Deciding between IE-OR and MechE. Which path to business, management?

calkid · 08-15-2007, 07:45 PM

Hi, I'm a sophomore at Bezerkeley and I haven't chosen an engineering major yet but I'm choosing between MechE and Industrial Engineering, Operations Research.

The dilemma is I love the flexibility, topics and more sciency/hands on aspect of MechE but am recently more bent on IEOR's aura of management, business, efficiency, networking and all these things that ring "money". Don't get me wrong that I am looking into IEOR just for money (and not that money is not important), I love it making things run efficiently and I am told that IEOR majors do that sort of thing, like making a factory produce more for less.

My question is: "Do you think IEOR (as an undergrad major, mind you) will better lead me towards management than a mechE major? I'm not sure about grad school yet. What if I plan to get an MBA?"

Thanks.

calkid · 08-18-2007, 02:01 AM

anybody........

Tiberius · 08-18-2007, 02:56 AM

I can't believe you have not realized that you've answered your own question.

Yes, choose IEOR.

calkid · 08-18-2007, 04:13 AM

Maybe I wasn't very clear, sorry. Yes i do have an inclination that IEOR is better for management but does this bode true in the long run? What's wrong with getting a ME undergrad major and getting an MBA a little later after undergrad or something? I still do want to learn science. That's holding me back.

Tiberius · 08-18-2007, 04:26 AM

There's nothing wrong with getting an ME. But who says there isn't any science in an IEOR curriculum?

It seems that the conflict here is interest in the ME material, which you think you might find more interesting than the IEOR material. If that's the conflict, then the choice is personal then.

About IEOR being better for management in the long run... well, you'll probably be able to go into a management job much faster out of college and you'll have more years of experience in that type of career, so maybe in the long run that might be good?

NJ113 · 08-18-2007, 07:04 AM

If you go the IE/OR path, you will have a broader set of job opportunities getting a job. IE/OR folks can be found in the airline, bank, manufacturing, etc.

An ME related jobs will take you into manufacturing, airlines, etc. You will be in a more traditional functional area with other engineers.

Having said that, I do know people who graduated with a traditional engineering degree like ME or Chem E and decide that they don't want to do engineering, but the problem solving/analytical skills are applicable to other jobs. So they have taken that background and are working in financial services.

An MBA with either degree would a pretty powerful combination and people often use the MBA as a way to redirect their career path.

quicksilver40133 · 08-18-2007, 11:08 AM

IEOR!

IMHO, you should definitely go for this. When I was deciding what to major in, IE just barely lost out to CS, but... wow, I <3 IE.

redbeard · 08-18-2007, 08:00 PM

I have an OR degree. I'm not sure I understand what somebody your age means when they say the want to go "into management". I'm not putting you down, I just need a little clarification. Clearly you will not be using experience as a basis for making management decisions in the early stages of your career. You would use the methods and tools that your learned as an undergraduate -- the only thing you bring to the management table. You'll have a hard time convincing any company that theoretical knowledge will suffice to make proper decisions in a complex, dynamic business process.

So, perhaps, you're asking what major will get you a job *close* to management. Perhaps a job where you can help set up the decisions made by managers, and understand all the variables and tradeoffs. You want a job where you see the larger picture -- perhaps even across the entire enterprise. If that's what you're after, then clearly OR (in the services industry and government) and IE (in manufacturing) will place you closer to that decision-making process.

But, neither major is a barrier to your eventual entry into management. In fact, before you're a good manager, you need to have been an expert in something. An ME can really help there.

Maybe it's just me, but I place very little value on MBAs. As a degree for the general executive population, they jumped the shark some time in the 1980s. For engineering and other large sectors (government, for example), they are not worth the expense or the gap in your career.

Bait&Switch · 08-20-2007, 02:58 PM

While I agree with redbeard about the engineering population's general lack of need for an MBA, I'm not sure what he means when he says that for execs, MBA's "jumped the shark" in the 80's. That expression is a metaphor specifically used in the entertainment industry to describe the point at which a TV show has lost it's original qualities...

calkid · 10-08-2007, 01:44 PM

thanks for the responses. more opinions would be appreciated, however!

Mr100% · 10-25-2007, 01:29 AM

BUMP. which one would provide a better chance of a high paying job? so many people have told me ME jobs are moving overseas and the ME classes are getting harder so i'm thinking it might be time for a change.

Mr Payne · 10-25-2007, 01:54 AM

Depends on the ME field. I know people who are getting hired at 70-75K. I also know people getting hired at 40K. These are actually engineering jobs, not ibanking or the like.

Mr100% · 10-25-2007, 01:57 AM

if i want to go into i-banking or finance with just a bachelors, is it better to get an IE than an ME degree?

Mr Payne · 10-25-2007, 02:29 AM

I think an IE degree might be marginally better because it's seen as more of a business degree. At my school IME is the major you go into if you can't hack ME or EE...