This topic has always been discussed to death and again, let me offer my views.
In singapore context, it's always better to have a specialised degree in engineering, law, medicine or accountancy. In these fields, starting pay is decent and you will see a improvement in salary as you get rewarded for your experience and expertise. These fields do not offer you the starting 8K that SMU loves to showcase in newspaper for it's business graduates, but they will get you your condo by age 35 if you work hard. They are also more recession proof and in some fields it can be considered an iron-rice bowl.
Business/finance course seem to be popular because it seemed to be able to confer quick riches on people but there is nothing free in this world. Those grads who get 8K starting are few, and they work like **** , probably burning out by early 30s. Talent is also needed and employers are quick to let go those who cannot make the mark.
The thing about the engineering field is that there is a lot of variety and depth for someone who puts in the effort to excel in. You can be a master of your trade and you will be rewarded for that.
I have an fellow engineer who is a mechanical engineer by training. After working for a few years in a large MNC overseeing projects, he gain enough experience to set up a company putting up scaffolds. He can do it faster, taller, cheaper and safer than most of the veterans in the industry after observing and learning from the many companies that he had work with. It's not something terribly exciting but it showcase the extreme variety of opportunities avaliable.
The engineer's job isn't really about doing programing, solving cheem equations all day long which tends to bore the **** out of most student ( me included). Those stuff you learn in school might just be future tools you use in your daily work, but what most engineers really utilise when working is an application of common sense, ingeunity, communication , diligence and just ocassionally, that cheem equation/concept.
I guess studying biz/finance is more exciting becuase of the involvement of real examples showing fascinating amount of money or case studies of succesful marketing. But really, where as far as biz/finance is concern , the excitment really ends at studying. You are not likely to get involved in huge M&As, do a succesful marketing blizz for Loreal when you graduate ( at least not so soon) or pick a winning investment. On the other hand, I studied none of the exciting engineering projects but to date, in my 4.5 years of engineering life, i've handle roughly $5 million worth of project with an estimated return at about 4 times the value anually. In a sense, i guess i am the businessman for my company, being able to understand the technology, see an opportunity, convince my management to do my project, design the thing and get people to build it.
The riches in banking/investment might be higher but very few people are able to do something different that lets them stay at the top of the game. Most folks are normal back office workers.
I know studying engineering is difficult and we have many threads of people who complain of the lack of interest or some engineers condemning the life of an engineer, but really, these guys are already losers whatever they do or study.
And the fact is , studying engineering might not be as difficult as what some contributors had said
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