I wanted to major in Electrical Engineering because
I never had the chance to learn about electronics growing
up. After my first semester of EE courses, the prospects
of success were dim. At the end of youngster year, it
was evident I had no aptitude for Electrical Engineering. I was considering changing my major to Math or Physics – disciplines in which I was much more successful. I decided not to give up on EE because: I would be giving up, and I would be joining a very large crowd of EE majors jumping ship. In the '70s, if you completed an Engineering program, your degree was designated in that discipline. Everybody else received a BS in Naval Engineering. I stuck with EE, endured several years of frustration, resigned myself to miserable grades, and graduated with a BS EE.
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And men were made of iron. |
I used my GI Bill and completed a Masters in Computer Science with a 4.0 GPA. Even though my BS EE didn't represent meaningful achievement, the combination of it and an MS CS on my resume has generated a lot of interest over the years.
Another useful anecdote ... When I was applying for the Computer Science department's "leveling" program (the 16 hours required in lieu of a Bachelors in CS), the minimum Bachelors GPA was 3.2. My GPA was 2.9. The professor who interviewed me was himself a Naval Academy graduate. He quickly dismissed this apparent show stopper by declaring, "A 2.9 from Navy is worth at least a 3.4 from anywhere else."
So ... should you change your major? The answer is ... no one can say but you. But here are some things to consider ...
MATH SM 161 - Calculus with Computers I 5 A SM 162 - Calculus with Computers II 5 B SM 211 - Calculus & Analytic Geometry 3 A SM 212 - Differential Equations 4 A SM 311 - Engineering Mathematics 3 A SM 239 - Probabilities & Statistics 3 B 23 3.65 SCIENCE SC 105 - Chemistry I 4 A SC 106 - Chemistry II 4 A SP 211 - Physics 4 A SP 222 - Electricity & Magnetism I 4 A SP 431 - Electricity & Magnetism II 3 B 19 3.84 PROFESSIONAL NS 101 - Naval Science 3 B EW 102 - Naval Engineering 3 B NN 201 - Navigation I 4 A NN 202 - Navigation II 4 B NS 300 - Operations & Tactics I 3 B NS 302 - Operations & Tactics II 2 B EW 301 - Shipboard Weaponeering 3 A NL 302 - Leadership 3 B NL 451 - Law 3 A NL 454 - Marine Officer Course 2 A 30 3.40 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING EE 221 - Introduction to EE 3 C EE 221L Introduction to EE Lab 1 D EE 222 - Circuit Analysis I 4 C_____end of 3rd class year EE 321 - Circuit Analysis II 4 C EE 341 - Electronics I 4 C EE 342 - Electronics II 4 D EE 422 - Communication Electronics 3 B_____end of 2nd class year EE 423 - Project Lab 2 C EE 451 - Semi-Conductor Physics I 3 B EE 491 - Semi-Conductor Physics I Lab 1 B EE 478 - Radar Engineering 3 A EE 421 - Energy Conversion 4 C EE 452 - Semi-Conductor Physics II 4 C 40 2.20 ENGINEERING EM 213 - Materials Science 4 B EM 319 - Thermodynamics 3 C ES 410 - Control Systems 4 B EM 318 - Fluid Mechanics 3 B 14 2.79 HUMANITIES semester 1-1 18 3.17 HE 103 - English 3 C semester 1-2 18 2.89 HH 101 - History 3 C semester 2-1 19 3.32 HE 104 - English 3 C semester 2-2 19 3.05 HH 102 - History 3 C 2nd class summr 4 HH 322 - History (USSR) 3 C semester 3-1 20 2.75 HE 300 - Speech 1 B semester 3-2 18 2.39 FP 367 - Political Science (USSR) 3 C semester 4-1 19 2.89 FE 210 - Basic Economics 3 C semester 4-2 16 2.81 NL 211 - General Psychology 3 B 151 25 2.16 18.4 hrs/semester 2.91