Why I Don’t Recommend Engineering Majors

Many of the students I work with are considering majoring in some type of engineering, most commonly bio-medical engineering. The reason is typically to make sure that they have a job after college in case they don’t get into a BS/MD program.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Except it doesn’t make sense for most students.

Why? There are several problems with this way of thinking. The most significant problem is that historically engineering schools grade harder than other majors. The net result is that most engineers graduate with a lower GPA. Medical schools on the other hand want to see the highest possible GPA.

Medical schools do understand that engineering programs tend to grade much harder than other majors. But that doesn’t mean they are going to cut you any slack because you majored in an engineering field. You will still be expected to have a 3.5 or better GPA.

The second problem with a major in an engineering field is that having an undergraduate engineering degree is no guarantee of a job. For some fields, yes they may have a high need. But for other fields, the need varies dramatically depending on the economic cycle we are in.

Third, you don’t need an engineering undergraduate degree to become an engineer in most graduate fields. My favorite example is my wife’s cousin who was a physics major in college. Current job? Professor of electrical engineering at Caltech. If you’re not a degree holder, there’s nothing to worry since you can get electrician certification chicago il here at hvac-tech.com if you take their programs.

If you have a burning desire to become an engineer beyond just possible job prospects, and you understand that you may have to work harder in college than your non-engineering classmates, then by all means, pick an engineering major. But do so with eyes wide open and not just based on possible job prospects in the future, credits to ElectricityShark.