Which degree would be better? A General Business or Mechanical Engineering degree.?

Question

I have 2 associates degrees that in the real world get me a good paying job, but not a great one. The pay though, really is not the issue. I personally want to have a bachelor's degree.

I have a family ( a wife and a kid), work full-time (40 hours...little to no overtime) and want to go to school 9-12 credit hours. I feel that I can accomplish this.

My 2 year degrees would lend easily to getting a business degree. I would have less than 60 credit hours to fulfill and the courses would be more to my liking and would come easier to me. ( I have owned a business, and find business courses to be interesting )

If I take the route of the engineering degree I would have close to 80 credit hours to take and I fill that I would stuggle through the program. But I think that I would fill a bigger sense of accomplishment with an engineering degree, and chances are a bigger paycheck.

What do you think?

Answer 1

Well, I am a little biased because my degree is in engineering, but I work in business, so I hope I can give my perspective.

I have never used my engineering degree in my job, but I don't regret earning it at all. It was a tremendous task for me to complete it, and I struggled. Boy, did I struggle. Engineering degrees are harder, by far, than business degrees. However, they do command higher salaries (generally).

I would recommend an engineering degree, however, not for the monetary reasons, but because of how much it expanded my view of the world. I learned soooo much, even as a C student! And I feel that every day my understanding of the world grows because of the base I was given in my engineering degree.

I feel that you can learn about business through your work experiences, and by picking up a few choice seminars or books. So I feel that the money and time spent on a business degree is not well spent. Most business skills can be self-taught (in my opinion). I don't think the same can be said for engineering. It could be done, I'm sure, but I think many of the techniques and skills require resources that aren't available to the average person. So I think you get more value out of the engineering classes.

The adults in engineering did far better than the college age kids, but it will be hard, just the same.

Also, engineering seems to be more of a level playing field. When interviewing in engineering, your degree and skills are evaluated, but when interviewing in business I felt that I was being evaluated more on my personality and if I'd "fit in".

Good luck to you in either case.

Answer 2

As a graduate of a major engineering school (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) myself, I've seen countless friends finish their engineering degrees and get excellent jobs. There are many opportunities as an engineer, ranging from companies like GE to the military (I have a friend working for the Navy with a Computer Systems Engineering degree.)

On the other hand, you will likely have only the opportunity to work for an employer. With a degree in business you'll be more open and prepared for self employment, business ownership etc.

Since you've already owned a business, this may or may not be redundant for you (though I personally consider business ownership preferable to working as an employee).

The course of study for *any* engineering degree is certainly difficult, but consider it valuable training for rewarding future jobs.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

It does not sound like you are cut out for engineering work. The Calculus and Physics classes require hours of hard study and then, you don't use the skills after you go to work as an engineer unless you become a research scientist or educator. Get a business degree any way you can as fast as you can.

Answer 4

Unless you can land a job where you can put the Engineering degree to specific use, the Business degree is more flexible and can be applied in a wider variety of fields.

Answer 5

Physics.