<p>Hey. I'm currently a junior in HS applying to Engineering schools such as Standford, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, etc. My original plan was to major in mechanical engineering and minor in business and natural sciences/resources. However, I've recently been reading into chances for high pay for Business majors, especially from top-tier Business schools. Based off of this should I double-major in Engineer/Business? What schools have both top-tier Business and Engineering schools and what are the pay prospects for some of the majors?</p>
<p>Now, I don't want you all to think I'm doing this solely for money. I chose Engineering and Business originally because I think I would enjoy working in either field, and the job market for both is pretty good as well. However, if one jobs I would enjoy offers substantial benefits over the other, I am willing to look into it.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Well, the truth is that yes, it’s a lot of work. However, it also depends on how much effort you’re willing to put in, and how much you like the subjects. Having said that, consider whether you really want to put in the significant amount of effort required to excel in both business and engineering. A good GPA in either single-major program is impressive, but a poor GPA in a double-major program isn’t necessarily comparable.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. I don’t mind working hard, but I also don’t want to have to constantly kill myself to the point that I can’t enjoy college and risk burning out. So do you think I should focus on one and which one when considering pay rates and job availability coming out of top universities?</p>
<p>double majoring in engineering and business is completely pointless; employers are going to hire you for one major or the other, not both. if you really wanna do business, try industrial engineering</p>
<p>At the undergrad level, pay is pretty consistently higher for engineering grads than for business grads - check at the schools where you get admitted to confirm. Plus, switching between the two post-graduation is only really possible one-way - as an engineer you can work your way pretty easily into the business side even without a business minor, but business types cannot cross into engineering without some engineering degree somewhere. </p>
<p>At the grad level, MBA’s can make great money but engineering grads make up a LARGE portion of admits to top-tier business schools. With an engineering BS and an MBA from a top business school you can either go into management (with a few years of experience pre-MBA) or try to jump into the lucrative financial sector (hard to get, but big money for those who can stomach it).</p>
<p>So I would recommend starting with engineering and focusing on a high GPA - minors are fun but not especially useful, and a high GPA opens a LOT of doors.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>After you get your first job, you can always look for some less technical and more business oriented positions and most company would pay for your mba and pmp (although please be aware that they will probably force you to sign a three year contract in which you have to stay with the same company for at least three years or else you have to pay for the mba).</p>
<p>I just dont see why a business minor is beneficial to your first job…</p>
<p>I have a 75 year old friend who graduated from Dartmouth. He said his friends who double majored in engineering and business got starting salaries of $80,000… and that was 50 years ago.</p>
<p>Elon Musk is someone that inspires me. Musk went to U Waterloo in Canada for awhile before transferring to UPenn where he completed a degree in Physics and a degree in Business. UPenn has a fantastic Physics program and a business school that is at least top 3. He used what he learned to go on and create PayPal and become CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors as well as Chairman of SolarCity.</p>
<p>So how is that relevant to you? Well as others have said, you will likely get hired for one degree. While this is true, the knowledge that you have from one degree can help you with the other. For example, if you get a job as an engineer, your background in business can allow you to climb the corporate hierarchy to a management engineering job or something more. Also, an interesting thing to know is that the number of engineers that get accepted to MBA programs, such as Wharton @ UPenn, is just as high as the number of business majors.</p>
<p>Business and engineering are a great combo because through engineering you learn everything that goes into making a particular engineered product, and through business, you learn how that product is marketed and how to manage the people that are making that product. If you are hard set on being your own boss and creating a company, the two degrees could be very useful to you since you will need to know both sides of the company. Even if you aren’t looking to be an entrepreneur, having both degrees can help you in whatever job you end up in. Regardless of whether you were hired for one particular degree, you will an advantage over your coworkers.</p>
<p>DivZero: What was a good idea 50 years ago is useful only if you have a time machine.</p>
<p>VMadden: Musk is not representative of the norm even among exceptional students at exceptional schools. While degrees in two fields CAN help if you go to start your own company or work in a very small one, most of the time a double major is of limited or no value, and ALL of the time a masters in one of the fields is superior. This is why I suggested an engineering BS followed (if you want business) by an MBA - it allows you to work as an engineer or jump into a much more lucrative tier of business work.</p>
<p>I know a few people who went this route, who came into my current company with an engineering/business double major. They are all in positions dominated by engineers, none of them show any evidence of improved advancement or pay (and I know at least the ballpark of their salaries simply because we have to budget their hours).</p>
<p>@cosmicfish - Trite replies are only effective if accurate</p>
<p>@DivZero - then prove me wrong. </p>
<p>In 1962, $80k had the buying power of ~$600k today, and I don’t see anyone coming out of Dartmouth with that kind of salary. In 1962, salaries for Ivy League graduates was in the $30-35k ballpark from what I have seen, currently they are perhaps 2-3x that, so a $80k salary back then might correspond to a ~$160-240k salary now… which I am ALSO not seeing.</p>
<p>So what kind of current numbers are you seeing that backs up your opinion from 50 years ago?</p>