Engineering Route to Business

The Engineering Route to Business is a special track that combines science/math with business in a unique way. When I heard about this major I initially shot it down. First of all, it has the word "engineering" in it. Seeing as I've barely scraped by in every science class I've ever taken, I knew it wasn't for me. Secondly, I hadn't heard of it before and wasn't sure what it entiled. Lastly, I wondered if it wouldn't be more advantageous to double major in engineering and business. However, after researching ERB further I've realized that there are real benefits that come with this degree, especially if you actually know what you're doing in the science/math world.

As mentioned before, in order for you to enjoy the ERB, it's essential that you feel comfortable with learning technical material. You must be computer literate and able to solve problems. Combining these skills with business knowledge would make you a valuable asset especially in technology, engineering, and science fields. In order to make smart decisions as a business executive in these fields, you have to know the technical side of what the company does from the ground up. As an intern with an engineering company last summer, I realized that there is much disparity in communication between the engineers and the business units. By hiring someone with an ERB degree, that gap can be bridged.

That being said, there is a large job market for those with ERB degrees. According to the McCombs Career Center, only 28 out of 4380 McCombs students majored in ERB in 2008. Currently in the OCR there are 43 positions from 35 different companies who are looking specifically for ERB students. In this slow economy, it's amazing to have a degree where more jobs are available than there are people to fill them. According to the McCombs Career Center graduates with this major made approximately $50,000 as a starting salary (2006-07). I thought companies would be more interested in someone who actually had an engineering degree AND a business degree, but the statistics show that they are definitely interested in ERB students!

I hope this sheds a little more light on ERB. If some of you all plan on pursuing ERB tell me what you think. I still don't know everything about it and I'd like to know more.