posted
I can't decide. I think I've figured it out so that in the coming 7 semester I can take an average of 17.142857... classes per semester, major in Civil engineering, and then minor in Math, Computer Science, and Physics. The thing is, I'm not really sure it's worth it; next semester I'll most likely me taking 21 credits and it's going to be very tough. Plus a CE counsollor told me I should try and get a job during school with one of the CE professors here. I know a lot of people here do a lot more than that but I don't know if I'm really good enough for this. Or, like I said, if it's worth it. What do you think?
[EDIT: I've double checked my calculations, but something tells me that I'm doing them wrong and it's really more credits than that. ]
All you really get is bragging rights and vaguley impressed looks from Hatrackers.
So... only as an expensive indulgence. You'll get much, much better mileage from a job with one of your professors. But hey, why not take an expensive indulgence?
Kat 1 major, 3 minors
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I'd bet with that selection of courses you may be close to Electrical Engineer as well, thats one worth looking at.
Posts: 859 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Well actually I was thinking getting a job and this... It's basically required that over a few of the summers, Purdue engineering students gets internships or jobs or what not, though I was reffering to during the year. The thing is I'm interested in all these topics (with possible exception of math, but it's only 6 extra credits, and I am kind of interested, just not as much as CS). Also, I don't think I'll stay longer, I'm pretty sure I can finish in 4 years this way.
posted
I'm going to go with Katharina on this one. I'd much rather take one or two really specific class that I know I'd like than pile on a bunch or likely general classes that are required to get a minor.
I have to say that, because that's what I did (almost got a history minor, but the remaining classes did not peak my interest), so I just took History of US conflicts post-1900 and History of the Crusades, and called it good.
That's probably true. I was going off my own experience, but my major was English and my minors were chemistry, biology, and Latin. NO classes overlapped.
Your minors all sound at least a little bit related to your major. I'll bet you could do it. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Minors are meaningless in the professional or graduate education world – if you need to show you have a background understanding of a topic, you can list relevant classes and grades. Even this is seldom needed. At most, one minor especially relevant to any potential job or future course of study would be nice, but really only to be able to sum up the group of related classes under a convenient heading.
If you want to take Math, Computer Science, and Physics classes, then by all means do so. But construct a course of study that you care about and ditch the one or two classes in each minor you wouldn’t care about if they weren’t minor requirements.
Alternatively, you could approach your department about a cross-discipline second major, which would likely be less classes than three minors. Something like Physical or Scientific Computing.
The point is, take the classes that teach the material you want to learn and don’t worry about how it’s labeled. Your B.S. in Civil Engineering carries enough prestige with it, and it has more than enough required classes.
posted
I almost minored in English. But the first "overview" course was AWFUL! To minor I needed to take two more, very similar courses (as well as as assorted upper division ones). I opted not to do the minor, and took half a dozen wonderful upper-division English courses instead. Not only more enjoyable -- far more useful.
So that's the question -- what classes might be required for the minor that you don't actually want/need? If there are a significant number, skip the minor and just take classes in the field.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Well here's the thing, just about all the classes in the minors interest me. In physics I'm interested in all the classes I would take (since I can choose between a few) and it's only 7 extra credits. The math classes (I pick two) I admit don't exactly fascinate me but it's only 6 credits and it would seem so silly to not get the minor and they are still interesting. The CS minor is by far the most credits at 15. The thing is, I really like CS and all of those classes really interest me (and hopefully would be at least a little easier than some other classes since I do know a decent amount about CS). So picking and choosing would pretty much get me a minor in those things...
posted
A minor doesn't affect your own degree much. If you like it, take it, but in engineering, it doesn't make much of a difference. Maybe a little, but it depends on the job.
It's different for different majors. Icky's minors are hugely influential because it means he can teach different things. I have a friend with a minor in French who teaches high school, and that matters a great deal. However, it terms of hiring and jobs, the civil engineer with a minor in math is not very different from a civil engineer without a minor in math; both are very cool.
If you love it and want the sense of accomplishment, do it. It does have a bit of a price, but if you are willing to pay it, indulge yourself.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Hobbes, the minors beyond the first probably won't even show up on your degree. If you're interested in all three things, well, that's what electives are for. The thing is, you probably don't want to be doing all that school work, a full course load is heavy enough, when you include things outside of school and general loafery.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Hmmm, well they don't show up at University of Colorado, so I asked specifically about it and they do show up at Purdue. The things is, a really huge course load may be the only thing that keeps me focused, otherwise I may give into loafery... or whatever...
The thing with my minors (and second major) is that they didn't really cost me anything. Okay, I didn't have any electives, but in another sense I did, because in my weird course of study, what I took is what I wanted to. (Cost also was not an issue, fortunately.)
If people who are in the know are telling you the job is more important to your eventual career, then make sure you give it priority. You say you can do both, but you are also describing some pretty intense courseloads. I don't doubt that you can do it, but just keep in the back of your mind what you can drop if you need to.
Then do it while it's fun and while it works, but not if it costs you something important.
In other words: Yeah. What katharina said.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
I want to echo what's been said about the internship/job idea. I majored in Community Services (aka Social Work) with an "emphasis" on political science and history. The degree was nice, the emphasis areas were helpful for getting into the macro side of social work (i.e., government, policy, administration) however, it was the 10 years of volunteer and low-paid direct service experience PLUS the graded (and usually paid) internships, that landed me the job.
Why?
Word-of-mouth referrals to many opportunities based on the fact that I worked my butt off in these internships - and was able to, since I wasn't loaded down with 17-21 credits of hefty textbooks and term papers.
Just a thought.
On the other hand, why not try a music or art course and round things out a bit? Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Hmm, these are good ideas. Let's see I've tried to mention everyting twice now and I've still left something out.
Basically, I've been planning on getting my CS minor for some time for two reasons. Number one is that I feel I am good at, not incredible but I do take pride in my programming skills (as I'm sure many of you have picked up on ). Number two is that I feel that if something happened I could fall back on a programming job. Of course now that isn't as solid as when I first came up with this plan, but getting a CS minor seems like it allows for a fall back, even if the fall back isn't all the reliable.
Basically, I really want that CS minor, which is the big one in terms of credits. The physics and math minors are less important to me but also far fewer classes (10 and 6 credits repectivly, I think I've been miscalculating the physics minor) so it seems silly to take these courses and not get the minor if I'm so close.
Defintly I want a good job/internship more than one of those two minors, and if I have to make that choice I know which one takes prescedence. Really I don't have to decide the minors thing until I sign up for next year's classes since my 21 credits rather limits me from taking any minor fulfilling class..
posted
Ohh and about the music thing Shan, I played cello from 5th grade to middle of Junoir year high school. My teacher moved 45 minutes away, and I felt that since I'd gotten about as far as you can without getting really lucky (playing at Carnigie Hall sophmore year) it was a good time to stop. And I can't draw if it meant my life, art class would just humiliate me.
posted
The only problem that i see with doing all those minors is that you would still be an engineer at the end of it all.
Posts: 1621 | Registered: Oct 2001
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As a CE, I can tell you that the internship will be much more important towards getting that first job than your minors. It looks like you already know that, though.
One thing to consider, though, is that in the world of CE's, we spend a lot of time dealing with clients, government workers, contractors, etc. Much more so than other engineering disciplines. Many CE firms are looking for engineers that not only can do the work, but can also interact well with people.
If your real life persona is anything like your online one, you won't have any problems in that regard (as long as you don't hug the interviewer). But don't let school completely keep you from getting out and having fun, meeting people, etc. It sounds like you're trying to cram a lot of work into 4 years.
Also, a Masters degree is becoming more and more important in CE, especially if you plan on going into one of the more specialized areas like structural or geotechnical.
BTW, if you ever want an internship in a geotechnical firm in sunny Orlando, let me know. We treat our slaves...er, interns right.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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One thing I'm curious about, in terms of your courseload, is whether you'd be sacrificing potentially interesting CEE coursework for the minors. When I went into college I was lucky enough to have a ton of credits already, so I had the option to take more free electives, but even as it was, I don't think I could have taken enough for more than one (maybe two) minors. Does your CEE program require you to specialize, or is it a general program? If a specialization is required then you might consider leaving your options open because you might change your mind about that, increasing your required courseload. One final thing you'd probably want, though you don't know it, is to take some other classes that interest you, even if there would be zero benefit to your chosen path. You don't want to be 100% focused all the time. And who knows, you might find something else you like.
Just some thoughts from another geotech CE.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
As others have said, interning during college is crucial, especially in engineering. I really regret not interning or co-oping when I went to Georgia Tech.
If you're gung-ho about other subjects, why not double major in CE and CS?? That would look sweet on a resume, it's worth it in terms of the extra money/time/effort you will put into it, would double your job prospects and you obviously have a passion for both subjects. A triple minor will give you bragging rights and satisfy intellectual curiousity, but not help you get a good job. For some hirers, it might indicate a lack of focus and actually hurt your chances of getting an interview/call back/job.
Plus, aren't you a freshman? See what school is like before you make ambitous plans. You can always plan on a CS minor and see how it goes, add another minor later or switch to double major seeker. Good luck!
posted
:: reads first post on thread, skips to reply ::
As a recent college grad, I can say with absolute certainty that getting a college job in your future field is absolutely 100 times more valuable than any minor. Minors don't matter, especially 3 of them. Employers don't care. But a solid major combined with years of work experience in the field? Fugeddaboutit. Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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I can tell you that work experience would a thousand times more helpful than any amount of minors to an employer. Three minors don't mean much, but solid work experience in a related field? You'd be in the catbird seat. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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:: skips kat's post, reads rest of thread ::
Oh, I also agree with Shan's idea of taking something completely different. I couldn't draw a stick figure, myself, but then I took Drawing I. You're not supposed to know anything going into beginning drawing, silly! That's why it's a class, not a semester of performance art. You go there to learn how to draw.
It was definitely one of the most valuable classes I took in college, especially since it was one of the only ones I'll still be using 5 years from now.
Take a crazy art class that you don't feel qualified for. Meet interesting new people who aren't engineers. Broaden your horizons. The more I think about it, the worse three related minors sound. If you're going to waste your time in academics, you might as well make it something useful, like art or theater or something. Acting skills can go a long, long way, you know... and you'll never have the opportunity to take such a wide variety of lessons again.
posted
Oh, and art and theater classes are excellent ways to meet girls. Girls like guys who go out on a limb and expose their weaknesses and sensitivity in art classes. Being straight would be a big bonus with the ladies, too. Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
The physics courses were just really fun, as I recall. I'm so glad I took more than the requirements there. I agree with the others that it will not matter at all as far as your job goes, but go ahead and take it anyway cause it's fun and you just HAVE TO FIND OUT THAT STUFF.
I've noticed that all engineers need a lot of computer knowledge nowadays. The more computer stuff you take, the better.
But for far deeper reasons than your career, you just want to know these things. I remember the quarter I took assembly language for the first time. I'd already had electronics, so I understood how a flip flop worked. Then we saw how the instruction decoder works in a CPU, and of course with assembly you learn machine code too, and hand assemble a few small programs so you understand that step. I finally understood for the first time, then, all the steps the whole way up. Computers work because of the laws of physics. It was important. An epiphany.
Until you learn all that, you're left with what seems like an infinite series of rules for how to interpret the rules, you know? Tresopax is familiar with the same phenomenon from philosophy. We have logic to tell us how to think, but what tells us how to apply logic? Again, there must be a level where it bottoms out, and this must be in the laws of physics. The reason I dig hard sciences so much is that they are able to bring us to a REAL FUNCTIONAL UNDERSTANDING of deep philosophical questions. Functional meaning we can actually build something that works based on what we know. It's the true form of wizardry.
So, yes, take math and physics courses and computer courses, all you want to take. Whether you make it into a minor or not is unimportant, though. What matters is that you understand how the universe works.
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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One note to the naughty thread de-railers: If you must make obscene jokes involving baguettes, you could at least spell it correctly.
Here are my three cents:
First of all, Hobbes, you're brilliant and capable and you can handle anything you set your mind to. But you know this. That said,:
I am a big believer in cross-disciplinary learning. I'm in the upper division of graphic design, and most of my peers take only two classes a semester at this point, design lab and a required art history or fine arts studio. I, on the other hand, am a double major with a minor and have a full load of entirely un-related courses to worry about at the same time. I've been criticized for this and had people tell me it'll affect my focus and my design abilities. My experience, though, would dictate quite the opposite. Everything I learn, whether it be in my contemporary art criticism seminar, dutch baroque painting, 20th century French lit, French grammar and composition, or even Old Testament in my institute course; all of these things affect my design positively. All the disconnected things I'm learning supplement and improve each other. There is a definite literary influence in my design work, and this makes it quite distinctive. I've also found that keeping myself busy and keeping my schedule full makes me focus and my designs are clearer and richer because of it.
I wouldn't advise getting minors for the prestige of it because they're not too relevant as others have pointed out, but I know you and I know this isn't why you're interested in it. Challenges are important, and pursuing different courses of study is vastly important and you will only be a better person because of it.
...not that I can fathom you being a better person, since I think you're already pretty much perfect, but hey - you never know
if i were you i'd hold off on that math minor until you see if it will be too much work. yeah, it's only 6 credits, but it's not like you're skimping on credits anyway. i say that as someone who has a math minor. at uah, it was only 1 more class and i decided to do it my last year because going year round, i only had 8 credits left my last semester and needed 12 to qualify for my scholarship. i could take anything i wanted, and figured, what the heck, may as well get a minor. that, and take a hang gliding class
and while you're thinking about it, how are you doing this semester?
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
This thread is killing my desire to get all sorts of minors. I'm halfway to an art minor, but it's a fairly useless minor because all of the classes are basic 100- and 200-level classes. I think I'll just stick with one minor and call that good.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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But I probably don't have time to take all sorts of cool upper-division art classes, so I'd just have to finish off the lame-o minor and stop there.
[ November 04, 2003, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: Jon Boy ]
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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I would have triple-minored if I hadn't trusted my academic advisor so much. I thought he had was helping me keep track of the classes I needed to graduate, and he wasn't. Thus I got a rude awakening come Thanksgiving of my senior year, and had to ditch two minors and alter my Computer Science degree from the standard degree to "Computer Science: Theory and Application". If I'd paid more attention myself or had gotten a better advisor, then I'd probably have all 3 minors (math, english, Japanese) instead of just one (Japanese).
If you can keep track of it, and you think you can do it, then go for it. Posts: 753 | Registered: Mar 2001
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If you really want to keep yourself busy and impress people, do a double major -- engineering and computer science -- *and* do the internship or research job.
But do this only after you find out if a serious programming background could give you an edge (or lead to an interesting speciality) in a future career in civil engineering (or at least won't hurt).
Double majors are more impressive than triple minors *if* you can show some sort of consonance between them.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
If you do computers, do it because you want to. It won't really give you a leg up in CE. I don't know any CE's who have ever had a reason to know programming for their job.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I had a double engineering major but only finished one of them. It's a long involved story.
Hobbes, you feel fine now, as did I. But about my junior year I really started burning out. I would concentrate on the CS one only. In 20/20 hindsight, it isn't worth running yourself into the ground taking all the classes. I didn't have much fun in college, but I now believe that having fun was an important part I missed. Take time to smell the flowers, and don't work yourself into the ground. Definitely work for the prof.
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I think I've figured it out so that in the coming 7 semester I can take an average of 17.142857... classes per semester, major in Civil engineering, and then minor in Math, Computer Science, and Physics. The thing is, I'm not really sure it's worth it; next semester I'll most likely me taking 21 credits and it's going to be very tough. Plus a CE counsollor told me I should try and get a job during school with one of the CE professors here. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
I know a lot of people here do a lot more than that but I don't know if I'm really good enough for this. Or, like I said, if it's worth it. What do you think?![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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I opted not to do the minor, and took half a dozen wonderful upper-division English courses instead. Not only more enjoyable -- far more useful.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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