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Ask Slashdot: Best Second Major For a Mechanical Engineer?
Scarred Intellect writes "After attending DigiPen Institute of Technology and deciding that I liked the idea of programming more than programming itself (I still do enjoy it a bit); after getting my AA at a community college with no direction; after much tinkering with engines growing up; after 4 years of service in the US Marine Corps infantry; I have finally decided what I want to do when I grow up: mechanical engineering. The reason is simple: I believe our automobiles can be a lot better (in terms of engine/propulsion) than they are now. Better technology exists, and there's more technology to develop for them. I've taken an intense interest in biodiesel and other clean, alternative energy methods (fuel cells being one of my favorites — second is solar, with wind being last). I figure mechanical engineering will give me a broad understanding of the more specific engineering disciplines. My uncle, also a mechanical engineer, suggested I get a second major in computer science to complement ME. It sounds like a good idea to me; I could mate mechanical processes with computer controls pretty effectively. It should take me 3 to 4 years to complete. What do you think? Is ME + CS a good option, or would ME work better with something else? I'll almost definitely have a math minor coming out of this."
It'll help you effectively communicate with the laity about the benefits of your work without making their eyes glaze over. Nobody's going to accept a proposal that reads like a 5th grade book report.
If you want to learn controls, it seems Electrical Engineering would be a better fit than Computer Science. While Mechanical Engineers have to learn a fair degree of controls theory, the EE guys live and breathe controls, so it would make you more proficient in that area, at least on paper.
It'll help you effectively communicate with the laity about the benefits of your work without making their eyes glaze over. Nobody's going to accept a proposal that reads like a 5th grade book report.
I'm not the best writer in the World myself, but good grief! Many CS and engineers (and business people for that matter) can't write for shit.
Double in ME or CS? Nope. You'll get enough CS in your engineering program. Everything beyond data structures will be a waste for an engineer and besides, if you really need it for your job, just buy a book. A CS degree won't do anything for your marketability.
At least 3 semester of accounting would also help: Acct: I & II and Managerial (teaches you how to read and write accounting statements for PHBs).
So here's my program:
Do your absolute best in your ME program. Take tech writing classes and even a touchy feely composition class (it'll help you later on with the chicks and it counts as an elective!), 3 semesters of accounting and anything else the peeks your interest (also counts as electives).
This dual major BS will just distract you and possibly cause you to have a lower GPA with your BSME - your GPA plus internships is going to get you into your first job. And by NOT double majoring, you may actually have time to socialize and further develop your networking and people skills.
Just stick with ME. Instead of spreading yourself thin with a double major, take advantage of other opportunities to gain experience in your field. Take part in club or engineering competitions. Find a professor who does interesting engineering research and get a position in his or her lab. There is WAY more to school than just classes and most students don't take advantage of all there is to do. These activities outside your class will get you face to face with people who will serve as future career contacts. If you really want more education, wait for grad school.
The VP in charge said it was just sad that American kids didn't want to put in the work and take the time to get the educational requirements of that group.
Here's what one of my Indian grad school classmates said to me, "I want to stay in school as long as I can." Never got a chance to ask him why.
The Chinese classmates value education and degrees, I think for the sake of just getting degrees - more degrees means better person (Like we Americans think more money means better person).
But here's something to ponder:
They also require at lest one of those to be a masters or doctorate. They prefer a masters & a doctorate both
OK, they require those degrees. Are they actually needed?
I can't tell you how many times I've talked to managers and people who hire folks and ask them where they get their educational requirements for a job. They fall into a couple of camps. Those that use degrees to weed people out and those that think their employees should have. I knew one manager who had this absolutely brilliant device driver programmer who had no college degree. He got rid of him because "people who write device drivers should have a college degree."
Or I knew a guy who got a MSEE on the job - a testing job that was beneath a BSEE let alone a MS. The manager, to justify reimbursing the employee for tuition, said that the education was needed for the position. The guy left with his free MSEE and got his 100K+ job and when the job was posted, you guessed it - "required MSEE" for a job that I thought a vocational school grad in electronics could do (it was just testing circuit boards and trouble shooting.)
You know that the employer was saying shit like, "We can't find anyone qualified to do this job! American kids just don't want to go to school!"
I also think there are managers who like the ego boost of having PhDs working for them or they have a PhD and want their employees to have one - I guess to share the pain.
tl:dr Many educational requirements are unnecessary.