<p>I am a high school senior going to UCF. I want to double major in AE and ME. What would be a minor or alternative Engineering/science major that would help maximize my earning potential?</p>
<p>You sound very ambitious. Any engineering program at UCF is very rigorous. My guess is you will end up with only 1 major (be it AE or ME) and no minor by the time you are done in 4 or 5 years.</p>
<p>I take lots of classes with Engineering majors at UCF, and I rarely see double majors in two separate Engineering fields. Super smart kid in one of my upper division classes is a MechE and Math double major - but that’s about as extreme as it gets.</p>
<p>I tell everyone the same advice: don’t double major. A double major takes more time (i.e. more money) and in most cases does not help your employment prospects. If you want to learn more about a subject take it as a minor because you can typically do that without taking more semesters to finish.</p>
<p>Well time and money get cut by my ap credits (i’ll start as a second semester sophomore with about 55 credits but some of them overlap for the same requirement). I want to make myself as marketable as possible so I’m willing to try almost any science or math related field.</p>
<p>I’m assuming ME and AE stand for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering. If so, just do Mechanical. Mechanical Engineers are more than capable of doing the work of Aeronautical Engineers. If you want to do AE, you can specialize later. With the budget cuts of late and for a long time now in NASA, the employment availability of AE is going is questionable.</p>
<p>Negative ghost rider ^</p>
<p>What would be the benefits of a physics and ME double major?</p>
<p>Physics is a broad subject. You can have standard physics, applied physics, biophysics, material science physics (we have this major at CCNY…), optics / photonic physics, etc.</p>
<p>I think the answer would be no. Usually your undergraduate degree in ME would be enough for you to get a job in the industry. If you have to do anything that require advanced knowledge in physical science and engineering, then either you need years of experiences, or you need a graduate degree.</p>
<p>You could always go for engineering physics, if you’re interested in the more theoretical aspects. Not an expert on how marketable these degrees are, but if you search the forums there is tons of advice (if you can’t find it, you’re not searching hard enough because I know it’s there).</p>
<p>Unless you are rich and in school just to learn as much as you can, screw the double major and screw the minor. Trust me on this. Your ROI if any is not going to be worth it. Pick a major and get a high GPA.</p>
<p>I graduated with and now work with (occasionally) a guy who pulled an EE/ME double major, and his career and pay have not been noticably better than mine. There are dang few jobs that seriously benefit from a double engineering major, and those that exist are probably at very small companies trying to make do with a minimum headcount. I would focus on doing one degree really really well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Would a double major help me get into a top notch grad school or would it still be a waste of time?</p>
<p>Waste of time. You are better off getting good GPA, and doing research, or getting an internship. Again, you may think otherwise later when you begin your engineering study {ahhhh this is not what i want… ahhhh this is too difficult to complete}.</p>
<p>What kind of research is available to engineering majors? I have a summer internship for the next 3 summers already. Is that enough of an EC to have a good chance at grad school?</p>
<p>^
Just being curious, what internships are you doing and how do you know that you will be accepted.</p>
<p>3 is internships is really good
You usually do research at your school, probably wont get pay on your first year doing research. you will have contact professors and ask them if you can be an assistant.</p>
<p>^I got a scholarship from northrop grumman that came with a guaranteed summer internship</p>
<p>Thre is lots of research available for engineers, taking new technologies from theory into the first real applications and then refining slightly more mature technologies. Since internships are different than research experiences, if you have aspirations towards grad school you should fit some real research in. Perhaps you should consider using that time you had set aside for classes in a second major and use it to work in an on-campus lab.</p>
<p>BTW, congrats on the internship. Do you know where you will be working?</p>
<p>Not yet. but I should find out soon because I will officially be awarded the scholarship tonight.</p>