fairly sure commerce has greater career prospects than compared to engineering. This is reflected in the uai difference. Uai is a reflection of the demand for a course which is a reflection of percieved career outcomes, salary, etc etc
therefore engineering < commerce
Hi there,
You are completely wrong with your suggestion above.
I am just graduating from Engineering/Commerce at USyd. The UAI is a reflection of course demand like you say. However a UAI has no correlation with perceived career outcomes. For instance, civil/elec/mech/chem engineering may have a UAI of 85 and Commerce may be 95. Despite the higher UAI for commerce, I would say it is a far less demanding course compared to engineering. Commerce is still not a walk in the park, but engineering will really challenge you.
In terms of salary and career potential, engineering in the next decade has just as much potential (if not more) than straight commerce. For instance, you can complete a B Eng and later complete an MBA and possess both a technical understanding of a firm as well as a business/managerial understanding....a complete understanding of an operation. Completing just the single B Commerce will not allow you to undertake an advanced level engineering/technical program later in your career....a technical understanding will never be had.
Considering half of the top 20 ASX companies and 6 of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies are engineering related...mining/oil/gas, engineering really is better for career opportunities in the corporate sector. The statistics above will really only become higher as companies consolidated over the next few years.
Like I said, I will be graduating this year and have secured a role with an oilfield service company. The benefits are great and base salary is well, 6 figures without going into too much detail. I have mates who got jobs in IB at Credit Suisse and UBS...they will go into salaries of 70-80k.
Your suggestion really is incorrect. No one degree is better than the other in terms of career potential. It is really what you do with it in order to achieve your career goals.