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Is it a good idea to major in engineering and get a minor in business?

I am a female sophomore at Boston Collegiate Charter School. I am the head of my school's robotics team and I run the social media and the budget for the team. From this experience I have thought about pursuing a major in engineering with a minor in business. I do not know what I could do with those degrees as a job, or if that would be a good path for me. Thank you! #business #engineering #career #career-path #business-management #robotics #robotics-engineer

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Wael’s Answer

From what I read, you are already a leader between your peers. Minoring in business would prepare you for a career in management.


I hope you the best of luck.

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Donald’s Answer

In many ways, having the engineering/business combination makes a lot of sense. Employment wise as it gives you flexibility to work in different aspects of either field.


Many engineers have great ideas and functional knowledge but have little experience on how to evaluate their worth, market or sell their ideas from a business perspective.


People on the business side (purchasing, sales, marketing) usually have low level engineering knowledge and thus may not fully recognize potential or actual functionality of products and/or services from an engineering perspective.


In my personal experience, engineers with business credentials and experience are a valuable asset to an organization, exceeding the value of either by themselves.


It sounds like you're on that track now, Good luck

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Rich’s Answer

In my opinion, it is.


It may help if you would like to work for a smaller company, where you may not be doing strictly technical work all the time. It would also be a benefit if you wish to pursue an MBA at a later time, which takes longer if you have never taken any business classes.

Thank you comment icon Thank you you for your advice, I will think about where I want to work in the future! Keira
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Nicole’s Answer

I think it's important to understand what your career goals are when decided on your major. Personally, I majored in Engineering with a minor in Business. I love being able to develop technical solutions but I also love helping non-technical people understand what I am building and more importantly, understand how they can use my products for value. I started my career over 25 years ago in the telecommunications industry and found this mixture of skills to be immediately of use. and I have made a very successful career out of this combination. There are really exciting roles in the space of Business Architecture that require these talents. You can find more on the Business Architecture Guild website or a quick google search should return information as well. If this type of role excites you - I say GO FOR IT :)
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Ron’s Answer

Keira - Having a minor in business will serve you well as that should provide you with some understanding of the "business side" of an engineering company. Also take as much technical writing as you can and become familiar/proficient in AutoCADD.


Godspeed.

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Sally’s Answer

Sounds like a perfect combination. Engineering can take you in so many directions. And you have the advantage of having a business head which will take you through to management level, if that is where you want to go. Having both will open up your options much wider.
I am an engineer in civil engineering and chose to stay at this level because I love the problem solving, creating technical solutions. It is so easy to go higher up the ladder because you are being encouraged by your peers and managers and realise later that you are now in a job that you do not enjoy any more. Know what it is that you want to do.

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LaShona’s Answer

I definitely believe this would be a great combination. Engineers are required to write, plan, and present their work. I believe if you obtain a minor it puts you in line for management opportunities. That minor will provide you a broader view of an organization and it's operations.

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Soumya’s Answer

Definitely, having a major in a technical discipline with a minor in entrepreneurship or finance or any other discipline of business would help you a lot. This is because
1. Strong experience in technical disciplines from courses + projects
2. Minor would give you a business mindset.
3. Your peers would be both from a business and engineering mindset; you can build interdisciplinary teams and take part in projects and collegiate competitions.
4. Jobs: You can branch out to a technical role and also any technical+business role (it can be technical project manager or product manager or business development)
5. If you are interested in a graduate degree: you can either pursue a M.S. or M.E.M (Masters in Engineering Management)
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Jeremy’s Answer

Keira,


It's an excellent idea to get a degree with a major in engineering and a minor in business. Not only will you learn about engineering but you will learn how to navigate the corporate world and even how to run your own business.


Good Luck!

Thank you comment icon Thank you so much for your advice! Keira
Thank you comment icon Do you have any ideas on careers that I could pursue with those degrees? Keira
Thank you comment icon I found a great webpage that lists the different types of Engineering careers. http://www.discovere.org/discover-engineering/engineering-careers Jeremy Howell
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Vee’s Answer

As someone who started with an engineering degree but has since spent 20 years in b2b marketing I would def recommend mixing these two subjects. Whatever company you work in they need always need to make or save money, so any business modules or topics you can study that will enable you to have a conversation (in interviews or at work) about how the engineering actions or plans can help your company or their customers make or save money will be a great benefit and help to differentiate you.

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