By non related I mean like not a minor in another engineering or computer science. I was thinking about possibly business. What do you think would be the best minor that would give me a better salary/job opportunity?
I recently graduated from college with a degree in EE. A guy in my fraternity had the same degree with a minor in Business. He works doing sales and marketing full-time. The normal minors are physics and math. I myself decided to try something crazy and minored in Women Studies as a way to meet girls in college. In some classes I was the only man in most of the minor courses. But I got a really good job after graduation, because my boss said I was well rounded. 90% of the engineers at my job have minors in math, physics or computer science. So I stand alone, but I still got the job anyway. I work in the aviation/defense industry. My advice try something different and see if it works for you.
Minor in a language! Especially if you take Spanish (which 1/3 of the U.S. population now speaks!) or another language widely spoken in the area that you're looking for a job, it'll open up a lot of opportunities for you. It'll look good to potential employers, of course, as you'll be able to talk to more of their clients, and it'll also help you a lot in your personal life! I've been taking Spanish for a long time now, and I can't tell you how many opportunities it's opened up for me. There are so many awesome people I've gotten to know because I speak it, I've been able to help out people (like a woman on her first day of moving to the U.S. and a girl at a homeless shelter) by translating for them, and I've been able to eavesdrop on more conversations/surprise people by randomly speaking to them in Spanish (great fun!) Other languages that might be good for you would be Chinese or Japanese, given all the technological advances happening thereYou might be able to study abroad or do internships with some really cutting-edge companies, and that'd look good to employers. Plus, just the fact that that you could go to conferences or seminars in China or Japan would be very useful. There are a lot of people who will have similar backgrounds to you in engineering, and a language will help set you apart by giving you a really useful, really attractive-to-employers skill!
Set yourself up for a future graduate degree. First, a masters in EE is not very important so I don't recommend my students go there. But, a masters in business admin is a great career helper. SO. get a minor that will let you go directly into a MBA program without a bunch of pre reqs. Most schools have one. If not, make up your own. Look at the pre reqs for an MBA program and take them. Probably, accounting, econ, management etc
Business would be good for engineers. I majored in business and the hardest part was the math. Being an engineering major you would probably enjoy business. However, if I were you I would save the business degree for the day you decide to get your masters. You will get more out of it as an MBA degree. Why don't you minor in applied math? Since you already have all of those math classes under you belt. If you are a guy looking to meet girls you could minor in psychology, sociology, or communications. This is where all of the girls are. However, you would probably be writing more than you are used to in Engineering. I minored in Sociology and the classes were very interesting. I also found the classes to be very easy as well (if you like to read and write papers that is). It will boost your overall GPA. Also, these type of classes revolve around discussions from the reading and is more socially interactive. This may provide the balance that you are missing from the engineering classes. Minoring in English would also be beneficial for engineers. You know once you start working as an engineer you will be writing reports. I work with a lot of engineers and have found that they are very bright. However, they lack communciation skills and writing skills. So if you are looking to stand out of the crowd you should hone in on your writing and communication skills while in college. Most engineer managers have excellent writing and communication skills.
Electrical Engineering is one of the hardest disciplines that you can undertake. It also, with experience, gives you a good credential for a powerful resume but, like most things, you need to be unique to maximize its value! Of course Electrical Engineering applies to many trades and professions, it is the true unique combination that makes the most powerful overall impact. Examples might be; EE and Law, EE and Medical, EE and Business, or EE and Aviation! An industry that dose a lot of research and development of medical equipment and is pron to large law suits would love to have an EE with a minor in Law and maybe a Dual major with a ME Degree as 50% of medical equipment is fluids! Controls are 90% electrical! An understanding of what generates most law suits and what defaults would reduce those possibilities would be very sought after. Don't forget to obtain the PE as this is what gives you the right to not only design but verify and authorize the design! It is an attractive addition to the EE degree but also comes with a lot of responsibility! The PE also implies experience and will take time to acquire! The really rare beast is the Engineer that can communicate in writing and face to face! Giving a technical presentation that informs, inspires, and persuades is rare and there are few Engineers that can accomplish it!!! Toastmasters is an International organization that you can use to hone your communication skills. It has inexpensive dues and you don't sell brooms or anything or do community service but you do work toward your goals of being an expert communicator!!!. When you come up with the combination of skills, make sure that they are who you are for they will be the image that you will project and what people will view you as and you want it to reflect who you really are!
