Mechanical vs. Electrical

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I hope this isn't a tired question but I'm having a very hard time choosing between the two majors. I'm really interested in both and I've even considered a double major but since there is very little overlap between the two I would likely have to spend an extra two years to finish my degree, which I don't I want to do. </p>

<p>I'm going to the University of Washington and I think both the ME and EE programs are ranked about the same in the top 25. However; the EE dept. has a new building, better facilities, and just more money overall since Microsoft and other hi-tech companies are nearby. They also have a good work-study position in the electromagentics lab. But the ME dept has a lot of interesting projects like the Formula SAE car and a human powered submarine.</p>

<p>I really like things that combine both electrical and mechanical aspects. Can someone with a little more experience in these fields give me some guidance?</p>

2

<p>I'm going to be attending the University of Waterloo this fall and there is a program called Mechatronics</a> Engineering, which as the name suggests is a combination of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. I dont know much about US Universities, but there's bound to be American Colleges that offer a similar program.</p>

3

<p>I know that upperlevel EE has courses that deal with control systems, automation, robotics, and MEMS which are essentially hybrid ME/EE. You can certainly look into those as possibilities.</p>

4

<p>My school doesn't offer a mechatronics degree per se although both the MechE and EE departments have mechatronics as part of the curriculum. The EE department has a Robotics, Control and Mechatronics research group that I think fits into what I was looking for although I'm still undecided because the ME department has a mechatronics group also.</p>

<p>How difficult would a ME/EE double major be? I'm pretty bright so I think I can handle the courses but I'm just worried about the extra time and money it will take.</p>

5

<p>i don't think that would be realistic, unless you plan on staying for minimum of 5-6 years. You would be looking at about 30 ENGINEERING classes, not including the buildups as well as any core classes that your school requires. I would not recommend anyone, no matter how bright you are, to take more than 5 engineering classes per semester. I have a friend that took 6 EE classes last semester and got a 2.7 GPA, and he is planning on going to MIT for grad school (still has a 3.73 gpa). It's not like comp sci and ee where there's some overlapping classes.</p>

6

<ol>
<li>It's possible to double major</li>
</ol>

<p>If you're very smart and very hard working, it's certainly possible to finish a ME/EE degree in four years, provided you're willing to take summer school and carry five courses (18+ units) per term for your whole college career. Both majors share similar lower division requirements and often have some overlap in terms of upper division classes (control theory, Robotics, MEMS, &c.)</p>

<ol>
<li>But double majoring wont necessarily help you later on</li>
</ol>

<p>If you're spending all your time on the courses to finish a double major, you might not have time to do research, get an internship, or participate in other activities in college. (Research and/or work experience are very important for getting into graduate school and/or getting a first job. Having hobbies is essential to being an interesting person.) You almost certainly won't have time to have much fun in college. </p>

<p>Moreover, there are very few jobs that require people to have broad educations in both EE and ME, so you might end up "wasting" a lot of your hard work. If you're solely interested in graduate work in interdisciplinary ME/EE fields (MEMS), it might actually be in your interest to major in physics (or applied math), do undergraduate research and take lots of courses or minors in EE and ME; theory is very important for graduate school.</p>

<ol>
<li>In fact, double majoring can actually be a bad thing</li>
</ol>

<p>Even if you are smart and hard working, it is fairly certain that you'll get worse grades double majoring in ME/EE than if you did only one major. If your grades are really high (e.g., if you'd get mostly 'A's with one major and would get mostly 'A-'s with the double major), it probably won't hurt you. But it certainly is bad if your grades aren't super high (e.g., it's probably better to get a 'B+'s with a single major than 'C+'s with a double). </p>

<ol>
<li>It's not really necessary to double major</li>
</ol>

<p>Electrical engineers and mechanical engineers often work together on projects. Some fields are highly interdisciplinary and if you work in those fields you'll pick up stuff from the other field. If you really like the other major, consider taking some electives or a minor in the other major instead of a double major. If you go to grad school and study an interdisciplinary field, you'll make up for any knowledge deficiencies while in grad school.</p>

<ol>
<li>But it does make it very easy for you to look good if you do well</li>
</ol>

<p>If you do double major in ME and EE, and do very well, Mommy and Daddy will have an easy time bragging about how great a kid you are. (This is said jokingly and only slightly sarcastically; please don't take offense.)</p>

7

<p>"REMEMBER" No matter at what level of education you are presently at, if you know all the theory in the world but can't apply it to the reality, you are just as in the gutter as someone who doesn't understand the theory.</p>

<p>Understanding how to apply the theory to practice is more imporatant than understanding the theory itself.</p>

<p>If you are interested in both EE and ME disciplines, then choose EE because more often EE because of education and work experience will be more knowledgeable of Electrical Systems and Mechanical Systems than ME will be.</p>

8

<p>I'd recommed a getting a B.S. in one and then getting a Master's in the other. It would probably take the same amount of time and it would definately get you further.</p>

9

<p>I was thinking along the same lines. The extra time spent for a double major would probably be better spent on internships or a Masters. I think I'm gonna go with EE because I really like the EE dept. here. Thanks for all the insight; it really helped me out a lot.</p>