What is a good minor for engineering?
I am thinking of majoring in aerospace engineering or any other type of engineering. I hear people talk about minoring in something but, I do not know how to figure out a minor that relates to my major. #engineering #aerospace-engineering #college-selection #college-minor
3 answers
Ryan Bonaparte
Ryan’s Answer
Fortunately, you can pick whatever minor you'd like, as long as you can keep up with the work in your major.
Minors are interesting in that you can either use the opportunity to study a somewhat related course to your major, or you can pick something completely unrelated. Most companies, programs, and others are primarily concerned with what your major is, so there's a little more flexibility in the minor.
Your minor can allow you to leverage additional courses you wouldn't have originally studied to your benefit. Some people would take aerospace engineering and then do a minor in computer science. This would allow you to incorporate additional skills and previously completed projects into your work, potentially making you a more ideal candidate for a hard to fill position.
An alternative path would be to study something completely unrelated, like a language. While this won't necessarily supplement your engineering career directly, it might allow you more options, such as moving to another country to work in. Also you can take this path if you really enjoy studying something and want to learn more about it, but aren't interested in follow it up with a career. Using the example of political science as a minor, you might want to take political science classes and learn more about some of the ways governments work, but not necessarily want to go into politics.
Thank you, I feel like I understand what minoring in something means... more than before. I always thought that you had to minor into something that related to you major, now I know I have more options than just computer science. Thanks again.
Daniel
Joe’s Answer
You could pick something in a similar field that would help you become a more effective Engineer. Perhaps a minor in data analytics, coding, software, etc. that would give you skills you can use as an Aerospace Engineer.
If you are interested in becoming a manager, perhaps you can minor in a field that gives you more knowledge in the areas of business, economics or project management. Not sure what options there are out there.
Finally, if you want to become a more interesting and well rounded person, you could explore a minor in something that interests you. Perhaps a minor in a second language (which could also expand your job prospects if someone is looking for a bilingual engineer). Other options could include literature, history, arts, political science, music, etc.
Remember that the company you work for may help pay for you to get an advance degree in something related to engineering, so you might be able to go back and get more education on technical fields related to your job. I am not so sure an Aerospace Engineering company will pay for you to learn something unrelated to your field (like another language).
Also, if you are interested in pursuing a masters degree, you should think about doing it sooner rather than later. I started my master of engineering studies in the fall of the year I graduated. If I had waited any longer, it would have been much harder to get back into "school mode".
Good luck!
