I currently attend a school with an ABET accredited engineering program and am about halfway through the curriculum. It looks as though I will be graduating a semester late due to switching majors after my first semester. Also, I have already completed a mathematics minor just by following my flow of courses. Would picking up another minor in economics or computer science be worth the extra work load? Will it carry any weight when job searching after I graduate? Thanks!
You’ll find a lot of helpful discussions the other similar threads. This group usually agrees that in most cases a minor is not really helpful. ( This is especially true if the requirements keep you from adding more technical specialty classes. But do take an econ course or two, even if not required - many engineering programs require it).
Extra classes in CS would probably be useful for any engineering major. What is your major and your future goals? That info might help us give more guidance.
My major is Industrial/Systems Engineering. I have already taken 2 econ courses and liked both. As for future goals, I plan on getting an MBA after a few years of work experience because I like business and engineering equally and would like to have a job that incorporates both, but I have the technical skills to be an engineer and did not want to waste them majoring in a business field.
I agree with @colorado_mom on this. I don’t see any additional job opportunities opening up by adding a minor. I’ve looked at plenty of engineering resumes and can’t remember ever being influenced by someone’s minors. Take classes you are interested in (my D plans to take “glass blowing” in college on her way to an engineering degree). Or take a lighter class load so that you can get involved with organizations. I certainly have been impressed with students who take on leadership roles and put in the hours for organizations they are passionate about.
Take a look at your ISE curriculum. It likely includes a few classes in decision support systems (programming). ISE is rather math intensive (even for engineering) and taking classes that help build on your required classes is a good idea. ISE is also a very broad major, so think about what areas/jobs you may be most interested in and take classes that would work best in those fields.
For example, if you want to get more involved with working with DSS, additional programming classes are useful.
Talk with your adviser, I’m sure, based on what your college has to offer, they can recommend a few options.
Rather than trying to check the boxes for a minor, why not just select in-major and out-of-major electives that you believe are interesting and useful for your goals?
Our S chose to take a course and co-author a poster on geology for a national conference, take sailing, and learn how to weld and build a receiver in his SR year in EE. He also did rock climbing and other activities. The dean of engineering recommended the students take courses of interest rather than focus on minors or dual majors.
If you like econ and can fill the minor requirements relatively easily, I’d say why not go for it. I completed an econ minor because I Iike econ and wanted something outside of my engineering courses to give me a breath of fresh air. It’s actually been a talking point in several interviews I’ve had for internships.
Get a minor because you personally feel that it is best for you, not because you think somebody wants to see that you have completed a minor. Ultimately, somebody will know that you have a minor only if you tell them or they look closely at your transcript. Many times, it does not show up on your diploma. I would not say it is worth paying extra semesters’ worth of tuition solely for getting a minor, so if you can fit it in great, but if it means you need to take more semesters, then it might not be a good return for the investment.
I will always look over someone’s transcript if they are recently out of college. I am looking for someone who wants to do the job I am offering and is the best prepared for it. That entails doing more than the minimum for the major that they are looking a job in.
I may notice an interesting class that is out of the field and ask about it but I try to keep to the relevant classes. I am not going to hire an engineer based on their econ classes. So, even as an applicant you’d want to stay focused on the subjects that will improve your chances of getting that job, even if the hiring manager is going off track.
I took some econ classes in college and found them interesting, but they were for my “humanities” requirement and not for a minor in the subject. If you can do something like that, then I’d go for it. Otherwise, not worth it to me.
Rather than focusing on a minor, what additional classes could you take that will help you in your goals? If you are thinking MBA, have you taken any public speaking courses? Communications courses, including both spoken and written communications, will give you skills that can set you apart from others. What business courses could you take now that might be required or recommended in order to gain admission to an MBA program?