Okay - here's my take...

It all depends on what you want to do an why you are looking to enter the service.

As far as the applicability of an engineering degree to the Marine Corps, it doesn't take a great deal of research into military history to see where engineering is a key component to military field leadership. It used to be, engineering was necessary for field fortifications, bridging, nation building, artillery, logistics, and just about everything else. With the increase specializations in officer MOS's, an engineering background is no longer as important.

That being neither here nor there, let's get down to the heart of your question - how would an engineering degree be used as an Officer of Marines.

As other have mentioned, as an officer in the Marine Corps, you generally don't get to choose whatever MOS you want. Every Marine officer goes through The Basic School and learns the rudiments of how to be a rifle platoon leader. Those who go on to become infantry officers go through the Infantry Officer's Course to get more in-depth training on becoming infantry platoon commanders and rifle company commanders. Likewise, every other Marine officer will go through in-depth occupational specialty training. If you look at how officer candidates are screened at OCS, you'll see that criteria are related to leadership ability and potential, character, and ethics.

From my perspective, the value of a degree like engineering is the way that it influences your thought. Engineers "think" differently than graduates from other degree programs -- generally, it is a more systematic thought process, focused on problem solving. Personally, I was a history major, and historians generally think differently than engineers - we're much more skeptical, analytical, and research based. The beauty of all of this is that the Marine Corps ends up with a very diverse collection of officers in a variety of MOS's.

How does this apply to your situation? Like I said, that depends on what you want from your service and what you want to do with your life. If your goal is to be an engineer - particularly an industrial engineer - then the Marine Corps might not be your best option. If that is your goal, then the Navy may well be a better choice. The Marine Corps is going to focus you on leadership, problem solving, crisis action planning, critical thinking, organization, etc. Some of these skills are related to a career as an industrial engineer, some are not.

If your ultimate goal is to have a career as an engineer after your service, there is no doubt that the Navy is the better option. However, what you will tend to give up is that well rounded leadership experience.

Again, it's really more about what you are seeking. One thing to factor into your decision, is to realize that much of the idea of service as an Officer of Marines is that "you" don't matter -- "your wants / desires" don't carry much weight -- being an Officer of Marines is largely about putting the mission and your Marines ahead of yourself. If that's not what you are seeking, then your decision just got easier.

That help any?