<p>So I have my mother and everyone she works at Chrysler saying I'm much better off getting an engineering degree and going back for an MBA later.</p>
<p>If I want a career in finance, does this make any sense?</p>
<p>They are also terribly worried that the economy is terrible and jobs aren't what they used to be and how a general business degree is worthless, etc.</p>
<p>Well, a general business degree really never was good - simply because anyone with a passion, some networking skills, and a desire to learn can understand how a business works which is why so many non-college educated people have successful businesses. You get the most out of a business degree when you specialize in something and/or combine it with another element of education. For example, my sister was a marketing major but took psychology courses that dealt with consumer behavior, art courses that focused on how to manipulate the eyes reaction to certain designs/colors/elements, and some other stuff. Almost 6 years out of college, she is now the director of marketing (one of em at least) for the retail division of the NBA.</p>
<p>Finance majors are pretty straight-forward and one reason why its recently been one of the more-popular biz tracks is b/c I-Banking is very popular right now and its mostly grunt-work that pays a ton of money with a chance to make a ton more. </p>
<p>It all depends on what you're interested in. My sister's boyfriend has been in corporate law for the last few years and is going back for his MBA b/c he wants to go into business. On the flipside, a family friend who got his BBA is going back for a law degree. As for me personally, I am interested in doing a management/marketing mix during college, with some dabbling in sociology/psych and then might go back for a MA in Psych later on since im interested in doing Industrial Psychology. As I said, you make what you want of it :)</p>
<p>Agree with above post.</p>
<p>A business degree is the most versatile degree imo. </p>
<p>Combine it with something else to really "take advantage of it"</p>
<p>For example, I know someone who went to an LAC for fine arts, but then got a business degree and is now making a pile in the
marketing/logo design biz</p>
<p>I think Engineering is a great degree, even if you want to go into Finance. Of course, Ross would be better because Ross is one of the top 10 Business schools in the country (top 3 at the undergraduate level), but if you are serious about going into Finance, you would be just as well off majoring in Enigneering as you would be majoring in Economics or Mathematics.</p>
<p>Check out the top 10 employers of Michigan Engineers in 2003 (unfortunately, Michigan's CoE doesn't have more recent statistics)</p>
<p>Page 8 of the link below pretty much tells you that 10% of the graduate of the CoE go into Finance. That's pretty high. And pagees 11 and 12 shows the companies that recruited CoE students. As you can see, many IBs and financial institutions recruit Engineers at Michigan. </p>
<p>If you can maintain a high GPA (3.5+) and if you take a few Econ classes especially Finance related courses), you can definitely go into Finance with an Engineering degree, assuming you take the initiative.</p>
<p>My aunt got a MBA from Michigan. Her first job was working at the head office for McDonalds in Chicago, then at the the main office for CitieBank in NY, and now she works for Hershey's in Hershey, PA. So I would say a MBA from Michigan def. puts you at the top.</p>
<p>An undergraduate business degree from a place like Michigan is valuable to employers because above else it filters out for them who is intelligent and can fit into a business culture. This is not to denigrate the value of a business degree - but rather to point out that the filtering aspect is what draws businesses above all else. This point is equally applicable to MBA programs as well.</p>
<p>If you want go into engineering but are interested in finance, take a look at Industrial and Operations Engineering. They had a subspecialty in Financial Engineering. It's probability and statistics geared toward financial applications. You can find out more about it at the U-M I&OE website.</p>
<p>The real benefit of an MBA is not so much what you will learn in class, but from the networking. You will be going to school with people who have already achieved some degree of success in the working world and are ready to take the step to the next level. You will be getting to know people that may be able to help you in your career or in a business endeavor in the future.</p>