Programs Is Mechatronics too focused for an undergraduate degree?

[theBEAST]

I am currently in first year engineering and I am not sure whether to go into Mechatronics or the more general Mechanical Engineering. A lot of people have told me that Mechanical Engineering is better in that it is more broad and you will get a bit of everything.

Also does anyone know what the different job prospects are for both branches of engineering?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[sweetpotato]

I do not think Mechatronics is more focused; rather, it is cross-disciplinary. Take a look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechatronics

I work in the field of Controls Engineering, which intersects heavily with Mechatronics. My degree is in Electrical Engineering. Mechatronics will expose you to some electrical/electronics/controls while Mechanical Engineering probably will not. So, it really depends on where your interests lie. IMO Mechatronics is neither inferior or superior to Mechanical Engineering, is is simply more cross-disciplinary so fewer people may be familiar with it as a degree.