What do you think about Engineering Management? I am currently pursuing a career in Mechanical Engineering and I was thinking wouldn’t it be a great idea to do a dual degree?
I could do Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering. What do you think? I find business intriguing and I can mix my engineering classes with business classes. It feels like I can have best if both worlds business and engineering combined!
Do you expect you’d be hired as an engineering manager without having any engineering experience first? I don’t.
It’s usually not recommended for an engineering major to take on a dual major. It adds time to graduation, and isn’t really a plus when trying to land that first engineering job.I’m not familiar with the requirements to earn a dual degree at your school (it can vary wildly between schools), but it will add at least 1 year, if not up to 2 years till graduation.
It’s much more common to see folks getting a minor in business (especially industrial engineers), as it’s usually far less burdensome.
I don’t think everyone that goes down this path want to be a manager? Its just great to be an engineer with management skills to help one move up in the engineering industry. My fellow peer told me Its like the undergraduate version of an MBA.
To anyone doing the hiring, a degree in engineering management is a pretty strong indicator that the applicant wants to manage engineers, not be an engineer. You’d be better off with the experience and then getting the MS version of that degree later.
How much time would it add to graduation? Every year would cost you about $50K to $60K in lost salary, in addition to school cost (tuition, etc). You may also be tempted to replace engineering technical electives with business electives.
My daughter will be completing her degree in December, and it will include a minor in Business Administration. It’s a subject she’s interested in, and was able to fit it in with her normal engineering curriculum. However, adding a management BS/BA would have taken at an additional 18+ months to complete and would not have mattered in the long term (a possible MBA, several years down the road…).
I just need to take 5 business classes. However, I was thinking I can take these classes incorporated with my engineering classes.
@boneh3ad I’ll never understand the industry… Thank you for the information but instead of getting the MBA later wouldn’t one have it already if they get Engineering Management or do companies look at the Masters Degree over Undergraduate degrees for managers? I am very confused. I don’t want to be a manager I just want to be marketable in the engineering industry. Are there any books I can look into to gain more insight about how one who majors in engineering can be more marketable? Thank you so much in advance! Right now I just have to take 14 more engineering classes and I been thinking about how can I make myself more marketable in this industry.
@tallkekepink95 A bachelors in engineering management won’t give you a leg up in becoming a manager. In fact it may hamper you from getting entry level engineering jobs. I would do this get your Mech e degree and do a good job in a entry level technical position. After a few years you may consider getting either a technical masters or mba but you can easily get a project management role with just your bachelors. You won’t get into management right away and the bachelors degree in it won’t help either. Most technical managers will have an Ms in a technical discipline over the mba if they even have the graduate degree.
5 undergrad business classes is in no way the equivalent of an MBA. I took 3 or 4 engineering management courses as electives for my ME masters. They have not proven to be all that beneficial to being an engineering manager. I became an engineering manager because my manager trusted my engineering capabilities.
I think the best way to make yourself marketable as an ME is to really understand the material, and get as much real world engineering experience as possible before graduating.
A family member got their Engineering Management degree with an ME concentration. Got job offers for project management in engineering firms as well as careers in underwriting departments. Ended up getting his MBA and now working as a VP in an Underwriting department, doing very well. Good technical / business mix but yes not for strictly being an engineer. Not sure if someone mentioned to make sure its an accredited degree at your university.
There is no one way companies view degrees. In my experience thought, a Master’s degree is viewed as being substantially above an undergraduate degree in management.
Good Master’s programs often require - or at least encourage - a couple of years in the work force first. That gives you a real world perspective that makes the management classes more meaningful. A typical undergraduate doesn’t have the same life experience to fully understand the complexities of management.
As others have said, combining the two degrees may weaken your chances of getting a job as an engineer. It’s common for people to work in their field for several years, and then if they show an aptitude for and an interest in a management track, they may be put through internal training, put into a mentor program, and perhaps the company will share costs of an advanced degree. Or they just get promoted.
Alright thank you so much everyone this is making way more sense. I will just get my Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since I like the thought of AutoCAD or Autodesk Inventor maybe minoring in Engineering Graphics and CAD is a great thing? I want to be more on the hands on part creating graphics and 3D animations really interests me. I have been working on Autodesk Inventor as a hobby of mine over the summer. Wow so glad I asked this question here because I was so lost. I am thinking about Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Engineering Graphics and CAD.
5 classes? For a dual degree? That’s really not that bad…
Nothing wrong with running through different scenarios. You have lots of options. Take your time and discuss them with other students, faculty and even potential employers (at job fairs, etc).
Good Luck!
Why do you feel you need to minor or double major in something at all?
5 classes is not much for a dual degree, but given the requirements and prerequisites for Engineering majors, it can be quite challenging to complete one degree in 4 years.
It might be 5 extra classes is no big deal, but it also could come mean a good bit more money.