<p>What is M&T?</p>
<p>[THE</a> JEROME FISHER PROGRAM IN MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY](<a href=“Home - Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology”>Home - Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology)</p>
<p>Penn’s undergraduate, interdisciplinary program that combines Wharton and their Engineering school.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position. I’m very interested in business, and thus am interested in getting an undergraduate business degree (hopefully from Wharton). However, my parents strongly recommend for me to get some sort of engineering/technical degree, and then get an MBA. I can see their point but I’m not that interested in engineering except for maybe computer science (which isn’t really engineering). My plan was to get a dual degree in business (emphasis on finance) and CS at Penn (if I’m accepted that is :P). My question now though is, is getting an MBA even worth it after an undergraduate business degree? I wanted to get my undergraduate degree with an emphasis on finance, and then MBA would be managing, but then I heard that those two (finance and management) are two completely different tracks and I’d be better off getting a Masters in finance or something. For now, I think I’ll try and stick to my dual degree plan and see what happens in the future. Any advice is welcome :P</p>
<p>Also, what is the difference between going undergrad business –> masters in some sort of engineering as opposed to undergrad engineering –> MBA.</p>
<p>(Sorry if this hijacks your thread haha)</p>
<p>^ no you’re not hijacking anything. I also want to know the differences between:</p>
<p>BS Engineering -> MBA</p>
<p>BS Economics -> MS Engineering</p>
<p>Can you even get into a decent MEng program without a technical background?</p>
<p>While I agree entirely with Astonmartin, in post 18, I also believe in what ChoklitRain said “no educational path that will guarantee becoming a CEO in big-tech firm”–or any managerial poisition in that case. However, I’m sure there are a handful of managers and top execs behind the scenes of tech firms that have do not specifically have an Engineering/CompSci degree. </p>
<p>Look at Steve Ballmer (Microsoft) or Howard Stringer (Sony) who are CEOs of tech companies, neither have a engineering degree. To be a successful manager is not only knowing your field, but how to inspire and lead people. </p>
<p>I think the concern of flyingllama (and I have to some extent) is getting “your foot-in-the-door,” if you will, at a tech company that will eventually lead into a managerial poisition.</p>
<p>I was just kidding around. It seems as if the poster wants to run one of the top few tech companies in the world on the way to becoming something more, like an investment banker. It just seems a little ambitious, that’s all. I was basically kidding around.</p>
<p>Wow, apparently Howard Stringer was knighted by the queen. that’s cool.</p>
<p>So yes my real concern is if I will be able to move up in a tech company without an engineering/cs degree. I wouldn’t want to be forever limited to mid-level management because I was too unsure about entering the tech industry as an 18 year old.</p>
<p>Also an important question remains unanswered: would I be able to receive a top (MIT/Stanford/Berkeley) MS in EE/CS degree, coming from a Wharton BS Economics background? (Maybe even after a few years of working at a tech company, should I decide to go that route.) Because if so, Wharton alone would be more than amazing, and I would decide later whether to get into the tech industry.</p>
<p>edit: Benny B haha you’re right it might seem a bit much but these are my passions, they make me tick. it’s more fun than work lol</p>
<p>I just did a quick browse through MIT’s website and I found this:</p>
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<p>[MIT</a> EECS - Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html#1]MIT”>http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html#1)</p>
<p>So I am not sure what qualifies as a “very strong background.” I’m sure if we look hard enough we could find some stats on incoming students and their backgrounds.</p>
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<p>That’s good, one could probably get that Math background from Wharton right? That would be great</p>
<p>I hope that pursuing a MS in EECS would be possible from a non-technical background, because that would best leave my options open.</p>
<p>You’re definitely not getting into a graduate engineering or CS program (ie, MS in EECS) without an undergraduate engineering (or possibly Math/physics) degree. Especially at places like MIT or Stanford (which are notorious for only taking their own engineers into masters programs). Pursuing an MS in EECS from a non-technical background will be impossible. Period. (Trust me - I was M&T.)</p>
<p>If you really only want to get one degree, get the engineering undergraduate and then an MBA. You can go tech -> business, but you can’t really go business -> tech. </p>
<p>Of course the real question is why you only want one of the two? I personally found the M&T program at Penn to be unlike anything else anywhere else, and learning business and engineering <em>at the same time</em> was an amazing experience.</p>
<p>M & T is like a dream for me, and it’s impossible to get into</p>
<p>But you did M&T? Thats so cool. If you could PM with advice on how you got into M&T or your stats or what your fellow M&T classmates had or something, it would really be useful to me :)</p>
<p>hahahah you plan on getting into a graduate engineering program at MIT with a bachelors in econ?</p>
<p>if rejected from jerome, you can still go to wharton and apply for a 2nd major in SEAS. it ends up requiring more classes than jerome fisher, and might take 5 years, but you’ll get the background you seem to be looking for(previously it looked like you just wanted to work in management of a tech company).</p>
<p>^Hmm, so I guess it would be impossible for me to graduate by 2012 if I do a regular dual degree with SEAS since I am a transfer student? Or is it still possible to apply M&T after Sophmore year?</p>
<p>you can direct that question to <a href=“mailto:mgtech@seas.upenn.edu”>mgtech@seas.upenn.edu</a>
i know this because i asked a question before</p>
<p>You can definitely do a regular dual degree and still graduate in 4 years. It would involve 6-7 courses each semester (except your first)</p>
<p>Since we’re on the subject, is taking 6 classes tough? I am planning to take 6 this semester just so I’m not that behind.</p>
<p>It all depends on the classes you take. In my overall opinion, taking 6 classes is indeed tough. </p>
<p>I’ll put it to you this way: is $50,000 a year a lot of money? I know a lot of people who made the choice to either take 6 or 6.5 classes most semesters or spend 4.5 or 5 years at Penn</p>
<p>Although I got excellent financial aid, I would still like to get my money’s worth and take as many classes as possible a semester.</p>
<p>Five of my six courses are Wharton core. As long as I don’t have essays due every week, I should (or think I should) be fine.</p>