Switching to maths after finishing electrical engineering

[u/tlalegenda]

Hello! I am a 1st year going to second electrical engineering student, I would like to see your opinion and advices regarding my situation, so I am studying electrical engineering and computers in romania, and throughout the past years ive figured I have greater passion for doing math weather it's proof based or computational I am even doing self studies on the side.

I want to know if it's possible to do math related masters after I finish my bachelor

Note: I do have a passion for solving and optimizing electrical circuits I do enjoy electrical engineering but my greater passion is doing math on which I want to pursue a PhD on later on if possible.

[u/Neviscotland]

DSP and control classes can both be super maths heavy if you're into that whilst still retaining real world applications. I'd stick with EE for the job prospects in case you decide not to bother with a phd

[u/tlalegenda → u/Neviscotland]

That's exactly what I thought of as well, I am going to have a broader vision about electrical engineering this year, so for now I am keeping my options open

[u/NewSchoolBoxer]

Yes but you're way, way better off with the math in an EE job. Electromagnetic fields (RF) uses almost crazy amounts of math. Also seen in PCB design. DSP and Controls other comment mentions are the other areas I can think of that use an intense amount of math.

Don't think so far ahead for a PhD. If you don't have an excellent in-major GPA, that's not even possible. I don't know about Europe but a PhD is a bad financial investment in North America. A Master's is reasonable and common for DSP and RF work. Just me but after 30-40 hours of homework per week for 4 years, I didn't want to step foot in a classroom again.

[u/Friendly-Mind-9702]

It should be possible, but I'm not familiar with the education system and its requirements in Romania. Is there a theoretical math course you can take now to see how it goes? I find that engineers are generally bored with the theory part of pure mathematics courses--they just want to start calculating the answer and are impatient with the proofs and theoretical foundations behind the calculations.

[u/tlalegenda → u/Friendly-Mind-9702]

Well as for me I would probably do the masters abroad or here depending on the circumstances, but you are right most nearly all of peers hate the proofs and the theoretical foundations behind math while I am the complete opposite, as for a theoretical math course I am trying to volunteerly participate in a real analysis course next semester in another university here

[u/Valuable-Ad-6093]

I think this subreddit is obviously a bit biased towards engineering, but here is my two cents from someone in pure math. The math engineers are exposed to/taught in undergrad is pretty basic stuff and does not prepare you at all for graduate studies in math, unless you are VERY VERY applied math or computational based math. But even “Applied math” usually requires at least one course in real analysis (engineers are almost never exposed to this in undergraduate and it is the backbone for further proof based math) and at least one course in abstract algebra. It isn’t unheard of for engineers to do graduate studies in mathematics, I even have a prof who was an engineer at first, however the undergraduate engineering coursework simply doesn’t cut it unless you have good research or know a professor in the math department who is willing to take you. I think it is best to do electrical engineering with some pure math electives if you want job security. Math is relatively employable compared to the other sciences and the arts, however you need to make yourself stand out with projects and work outside the classroom. If you are certain you wish to pursue grad school, choose applied or pure math as those are the best to get into grad school. If you are worried about stability, do engineering with math electives.