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Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?
2

Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

(OP)
A little about myself...  I am a fairly recent graduate (summer 06') with BSME.  I worked in the HVAC/controls industry for a short while before I decided to give patent law a try and went to USPTO and experienced first hand patent law is not for me (pretty boring stuff). So now I'm thinking about going to grad school but don't know which area to specialize in.  I'm thinking either HVAC, Fire protection, or Structural

Seems University of Maryland and WPI are the only two schools that offer master's in fire protection. Job outlook is good from what I hear because of new regulation and laws. Can anyone chime in about salary, job satisfaction and advancements? Is this a respectable engineering field?

Also, should I pursue the thesis or the technical mater's program?  I'm thinking thesis would be useless unless I decide to do PhD.

What are some good schools for HVAC or structural programs?

Thanks for all the help  

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

My advice, for HVAC and Fire Protection get experience and your PE rather than a Master's degree. I do not see how going deeper into working with the Darcy Weisbach equation will give you experience in design.

My 2 cents,

MPE engineer, JPR

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

I agree with Cachuca.  Most employers in the HVAC and fire pretection fields don't want to pay extra for a masters degree.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

I am not in HVAC or building systems, but from what I have seen I would agree with the previous posters. Take a look at the job postings and see if any of them have "Masters degree a plus." I'm guessing you won't find many. Additionally, I know some people I graduated with that went into HVAC and didn't seem to have any trouble with only a BSME. If nothing else, you should be able to get your foot in the door with the bachelors and then see what the company/industry thinks about a Masters. Perhaps the company, if they value a Masters, will even help pay for it or allow you to work part time and you can get experience and a masters.

-- MechEng2005

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

If you can stand the strain, go for a dual eng'g degree. My boss had EE/ME, and he was top notch. A lot of the prelim stuff applies to both degrees. A type of engr will be a little blind-sided about other eng'g specialties.

Any objections about bio-med eng'g? If I had it to do over, that's where I would go. I don't think the medical side has much ups and downs.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

It would also be good to add a minor in material science/engineering.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

(OP)
ctopher - what is the reason for your suggestion?

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

so you can more easily figure out why your gizmo broke?
 

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

I agree with the others.  For HVAC I would forget the Master's for now and worry about getting your PE.  A friend in school was working for an HVAC company.  Their engineers all had BSME's and were PE's (making quite a lot of money btw).  

I might get started working to get my PE and then have my employer pay for the Masters if you really want one.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Take a general "building systems" course load if you can find one, with HVAC as a major, and then, see how you can supplement that with some building science/building physics courses (to learn where and how building heating and cooling loads come, from and how they act), and maybe some building energy modelling if available.  I can tell you that in my field (Building systems consulting) we can't find enough talented energy simulators with any knowledge of building science.

Look at the price of energy and how much energy buildings use, and see that your career will be much in demand with this type of background.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

jnam82,
Either discipline will only help you with materials background.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

(OP)
So the consensus seems to be that PE is more valuable than a master's. I guess it's because experience is more valuable than school education?? But wouldn't master's help you gain new skills and obtaining your PE?

What is the average salary of someone w/PE license?

GMcD, do you know any institutions that offer the courses that you mention. what are some companies/firms that are involved w/building systems consulting?

 

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

(OP)
It looks like they are requiring for you to have Master's in order to take the PE exam in the near future

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Currently a master's degree will let you take the PE exam a year early (in some states, anyway).  Other than that, it doesn't do anything for licensure.  It might get you into a more interesting job while you prepare for licensure, but it is experience rather than knowledge that is considered for the PE.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

There is so much controversy and opposition to the Masters requirement for PE, that it will likely be several years if ever that it gets passed. Especially when one considers that they would have to further develop clauses regarding who gets grandfathered in, current applicants, etc.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

I strongly object to requiring the masters for the PE exam. When I took the PE, an associate with MME flunked the PE exam. Didn't speak highly for the masters.

In the Ohio PE when I took the exam, a majority of the candidates passed, but the fail rate was not negligible; something like 15-20%. I doubt that the masters made a difference. What made a difference for me was the refresher course given by the plant facility engrs. It was a life changing experience. Everybody had their short cuts and helped each other. Working a complicated looking HVAC problem on the psych chart was easy.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

You are about 5 years too late to object.  This has been under discussion for a decade, and the details were largely worked out 3-5 years ago and the Model Law was adopted at the 2006 National Confernece.  If you spend some time browsing through www.ncees.org you'll see years of discusion by people who are active in NCEES

The current NCEES Model Law language contains the requirement for 30 hours post BS (they're calling it "masters or equivalent"), and more than a few states have said that they would incorporate that part of the language in their statues.  

At the 2008 National Convention they decided to delay implementation until 2020.  There were so many issues raised that they've created a couple of task forces to address the major issues.  See http://www.ncees.org/news/index.php?release_id=37 for a discussion.

David

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Generally salarie for mechanical engineers go high to low in the following industries:-
petrochem, oil & gas, mining, food, pharmaceutical, rail, water & wastewater, manufacturing, HVAC.

So if you see it as a vacation go for it but  dont expect to get rich anytime soon.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Old saying about qualifications:-

B.Sc Bullsh*t
M Sc More sh*t
PHD Piled higher and deeper
MBA make bullsh*t an Art form

Work a couple of years in design. Then get some practical experience under your belt on a construction site or in an operating company, then go back into design. Plenty of top flight engineers without additional qualifications. Some with qualifications need a taxi to get them to work as they are not practical enough to catch the bus.

If you are good enough, someone like Esso or Shell may take you. If not work on one of their projects for the constructor. Keep your ears and eyes open. Dont be bashful about asking the tradesmen on how things work.

Dont ask a question and be dumb forever. Ask a stupid question and appear dumb for a few nano seconds, but you will never have to ask again.

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

(OP)
Good post Stanier

But i HVAC a vacation? I got the impression that they were sweatshops

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

only till you finish the air conditioning, than they are quite cool :)

Luck is a difficult thing to verify and therefore should be tested often. - Me

RE: Which sub-discipline in mechanical to pursue?

Sorry I meant "vocation" not "vacation". As in a labour of love  not profit. What a Freudian slip to make?

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