2 degrees

12/31/2006 9:11:16 PM

^^i got a minor in cognitive science - pretty neat stuff

1/2/2007 1:08:06 AM

I actually was considering this myself over christmas

I think I'll be going the MBA route, because I see myself more in a manager type position than as a brilliant number cruncher (besides, I'm a much better people person than a genius)

1/2/2007 5:00:59 PM

Quote :

"^We just got a new engineer with his masters strait out of school. He thinks hes pretty hot shit too, thinks he knows more than the rest of us with several years experience... To make a long story short, he still doesn't know shit, and is now one of "those guys". Don't be one of them. I've been on the hiring end of it a couple times, and I'll tell you what, 9 times out of 10, experience trumps a MS every time. "

sounds like the new engineer you got is completely opposite of how i approach work. i do have my masters, but lack the experience. i'm aware of this fact. i have told all my employers the same thing that i can only do my best because i don't have the experience the other guys do. either way, i wouldn't give my masters back because after 10 years of experience, i'll be an experienced enginner PLUS i'll have my masters.

some people embrace others with higher education in different ways. its something that some people joke about, but others really have a chip on their shoulders and they don't even know you.

1/5/2007 1:22:11 PM

^if you're trying to work in an engineering field that requires licensing, that masters will do absolutely nothing to help you 10 years down the road. it will actually hurt you at some companies.

1/18/2007 10:00:09 PM

having more education very very very very rarely hurts you 10 years down the road unless you missed some amazing opportunity the you forewent to continue your education

1/18/2007 10:03:47 PM

most employers look at engineers with masters in fields that do licensed work as if they were not capable of finding a job out of college. instead of seeing a person with more education, they see a person with a poor work ethic. an MBA will do wonders for your resume, but a masters won't if you're working in a licensed field. this would be different if you worked in an unlicensed field doing R&D or something along those lines.

1/18/2007 10:10:11 PM

were you dropped on your head as a child?

1/19/2007 6:43:11 AM

are you retarded or in denial?

1/19/2007 11:31:22 AM

So, if someone were to get a phd then they would really have no chance at getting a job, right?

1/19/2007 11:34:07 AM

are you that fucking stupid that you don't understand what licensed engineering work is?

also, you should ask your professors how good their job prospects were when they got their doctorate. most of them will tell you that they are working in the only position that justifies their education.

1/19/2007 11:52:00 AM

people don't want to hire them because 2 years experience as a licensed engineer or EI on his way to PE is worth more than 2 more years of school. Employers do not want to pay a masters salary to a less qualified person.


BTW Phds can stamp any damn thing they want w/o being a P.E.

1/19/2007 12:22:21 PM

Ph.D's are not allowed to practice engineering without passing the exams and getting a license, just like everyone else. Who fed you that line of shit?

[Edited on January 19, 2007 at 1:32 PM. Reason : being licensed is more about business ethics and design codes than it is about education]

1/19/2007 1:31:01 PM

COOL

Two mechanical/aero professors said we're phds we don't need to take the fe/pe.

i won't mention names in the forum but if you need to know them pm

[Edited on January 19, 2007 at 3:20 PM. Reason : oops still a lil obvious.]

1/19/2007 3:19:53 PM

they probably meant to say that they have no need for one, not that they are qualified beyond having to meet general statutes.

1/19/2007 3:44:26 PM

i would say BSEE + MBA is a good combo....unfortunately i went the BSEE + MSEE route
once i got into my first job I wasn't even doing EE work.....
and i really have not used any advanced EE on my job and don't really want to....much more interested in ppl interaction and business side.....am going to look into an MBA this year

so again my opinions
BSEE - good, prepares your brain for thinking
MSEE - only if you like being technical and want to stay technical doing like circuit designs, dsp or whatever
MBA - if you don't like staying technical and/or want to be in mgmt, investing, enterpreneur, etc

to each their own, i know ppl at work that love the technical stuff and want to stay very technical
i also know ppl like myself that don't...and just want to manage the technical ppl LOL

but either way, having the basic technical background will get you more respect at work from the technical folks, the technies don't expect you to understand the low level details, but they respect you more if you at least understand at the surface what they are talking about, and not just a shallow business guy

1/19/2007 4:58:55 PM

you can have a Masters of Engineering and still work in an MBA-type position, if that's what you really want.

or you can have an MBA, but you probably wont ever work as a Masters-level Engineer.

still you have to consider what industry youre working in.

if you're in the civil arena (structures, facilities, utilities, etc), and you are on a path for a PE, a masters of engineering prolly won't help much. if youre in R&D or something really technical, then a PE wont help you much at all, while an MS will be $$$.

1/22/2007 12:03:48 AM

Quote :

"most employers look at engineers with masters in fields that do licensed work as if they were not capable of finding a job out of college. instead of seeing a person with more education, they see a person with a poor work ethic. an MBA will do wonders for your resume, but a masters won't if you're working in a licensed field. this would be different if you worked in an unlicensed field doing R&D or something along those lines. "

i disagree. i went to several civil engineering design groups after i graduated with my masters and they all wanted me. it was my choice where i wanted to work. none of the employers, i felt, looked at me like i was not capable of finding a job. They looked at me as a college kid with ambition. i don't understand where you are going with the poor work ethic. If anyone has survived the engineering masters programs and earned a degree, i don't think you will be looked at as having a poor work ethic.

1/22/2007 2:18:37 PM

NutGrass, AMEN!

Everyone else.. MBA :-)

1/24/2007 12:18:00 AM

Quote :

"most employers look at engineers with masters in fields that do licensed work as if they were not capable of finding a job out of college. instead of seeing a person with more education, they see a person with a poor work ethic. an MBA will do wonders for your resume, but a masters won't if you're working in a licensed field. this would be different if you worked in an unlicensed field doing R&D or something along those lines."

Maybe this is different with civil engineering where jobs are easily obtained but no one I have ever talked to (employers, professors, employees) have ever even hinted at this. Many employers have said that for geotechnical (civil) engineering a masters is almost essential and they would strongly push me to work towards one part time while I worked there. Also every person I know that is going to graduate school could of easily gotten a job and most had one lined up already if they chose not to go to graduate school.

I think I may start on my master's part time this coming fall and once that is completed years down the road start thinking about an MBA/MEM.

1/25/2007 10:50:00 AM

ok, well ive finished submitting everything for business school.

time to play the waiting game now.

4/13/2007 9:55:36 AM

i think i'm gonna go back for Law or MPA. i want to go into politics.

4/13/2007 10:38:25 AM

TWW will haunt you.

4/13/2007 11:45:16 AM

Quote :

"most employers look at engineers with masters in fields that do licensed work as if they were not capable of finding a job out of college. instead of seeing a person with more education, they see a person with a poor work ethic. an MBA will do wonders for your resume, but a masters won't if you're working in a licensed field. this would be different if you worked in an unlicensed field doing R&D or something along those lines. "

after being in the feild a while and meeting a couple fellows with their masters... you're right...

4/13/2007 9:18:15 PM

ive worked in the civil arena of EE (industrial/institutional construction) where PE's dominate. there a MSEE is pretty meaningless. because basically you dont do anything more complicated than the BS level. you punch a few formulas into excel spreadsheet, meet with architects and city planners, send change orders to the drafters and then go shoot the shit with the construction foremen for a couple hours. there an MBA would be money, because then you'd use it to schmooze your way into the upper level management and get some fat stock options and/or profit sharing.

but i didnt really dig that environment, so I went back into the technical arema, now doing R&D. Here, an MSEE is golden because such companies usually value technical skills over grab-assing. a PE is not terribly useful since public safety ordinances aren't an issue, and an MBA is meaningless unless you have Dilbert's pointy-haired boss as your supervisor.

4/14/2007 2:11:33 AM

just found out i got accepted to the Robert H Smith school of business (u of maryland).

time to go back to school....well, not until fall, but still, back to the books.

4/24/2007 8:56:17 AM

^ enjoy it!!! business school is a $100,000 joy ride, one of the best decisions i've ever made.

4/30/2007 11:19:50 PM