Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
(OP)
I have recently graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering and have both a job offer and been accepted into graduate school. I am still unsure which is a better choice for my career, to go to graduate school to receive a MS in mechanical engineering or enter the workforce.
I have co-op experience with design and feel that this is the direction I would like to take my career, but I can also see myself at some point working my way to a managerial position within a specific department of a company.
My concerns that I would like advice on are:
1) By receiving a MS, am I limiting myself to R&D positons and will I be overqualified for entry level design positions?
2) Does graduate school help or hinder my ideal career path that I explained above?
3) Although returning to school is always an option, I fear that I won't want to go back to grad school after working a few years. However, would I be better off entering the workforce and then deciding on my area of expertise based on my employer and position?
Thanks in advance,
Marc
I have co-op experience with design and feel that this is the direction I would like to take my career, but I can also see myself at some point working my way to a managerial position within a specific department of a company.
My concerns that I would like advice on are:
1) By receiving a MS, am I limiting myself to R&D positons and will I be overqualified for entry level design positions?
2) Does graduate school help or hinder my ideal career path that I explained above?
3) Although returning to school is always an option, I fear that I won't want to go back to grad school after working a few years. However, would I be better off entering the workforce and then deciding on my area of expertise based on my employer and position?
Thanks in advance,
Marc





RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
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RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
David
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
I started grad school a year into my career, and I am glad that I got some real world experience before going. I believe that had I gone to grad school right after my BS, it would really be nothing more than a continuation of school. As it stands now, I feel like I'm getting a lot more out of it as I can relate many of the topics to things I've encountered on the job.
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
As an example how to choose a fastener for a particular application. I knew nothing about fasteners after school. Sure I figure our if a bolt would fail in tension or shear, but there are so many design choices in just this one small yet important field. I'm no expert now, but at least I have a broader understanding of what fasteners are out there and what fastener choices would be non-starters.
I think that doing some design work and making some mistakes (hopefully none unrecoverable) is a critially important step learning the nuts and bolts (sorry for a bad pun) of being an engineer. I desinged one assembly jig where to drill the locating holes they needed to use a 90° drill and still had very little space. This was a bad design, and I hadn't thought about that until the fabricator was tweeking me. He was a master craftsman and was a great teacher about good design even though he wasn't an engineer.
So my suggestion is to go out and fail as much as you can in the real world. It will consolidate the book learning, allow you to forget all the engineering lessons that don't apply to your career path, and focus your career on a subject you will be even more intersted in when you do return to graduate school.
Just remember have fun with it.
-Kirby
Kirby Wilkerson
Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
ht
It's written about MBA students and Financial Advisers, but I feel much of it applies to engineers as well.
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
While it was a lot harder and longer that way, it was much more relevant and therefore I believe more effectively committed to memory, or at least the details that matter were
Regards
Pat
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RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
Find a useful new field to do masters research, original work and testing. Make your mark in new areas of engineering.
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
Strictly from an economic standpoint, figure out the cost of graduate study and loss of two years of income. You could easily be out $150,000 - $200,000. How will you make up that loss vs anticipated gains in salary with the M.S.?
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
RE: Graduate School vs. Entering Workforce for Mechanical Engineering
I agree with the majority of my colleagues; I would take the job. Of course I'm assuming that you've been offered the kind of work that you see yourself happy doing it. If that's the case, go for it. Professional experience will give you a clearer view of where you want to be and what you want to do in a few years from now.
In addition, if you want to make your way to management positions and would like to get an MBA degree, I advise you to do so after some years of hands-on experience in engineering. You have to get to know people and their behaviors, and especially yourself - whatever you want to do, you should know who you are as a pro.
Cheers,
Murat