rolo

engineering grads are given the critical thinking skills necessary for a broad range of careers. many of them end up going into buisness, law school or medical school. could it be that engineering is the best degree someone could get at the undergrad level

scorp

yes



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Zorz

Um yeah, all other degree's are flat out worthless.

ratroll

But it's still engineering.. and thats how its always been... and liberal arts is still liberal arts....

gstein

There's a difference in what you are speaking of. People with L.A. degrees who go into different fields must do so b/c there's not much to do with a L.A. degree, on the other hand people with engineering degrees go into other fields out of choice.

theothermuse

A lot of people think that liberal arts and engineering are mutually exclusive but I'll be majoring in engineering at a liberal arts school. I don't think that there's less to do with a l.a. degree per se, it just isn't as clearly defined as an engineering degree. The former could go into lots of things but most people don't bother to ask what you're going to do with an engineering degree even though there are definitely non-engineering options.

numba1

I agree. Engineering is a great stepping stone to other fields.

notre dame AL

Great posts--from the mom of a freshman engineering student! Lawyer husband has several clients, including drs who went to engineering school first. I think in some respects they thought med school was fairly easy compared to obtaining that engineering degree. We are certainly hoping that the engineering degree son (hopefully!) attains will lead to many other interesting ops.

rolo

the only problem with engineering is how tough it is to maintain a good gpa

Zorz

gpa doesn't matter.

Aurelius

Sorry, GPA does matter. Between a LA and engineering student of equal ability, the liberal arts grad will have the better chance of going to med school due to the GPA gap. Also, a lot of non-engineering employers does not compensate for GPA deflation.

notre dame AL

I have no real experience with engineering in general, but I think the tone of employers and people in general these days seems to indicate they many are beginning to understand the difficulty of an engineering degree. Therefore, I have to wonder if many do understand that a lower GPA in engineering might be understandable. Almost everyone we talk to either tells us how hard engineering is to major in (no matter what school) or their comments have been that if son can make it thru engineering, he can handle just about anything. Of course, I still hold on to the belief that GPA is important, but we have heard some very interesting comments since son has started in engineering.

PizzaFTW

"Therefore, I have to wonder if many do understand that a lower GPA in engineering might be understandable."

When I visited a certain college, I met with the chair of the engineering department. He told me that they had a relationship with an Aussie college and that 40 juniors get to study in the land down under each year. The students' GPA greatly affected whether or not they were selected to go. The engineering department found this unfair, since engineering students almost always have lower GPA's. So, long story short, they set aside five extra slots for engineering students only.

Anyway, my point is, I think some people do understand that engineers usually get lower grades. Of course, I could be totally wrong; I'm certainly no expert.

Zorz

I know when I have went for jobs and internships for IT work, usually in the business sector, I am a computer engineering student, they have all said that my 2.8 is more respected than a 3.8 or so business administration degree.


Also what does a GPA indicate, I sum it up here

Do I have what it takes to be an engineer!?!?!?!?


Not an important as you think and in no way indicates how smart somebody is.

Corbett

Before you get carried away, remember this...there is one important field where the engineering BS degree is becoming devalued, and where liberal arts degrees -- like sciences, math, or even English -- are increasingly promoted as viable alternatives.

That field, of course, is...engineering.

Many engineering organizations now believe that the first professional degree in engineering should be the MS, not the BS. ASCE, for example, has officially endorsed this position. The idea is that engineering will become like law or medicine: a future engineer could major in anything, even Ceramics or Comparative Literature, as an undergraduate, as long as certain basic science and math prerequisites were addressed. Professional training in engineering would then follow in graduate school, in the same way that medical or legal training already does.

NCEES (the national organization of engineer licensing boards), has officially incorporated this concept into their new "model law" for Professional Engineering licensure. The model law calls for states to replace the BS with the MS as the first professional engineering degree by 2015. Since practically all civil engineers have to get PE licenses, it's likely that civil engineers will make this transition over the next 10 years.

The new NCEES model law explicitly allows undergraduate liberal arts majors to become Professional Engineers, as long as they get an engineering MS after college. An engineering BS is not required.