Are minors/specializations worth it? - Engineering.

[Zeroflux APX]

Hello,

What does everyone think of minors/specializations? Is it a waste of time and money, or does it help truly differentiate yourself from others when competing for jobs? This is for engineering majors if that helps. I'm talking about minors/specializations like biomedical engineering, mechatronics, energy & environment, etc. at UofC

[tch7]

If you have a keen interest in one of them, go for it, but don't take one just for the sake of taking one.

I didn't minor in anything, and it's only worked to my advantage by making me more versatile.

[dirtsniffer]

searching might be worth it..
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85244&perpage=20&highlight=&pagenumber=2

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/345113/choosing-your-major-engineering/

I'm in the same boat though, hopefully I'll get accepted into the petro minor next week.

[lasimmon]

Unless your minor makes you more qualified for the job you are applying for it has no use. If your applying for an oil and gas job with a biomedical minor, no one cares and it wont help you.

[EG6boi]

Originally posted by tch7
If you have a keen interest in one of them, go for it, but don't take one just for the sake of taking one.

I didn't minor in anything, and it's only worked to my advantage by making me more versatile.

+1 :thumbsup:

[G-ZUS]

UofC has biomedical engineering?

[dandia89]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
searching might be worth it..
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85244&perpage=20&highlight=&pagenumber=2

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/345113/choosing-your-major-engineering/

I'm in the same boat though, hopefully I'll get accepted into the petro minor next week.

i applied for a petro minor also, but the office didn't give me any dates of when i'd get excepted or if i even had the grades to get in.

p.s do you know what courses we need to take for that?

[dirtsniffer]

Dr. Sudak told me the cut off is usually around a 3.0 3rd year GPA to get in. The engineering office said we'll know if we're in through an email in early June. So probably 2 days before registration starts. as for courses I'm fairly sure we can take any 4th year ENPE courses that we have the pre reqs for. Some ENME courses also will count towards it like gas dynamics and turbomachinery

[WithTheLightsOn]

At OP, don't be a dumbass like me who picked a specialization just because it sounds cool. I got into the energy and environment one, and ended up dropping it 2 days later so that someone else could take my spot.

As for the 4th year petro minor, what options are you guys looking to take? I think the list is here (http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/en-4-8.html) at the bottom of the page.

[Zeroflux APX]

Thanks for the insight guys. I was only considering specializations or minors if it would open me doors in terms of employment (ie. the biomedical specialization getting me into the medical type work, the energy specialization landing me a government job, etc.) I think if I get into Chem or Mech I will minor in Petro because I know that it will be useful.

[Illusive 4-2]

I ended up taking the Petroleum Minor while doing my Mechanical Engineering degree. It's worth it if you are planning to work in O&G. You can take ENPE tech elecs instead of ENME ones. However, I had to take Controls and Vibrations and I think one or two other ENME tech elecs as mandatory ENME courses. The rest, aside from your 4th year project can be ENPE.

You can only get into the entry level ENPE courses, I ended up taking Drilling in the evening, reservoir, production, O&G materials or something along that line. If I were to do it again, I'd probably take geology in place of O&G materials. The materials course was not good the year I took it. If you have prior experience in O&G (i.e. through internship), those courses should be a breeze and an easy A+.

On a side note, if you do do the Petroleum Minor, be aware it will not show up on your degree, only on your transcript. It's not a true minor, it just lets you take ENPE courses instead of ENME ones in 4th year. I think the cutoff in my year was around 3.0-3.2 GPA.

[Little Dragon]

As said before, only take it if it interests you. I don't think many of these minors/specializations show up on your official degree paper.

I was in the Biomedical specialization and MEED minor and decided to drop Biomed since it did not interest me much at all.

[dandia89]

I feel like i have no choice to take a petroleum minor. after going to the tech elective night for mech, there were maybe one or two courses that sounded interesting, the rest seemed completely awful. the range of tech electives they offer is pathetic.

[swak]

Originally posted by Little Dragon
As said before, only take it if it interests you. I don't think many of these minors/specializations show up on your official degree paper.



... it shows up on your resume though :bigpimp:

That being said, i just graduated without a minor (not in eng. but same shit applies in my line of work).
Its really not necessary, but if you want that specialized job, since they are uber competitive a minor will be good for that... For anything else, everyone could care less.

Im going for my masters to get the same result as a minor could have done... Just in a wayyy better way.
Get your masters! F- Minors.