Hey, guys how's it going? I'm going to be attending Mac (whooooo) this fall for engineering and was wondering if you guys could give me your thoughts and opinions on engineering and management? Like is it worth staying an extra year or should I just do engineering (probably mechanical) and use the electives I get for a business course (econ)?

Econ (micro and macro) aren't business courses. In fact, most eng students take them as their first year electives since they're are the only two courses (eligible electives) that are based on math and calculations only (no essays). Both are fairly easy.

I personally found it to be a complete waste of time.

- You spend one extra year. Your courses are more expensive (even the engineering once, you pay extra just because you are in management)..... I guess it's a moot point now that education is free, at least for now.

- All the business courses are usually huge in student numbers, so they opt out for the multiple choice testing. In the last course I took, the midterms were 100 questions, each paragraph long, all the choices are also huge and you only have an hour or two to read them all, comprehend and answer. I noticed that results were so random for various students of various academic standing, I figured it was impossible to actually study for those tests. It's pure luck. It's not like in engineering when if you know the science behind the question, you can explain it and prove it. Here you just have a random situational problem that can be approached in so many ways, it's simply impossible to get all questions right in such short time.

- Some profs I had were highly unprofessional. In fact they weren't even profs, just some local businessmen hired by DeGroote (I remember that Johnson guy that was dropping F bombs every other sentence, what a teacher).

- If you are more of a technical person, you will find hate it, as most of the courses are simply remembering the book and hoping for the best. I personally hate that kind of humanitarian bullshit and prefer to have actual education in my courses to grow as a professional.

- Some people in Eng&Mngt I talked to are not even interested in becoming Engineers, they just think it will be easier getting into the whole MBA/Business Apprenticeship thing.

- Job options tailored for Eng & Management students are about 1 in 20, with most preferring actual business students.


Overall, I think the whole management thing is just a marketing ploy designed to milk more money out of students. It has no real value.

Some might say, "pff, yeah, but I have a 11.5 GPA and I know I will do well"... well yeah, no shit, but if you have your marks that high, you don't need extra Management bullshit on your diploma, you are already set for life. In the end it's your GPA/industry family connections/coop experience that matters.

I came into Eng with my mind set on Management -- after I did Econ 1B03, I decided I would hate myself if I took the Macro Econ course too -- I did well in Micro (1B03), but wasn't passionate about it. I did find a tonne of value in staying for 5 years through the Society program though.

Don't preclude the Society option. I've since met many successful Alumni from the program from the past 10 years, and I can confirm that Society really opens your doors to apply your problem solving skills outside of a purely technical or financial/management role. Many Society grads develop skills that help you get significant roles in community groups, startups, etc. with a big social/community aspect to integrating new services, products, or policies.

GeorgeLucas put it perfectly. I am a Commerce graduate. I think MGMT actually has diminishing returns, especially if you consider the costs. Most business firms will prefer a business student. If you want to get into Business from engineering, you are better off switching to Commerce or pursuing an MBA after your B.ENG.

If you have the money and the time, by all means pursue the degree. It is very prestigious.