What to choose: business or electrical/computer engineering?

Engineering or Finance/Consulting?

• I am going to do a Mechanical Engineering degree at either Bath or Warwick University. Trouble is I don't know if ENGINEERING is the career I want to follow. I get the impression that engineering is good at first, but in terms of career progression and salary, it caps of quickly, which to me is very uninspiring. This is where finance/consulting careers take my interest. Is it possible to pursue such a career despite having an Engineering degree? I do understand you should base a career on what you enjoy, BUT to me that only means being a car reviewer, that test drives Ferraris all day and gets paid for it. I need to have a high salary when I'm older SINCE by looking at today's world, you need to be VERY rich to even afford a basic house anymore. My aspiration is to become CEO of some company, as I have a business focussed and money making mindset. I choose engineering/finance since I am capable of mathematics, but as I said earlier I have an entrepreneurial and money making mindset. Taking this into account, what do you think is best for me? ENGINEERING vs. FINANCE/CONSULTING (and why) I want to be sure about my future prospects, and I am finding it difficult to make these decisions without any real experience. Thank-you, and have a nice day :)

• Answer:

  I worked for several years at an operating unit of United Technologies Corp., and at least in that environment (hi-tech manufacturing), any engineer with knowledge of finance was highly prized, and well rewarded. These people were on the fast track to management precisely because they understood both the technological and financial sides of the business. If you were to combine an undergraduate degree in engineering with an MBA, my opinion is that your prospects would be as good as any, and better than most, in the present difficult job market.