# Civil Engineering + MBA +.......insert here



## pavell (Nov 9, 2009)

guys, I'm a civil engineer, will be done with my MBA in summer of 2010.

I'm not ready to work yet. What do you think is the best next degree to further my earning potential.....

-MS Civil Engineering - 2yrs

-Law Degree - 3 yrs

-PhD in Economics/Business - 3-4yrs

I'm still not sure about what to do, what do you guys think...for pure earning potential. im 22 yrs old, so no rush hah


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## Dleg (Nov 10, 2009)

I'd get out of school and work for a while if I were you. You already have a decent start. The only thing to keep in mind is that, at some point in the future, an MS in engineering will be required to get your PE license. If you can get your PE license within the next 5 years, that should not be an issue - you will be "grandfathered". Wait any longer, you may very well need that MS. And unless you don't want to be an engineer, you will absolutely need the PE to make decent money in civil engineering. It doesn't really matter so much to have the other degrees you list, I don't think - besides, you won't even know if you are suited for management until you have been in the working world for a while.

So I guess the short answer is stay and get the MS in engineering if you aren't ready to head out into the real world yet.


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## EM_PS (Nov 10, 2009)

Dleg said:


> I'd get out of school and work for a while if I were you. You already have a decent start. The only thing to keep in mind is that, at some point in the future, an MS in engineering will *[may likely]* be required to get your PE license.


fixed it  , though i agree with getting the MS

Pavel, you have i would presume some rather large debt as a result of your schooling thus far(?) Are you sure you wanna throw another 2 years minimum on top of that before you start knocking some of it down by working? also, its possible you could earn the MS Engineering partially on a company's dime if you start working after your MBA next summer. I think its time to get your toes wet in employment, and if you like what youre doing, maybe pursue the MS w/ the employer's blessing.


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## maryannette (Nov 10, 2009)

Not to be offensive, but as a mother of a college graduate and a college student, I would encourage you to go to work. You said you're not ready to work yet. Have you ever worked for a summer or in a part-time job? Whether you are financing your education or riding someone else's bankroll, you have to become a productive adult at some point.


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## SSmith (Nov 10, 2009)

I agree with Mary.

Get a job. Be productive. Then decide if and in what direction you want to further your education. In business talk, the opportunity cost of continued education without an underpinning work experience is just too great.

I followed similar path as you except I worked full-time while being educated and working on PE. (And to be honest, I'm not really sure the value of an MBA with no business experience.) That work experience has changed the direction of the education path that I thought I wanted from PhD in Engineering to one in Math. It's a subtle, but important, change from a program of study that I would have grown to hate just to check the block--maybe--to one that I am completely enjoying every class.

Now I have an employer on the hook that is paying for my schooling during my normal work day while I make close to $90k/yr. That wouldn't have happened if I had played ostrich and didn't get out of academia until at the end of my education.


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## MGX (Nov 10, 2009)

A stack of degrees and no experience sounds bad. Go to work unless you want to remain in academia.

Why are you not ready for work?


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## MechGuy (Nov 10, 2009)

I agree with everyone elses comments... its time to work. Employers don't care about alot of fancy degrees, titles, or letters after your name if you have no experience. Its time to put the nose to the grind and get some real education out of the classroom.


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## pavell (Nov 12, 2009)

you guys have some good points. I appreciate it.


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## TXCoogPE (Nov 13, 2009)

Another arguement for working before persuing your masters is that in civil engineering, there are people who find out that the topics they enjoyed studying in school are not the areas they want to pursue in the business world. And vice versa (hate =&gt; like/love). I do know a few people who got their masters before working, but then ended up working in an area of civil engineering that had nothing to do with the specialty of their masters degree.


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2009)

I have advocated the same thing for engineer graduates in my company. Unfortunately, engineering education today is much different from when I obtained my degree which happened to be a 5-yr B.S. degree (e.g. one-year for design classes). Because the four year education is so broad, I think it is extremely important to have some time to determine an area of interest that you would like deeper knowledge or even if you want to obtain a M.S. degree in engineering - perhaps business, law, or something entirely different will change your persepctive.

JR


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## Road Guy (Nov 16, 2009)

work experience in the long run will earn you more money than a mouthful of degrees IMO


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## Slugger926 (Nov 17, 2009)

Get some experience now unless you want to change directions into Pharmacy, Dental, Medical, or Vet School. That MBA will help you start your own business later down the line, or help you run a department, but you will need some experience in something even if it is not engineering to start your own business, or work your way up to VP level in a corporation. If you start to work for a larger company, they may pay for you to get your MS in Engineering or whatever field as a part time student.

I personally worked a few different jobs out of school, and 10 years later let work pay for my MS in Engineering, and now letting them pay for the MBA (1.5 years left). The school and work come naturally now, whereas it would have been much more difficult to even just do the school earlier. The work experience has helped me be more effiecient in everything I do.

Those extra degrees won't help the earning potential if you don't get some expereince, and show that you can produce in the business world. You will also need to learn to stand up for yourself after you are proven, and ask for the promotions you actually deserve, and be prepared to transfer or leave when they don't come around.


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 18, 2009)

Go to work. A bunch of degrees doesn't look all that great without work experience.


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## ALBin517 (Nov 18, 2009)

Capt Worley PE said:


> Go to work. A bunch of degrees doesn't look all that great without work experience.


My uncle is fairly well-educated (BA and MBA) and one of his trademark sayings is, "You can get an idiot through college and all you've got is an educated idiot."

So for the employers like my uncle, you may want to prove your competance through employment.


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