MBA or MS for Engineers

[ufcfan]

Hi to everyone,

I'm a mechanical engineer with 4 years of experience. I recently passed the PE exam (October 2007) and right know I'm considering to pursue a Master's Degree, maybe an MBA. My company pays for it and right know I'm single with no kids, so if I'm going to make it, this is the perfect time. But I will like to know if its worth it. The only reason for which I'll do it is to have a salary increase more than everything else since I'm not really excited to comback to school.

I will appreciate if some of you have an MBA or if you are employeers what advice could you share with me about this.

Regards.

 

[udpolo15]

Everyone situation is different and It depends on where you want your career to take you. I went back and finished up my MS three years ago. My reasons at the time were 1) my company would pay almost 100%, 2) it provided the most bang for the buck in terms of salary increase, and 3) my undergrad is in chemical and I do environmental so I wanted to gain some knowledge.

Fast forward 3 years, I decided to get my MBA as well and I am starting in March of 08. My company is only helping me out a little (~15%). I think an MBA is going to help me out in the long run in my career and also allow branch into growing area like sustainability, carbon management were a business background will be helpful. In my case, i have also made the decision that if I were to leave my company for any reason, I would probably leave engineering so an MBA opens up many more doors.

 

[Guest]

^^ Completely agree with the logic above. In terms of getting 'the most' out of your MBA though, you SHOULD be prepared to leave engineering and go strictly into a business setting.

I was just talking to a friend from undergrad days - he just got accepted to Columbia to get his MBA. He is moving out of the engineering field - he just doesn't like it. As for me --> I am as happy as a hog in slop! :true: I just got to find the right job now ....

JR

 

[ufcfan]

^^ Completely agree with the logic above. In terms of getting 'the most' out of your MBA though, you SHOULD be prepared to leave engineering and go strictly into a business setting.
I was just talking to a friend from undergrad days - he just got accepted to Columbia to get his MBA. He is moving out of the engineering field - he just doesn't like it. As for me --> I am as happy as a hog in slop! :true: I just got to find the right job now ....

JR

Your message makes send to me. I really like Engineering a lot and I think I still have some much to learn. In addition to that, I don't see myself leaving the engineering to work on a business setting per se. I think that its better for me to get some type certifications as Project Management Professional, Boilers and Pressure Vessel Inspection, and Elevator Inspection as well. In that way I still can take advantage of the education reimbursements my company offers.

Thanks!

 

[Dleg]

Yeah, if you enjoy engineering and are a technically-minded person, I'd go for an MS. UNless, of course, you want to someday be the big manager of your department or a principal of a big engineering firm, then the MBA would be the better route. But being a better engineer through more knowledge (MS) is probably the better option if those are not your choice career paths. Even owning your own business or managing a small firm, you're probably better off being a better technical engineer than a manager. I think people often lose sight of what it is that we as engineers are doing and what people are willing to pay us for. Management skills certainly do come in handy, but you don't need an MBA to run a small business or an office full of engineers.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

MS is a lot more theory, so I can't say that it really adds to your everyday engineering skills. Maybe if you were in somereally advanced R&D stuff, but even then...

My MS is really just a resume enhancer, I haven't really put it to use other than that.

 

[kevo_55]

This won't work in every field, but if you're structural like me you can just keep taking exams.

Of course, get them done before state boards require that masters degree (30 credits beyond a BS) before you can take the PE exam.

 

[Dleg]

I disagree about the MS being mostly theory, at least in my field - environmental. Most environmental engineering MS degree programs seem to me to be directly related to the job. Again, I think that's because "civil" engineering has become too broad to be practicably managable anymore as a single major, and you really dont' learn enough in a typical civil undergrad program to be able to jump into environmental work right away, without some serious on-the-job-learning (or a direct env. eng. undergrad degree). And maybe that's why NCEES is requiring BS + 30 credits in the future.

 

[Guest]

And maybe that's why NCEES is requiring BS + 30 credits in the future.

I have often wondered about that myself. When I did my BS degree - all of the BS engineering degrees in that school were five-year degress (e.g. 154 semester hours). While I was working on my degree, there was a state-wide move afoot to reduce ALL BS degrees to four-year programs and those engineering degrees were watered down.

As far as the MS degree that I am working to complete - I would say it is a fair combination of theory and practical (hands-on) learning. Many of my problems (including graduate project) pushed me towards APPLYING engineering principles by utilizing tools I could find as freeware on the internet or purchase for a nominal fee. While there was a very high degree of modeling exercises which I guess most would consider theoretical, the focus was on obtaining results and the qualifying those results based on the integrity of the data as well as the limitations of the model(s). To me this is the BANE of many engineers - coming to an answer that you can't qualify because in the real world no answer is ABSOLUTE.

I continually have to point that out when people go out and collect sampling for groundwater or soil - depending on collection methods, media (matrix), and contaminant you have to assign error bars to those results. Sometimes those error bars can be HUGE and actual eclipse the magnitude of the results.

Anyways .. I agree Dleg. MS Degree in engineering doesn't have to be 'theoretical'.

JR

 

[Katiebug]

I have a BSME and almost a year ago got my MS in Management, focusing on innovation and technology management. In May I'll re-start coursework for an MS in Engineering Science.

I chose the MS in Management over an MBA because I have no desire to leave engineering in the long run. I'd much rather handle small programs or be the technical lead on large programs, than to be a line manager. I've seen too many times that problems arise when talented engineers try to be managers when they have no innate skill in that area. Plus, without an MBA from one of the serious B-schools, I'd never be an upper level executive anyways!

It was a good curriculum; it covered the fundamentals of management (accounting, finance, marketing, HR, etc.) and then allowed me to really focus on the management of technology and innovation. An MBA is a generalist degree, and I don't want to be a generalist. The popular thing among the other young engineers in my organization is either an MBA or an MS or ME in engineering. I chose a slightly different path; I did the MS - Management and now will be starting an MS in Engineering Science, but overall am clearly trying to stay on the technical side of the house. The MS - Management was primarily for personal enrichment rather than a means of getting ahead at work. Now I understand what "turns of working capital" means in the quarterly reviews, and it's helped me make some good investment decisions, but the biggest benefit of the management degree has been in broadening my outlook, so that I understand why management makes the decisions they do (sometimes contrary to the best engineering solution).

I'm coming up on 5 years out of undergrad and it took me a solid 4 years of working in industry to decide what I wanted to specialize in for my engineering master's degree. Lo and behold, it's NOT what I thought I'd end up focusing on when I was right out of school. I actually couldn't find a master's program that offered exactly what I wanted to study, so I'm doing Engineering Science because it offers me more curriculum flexibility.

 

[benbo]

This may be controversial, but it is my experience. After earning the BS, which is the entrance requirement to the profession, what you do in the job and the relationships are far more important than any advanced degree. So get the degree you think you would enjoy.

This has been my experience over the past 20 years. For example, in my last job in the semiconductor industry, there were three levels between me and the company president. My direct boss had a BS only, his boss had a BS, MS, and MBA, but the company president only had a BS, and that was in Physics.

At my current job, in the government, there are also three levels. All my equal level coworkers have multiple technical masters degrees, but our direct boss only has a BSEE. Her boss, my program manager, doesn't even have a techincal degree. He has a BA in Economics (from Harvard, but a BA nonetheless). And the big big boss only has a BS.

So, it is a nice feather in your cap, but from what I have seen the most important thing is increasing repsonsibility in actual work, and if you are in the private sector, things that have to do with the bottom line. I remember a quote from the movie "Repo Man" - "Keep making me money kid." Now the PE exam may be required as well - it is required for my work track to get any advancement.

As for me, I have a BSEE and an MS in Information Systems. I got the MS because it was fun - I enjoy writing code, and like the practical perspective - seeing how it fits into business. Plus I learned how all the internet things I use actually work, without getting deep in the weeds of coding. But the MS has been worthless in my career.

 

[SSmith]

Ive been talking about this around the office recently.

The answers all pointed the same direction. Specializing degrees will help you progress in technical fields, but general degrees increase the possibility of moving into other career paths.

For me, Im going to pursue a general degree (probably PhD if I can get it funded--I already got an MBA). The air is very thin for further advancement in my technical career path. So if I want to advance in the next 27 years, I need to broaden the applicability of my skillsets.

Thats how it plays out in my head anyways...

 

[ufcfan]

I just found an MEM (Master's in Engineering Management) with specialization in Construction Management and/or Manufacturing Management. I think a program like this is more adequate since it has the managerial courses without getting out from the Engineering area per se.