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Is having a master's degree useful for engineering?

schneiderguy

schneiderguy

Lifer
I will be graduating in a year and a half with a bachelor's in Computer Engineering.

Doing a master's looks like it would add one year (there is a combined BS/MS program which I qualify for; it skips the undergrad senior project and replaces the undergrad tech electives with some core graduate level classes). Is a master's degree useful for engineering? Or should I just graduate and (hopefully) get a job and start getting experience in the industry?
 
Only manlets get master's degrees because they can't get a real job cause of their manlet-shortness.

Big, sexy strong man would kiss his ass up to CEO.
 
Yes you might start with higher salary. Some hi tech companies are almost ignoring bachelors in their entry level positions.
 
Imp said:
Only manlets get master's degrees because they can't get a real job cause of their manlet-shortness.

Big, sexy strong man would kiss his ass up to CEO.
Click to expand...

hotwomanisnotamused.gif
 
Depends how much it will cost you to get the masters degree. If you have scholarships and it won't cost you much I'd say go for it.

Also, do you have a good job offer for after you graduate? That is another thing to consider.
 
do it. 1 year is cheap, but the additional earning potential will more than pay off within 5-6 years.

edit: that said, I know my sister's undergrad senior project (challenge-X) was what most companies who interviewed her talked about. she's a mechE, and doesn't have a masters, so take that for what it's worth.

if your senior project will be something interesting, and easy to get an audience interested in, then it might be just as important as a masters..at least to people who don't care about academic qualifications.
 
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TuxDave said:
1 year?

/shakes fist at the non-thesis programs
Click to expand...

If you do it standalone it's 1.5-2 years depending upon how many units you take per semester. It'd only be one year extra because the combined program lets you skip about 15 units of undergrad classes.

You have the option of doing a thesis or a design project.
 
TuxDave said:
1 year?

/shakes fist at the non-thesis programs
Click to expand...

Full-time thesis is nice, but my part-time program let me do a "graduate project", which was a lighter thesis. I agree that full-time and part-time programs should be separated because the "full graduate experience" with TAing, marking, lab work, and 9-5 at the office should be worth more.
 
It depends completely on the major and the field of work. I know that in lots of areas of aerospace it's not even always beneficial.

Savvy employers won't make hiring and salary/raise decisions based on how much paper you have. They go solely by performance. You won't get more money just because you have a masters - you're expected to be a better employee because of your degree and earn your pay. In many cases it's better to spend 2 years in the workplace instead of 2 years at school - it'll put you ahead in both work experience and pay.
 
Go for it, since B.S. in computer engineering is a dime a dozen nowadays. j/k . Won't hurt since it will only take a year. You'll be done before you know it. Update us when you're done, schmanletguy. 😉
 
I sometimes get the feeling that a bachelors degree is the new high school diploma in america... but it might be different from field to field, you have a strange educational system with a lot of useless degrees imo.
 
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