EE at The University of Manchester VS Economics at the King's College London

I'm in a dilemma here. I recently got an offer from the University of Manchester to study engineering with an integrated foundation year, I intend to study Electrical & Electronics Engineering after finishing the foundation year. But, I was also admitted to do a foundation year at King's College London to progress onto BSc Economics and Management.

I am very keen on both programs. I got a scholarship from the Ecuadorian government and one of my commitments is to return to Ecuador after finishing my studies.Most of the people I know said that the best choice would be EE, because here in Ecuador we are trying to improve our technology and also engineers usually have the highest started salary. Some people have told me that studying economics at this time is useless, in addition there are so many economists in Ecuador. Despite all of this stuff, I am still interested in Economics. I enjoy reading about economics, and I would like to learn more about this field. When I said that, my parents say I can learn economics after finishing engineering, but it will impossible to learn something about engineering if I study Economics. I don't know what to do.

I would appreciate a lot some advice!!

Which university is better to do a foundation year?
Do you think that studying Economics is useless?
Do you think I will have more opportinties as an engineer in a country like Ecuador?
Are you agree I can study something related to economy if I study engineering?

Reply 1

HandmadeTurnip

Seeing as you've spent most of your post talking about economics, I take it you think you would it enjoy it more than engineering?

Economics is far from useless, though an engineering degree is more vocational and so can provide a more direct path into employment. Can you see yourself working as a professional engineer? And do you know what sort of career you'd like to go into if you were to study economics?

You won't be able to do any economics modules whilst studying engineering, not at Manchester anyway. Engineering gives you much less choice in terms of what units you take compared to most other courses, the first two years don't even have any optional units whatsoever. I imagine it would be possible to do a Master's in economics after you graduate but I'm not sure what sort of entry requirements they have. It would also be of little use if you were pursuing a career in engineering.

I don't really know anything about King's foundation year but I did the foundation year at Manchester and am now studying EEE so if you have any specific questions about that, I should be able to help.

Whatever you choose, you're going to be studying it for 4+ years so you want to be doing something you enjoy. Engineering may have better career prospects but that's kind of worthless if you're not going to enjoy it.

University of Manchester

Manchester

Reply 2

fdavidsp

Original post by HandmadeTurnip

I don't really know anything about King's foundation year but I did the foundation year at Manchester and am now studying EEE so if you have any specific questions about that, I should be able to help.

Many thanks for your advice. I think I'll probably choose EEE at UoM.
I have no a good foundation of physics, do you think this would be a problem in my first year?
I have read a lot of articles and comments that say EEE is one of the most difficult degrees to study. Do you agree? honestly, how difficult is EEE?

Reply 3

vela1

You can't compare them because they're very different degrees. Both are solid universities, Manc for the sciences and KCL for humanitarians subjects. Would suggest doing EEE because you can go into most roles relating to economics as well as engineering. But it also comes down to how much you'd enjoy the course. If Eco appeals to you a lot more then study that.

Reply 4

HandmadeTurnip

Original post by fdavidsp

The foundation year teaches you all the Physics you'll need to know before starting your first year of EEE. I hadn't done Physics before I started the foundation year, and I'd only learned Maths independently in a somewhat rushed manner beforehand, but I was fine. I actually found the Physics content of the foundation year easier than the Maths content, oddly.

I don't have experience of any other science or engineering degrees so it's difficult to say how difficult EEE is in comparison. I guess it can be more abstract than, for example, Mechanical Engineering as you can't physically see what's happening a lot of the time. I'm also only just finishing my first year so I have yet to find out how difficult the other years are. Some topics can be particularly challenging and frustrating at times but I haven't found it too bad for the most part. As long as you work hard and stay on top of things, you'll do well.

Reply 5

fdavidsp

Original post by HandmadeTurnip

Thank you for your answer. I've been accepted to University of British Columbia and I'm waiting a decision from University of Toronto to study engineering. I really like all of these Unis. I like U of Manchester because its location and the opportunity to explore other cities in the UK, but looking at the rankings, UBC and U of T seem to have a better reputation.Taking into consideration the international reputation, course reputation, environment, and the fact that I would like to get a masters degree in another top university, do you think UoM is a better option over the others Unis? I would appreciate your opinion.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6

HandmadeTurnip

Original post by fdavidsp

I don't really know enough about UBC or UoT to make an informed judgement. I also don't know how the Canadian university system works so I can't compare it to how things work at UoM. They're all world class universities though so, while the Canadian ones might be a bit more famous than Manchester, you'll have good graduate prospects wherever you go.

I'd focus on the content and structure of the course, as well as the university's location, to make your decision. The UK and Canada are very different countries so there must be one you prefer the look of? I've been to all three cities and they're all great places to live, though Vancouver is probably my favourite.

Reply 7

fdavidsp

Original post by HandmadeTurnip

I like the structure of both programs, though Manchester seems to have a more intensive program than UBC. How can you manage to study such amount of subjects per year?

I feel more inclined to choose UoM because I could travel a little across the UK and Europe. I have heard that flights are pretty cheap and it's also easy to travel between cities and European countries. What do you think about that?
Comparing Vancouver and Manchester, which place do you think is better to live in?

Reply 8

HandmadeTurnip

Original post by fdavidsp

In what way does it seem more intensive? Engineering is inherently quite intensive, I would have thought both UBC and UoT would be similar to Manchester in that respect. At Manchester, you take 6 modules each semester (for years 1 and 2 anyway). In first year, you have two lectures per module, two tutorials and up to 7 hours of labs, depending on the week. That brings you to a maximum of around 21 hours of contact time each week, though you'll rarely actually reach that figure. It's more contact time than most courses but still perfectly doable.

You're right that Manchester will probably give you more opportunities for travelling. Canada is almost the same size as Europe, which just shows how much closer together cities and countries are in the latter. Manchester also has particularly good transport links within the UK, London is just over 2 hours away by train. There are also rail connections to places like Liverpool, Birmingham and even Scotland.

I know Vancouver is very expensive so that might affect how good it is to live there as a student. It's also quite isolated, it takes quite a while to get to other places due to Canada's sheer size. But apart from that, it seems like a great place to live. It's definitely one of my favourite cities that I've visited and I would quite like to live there, assuming I could comfortably afford it. Manchester is also a great city, particularly for students. It's cheaper, more compact and friendlier than London while still offering many of the same things in terms of culture and entertainment etc. I know lots of international students who really like the city and seem to genuinely love living here.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

afarouk96

L100 (BA) Economics at UoM is my firm choice. Conditional offer is AAB. Do you think they would accept ABB by any chance (if I get the A in Economics)?

Reply 10

vela1

Original post by afarouk96

L100 (BA) Economics at UoM is my firm choice. Conditional offer is AAB. Do you think they would accept ABB by any chance (if I get the A in Economics)?