how much does a masters degree help in engineering

[gophins72]

Hello,

i recently have the opportunity to get a msee/mba or msee on the company's bill. if i get it, it would not help in any way with my current job (no additional pay due to degree). i've also been at my present company for more than ten years. the type of job i do is your typical digital design/verilog job and most people we interview out of school we dont really care what degree they have so long as they do well with content questions.

so my question is, would it help to get such a degree via a part time program? only if i want to change jobs? etc?

 

[bignateyk]

If you have any dreams of moving into any sort of management role, you will likely need it. Pretty much any engineering job you apply for at the senior level (10+ years) has an MS as a requirement.

That said, I haven't gotten mine yet either. I started it but really hated it. Now i've been working full time for 3 years and am thinking about starting it again next fall.

edit: So if you are gonna stay at your current company until you retire it might be ok without it, but if you wanna go to a new job and make more $$, it would definitely help to have it.

 

[sdifox]

You are going to pass on a free education????

 

[bignateyk]

You are going to pass on a free education????

I get basically free education and i've been putting it off. Getting a B.S is easy. You actually have to be motivated to get an M.S. or Ph.D though, which currently I am not.

It's hard when you work full time to spend what little free time you do have in the evenings studying/ doing homework when you are already making a good salary.

 

[sdifox]

I get basically free education and i've been putting it off. Getting a B.S is easy. You actually have to be motivated to get an M.S. or Ph.D though, which currently I am not.

It's hard when you work full time to spend what little free time you do have in the evenings studying/ doing homework when you are already making a good salary.

Dude, get it. It shows the company wants to invest in you.

 

[esun]

Even if your current company doesn't pay you more for it, if you ever have to move, it will mean a higher salary.

 

[overst33r]

Does the M.S. have to be in engineering? If not, I'd get an MBA, should be A LOT easier.

 

[Matthiasa]

Does the M.S. have to be in engineering? If not, I'd get an MBA, should be A LOT easier.

Ummm... A M.S. is a master's of science which by definition is not a master's of business. 😛

That said his post said he could do both.

 

[bignateyk]

Does the M.S. have to be in engineering? If not, I'd get an MBA, should be A LOT easier.

I'm actually thinking about getting an online M.S. in systems engineering. It's offered by Penn State, and is the same degree they have in person.

Systems Engineering is much easier than regular engineering.. it's more like an MBA than engineering. It's mostly cost/risk analysis and stuff like that. But it also has engineering in the title, so it looks better for jobs that want advanced degrees in engineering.

 

[Analog]

For my job, it means more promotions, etc. It means a lot.

 

[bignateyk]

For my job, it means more promotions, etc. It means a lot.

Yeah, where I work now for engineers it is:

Level 1/2: B.S. required
Level 3: B.S. required, M.S. preferred
Level 4: M.S. required, Ph.D preferred
Level 5: Ph.D required

Right now i'm a level 2, and have 2 years to go before i'm eligible for a level 3, then another 4 until I am eligible for level 4, so I have 6 years until an M.S. is a requirement, but it definitely helps to get promotions before then.