steevee

I always hear people say that engineering graduates are sought after by many other employers outside of the field, particularly banks, due to their quantitative background and problem solving skills. However, I never hear people say the same about math/physics graduates despite the same (or even stronger) quantitative background and problem solving skills (although more theoretical, but more advanced problems). Some math graduates may even throw in some econ/finance/business courses, a second econ major here, or a finance minor there.

So why do engineering grads seem to be more sought after compared to math/physics grads? In fact, a friend of mine even said that engineering even beats finance/econ because the financial concepts are easy to learn, but the problem solving skills in an engineering curriculum cannot be beat. How correct (or wrong) is he?

proton

the only thing i can think about is that engineering is harder and requires more of a time commitment than math majors. some may disagree but this is what i see.

Mr Payne

Firstly, are engineering grads more sought after than math/physics grads? What metrics are we looking at - gross numbers or percentage of graduates?

If they are, then I'd imagine it comes down to work ethic. A high GPA in engineering is proof of a high IQ and good work ethic. A high GPA in math/physics might just be proof of a high IQ. The time requirements are pretty significant. I suspect the curve is rougher as well.

ken285

Do you think the perception that engineering grads are more sought after exists because there are simply more engr grads than math/physics? It's hard to target a major when there aren't that many people enrolled in the program.

h4rv3y_mudd

I've never heard this. Math and physics majors are indeed sought after for quantitative positions in the financial field. In fact, I've personally heard of the finance route more often with math & physics than engineering.

Mr Payne

I think the true comparison would between CS/EE/CPE vs. Math/Physics.

ElectricTech

Doesn't physics require a time commitment as well, due to the time spent doing labs?

Mr Payne

Ummm. Not even in the same ball park.

jessiehl

Science grads, especially in math and physics, are also highly sought after. I'm not sure how you haven't heard this before.

I'm amused at the people talking about how engineering requires so much more work than math and physics. That is not the perception in the academic culture that I come from. Though I think that ****ing contests about whose major is harder or requires more work are pretty stupid anyway.

Mr Payne

How is it a contest? If a major requires more work then that's how it is.

Corbett

Math and physics grads, especially from top schools, are also recruited for quantitative positions in finance. However, there are far more engineering grads out there. According to the 2006 Digest of Education Statistics, the number of math and physics BS graduates combined was less than one quarter of the number of engineering BS graduates.

jessiehl

But it's not the same from university to university - the physics majors from my alma mater would laugh in your face if you told them how much more work engineers have than physicists. It's not always the same between individuals - some can do certain kinds of work drastically more quickly than others. It's not particularly relevant to whose major is "harder" (which is an even dumber contest) - more work is not the same as conceptual difficulty; I've had easy classes with heavy workloads and classes with little/no assigned work that I struggled to pass. It's also frequently discussed in an unproductive way, with people who have more work using that fact to act superior to people who have less.

Los

What you hear might not be a representative view.
There definitely are math/physics majors who go into finance. In fact, financial engineering was pioneered mathematicians and physicists.

There are also more engineering majors who went in for good job prospects and who would thus go for the best compensation package. Math/science majors are more likely than enginering majors to be interested in their field and to pursue further research/work in their field.