Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
(OP)
I recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. I then jumped right into graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (MME). I have no loans for this or previous schooling and the master’s degree is being paid for by the school. In addition to the tuition waiver, i receive a stipend of just more than $1,000 each month. My question is this: have I made a bad decision to go to master’s school without any engineering experience? If so, should I stop my master’s program, forfeit the assistantship and jump into a job in industry, or should I take this as a great opportunity to finish my master’s degree (I am just starting my first of 4 semesters)? I am not at a prestigious school by any means, but it is ABET accredited. Also, I do not intend to seek employment as a teacher, but rather merely become a productive member of the public sector work force. There are essentially three reasons that I feel like I should quit school and go to work: 1) I want to get out of school and see what the real world is up to and, 2) I am tired of living like a poor boy, and 3) I do not want to be "overqualified" for a job (if there is such a thing). I am 25 years old. Thanks for the input! Please be very honest. As a last note, my undergrad GPA is just above a 3.0 (not bad, but not exactly stellar either...so I don't want to anger one of the few schools that might offer me an opportunity like this or disrupt possible recommendation letters for the sake of me being a quitter).





RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering
"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Yeah, if I could keep up the grades, I would stick around for that.
Can you do any part time work or internships during the program?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
I met him yesterday as he was making his rounds for introduction. He aspires to be a Project Engineer / Project Manager.
I advised him to start drinking copious quantities of beer and killing millions of brain cells so that his IQ can be adjusted to a level appropriate to his career aspirations.
My opinion is, get as high a degree as you are able to while you still have the interest and the opportunity, and then look for a career that matches *your* standards, as opposed to settling for a career that expects you to lower your qualifications to *their* standards.
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Experience and jobs will come!!!!!!!!!!!
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
If you want to talk purely financially, the best thing you can do for yourself is keep the "poor student" lifestyle for as long as you can, and stash as much cash as you can into savings once you have employment. Or be really lavish and increase your lifestyle by 25% of whatever income increase you get.
Some jobs (mine included) will count postgraduate education years the same as experience years. So, 2 years of Masters meets the 2 years experience requirement.
So you have an agreement with the school - if you have time on your hands and want to work, I see three options:
1) Ask the school/agency for an internal internship/job/opportunity.
2) Ask the school/agency for a wavier from the "no jobs" requirement. Find the admin who works for the department head and inquire nicely if this is ever allowed (she will most likely know more than the department head!) and use that information to move forward.
3) Figure out something else. I've spent 5 minutes thinking here. You have a lot more time to spend on your problem than I do.
You have been given a set of parameters. Learn all the details, think about them and understand them. Apply your engineering logic to work within them and achieve your goals. You CAN get experience and the degree.
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Places you'd want to work are not hiring, officially, so take advantage of your peers and especially your professors in getting introduced to people who are working, and who might generate a demand for talented people, like, e.g., you.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
When you are first starting out you have to pay your dues like everybody else and start as a Jr. Engineer, however, once you gain five years plus of experience you will start seeing post for Sr. Engineers with Masters Degree preferred. The Masters will come into play later in your career, but funny enough not at the beginning. Once you have good experience coupled with a Masters Degree, you will get paid more than an engineer with just a Bachelors Degree. Companies like to show off how knowledgeable their staff is by their experience and education level. Also, if you get the chance to present at conferences and symposiums, your introduction indicating that you have a masters will carry your presentation with a little bit more weight than others. Also, Engineers with a Masters Degree (what I notice in my company) tend to do more big picture / analytical work than pure design / detail work.
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Sadly no there aren't a lot of job adss on 'monster' etc for fresh grads. If nothing else companies may not feel like paying to advertise on sites like that for new entry positions. However, contact enough companies directly (or at least check out their career sections) and you may find something. At least some job adds say a masters degree counts as one year of experience.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
Yes, finish the degree. Just don't expect to come into the real world after at anything higher than entry level. You will be a more qualified entry level but you will still be entry level.
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
If you do have the separate Bachelors which meets their minimum requirement, do you even have to let potential employers know you have the Masters?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
I was tired of school after the BS. I had a deal similar to yours and quit. Years later, I worked and earned the MS. Tough way to get it. Wish I had been smarter younger.
If you want it, get it. If you don't, quit. But, think of how quitting will look. Many mangers dimly view quitting something once started. In fact, many in general dimly view quitting something once started. I've heard that my whole life. Many engineers, given your deal, would take it and think you foolish for not completing it. Personally, when interviewing people, I quiz those who didn't complete their master's program about why they didn't.
Even though life is not all about money, the payback on an MS is not bad. The Ph.D. pays for itself after a few decades, which played into my decision to not pursue it. However, I have met PhDs that experienced rapid payback on theirs. Wish I had launched straight-away into a doctoral program. Years ago a trade journal published stats on payback for the BS, MS, and PhD. I've not seen one in years. Perhaps you can use your favorite search engine to get more recent data.
You are very young so don't worry needlessly about this stuff. An education is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. No one will invest in you like you do. Treat yourself good and invest in you!
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
A few points:
-Full time an MS can be completed in under two years. Part time could take as long as five years (or more).
-Many companies offer tutiotn reimbursment, so part time you can get it paid for, earn a living and gain some experience. On the other hand, you are getting a free ride full time.
-If you quit school and go to work full time, quitting work at some future point and going back to school full time is really not an option.
-Working all day and going to school at night is really tough and it's made even tougher if you have a spouse, a house, and kids to look after as well.
-Don't waste too much time scouring the want ads for entry level jobs. Your school career development office, campus job fairs, and other contacts you make while at school are your best ways to get your first job. Internships are good too. If there are entry level openings my company often hires our best summer interns full time.
-In looking at your opportunity costs, you need to look long term and consider 5 or 10 years down the road how much more you can be making with an MS vs BS assuming you gravitate toward jobs where the MS will pay off.
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
RE: Masters in Mechanical Engineering Straight out of College
thread731-330281: PhD through a company?
Most of this won't apply to you since you aren't going for the Ph.D., but some of it may.
I went straight through school and earned my Ph.D. When I first entered the workforce it hit me like a shovel upside the head. I remember thinking during my first week at work, "What's wrong with all of these people?". And I see the same basic dysfunctional behavior everywhere I've worked. Stay in school. Earn your degree. The masters will likely serve you well down the road.
What you describe as "burnout" is not even remotely close to the bruising you are about to receive once you start working full time. Life can take an endless variety of ugly turns once you enter the workforce and find yourself reporting to Dilbert-like pointy haired bosses who have an MBA but no clue about engineering. Enjoy school while you are there because once you leave, in many ways you can never go back again.
Maui
www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com