<p>I just finished my first year of college, and to be honest, I was kind of floundering about. I hadn’t decided on a major and I didn’t really take my first year as seriously as I should have. </p>
<p>So far I’ve finished 27 credits (Low, I know). I’ve made 4 A’s and 3 B’s, and my GPA is about a 3.6 right now.</p>
<p>I am ready to buckle down and make straight A’s for the rest of my time in college. I am ready to get involved in research and internships and declare a major in a type of engineering. </p>
<p>Right now I am leaning towards Entertainment Engineering and Design. I am going to UNLV and I have always wanted to work in the entertainment industry on set design and creation - BUT I also want to pursue a PhD. Would majoring in Entertainment Engineering hurt my chances of being accepted into a top PhD program? Should I go for mechanical instead? I really liked that the Entertainment engineering program integrated art and design into the curriculum. </p>
<p>What should I do from here? I REALLY want to get into an amazing school but after a year of doing nothing towards this, I feel like I’m so behind! Any tips or advice?</p>
<p>Yes, entertainment engineering is going to hurt your chances. It will probably hurt them quite significantly. Top 10 schools will likely not consider entertainment engineering to be a engineering major at all. It’s an obscure major created by Las Vegas for Las Vegas to work in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>Pick a regular engineering field, like electrical, computer, mechanical, and chemical. Major in one of those and do well. Acquire as much work experience as possible.</p>
<p>What he said…</p>
<p>That entertainment engineering program is all smoke and mirrors from everything I have seen. You need a real engineering degree if you want to get into a top school, or a degree in something related like physics.</p>
<p>To be honest though, saying you want a PhD after one year of undergrad is kind of silly as well. So that begs the question, what do you want to do as a career? What is your ultimate goal after you get a PhD? If you didn’t answer research, then why do you want a PhD? A PhD is good for two things: getting your into a position to do real research as a career, and making you so specialized that you are now overqualified for many jobs that BS and MS holders can get. In other words, don’t get a PhD thinking it is just the natural next step after an MS, because it isn’t. It is a whole different animal.</p>