<p>First off i'm not sure this is in the right spot and i'm sorry for that. I'm 24 yers old with 2 kids so going back to school is going to be hard for me. I keep hearing that Rice is better than UH but what if i can't get into Rice, what are the job prospects like coming from UH? i just don't want to waste 4 years of my time and cant get a job because of where i got my degree from.</p>
<p>I don’t know the schools, but make sure your school is abet accredited. Abet is the highest form of accreditation, so if you graduated from one of those schools you should be fine. </p>
<p>Unless you have interest in ultimately pursuing a PhD and a research career, the university will not matter in terms of employment provided it’s accredited and you pass the FE exam in then end.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d choose based on convenience and price</p>
<p>I have NO interest in PhD, but i have been thinking about my masters. </p>
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<p>Well this is certainly a half-truth. True, in civil engineering the FE exam and accreditation are going to be important, and in some cases more so than the school you attend. As with other engineering disciplines, however, the school can make a difference in terms of which companies regularly recruit from your school, and if you want to work for a company that only recruits at a certain subset of schools, it’s in your interest to go to one of those schools.</p>
<p>Now that makes me feel better. Does experience make it any easier? Because I want to apply for the Conditional Grant Program through TxDot (tx dep of transportation) and after I graduate i’m required to work for the state for 2 years or pay back the loan, which to me sounds like a job but somebody else might know more about it than me. </p>
<p>You might want to figure what branch of civil engineering you’re going into before accepting a grant. TxDot goes alot of transportation related work and general civil engineering. If you chose to go into structural or ocean, then that grant might not be the most wise choice.</p>
<p>I’m in graduate school right now at A&M for my Masters in Structural, and I have classmates from Rice and UH. I’ve only heard positive things about both. It’s more about how you apporach school then what school you go to. If you are passionate about you school work and your future job, you will end up doing great things. You will be in one of the better job markets in the United States when you graduate (Houston and Engineering= $$$)</p>
<p>Finish some of you undergraduate degree and look into job postings before going for a Masters. Depending on what branch of civil you go into, a graduate degree may or may not be worth it. Some branches like structural engineeering expect a Masters for alot of jobs. However, others do not and you could make yourself not hireable for alot of positions by going for a graduate degree and spending alot of unecessary money. </p>
<p>actually Chaoswithinthed i’m quite interested in structural engineering at A&M for my masters.</p>
<p>I was on my phone today at work and I can’t remember what I was looking up but I came across a website that had job listings for structural engineers. I noticed that some of the companies wanting a B.S. in ME or AE with an emphasis on Structures, I didn’t see to many that wanted a SE from CE. But i am really interested in structural engineering. </p>
<p>In the engineering departments I have seen, structural is typically in the Civil Engineering department. Also most of the job postings I have seen will say Civil Engineering with a “Structural Emphasis” for structural jobs. Not sure what job postings you were looking at. I suppose it does depend on the industry. </p>
<p>I go to the University of Houston (was wait-listed for Rice) and I am currently pursing an engineering degree there. UH is a great school, and I can honestly say that the UH is MUCH less expensive than Rice and is pretty tough in the engineering department. I am not sure if the college where you get your degree matters in this situation, but if funds are an issue, I think UH is your best bet. </p>
<p>I had actually decided on UH not to long after I posted this just because it is cheaper. Chaos are you getting a M. Eng. or a M.S.? Like I said i’m wanting to get a masters in Structural Engineering from TAMU as well, and I noticed they have the M.Eng and M.S. options and I had read somewhere on there site that the M.Eng is more practice based than the M.S. and was wondering your opinion on it since you’re attending TAMU atm.</p>