How important is Higher Higher Education

[Keego]

I'm giong to be graduating from college soon in Industrial Engineering and I really don't know what I want to do afterwords (who does?)

I have a great job as an Industrial Engineer right now, but I feel like I should get as much education as possible before stopping. The only thing is, why should I do that if I don't know what I want to focus in? Industrial Engineering has a lot of focus topics (Operations Management, Quality Control, Lean, Human Factors, Statistics, Information Systems, etc) and I am pretty much good at all of them in general, but not particularly interested in one topic.

Some colleges do have a non-thesis masters program, but I don't konw how useful that would be. I went to a career fair yesterday for engineering jobs, and a guy from Tektronix said that higher higher education isn't as important to them as dual majors are. Well, I doubt I'll be getting another BS anytime soon! 🙂

What do you guys think, is it really useful to spend 2 more years on something I will or will not use? What are your experiences with masters or phd employees vs. BS employees?


edit: hello post 6000!

 

[Whisper]

In your situation (i.e. not knowing what you want to study, etc.) I'd say you probably wouldn't get much mileage out of an advanced degree. Maybe work a few years first, and then see if you can't narrow things down a bit. Besides, there are many schools that have schedules allowing you to earn a degree while you work. It might take a bit longer than two years, but you'll still be earning a paycheck while it's going on.

 

[jagec]

if you do it, don't do it for the money. Experience > post-bachelor's degree to a lot of companies.

 

[SuperTool]

My company is paying for my part time masters 😀
I wouldn't get a PhD though, unless you are planning to be a professor.
If I was in industrial engineering, I would definitely learn some Chinese, because that's where our industry is moving 🙂

 

[dullard]

Well I just got my PhD 6 months ago. It was important to me. However, I had a specific type of job in mind that required at least a masters (I just had a great opportunity so I stayed and got a PhD). Also in my field (chemical engineering) there was a good $10k/year salary jump from a BS to a MS degree. So those were my reasons to go to grad school.

So the questions you must answer are (1) "What do you want to do?" and (2) "Are there life requirements that you want to meet that require more education?"
[*]It doesn't make sense to focus on operations management in grad school when you really want to do information systems. You will have general courses in all areas, but you will likely focus on just one topic. If you can't decide what the topic you want to focus in, then maybe grad school isn't for you at the moment. You won't be forced to just do that one thing, but it'll make getting a job much easier if your MS work was related.
[*]Like I said, I wanted a job and a salary that a BS didn't provide. Thus my life goals required more education. Are you happy with your job and your salary? If so, don't bother with more education. If not, is there another job you are qualified for now? If the answer is no to both, then go to grad school.

As for what the guy from Tektronix said, I think you misunderstood the point. A person with two completely different but related degrees can be VERY valuable to a company. A person with a BS and a MS in the same field can also be valuable but is less flexible. I don't think the Tektronix guy was suggesting another BS, but a MS in a different but related field. Maybe an example would help:

One thing has stuck out in my job search and my friend's job searches. I know several people who got a job due to one and only one thing. A BS in one degree and a MS in another. Specifically, company after company complained that they have an excellent engineering department and an excellent math department. Unfortunately there was no communication between the two departments since the engineers didn't understand the math and the mathemeticians couldn't get anything useful for the engineers. A few of my friends had a bachelors in math and a masters in engineering (or vise-versa) and ALL were told immediately that the dual areas was the reason that they were hired and that they had a job for life. Creating a niche for yourself (like the engineer/mathematician liason) can be the most valuable thing you could ever do.

 

[GMElias]

When I applied to grad schools, I was more interested in specific teachers (since I am studying piano) than the name of the school. I also think money talks (though, with engineering, that shouldn't be a problem since they pay for tuition and give you a stipend usually...but it is quite rare for pianists!). So, look for a program that you like, not necessarily a school...and look for a certain professor or group of professors that you would like to work with (especially for a thesis).

Anyway, gl!
-Elias

 

[dr150]

Originally posted by: jagec
if you do it, don't do it for the money. Experience > post-bachelor's degree to a lot of companies.

Agreed! EXPERIENCE is way more important than post-BS degree.

 

[TuxDave]

Industrial Engineer? That's one of those...weird math/business engineering majors right? I think if anything, grad school will give you opportunities to take some managerial classes while you earn your masters.

 

[cchen]

What kind of work do you do? If you're really into IE, a masters will help you a lot because you can focus on the areas you work in such as production planning, logistics, etc

If you're more broad you could go for an Operations Research masters, which will cover many different topics

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: cchen
What kind of work do you do? If you're really into IE, a masters will help you a lot because you can focus on the areas you work in such as production planning, logistics, etc

If you're more broad you could go for an Operations Research masters, which will cover many different topics

Right now, I'm doing productivity audits on industrial companies. http://me.oregonstate.edu/iac/

 

[cchen]

interesting...
a masters would only take you 1 year, if you have the sufficient background
I'm currently in the OR masters program, PM me if you have any questions

 

[PrinceofWands]

I love all education, even just for education's sake. For me, I plan to be in school until the day I die. Also in my case, teaching requires a minimum of a Masters, and I should get a PhD if I want to teach college of any merit. But I think it's purely a personal decision.

Then again, a teach with a masters degree starts out making 10k more a year than one without one where it's possible to do so.

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: cchen
interesting...
a masters would only take you 1 year, if you have the sufficient background
I'm currently in the OR masters program, PM me if you have any questions

Well, during the interview they mentioned the fact that a local college comes ON the base and does a night class thing where you earn a BS in business, additionally, the University of Washington has a master program in Aerospace which is something I am really interested in :> They would pay for tuition and books. Sounds like a win-win situation, all I need to do now is get called back!