Engineering Triple Major (Mechanical, Electrical, Computer Science)

[cellist542]

I am currently an ambitious sophomore in high school aspiring to become an engineer. Generally, I love physics, chemistry, biology, and I'm interested in computer science. I am interested in aeronautical, biomedical, chemical, electrical, environmental, computer, mechanical, materials, nuclear, and robotics engineering along with computer science, artificial intelligence, software engineering, machine learning, and computer vision.

By the time I graduate, I will have taken 14 AP classes. How feasible would it be to double major and minor in engineering for me, and would it benefit me career wise (I may want to venture into multiple fields)? For example, double major in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, with a minor or even major in computer science. Or, would it be better to go into other engineering studies as a graduate student? What fields would be most beneficial to me, as I have many interests?

 

[Vanadium 50]

I may want to venture into multiple fields

Yes, but you will only get one job. (At a time)

Triple major

A double major is often interpreted as "A real go-getter who was able to accomplish more than was expected."
A triple major is often interpreted as "A real flake who couldn't make up his or her mind."

ow feasible would it be to double major and minor in engineering for me

You mean now? Before you get to college? Not very.

Your job now is to do as well as you can in high school. Don't let the future distract you from that.

 

[cellist542]

Thank you, I agree that lately I have been looking ahead too much.

However, I am also very anxious about my next few years as they can impact the rest of my life.

 

[cellist542]

Would it be reasonably possible to double major in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Engineering with relate minor(s) and then double master in Robotics and Machine Learning?

 

[Dr Transport]

dual major in two engineering disciplines would be insanely difficult to do given the lack of overlap in the 3rd and 4th years.

 

[hutchphd]

I will offer my standard advice: if you wish to be a generalist, get an undergraduate degree in engineering physics with some additional courses added to match your proclivities, local learning opportunities, and ability to do added work..

More degrees ≠ Better educated

 

[cellist542]

Would it be beneficial to specialize in grad school after engineering physics?

 

[hutchphd]

You will certainly have that option if you do well. Take this undergraduate opportunity to follow your intellectual compass...you will likely never have that latitude again. Work hard, enjoy yourself, and become a better human being in every way you can.

 

[ZapperZ]

Would it be beneficial to specialize in grad school after engineering physics?

You haven't even started college yet. Why are you already thinking about what to do in grad school?

A LOT of things can happen in between now and then, including you finally finding what you really want to do.

Zz.

 

[WWGD]

You will certainly have that option if you do well. Take this undergraduate opportunity to follow your intellectual compass...you will likely never have that latitude again. Work hard, enjoy yourself, and become a better human being in every way you can.

Sorry if this is OT, but seems people can't be pleased. The people I talked with in this regard, half wishes they had studied harder in undergrad, other half wished they had taken more time to enjoy themselves ( 3rd half never took any Math;) ).

 

[gmax137]

Well my opinion is, if you have time to study 2 or 3 (!) majors, you'd be better off concentrating on one STEM subject and avail yourself of the other offerings (languages, history, music, ...).

 

[Dr. Courtney]

For most mere mortals, the GPA hit from such multiple majors is too bit a hit to the value of the degree to justify it.

Pull a 3.8+ GPA for a couple semesters in a single major, then count the cost for keeping that GPA up if you add a second.

Lather, rinse, and consider carefully each time before you repeat.

 

[gwnorth]

Double majoring in engineering would be extremely difficult to do due to the degree requirements, even if you received credit for all 14 of your AP credits. You certainly wouldn't have any additional credits to do a minor as well unless you wanted to far exceed the credit requirements for the degree. More realistic would be to do an engineering major + minor or a combined major instead. Often you may find combinations like electrical and computer engineering which will have total credit requirement which are the same as for a single discipline.

Engineering Science programs like Engineering Physics, Engineering Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering are also a combined degree program (engineering & physics/chemistry/biology). With your AP credits you might find you have sufficient room to do a minor in addition to a combined major. It would be a lot on your plate though.

The only caveat with regards to a combined major is that because you are splitting your degree between 2 areas of study you tend to take fewer courses in each area and therefore do not have as great a depth in either as you would with a stand alone degree.

 

[cellist542]

Lets say that it takes 20 hours of studying per major per week in college (https://www.usatoday.com/story/coll...nd-significantly-more-time-studying/37387767/), if I were to have 3 majors that would be 60 hours/week (4 extra hours than work week assuming work on weekends). Then, I could probably spend 25 hours on weekends and be able to study 7 hours on weekdays (there have been days this year where I spent 8-10 hours doing homework in a single night for APUSH, and I know there is more time between classes in college).

Would this at all be reasonable or is this completely insane? I could also lighten the load by taking a 5th year of undergraduate studies. Also, would it be feasible to take some courses during the summer around an internship?

Now that I think about it, would extra courses affect the tuition?

Also, I play the cello, and that can be therapeutic for me as a break from studying.

 

[Dr Transport]

Extra courses, would probably affect tuition. The other thing you need to think about, your advisor would have to sign off on more than 18 hours and you're thinking about 21+, in multiple STEM majors, no matter how much you beg and plead, they may not do it.

How do you think you'll keep up a 75-90 hour work week for two or more years. You need to sleep, eat and have down time. I'm not qualified to call you insane, but you said it. As was said before, two majors is an over-acheiver, three is someone who can't figure out what they want to do with their lives.

 

[gwnorth]

It doesn't quite work that way. A typical full course load is 10 semester long courses (5 first semester and 5 second semester) x 4 years for 40 courses. Out of those 40 courses typically 22-25 tend to be in your major (including support courses) and then 15-18 courses would be electives. Engineering degrees tend to overload with 12 courses per year for a 48 credit degree.

With a double major the number for each major might be a bit lower say 18 courses each which then would leave 4 courses as electives. Even if you were to get credit for all 14 of your AP courses it would be quite difficult to add in a 3rd major unless you take courses in the spring & summer, and possibly add an additional semester of study.

Just so you are aware, in terms of workload a typical science degree with labs (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics) tends to be in the neighbourhood of 20-22 hours per week of class/lab/tutorial. Engineering could be as much as 25 or more hours per week. The general rule of thumb is 2-3 hours of studying for every hour of class. It would not be unusual to be putting in 80 hours a week for class and studying for an engineering program. Trying to load more on top of that would just be asking for burnout (and your academic advisor probably wouldn't authorize it even if you wanted to).

 

[berkeman]

Lets say that it takes 20 hours of studying per major per week in college (https://www.usatoday.com/story/coll...nd-significantly-more-time-studying/37387767/),

FWIW, I studied 40 hours/week outside of class in undergrad to keep up a high GPA (single EE major). Your mileage may vary.

 

[cellist542]

Okay, 20 hours is clearly unrealistic (I thought is seemed a little low because I already study longer in high school). I will likely try to limit it to 2 majors and a minor or just 2 majors, but what would be optimal for becoming a robotics or machine learning engineer? I know robotics and/or machine learning can be used in a wide range of fields.

 

[gwnorth]

How about mechatronics engineering? As an example - https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/programs/mechatronics-engineering

 

[cellist542]

I have considered mechatronics, but would this me too narrow? I think that I would be missing out on other things in EE and ME, and it would be harder to find a job.

 

[gwnorth]

It's unrealistic to expect to be an expert in multiple fields attending school for 4 years at a bachelors level. At some point you need to choose and narrow your focus. If you're uncertain as to which direction you'd like to go I recommend looking into schools that offer a general first year engineering program that exposes you to the most relevant disciplines and gives a you a chance to sample them before locking into a specific discipline. Most likely your choices are going to be 1 dedicated engineering field with the possibility of a minor in a complementary area or a combined engineering major. You may be able to further diversify by doing a graduate degree in a related but separate field.

 

[boneh3ad]

Would it be beneficial to specialize in grad school after engineering physics?

This is literally the purpose of graduate degrees (or rather, one of the purposes). In short, yes, it is generally beneficial to specialize in graduate school regardless of your prior degree(s).

Lets say that it takes 20 hours of studying per major per week in college (https://www.usatoday.com/story/coll...nd-significantly-more-time-studying/37387767/), if I were to have 3 majors that would be 60 hours/week (4 extra hours than work week assuming work on weekends). Then, I could probably spend 25 hours on weekends and be able to study 7 hours on weekdays (there have been days this year where I spent 8-10 hours doing homework in a single night for APUSH, and I know there is more time between classes in college).

Would this at all be reasonable or is this completely insane? I could also lighten the load by taking a 5th year of undergraduate studies. Also, would it be feasible to take some courses during the summer around an internship?

Now that I think about it, would extra courses affect the tuition?

Also, I play the cello, and that can be therapeutic for me as a break from studying.

Break from studying? Based on what you laid out, what break from studying? If you factor in eating, sleeping, and attending your actual classes, you won't have a break from studying. You won't have a break period. You'll likely work yourself into a clinical depression after a few months of this, let along 4 years. This is a completely unrealistic plan.

Okay, 20 hours is clearly unrealistic (I thought is seemed a little low because I already study longer in high school). I will likely try to limit it to 2 majors and a minor or just 2 majors, but what would be optimal for becoming a robotics or machine learning engineer? I know robotics and/or machine learning can be used in a wide range of fields.

To be frank, if your high school courses are requiring 20 hours per week of at-home studying, it seems rather unreasonable to think you will be able to handle a double major (let alone a triple major) in four years. You realistically would need to be someone who needs to study a below average amount to grasp the material, and it sounds like you study above the average amount.

That doesn't even address the fact that it is not going to be beneficial to your career to triple major. Double majors aren't usually beneficial, either, unless you find a job that has an absolute need for the two fields. Even then, you could usually have achieved the same level of mastery by just taking some electives in the second field and then mastering the interdisciplinary stuff once you are hired.

 

[cellist542]

Yeah, I only spend about and hour on all of my classes but AP History, which takes a ton of time for studying. I am typically much faster at math and science because I can hold my attention on it longer and am more motivated for it. Although that's not really the point and I get that I could not possibly triple major, and it would not benefit me. I guess I'll just continue searching to find my biggest interests.

 

[gwnorth]

I will also add that in addition to learning, there's more to college than just attending class and studying. You should look at your 4 (or more) years as an opportunity to explore interests and engage in personal growth. Getting involved in extracurricular activities, in addition to being fun, can help build some of those more intangible soft skills that employers are always saying they want. They will be looking for well rounded interesting individuals with strong communications skills. Engineering in particular tends to have a variety of design teams to help practice your technical skills,, and do some networking. Those types of activities look good on a resume when you're ready to start applying to jobs. Apart from that you should make sure that you build time into your schedule to allow you to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities available on campus. Attend a concert or a lecture, go to the art gallery, attend a varsity game or play a sport etc. A 24/7 nose to the grindstone might get you a high GPA but might leave you ill equipped to join the work force.