<p>The English major was from Dartmouth and earned a master’s degree in engineering from MIT in graduate school. More importantly, she knew practically nothing about engineering after undergrad. Instead she learned engineering, or rather computer science to be exact, on her own time, first by studying and practicing from books and software packages she downloaded, then by working at a low-level programming job, and then by dint of hard work and natural talent, becoming a star software developer and then project manager before heading to MIT for graduate school. She’s living proof of a point made on other threads: you don’t need an engineering/CS degree to become a perfectly competent software developer.</p>
<p>You said COMPUTER SCIENCE and that in itself makes it doable. As long as a graduate CS student has proven knowledge in the core CS courses of data structures, algorithms, operating systems and theory of programming languages, they can qualify for a graduate degree. At some schools, you don’t NEED the coursework as a undergrad (it helps a lot though), you just have to take them during your provisional graduate status or pass a comprehensive exam just before graduation in those 4 course areas.</p>
<p>Well, actually, I suspect that she may not have the knowledge equivalent to the coursework for any of those topics - certainly not programming language theory, or even operating systems (I doubt that she has ever once coded/modified an OS). Nor was she required to take those courses or the equivalent comp exams. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, she now has a master’s degree in engineering from MIT. Granted, it’s a ‘joint’ engineering+management degree, but it’s still an engineering degree, conferred by the MIT School of Engineering.</p>
<p>Not to say my grad degree is as regarded as hers (it’s not) but my goal was to have a piece of paper say “Master” and “Engineering” on it. To be honest, my grad degree is more of an engineering management degree but the University of Wisconsin System just calls it “M.S. Engineering”, so it definitely helped me since my undergrad degree was in Math and just about everyone I was working with had some sort of Engineering or CS degree.</p>
<p>Great. I was thinking maybe next year I could try & get accepted into the MSIE program cuz the dept. of labor statistics quoted a 20% increase in their demand over the next decade. Now, I’m not so sure. </p>
<p>Just my two cents worth: I’ve a Bachelors in Electronics, but I’m interested in processes & manufacturing as well… would an MSIE be worth it?</p>
<p>I have a 3.1 at UVA due to an illness in my third and fourth years – I am currently taking a medical gap year and will finish next year. I will be graduating with a degree in Biochemistry and Physics.</p>
<p>I am in a behavioural lab which uses cocaine to investigate dopamine pathways and neurochemistry, especially with Circadian clocks. In my lab I have designed a whole protocol by myself, from loading live fruit flies into a constricted flat 2D arena without their being killed or escaping (without the use of carbon dioxide or any other anaesthetic, since it interferes with behavior), to behavioural tracking, image processing, MATLAB processing of tracks, behavioural patterns and trajectories. I also have designed experimental investigations with cocaine and other stimuli, that use this protocol. In past summers, I have also worked at the Department of Energy using gold nanoprobes and extremely high temporal and spatial resolution microscopes to probe intercellular transport between live cells.</p>
<p>I am a researcher and innovator at heart but I want to apply to engineering-esque grad school programs because I am scared that if I go the regular PhD route without engineering I will be a postdoc for life. Are there any graduate programs I have a good shot given my current GPA at that would impart some engineering employability to me, after graduation?</p>
<p>I have bachelors degrees in chemistry and biochemistry and got a Ph.D. in materials engineering. I did not get a masters degree. </p>
<p>I think when I first got started in the grad program they had me take the exams for the foundational undergraduate courses. I had to get an A on the exams, which I was able to do without any problem by drawing on my undergraduate background and by doing a couple of nights of studying from some engineering textbooks. </p>
<p>I found graduate coursework to be relatively straightforward, and in fact, I think I had a bit of an edge because of my natural science background. I found that many PIs sought out students with varied backgrounds to help round out the lab – always nice to have someone who can elucidate chemical mechanisms or run reactions, etc. The only thing that ever gave me any heartburn was some of the linear algebra stuff (I didn’t take any courses like that as an undergrad). </p>
<p>I spent 5 years getting the Ph.D. – a full 3 of which were spent at the bar across the street from my lab. </p>
<p>Grad school was a very last minute decision for me. When I took the GRE, I had a respectable (but not superb) math score. I aced the verbal and writing sections. There are a number of indicators out there that strong reading/writing abilities are better correlated to success in engineering than raw math skills, believe it or not.</p>
<p>I am a classical pianist and minored in English and history. Just throwing that out there for you fellow right-brainers who are interested in engineering but who are intimidated to try. Trust me, if I can do it, I’m pretty sure any reasonably intelligent and adaptable person can. </p>
<p>There are some dinosaurs out there who’d say I’m not really an engineer. I let them think it – no need to trouble them so close to their retirement parties. I never thought about getting a PE. I got an academic position straight away. I tend to think of myself as a “materials scientist trained in engineering.”</p>
<p>On the whole, I’d say my broad spectrum background has been a benefit. If I had to do it all over again, I might have stuck with chemistry. But I am happy to have the engineering training. Fusion of inquiry- and design-based thinking packs quite a wallop.</p>
<p>I think it’s possible if your interests just happen to take care of the pre-reqs. If you’re interested in the material for the sake of the material, then go for it. But if you want the post-grad opportunities (as do most of my engineering classmates), then it <em>might</em> be best to study engineering as an undergrad.</p>
<p>Please talk to an adviser, because decisions like these should receive input from a variety of sources. Good luck!</p>