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2 years ago
Juniors
Discussion
11th-grade

How do I know whether engineering or business is right for me?

I've been struggling with this for the past couple of months. Up until this point, I have always assumed I was going into engineering. My course load in high school was always lots of advanced math and science courses (and some language arts, but that's not relevant to the majors I'm talking about), with other courses being graduation requirements. I've always liked math more than science, but have tolerated science, although I took my first physics course this year and for some reason I just don't like it. Because of this, I've seriously started considering other options, with business being the most appealing choice. I'm not sure if it's a good idea though, because it seems a lot less "academic" (as in less math/science focus) than what I've done up to this point. Some careers like accounting or supply chain management seem cool, but I also see that the stereotype is that most business majors are entitled frat boys who choose it because it's easier. I know some people like this in real life, but I'm hoping this is wrong. I'm not sure if I would be out of place in a school like that because it's not what I've done in the past, and I'm not even sure how much I'd like business or engineering. I don't think I have enough experience in either of these fields to decide on a major. Is there any way to figure out which is right for me?

Forgot to mention, my reach school right now is Umich Ross, which only has a BBA for business majors and no other specific majors like accounting, finance, or supply chain.

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2 years ago

Hello! I'm interested in majors in a different field, but as a general recommendation I suggest you try and connect with someone in the engineering field, and someone in the business field. It could be a professor at a University in your state, or maybe someone working for a local business or organization, to ask questions about the field. You could always consider careers that are in the intersection of the two and go from there, like accounting or supply chain management/logistics like you mentioned.

Good luck in your professional journey!

1

2 years ago

Hey! Personally I was stuck between engineering and international relations myself. But what I recommend doing is researching career paths open with each degree. Engineering - obviously - enables you to pursue engineering pathways. However, a degree in engineering is highly regarded in other industries as well (as an engineering degree shows you have a range of skills) such as accounting and law (working on patent law on inventions).

I'd also recommend taking a few MOOC courses on eDx and Coursera in both Business and Engineering to get a taste at what the courses at college would be like. LSE, Harvard, MIT, UCL all have great MOOC courses up that you can complete for free (though you have to pay for a certificate which you can put on your CV/Resume and college application). Dartmouth has a really good structural engineering course whilst MIT had an interesting course on Space Operations. A Swiss Uni even had an astronaut design one of their courses. The same is with business, LSE has some great Business/Econ/Global Politics course out there too. From what you've said, you don't quite enjoy Physics and Maths (classes you have taken), so hence I'd say focus on completing MOOC courses outside engineering to see whether you enjoy a different degree/course other than something STEM based. Finally, take part in work experience and clubs around these fields to - again - see whether it is something you feel like you could progress into a career. There are websites like Springbod, TheForage and CrimsonCareers that offer amazing virtual work experience with Airbus, Ferrari Motorsport, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC... This, again, should give you more insight into whether you want to pursue a career in these fields - and also allows you to build up connections with major firms and people.

One thing about the stereotype thing, I say don't worry about it for now. Yes sure, there is that stereotype around business students - but remember that not all business students are your stereotypical frat boys (I've known many schools where business students are quite the opposite - especially here in the UK). In the end, stereotypes are stereotypes and not all of it is true. Plus, I've heard from quite a few students who were surrounded by people in frats and sororities that were able survive perfectly fine. Try look at different universities and their culture life - every university have students from all majors that party like they give zero damns about anything, but some unis/colleges have more of those students than others.

'Bon chance' with your journey!

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