IOE vs. MechE with Business Minor

<p>I want to go into consulting after my undergrad, but I don't want to get a BBA from Ross. I'd rather study engineering because I enjoy it more. Is it easier to get a good consulting job with an IOE degree than it is to get one with a MechE degree? I'll probably compliment the MechE degree with a Ross Business Minor (assuming I get in, of course), but I don't think I'd do that with an IOE major because I feel like that's overkill.</p>

<p>From a purely career standpoint, which of these two options is better for getting a job in consulting?</p>

<p>I would strongly recommend that you major in IOE, especially if you want a job in consulting. I know U-M IOE students who have gotten consulting jobs. One of them even got a consulting job at Bain.</p>

<p>If it turns out that you don’t want to go into consulting, an IOE degree will still serve you well. IOE degrees are very,very employable. Pretty much ever company can use IOE’s.</p>

<p>Note: I’m not ripping Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineers at U-M can end up very successful as well. It’s a lot easier for me to comment about IOE because that’s my major. Also, I don’t think a Ross minor is worth it. It’s a minor, not a major.</p>

<p>If you want to do consulting, I’d go IOE. </p>

<p>A lot can chance though as you aren’t even in school yet. ME would have much broader career possibilities. </p>

<p>But, like I have said and others have/will, if you for sure wanna do consulting, go IOE. Just make sure you’re one of the best IOE students when you’re done. It seems like the top IOE students jobs prospects to the bottom IOE students is one of the biggest disparities in CoE.</p>

<p>“A lot can chance though as you aren’t even in school yet. ME would have much broader career possibilities.”</p>

<p>Really? Like I said earlier, pretty much every company can use IOE’s. I’m not saying ME isn’t broad, but to say that ME leads to MUCH broader career possibilities is a stretch. IOE’s can go into finance, IT, manufacturing, safety, operations research, business, safety, and more.</p>

<p>" It seems like the top IOE students jobs prospects to the bottom IOE students is one of the biggest disparities in CoE."</p>

<p>Where did you hear this?</p>

<p>Are MechEs or any other type of engineer recruited for any type of business stuff?</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure I want to go into consulting, but I’d also like to have some just regular engineering jobs available to me just in case I change my mind. </p>

<p>My main thing about the Ross Minor was that I wanted to take some business classes anyway, so I might as well just complete the minor and get access to their career services. It’s better to have a resume dropped in two places than in just one.</p>

<p>IOE is better than ME for consulting. if you realize that you are set on consulting, though, the BBA will give you the best odds.</p>

<p>How many IOE majors get hired by MBB and other similar consulting firms each year?</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the CoE does not publish specific details on the companies that undergraduate students join. However, out of 400 who responded to the survey last year, roughly 40 joined consulting firms. </p>

<p><a href=“http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/11/AnnualReport1213.pdf”>http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/11/AnnualReport1213.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is not possible to say with any certainty how many of those joined MBB-type consulting firms. But it is clear that the CoE is highly recruited by the best management consulting firms. According to the career office, the following firms recruited or hired Michigan Engineers:</p>

<p>A. T. Kearney
Accenture
Bain
Booz
Boston Consulting Group
Capgemeni
Deloitte Consulting
McKinsey
Oliver Wyman</p>

<p><a href=“http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/11/RecruitingHiringCompanies.pdf”>http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/11/RecruitingHiringCompanies.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>most of the IOE students who get MBB have masters (a lot of them do EGL). it is much more difficult to get MBB with just a bachelors in IOE.</p>

<p>777Blue77, it just seems like the top end of IOE majors were getting the high paying, high prestige consulting/finance/etc jobs. But then I would talk to other IOE majors that didn’t have a job yet near the end of the year, or were just working some desk supply chain job. </p>

<p>Also, as an ME that was looking for full time jobs all through the Fall, there was a very wide range of jobs to apply to. It could say Aero and ME, or IOE and ME, etc. I got an interview for a Pepsi job that was kind like supply chain, it was a bunch of IOEs and some MEs. You can do that supply chain work, or consulting, or design, or manufacturing, etc etc. I feel like it is the most broad engineering major career wise, at least starting off.</p>

<p>Also, I have heard from a recruiter before that they don’t like hiring engineers with business classes. In their mind, that shows that you don’t really want to be an engineer and will jump ship to business as soon as you can, which does them no good. </p>

<p>Would I really have to get a Master’s to get MBB? I’d rather not spend 5 years in school.</p>

<p>you don’t have to, but it increases your odds substantially. </p>

<p>

Just fyi, you don’t get to “drop” your résumé for jobs in Ross as a business minor. You merely get to post it online to impact, and I doubt any worthwhile employer will check it as they get more than enough qualified applicants through the actual job listing résumé drops. If that’s your main motivation for the minor you might want to reconsider.</p>

<p>IOE has vastly broader career possibilities than ME. Personally I don’t think masters or not makes a difference. It’s all about the interview once you get the interview. Maybe you are more likely to land an MBB interview having a masters degree, but I have interviewed with two out of the three without a masters and got offered by both.</p>

<p>How exactly does IOE have “vastly broader” career possibilities than ME?</p>

<p>To summarize:</p>

<p>You don’t need a masters degree to go make good money at a good firm, as some are able to do it without, but it would help substantially. If you want to do it with only a bachelors you need to make sure you’re seriously up on your ■■■■ in every aspect unless you are a literal genius. If you’re an ordinary dude I wouldn’t count on it. </p>

<p>Everyone going into Engineering wants to get into Consulting or Finance (similar to how everyone in LSA wants to be a Doctor) freshman year. That quickly dissipates. Don’t get stuck in your mind that this is the only way. In addition there’s a huge up-or-out mentality. It’s not the way to get easy money if that’s what you’re thinking, I promise you. </p>

<p>@dm2017‌ </p>

<p>From what I’ve seen, maybe 2 or 3 engineers get hired by MBB annually so the odds are actually much worse than that. The engineers that get elite business jobs tend to belong to some of the top private schools in the country like Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Stanford, etc. who don’t have an undergraduate business school.</p>

<p>“From what I’ve seen, maybe 2 or 3 engineers get hired by MBB annually so the odds are actually much worse than that.”</p>

<p>Where did ennithemenace get his 2-3 MBB figure? Last time I checked, he did not study at the University of Michigan. Like I said, Michigan’s CoE does not publish specific figures. Out of approximately 1,000 graduates, only 400 or so responded to the career survey, and of those, 10% joined consulting firms. How many of those joined MBB is unknown. Perhaps a recent Engineering graduate can shed some light on this matter. It probably isn’t that high a number. MBB do not recruit many undergrads to start with. For example, last year, of the 250 or so Penn engineers who graduated, only 3 joined MBB (not including Jerome Fisher program student who benefit from their Wharton degree). </p>

<p>“The engineers that get elite business jobs tend to belong to some of the top private schools in the country like Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Stanford, etc. who don’t have an undergraduate business school.”</p>

<p>I am not sure what to make of that statement. Michigan engineers are in very high demand. ennisthemanace makes some incorrect statements. For one thing, Penn does have an undergraduate business program (it is called Wharton, I think), and its engineers (not including Wharton dual degree students) are not that highly recruited by MBB or by IBanks for Investment Banking jobs. It is known that at elite universities that do not have strong undergraduate business programs, Engineering and Economics majors will be the most highly recruited by Management Consulting firms and for front office IBanking jobs. At universities that have strong undergraduate business programs, like Michigan and Penn, it is Business students who will be the most heavily recruited by Management Consulting firms and for front office IBanking jobs.</p>

<p>I would say all engineers want to go in to finance or consulting at first. Maybe within the IOE freshman/sophomores that is the case. Within ME it is pretty broad. I thought Consulting at one point and even looked into the consulting club. As time went on though it wasn’t as much of an interest to me. A lot of MEs come in thinking automotive and stick with it. Either design, manufacturing, etc. I really very rarely heard an ME mention consulting and stuff. </p>

<p>On this site its big because damn near every high schooler on here says they want to be IOE. Or get a dual degree with a BBA or something. But that is the CC mentality. Most players are the cream of the crop at their HS so they think they’ll be the same in college. What does that mean I’m college? Getting the highest paying job. Where can that be? Consulting, finance, etc. Whuch means they think IOE. I think it is really the result of students thinking they’re better than they are before even getting to college.</p>

<p>Anyway… yeah, I never heard a lot of consulting type talk within ME. The goals career wise were pretty broad. </p>

<p>This doesnt seem like a starting job/career to bank on. But, anything can happen if you work hard enough. </p>

<p>At schools with top ranked Engineering programs, like Cal, Caltech, CMU, Cornell, Michigan and Stanford, Engineering majors do not seek out non-technical jobs nearly as much as engineering students at non-elite engineering programs. The only exceptions are MIT and Princeton, where a larger segment of the Engineering student population seek such jobs. </p>