Masters in Engineering or MBA?

[Roy T.]

You can always get a job selling Mindys in today's Morket.

har har har! more message board comedy! yeah a couple of mistypes, i guess only real smart people, with lots of time on their hands and nothing better to do, edit there message board posts for grammer and spelling.

Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree. that is the reality of the world in which we find ourselves. If you already have a PE then I guess it doesn't apply to you. does it genius?

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree.

You may want to tell that to the 95%+ of new grads at Rose-Hulman this year that already have job offers. They'll probably want to know that their offers will be rescinded because they don't have masters degrees.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree. that is the reality of the world in which we find ourselves.

And there goes your credibility.

 

[MonteBiker]

har har har! more message board comedy! yeah a couple of mistypes, i guess only real smart people, with lots of time on their hands and nothing better to do, edit there message board posts for grammer and spelling.
Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree. that is the reality of the world in which we find ourselves. If you already have a PE then I guess it doesn't apply to you. does it genius?

I think I am going to have to side with wilheldp on this one. There are a lot of companies that do not require Masters degrees. The exception to this would be specialized (usually) private firms which will have you working in one specific discipline. The two or three intro to structures courses are not enough to prepare you for designing the latest innovative, tallest structure on the planet or the longest, most slender bridge around. The problem with requiring a masters degree is that they realize that they are going to have a larger base rate of pay for incoming employees. Firms that just need general civil engineers may be better off taking a general civil engineering student, with a BS, and providing them the additional training in house lowering their entry level designer salaries.

I do agree that with civil programs becoming more and more broad, less time is being spent on engineering subjects. This is increasing the need for either 5 year full time programs or a master's degree as a prerequisite for liscensure. I do believe that this is a good idea in the long run. I value my MS and found that while I don't derive the theory of structures everyday for a living, that the experience that I gained from those classes helps me better predict how my designs will behave.

 

[Supe]

har har har! more message board comedy! yeah a couple of mistypes, i guess only real smart people, with lots of time on their hands and nothing better to do, edit there message board posts for grammer and spelling.
Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree. that is the reality of the world in which we find ourselves. If you already have a PE then I guess it doesn't apply to you. does it genius?

Awfully defensive considering I merely posted a comment in jest. Then again, I must not be one of those "real smart" people mentioned in your post as I have the time to sit here and type a response, and have neither a Master's nor a PE. I am a relatively "new" engineer however, yet still find myself gainfully employed with little fear of being dismissed from my job.

To say that companies are only hiring new engineers with Master's degrees is simply incorrect. In fact, the vast majority of new hires in the engineering field do not. There are trade-offs with any sort of post-graduate degree when seeking employment in a struggling economy. If you are able to find work, you may have a slightly higher starting salary. However, for an entry level engineering role, companies may see no need to pay more money for additional education when there is no experience to support it, especially when you've got other candidates coming from the top-tier schools.

If anything, that Master's may give you the nod over another candidate with all other credentials being equal after gaining a few years of experience, but in all likelihood, your starting pay isn't going to change at that point. I WILL be pursuing my Master's in the near future, but only because I am in a field that is typically thought of as exempt and has very little need for a PE. The Master's will simply add credibility to my functioning role in the eyes of the clients and pad my resume, as only a single school in the country even offers a Master's in my field.

 

[Roy T.]

Awfully defensive considering I merely posted a comment in jest. Then again, I must not be one of those "real smart" people mentioned in your post as I have the time to sit here and type a response, and have neither a Master's nor a PE. I am a relatively "new" engineer however, yet still find myself gainfully employed with little fear of being dismissed from my job.
To say that companies are only hiring new engineers with Master's degrees is simply incorrect. In fact, the vast majority of new hires in the engineering field do not. There are trade-offs with any sort of post-graduate degree when seeking employment in a struggling economy. If you are able to find work, you may have a slightly higher starting salary. However, for an entry level engineering role, companies may see no need to pay more money for additional education when there is no experience to support it, especially when you've got other candidates coming from the top-tier schools.

If anything, that Master's may give you the nod over another candidate with all other credentials being equal after gaining a few years of experience, but in all likelihood, your starting pay isn't going to change at that point. I WILL be pursuing my Master's in the near future, but only because I am in a field that is typically thought of as exempt and has very little need for a PE. The Master's will simply add credibility to my functioning role in the eyes of the clients and pad my resume, as only a single school in the country even offers a Master's in my field.

not defensive at all - for all you know I could be pulling your chain

I only know what I see. No one is suggesting that with only a BS you are unemployable. But i see who is getting "good" offers and those who are taking whatever comes their way.

I "only" have a BS - although I've been around a few years. For kids coming right out of school, it's tougher now than it's been in a LONG time. If your goal is to get a *good* well-paying job I'd recommend MS over the MBA. 10 or 20 years ago I'd have picked the MBA.

 

[chaosiscash]

Companies aren't hiring NEW engineers without a masters degree. that is the reality of the world in which we find ourselves.

No one is suggesting that with only a BS you are unemployable.

I'm confused.

 

[MonteBiker]

The Master's will simply add credibility to my functioning role in the eyes of the clients and pad my resume, as only a single school in the country even offers a Master's in my field.

Supe,

Slightly off subject, but out of curiosity, which field and school?

 

[Supe]

Supe,
Slightly off subject, but out of curiosity, which field and school?

Welding Engineering, The Ohio State University.

 

[Chucktown PE]

I already have the M.S., I'm going to be studying for the GMAT in the next few months. If I do well I may try to apply to some top notch schools, which would more than likely mean I would have to move. We'll see.

 

[Chucktown PE]

Welding Engineering, The Ohio State University.

Why TF do people call it "The Ohio State University". My cousin is getting a master's, PhD there and he's taken to calling it that. It's totally unecessary to add "the" at the front.

 

[chaosiscash]

"The Ohio State University" is the official name, isn't it?

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I'm confused.

You beat me to it.

Another body blow to the cred.

 

[Roy T.]

You beat me to it.
Another body blow to the cred.

oh noooooo. another "body blow".

my "street cred" is gone! not that! anything but that!

arty-smiley-048: arty-smiley-048:

btw - welding engineering is a very good choice. the O&G industry simply can't find those guys.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Depends on what you want to do. If you ever want to practice as a Professional Engineer or even get an Engineering job in today's morket an MS is a no brainer. Unless you go to a real top-notch MBA program and never intend to practice Engineering professionally, I would think twice about an MBA. The market is flooded with them.
Back in the day... when I graduated in 1991... a BS degree in civil engineering required, at a MINIMUM, 153 semester hours. Today that same degree can be had for 125 hours. This is little more than an introductory curriculum and just not enough for professional career in Engineering. In a lot of undergrad programs, basic topics like linear algebra and stress/fem analysis aren't even taught until the grad level. Industry is demanding more from new hires.

If you *really* want to make the big bucks and work at the highest levels of industry - bite the bullet and get a PhD.

Wow, not at my school, I graduated in 2002 and I think I had more than 130 to graduate.

Be aware though depending on the school -the way credit hours are allotted is a little different. For example back in the semester days you had 4 "terms" (not including summer) so if you took 12 credits each term that would be 48 for the year.

Now many schools are on the Trimester plan, 3 terms. Basically what many of the courses you may have taken where "squished into" 1 longer course. But you might still be just getting say 4 credits, instead of 6 for 2 classes. All I know is that I constantly was taking 16+ credits and barely graduated in 4 years. Most of my contemporaries took longer.

 

[Supe]

"The Ohio State University" is the official name, isn't it?

Yes.

In 1986, a new University logo was introduced in the hopes of moving away from the "OSU" symbol, which had been used since 1977. The change from simply "OSU" was said to "reflect the national stature of the institution." University officials wanted the institution to be known as "The Ohio State University," again, since OSU could also mean Oregon State and Oklahoma State University.
However, the "The" was actually part of the state legislation when the university was renamed in 1878. The following excerpt is from the Board of Trustee minutes:

"...the educational institution heretofore known as the 'Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College,' shall be known and designated hereafter as 'The Ohio State University.'"

Those who wanted the name change thought the original name was too narrow in scope, and that it was inadequate for the institution that was the only beneficiary of the land grant act. President Edward Orton was insistent that a new name would separate the institution from other colleges in Ohio.

Legend also has it that "The" was used to show the other colleges which institution was supposed to be the leader in the state - both in size and in financial support from the legislature.

 

[csb]

I went the MBA route and I'm glad that I did so. My college required way more than 125 hours to escape with an engineering degree. I felt that the MBA better balanced what I had learned and it has been useful in my career. I personally don't feel that a MS would have benefited me more.

 

[Chucktown PE]

The M.S. in engineering has been very good for me and I would say that it upped my starting salary by 20%. I went straight through and did B.S., M.S. in 5 years total (with a couple of summer schools). In addition, it has placed me in a position a bit higher than my peers without the M.S. in my company. But, I don't want to be doing design work forever. I want to move into upper management and I think the M.B.A will give me a leg up in that department.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

"The Ohio State University" is the official name, isn't it?

Remember when USC (South carolina) tried that 'The USC' bs? Even the students laughed at it.

oh noooooo. another "body blow". my "street cred" is gone! not that! anything but that!

Yo!

 

[chaosiscash]

Remember when USC (South carolina) tried that 'The USC' bs? Even the students laughed at it.

Well, like I've always said, if you want to go to USC, you've got to have a sense of humor.