you get with both degrees?
Are they similar in any way?
Which one is better degree to get into right now?
Which degree is better world wide?
A little about me: I am currently a first time freshman at West Virginia University. I am in the business school right now but I am thinking of switch back to engineering due to I feel it might give me better skills for job and since I feel engineering will be more hands on and will let me have more field opportunities to work in. Also that I wouldn’t have to work in a office all the time and could work outside if I wanted to. If i do decided to switch I will lose a couple credit hours 6-9. The reason I did not start off with engineering is due to me not being great in science but being good with math.
My wife has a degree in each and finds the skills are very complementary. She’s worked in manufacturing automation systems, finance, pharma, insurance, and now government. It’s mostly IT work, don’t get me wrong, but the Industrial Engineering process focus and attention to the ‘big picture’ has been valuable.
Not a lot of field work (first decade did have lots of working side by side with manufacturing people) but very rewarding. If you like math and take the more math-heavy IE courses, a lot of those are useful in any field.
MIS and Accounting double major here. Don’t look at the higher salaries but where you will fit in better.
This being said, Engineering salaries as a general are not necessarily better than MIS or other aspects of business; your career is what you make of it. MIS grads have a lot of options to go into like Consulting or compliance, or IT. Consulting with the big firms has a hefty salary and that is what I’m recruiting for currently. There is also a huge room for growth in MIS, which I am not familiar with in terms of Engineering.
I imagine the Engineering aspect will be much more technical. MIS is a lot about the people, meeting with them and seeing their problems and finding a way to fix them. It’s much more people-oriented and has many many options to pursue.
