Career Change Part II

[MAOakley]

Hello everyone! I got some amazing advice the last time that I posted. I have completed more research and spoken with my mentors. Due to this, I am coming back to this board to try to get a little more advice so that I may pinpoint my plan a little better.

Just to restate what my "issue" is to anyone who does not remember me or that may not have read my previous thread: I have an undergraduate business degree and worked professionally in operations and logistics. When I commissioned as an Officer in the Army, I was assigned as an Engineer Officer. Due to this, and a bit of a new-found passion for engineering, I am reviewing options to pursue an engineering-related masters degree. One degree that is a given is that I will be working on a MS in Geological Engineering. This is actually done through a cooperative program while I will be attending some military training. It is too efficient to not take this opportunity.

My concern is what might happen if I choose to get out of the military (or if something happens) and seek gainful employment that will pay reasonably. I am concerned that I will not be eligible for many of the engineering positions out there.

What I am seeking is advice regarind my degree options and how they may play out for future employment considerations and for what my best option may be. I am not opposed to off-the-wall options. I just need to make sure that whatever plan I have is sound and has a bit of a backup should my military career not go where I expect it to (or when I retire).

Options:
1. Masters in Civil Engineering from Norwich University. I can choose from Geotechnical or Structural emphasis areas. This program seems like it would help me bridge the gap the best if I wanted to pursue the FE/PE examinations.
2. Masters in Engineer: Construction Engineering Managmenet from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Seems like a beefed up Construction Management program. Combined with the Geo Engineering, I would cover my bases with the majority of Army Construction. Not extremely technical, but seems to be solid for looking at everything from a managerial perspective. I would look at pursuing more contruction management-related ceritifications (LEED, etc) if I were to go this route. PE would be out.
3. Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. I could choose Construction Engineering, Public Works, or Transportation Engineering emphasis areas. The Construction Engineering seems closely relatable to the UAB program above. The PW curriculum is not online to review. Transportation Engineering seems pretty interesting and apparently has solid PE stats for their graduates.
4. MEng in Geotechnics from Missouri S&T (same school as the Geological Engineering). This would seem to give me both the Geotechnical Engineering side and the Geological Engineering side, which would seem to make me a one-trick pony (at least a little bit). I would be able to pursue registration as a Engineering Geologist. I am not sure if this would prep me well to sit for the FE/PE as I progressed because I am not sure how the tests really are administered and from what I have found, I would have to sit for the CE version which I would be missing huge chunks of knowledge for.

I know this is a little varied of a list. The obvious advice is to pick the one that you are most interested in or passionate about. Fortunately/Unfortunately.....I see the advantage to them all and I am extremely interested in all of them. I can see myself taking any one of the paths in front of me in pursuing this.

I appreciate your time and consideration.

mark

 

[IRstuff]

"I am concerned that I will not be eligible for many of the engineering positions out there. "

Please explain; why do you think that you might be ineligible? If you have an engineering degree, you meet the most basic of most job requirements. The impediments are typically more related to lack of job experience. This is why most posts of this nature engender responses to acquire internships. I think that you need to narrow down your focus, but bear in mind that few people actually succeed in following their own pre-determined path. As a military officer, I'm sure you've heard something to the effect that, "the battle plan rarely survives the first encounter." This saw applies equally well to life, in general, and careers, in particular. Most people will tell of tortuous paths taken to arrive at their current positions in life. I graduated from college thinking that I would be designing integrated circuits; the farthest I've gotten is designing test chips and a sense amplifier for a memory, which all occurred in the first 3 yrs since graduation. However, I quickly digressed into electro-optical sensors and systems engineering, and haven't come close to designing even regular circuits. I would advise not eschewing broadly applicable engineering courses, so that you can pivot as needed, and as your own desires solidify. There would be few things worse than devoting a truckload of your time and calories into a major that you later find unsatisfying, and find that your education didn't provide sufficient training to transition into something else.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //

http://www.engineering.com/AskForum/aff/32.aspx

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[SlideRuleEra]

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http://www.slideruleera.net/online-multidiscipline-graduate-programs.html

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[dicksewerrat]

I would leave 'construction management out. Very hard to get registered with that.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[miningman]

Well while we're discussing which topics to leave out , unless you want to practice in the UK or EU ,, Id focus on USA credentials. Its not that UK courses are substandard, ( in many cases the exact opposite) but you may have more trouble getting your UK credentials recognized in the USA than you'd think.