So I decided to follow in Eric Lukas footsteps.....

[rs4pro3]

Do what ever you want to do the rest of your life. I have thought of taking ASA certification instead of the Engineering. But the program I'm in is pure hands on and is not a desk job. Sitting down and doing Statics problems does get boring but were getting tranny in everything from electrical to heating and ventilating.

[rwh11385]

What Ryan said is very appriopriate. I would not focus on shit I didn't like or care about.

But economics and business, even if some classes are gay or hard, i'll still pay more attention because it interests me.

With math, engr, whatever, i would just hope to get done with it, and be out of there. Not the philosophy I would want for a future career, or 4 years of it.

[lukasbmw]

Props...but I'm not going into management...I'm going into finance. ;)

Actually, I still am not sure. I have to apply to the school of business in either Jan or May of this year (depends on how some stuff shakes out). I then need to decide between 7 business majors.

I want to do finance, but the program on main campus gets a lot of applicants. I'm not sure my GPA will be high enough. However I am hoping my business experience makes up for my lack of book smarts.

If I can't get into main, I can go to the east campus (same god damn degree), but I'm not sure I want to live in Gilbert (20 minutes away from where I am now) as I am already 15 minutes away from the are of PHX I consider home.

It may come down to majoring in Finance at East campus or majoring in management on main. That will be a tough decision to make, although I’d probably opt for Finance. Housing in Gilbert is cheap and appreciating fast. It’s possible that I could buy a home in Gilbert, finish at the school of finance, and come out with a finance degree and my first rental property…all before the age of 23. Not bad.

Congrats on your choice. Business gives you lots of options.

[rwh11385]

Yeah, it's not neccessarily management, but that is just our business school's identity, the Krannert School of Management.

Yeah, I'd say buying a cheap home closer to the other campus would be smart. I mean, it might cost nearly the same as other housing and while its condition could not be great, you could and would fix it up if you lived there. And then yes, you would have a nice rental property at the end of school. 8)

I am very interested in making good grades (as in 3.7+) so that hopefully I can get into Purdue's 3+2 program, which is a MBA in 5 years. Like Top 25 in the Nation. I could always finish at Northwestern, if I was accept or felt so inclined as well.

[matt325is]

Count me in as another ME major, I'm a junior at Washington State University with 3+ years to go. I went to a community college before I attended WSU this year, and it kind of screwed me over (most CC classes had nothing to do with ME, but I do have my AA degree). I will probably keep this degree, but I hear Civil is a tad easier than Mech.

matt

[Z3Jonathan]

Why would I go through all the hassle of an engineering degree and NOT use it. I know that engineers can be useful in other fields, etc. But so can physicists, doesn't mean I should study physics and then work at an insurance company desk....

Many engineers move into "non engineering" positions, but positions that are still technical (marketing, financed, management, logistics, purchasing, etc). Especially if you get an MBA. People love engineers with management and business knowledge, because they have technical experience to back up their business decisions. Engineers also tend to be analytical, and this is why many fields seek engineers. Patent Law is a good example.

There are really 3 career paths for an engineer: 1) Be a "career engineer". Some people really enjoy being an engineer, and their happy doing it for the rest of their lives. Other people get bored of it after a while, and stagnate in their careers -- these are the ones complaining about their jobs. 2) Get an MBA and move into Management/Marketing/Finance/Logistics/Purchasing/Etc... 3) Get a Masters and/or PHD and move up the technical ladder into a "Technical Fellow" position... basically people seek you out for your specific knowledge or research.

And Drew, I don't know about UT (?) but Purdue has a program where I could minor in Engineering, or Physics, or Chem, or Math, etc. etc.

That is probably true, but minoring in any engineering is not very useful unless you have a BS in engineering, physics, or math. Outside of technical/science fields, an engineering minor isn't extremely usefull, and probably takes more effort than its worth to get (ie, you will have a LOT of engineering classes to take, whereas another engineer/math/science major would have much fewer). Might as well just major in it then. Minors don't get you much anyways... get them b/c you enjoy the subject or want to broaden your horizons.

Matt, the thing is there are a lot of people out there, and not so many jobs all the time. Has Brandon gotten a job yet? He graduated a while ago as a ME, and had trouble finding work. Also, my mom is working as part of a chair to hire new actuaries at the company for which she works and a lot of people with math/acturial sciences degrees are not employed in their field, but rather at banks, schools, etc.

I don't know Brandon's situation, but everyone in my MechE class who graduated last December has a job. Maybe a few people who don't have engineering jobs, but they all have jobs. If all you do is go to class, even with a good GPA you'll have a hard time finding a job. But students who are well rounded, have a good GPA, work experience (internships), and extra-curriculars, should have no trouble finding jobs. In this economy, if your GPA is <3.0, or even in some cases 3.2 or 3.5, many companies won't even look at your resume. They have to narrow down the field some how.

Personally, I am not worried about finding a job when I graduate next may. I never wanted to be in a position where I couldn't find a job... so I have gained a lot of experience thru internships and extracurriculars. Gives me a good base of skills to market.

Bottom line. It's my education and my career, so I why should my major be what everyone recommended, instead of the field I am actually interested in. There will be opportunities in business as long as this nation is still capitalist.

You should definetly be choosing a major because that's what YOU want to go into. Whether its engineering or not, if you go into it because you're not interested in it, then you won't succeed. This holds true for ANY major.

If YOU didn't want to go into engineering, then why even major in it? Again, this holds true for ANY degree.