Single degree vs double degree (1 Viewer)

[iforgotmyname]

Hi everyone, I am considering whether or not to do a combined degree of commerce/engo at unsw rather than just an engineering on its own.

1.how heavy is the workload of com eng double degree compared to a engineering degree

2. Is the extra 1.5 years for com eng worth it, or would seeking employment 1.5 years earlier be more benefical

3. In terms of job seeking, would having a double degree significantly increase job prospects or would it just offer me jobs in more fields

4. How much extra $$ would doing a double degree (comm eng) cost me vs a single degree

Would appreciate anyone who can help with my dilemma [emoji1]


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[Queenroot]

1. Depends on your com major but tbh the workload is probably less since ur doing 50/50 com and engo subjects as opposed to engo subjects only

 

[brent012]

1.how heavy is the workload of com eng double degree compared to a engineering degree

Less, commerce is typically less contact hours and less stressful assessments than engineering.

2. Is the extra 1.5 years for com eng worth it, or would seeking employment 1.5 years earlier be more benefical

That depends entirely on what you want to do and if you would be interested in what you are studying. 1-2 years is really not that much to be honest and university isnt like school - all of your colleagues will be progressing at different rates, some will transfer or do different majors etc. especially with a longer course like Engineering. The only courses I know of that are really tight knit and where most the cohort stay together throughout the course are co-op courses like BIT at UTS.

3. In terms of job seeking, would having a double degree significantly increase job prospects or would it just offer me jobs in more fields

Bit of both, but to be honest the added commerce degree wont make a significant difference in job prospects on the engineering side. The engineering jobs which require business/management skills are not entry level and a post grad MBA is kind of better for this anyway.

4. How much extra $$ would doing a double degree (comm eng) cost me vs a single degree

I'm not sure if course fees have changed but commerce subjects in CSP supported places cost something like $1200 for a normal subject iirc, 1.5 years would be 12 of these. But that's all on HECS and there is more to it anyway, like extra travel costs, society/union fees and what not (this isnt a whole lot), opportunity cost of not working + having HECS debt sit around a year longer. Then theoretically you have to consider the fact that more subjects = more possibility of failing and having to redo a subject.

In summary, it's worth it if you are interested in what you want to combine with and want to study a variety of things. But maybe not if you are just doing it on a whim.

 

[iforgotmyname]

Alright, thanks everyone. I will keep your advice in mind when i do my selections


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[purpleapple]

I'm having the same question here, tossing up between engineering and engg/comm, and with the main round due date coming up so soon I really have no idea what to do or think...

Right now I think I'm thinking of going straight into a PhD (if I have good enough grades) once I finish my engineering degree, so in that case the extra 1.5 years is a little long (for me personally) since a PhD is around 3 years. Although I like the idea of broadening up a bit (as I mainly did maths and science in years 11 and 12), and I for some reason am attracted to what macroeconomics have to offer. So maybe I should just pick up macroeconomics as a 2nd year gen ed? Not sure about now as they seem to have changed the sample structure of engg/comm, but they used to have it where u only do ur comm courses in ur 2nd and 3rd year electives, and then all of ur 5th and half of 6th year. Essentially there was no difference in enrolling in just engg and engg/comm for basically ur first 2 years, so I guess it doesn't hurt if we just enrol in engg/comm and then drop comm if we don't like it after the second year.

Or maybe dropping a degree might look bad, for whatever reasons?

 

[Queenroot]

It's not dropping, it's transferring and it doesn't look bad.

 

[anomalousdecay]

I'm having the same question here, tossing up between engineering and engg/comm, and with the main round due date coming up so soon I really have no idea what to do or think...

Right now I think I'm thinking of going straight into a PhD (if I have good enough grades) once I finish my engineering degree, so in that case the extra 1.5 years is a little long (for me personally) since a PhD is around 3 years. Although I like the idea of broadening up a bit (as I mainly did maths and science in years 11 and 12), and I for some reason am attracted to what macroeconomics have to offer. So maybe I should just pick up macroeconomics as a 2nd year gen ed? Not sure about now as they seem to have changed the sample structure of engg/comm, but they used to have it where u only do ur comm courses in ur 2nd and 3rd year electives, and then all of ur 5th and half of 6th year. Essentially there was no difference in enrolling in just engg and engg/comm for basically ur first 2 years, so I guess it doesn't hurt if we just enrol in engg/comm and then drop comm if we don't like it after the second year.

Or maybe dropping a degree might look bad, for whatever reasons?

You get less options and electives in the Engineering side if you combine it with Commerce. Effectively, you do 3.5 years of Engineering courses compared to 4 years, so you lose the option to do an extra 4 electives in Engineering.

Take that into consideration when you choose.

 

[iforgotmyname]

You get less options and electives in the Engineering side if you combine it with Commerce. Effectively, you do 3.5 years of Engineering courses compared to 4 years, so you lose the option to do an extra 4 electives in Engineering.

Take that into consideration when you choose.

Are the electives you miss out really important?


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[purpleapple]

You get less options and electives in the Engineering side if you combine it with Commerce. Effectively, you do 3.5 years of Engineering courses compared to 4 years, so you lose the option to do an extra 4 electives in Engineering.

Take that into consideration when you choose.

True, tho wouldn't it be 2 lost engineering electives since ur basically doing 2 comm courses in place of ur 2 gen ed in year 2, so u end up losing 2 L3/L4 electives overall?

Are the electives you miss out really important?


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Well I reckon whether or not the electives u miss out on are important depends on u and what u want to do, and like anomalousdecay said before, take into account of the electives u miss out on because u might not be able to fulfil the prerequisites of some other electives u might wish to do.

 

[purpleapple]

It's not dropping, it's transferring and it doesn't look bad.

So there's no repercussion at all to transfer out of a double degree into a single one? Apart from regretting it later for some reason.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Are the electives you miss out really important?

No. They are electives of your own choice which can supplement your thesis and further study.

True, tho wouldn't it be 2 lost engineering electives since ur basically doing 2 comm courses in place of ur 2 gen ed in year 2, so u end up losing 2 L3/L4 electives overall?

Actually yeah you are right it would be 2 electives lost only. You don't have to do comm courses for your gen eds. You can do anything outside of the faculty of engineering.

 

[D94]

Are the electives you miss out really important?


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No, wish I didn't have to do them.

 

[Queenroot]

So there's no repercussion at all to transfer out of a double degree into a single one? Apart from regretting it later for some reason.

Nope

 

[anomalousdecay]

No, wish I didn't have to do them.

Woah I'm the opposite. Want to do heaps of electives (and a few Mech courses but I can't ) but don't get the option to.