<p>Is it a good idea for a civil engineering major to minor in math?</p>
<p>I don't really think any engineering major really needs to do a math minor. Most engineers can get a math minor with like two extra classes. The classes you take will most likely not benefit you at all and I don't really think the minor makes your resume look any better than any other engineer. I don't really suggest it for anyone unless you are personally interested in math.</p>
<p>I don't really think it'll add anything significant to your resume/marketability.</p>
<p>Most engineering degrees are math intensive and usually a minor is just a class or two away. Instead if you can convey that you have specific skills (programming or software) that typical Civil Engineers don't have, maybe you can use it to your advantage.</p>
<p>1) Math minor not necessary for us civs, and probably not too helpful. Only do it if you want to take extra math classes because you like math, and not because you want an "extra edge".
2) My programming background was actually a pretty good bargaining point.</p>
<p>You'd be surprised at what classes you have to take for a math minor. They're virtually useless for engineering. My math minor classes were topology, abstract algebra and numerical analysis (ok that one was actually somewhat useful)</p>
<p>I dunno, I know myself and most of my engineering friends consider ourselves "passable" in math and don't really excel in it. We know enough to know what we need to do, and when more complicated problems come up which require more in depth math knowledge, we're generally pretty lost. Generally we wind up going to the person in our group that had some sort of extra math training when they were an undergrad.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. My son decided to do a math minor and I wondered whether it had any a) practical or b) resume value. It seems that a) is a maybe and b) a no. However, because the minor only requires two or three more courses and he likes math, it seems a good move for him. He is taking linear algebra this semester.</p>
<p>I wouldn't do a math minor if it required classes such as topology and abstract algebra.</p>