- #1
jmcgraw
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Dilemma: Engineering vs. Math -- Help me Decide!
Hello everyone.
I'm in a weird position. First a little background: I'm 27 years old. I dropped out of high school when I was 16. I returned to school two years ago and have done very well at my local community college. And now (this is the crazy part!) I was just accepted to Northwestern University as an electrical engineering major. Northwestern was very generous with me, and they have agreed to pay for almost all of my expenses! I'm pretty poor, so this is like the biggest thing that has ever happened to me (I don't think I even really believe it yet).
My problem is that ever since I was about 23 years old I have been in absolute love with math (the purer the better). I have no real educational background (I dropped out of HS with a 1.65 gpa), so I pretty much taught myself algebra, trig, and precalc before I took calc during my first semester returning to school. Although electrical engineering seems sort of interesting, there's no way I could say I "love" EE. The reason I applied as an engineer is because I make almost no money, and I really want to make a wise career choice (especially since I'm approaching the big 30!).
But now that I've actually been accepted to a good school, I'm flirting with the idea of switching my major to applied math. Northwestern's applied math major is sort of a hybrid between a math education and a general engineering education. Is this a risky major? What kind of job oppurtunities would there be if I only had my B.S.? I would like to go to grad school, but I'm worried that the money might not be available. If I knew I could afford grad school, I think I would more easily forget about EE and just focus on applied math or even pure math. But that's my fear: that I won't be able to go to grad school.
Another option I've thought about is going for my B.S. in EE, which I think would give me some good job options. And then, if the financial aid is availabe, go to grad school for pure or applied math. Is such a move from EE to math difficult?
So, to summarize my rather long post, my two questions are:
1) Is applied math a risky major, career wise, if I only go as far as a B.S.?
and
2) If I went ahead and got my B.S. in Electrical Eningeering, would it be a difficult transition to go to grad school for a degree in pure or applied math?
Thanks for any help you can give! You might just make my mind a little less confused and my heart a little less undecided. :-)
Hello everyone.
I'm in a weird position. First a little background: I'm 27 years old. I dropped out of high school when I was 16. I returned to school two years ago and have done very well at my local community college. And now (this is the crazy part!) I was just accepted to Northwestern University as an electrical engineering major. Northwestern was very generous with me, and they have agreed to pay for almost all of my expenses! I'm pretty poor, so this is like the biggest thing that has ever happened to me (I don't think I even really believe it yet).
My problem is that ever since I was about 23 years old I have been in absolute love with math (the purer the better). I have no real educational background (I dropped out of HS with a 1.65 gpa), so I pretty much taught myself algebra, trig, and precalc before I took calc during my first semester returning to school. Although electrical engineering seems sort of interesting, there's no way I could say I "love" EE. The reason I applied as an engineer is because I make almost no money, and I really want to make a wise career choice (especially since I'm approaching the big 30!).
But now that I've actually been accepted to a good school, I'm flirting with the idea of switching my major to applied math. Northwestern's applied math major is sort of a hybrid between a math education and a general engineering education. Is this a risky major? What kind of job oppurtunities would there be if I only had my B.S.? I would like to go to grad school, but I'm worried that the money might not be available. If I knew I could afford grad school, I think I would more easily forget about EE and just focus on applied math or even pure math. But that's my fear: that I won't be able to go to grad school.
Another option I've thought about is going for my B.S. in EE, which I think would give me some good job options. And then, if the financial aid is availabe, go to grad school for pure or applied math. Is such a move from EE to math difficult?
So, to summarize my rather long post, my two questions are:
1) Is applied math a risky major, career wise, if I only go as far as a B.S.?
and
2) If I went ahead and got my B.S. in Electrical Eningeering, would it be a difficult transition to go to grad school for a degree in pure or applied math?
Thanks for any help you can give! You might just make my mind a little less confused and my heart a little less undecided. :-)