<p>My son is a rising high school senior. He is thinking he wants to major in Mechanical Engineering. Am new to these boards so am just making my way through the different forums. </p>
<p>Is it doable to get a good job with just a bachelor's degree in ME (or any of the other engineering disciplines) or is it pretty accepted that someone will need an advanced degree?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Dear OP,</p>
<p>Plenty of people get jobs with just a BS degree (especially in engineering). Most of my friends in college got a job with just a BS. </p>
<p>Having said that, having an MS or some other advanced degree is often better as far as salary and promotions are concerned. However, plenty of people do just fine with just a BS. Ultimately experience trumps the degree, but in the beginning the degree matters. </p>
<p>Keep in mind many colleges offer a 5-year combined BS/MS program. Many employers these days also pay for employees to pursue an MS part-time. In my opinion one should always get at least an MS because it really does give you a band for a buck (especially in engineering). </p>
<p>Just my $0.02. </p>
<p>Best wishes,
-DV</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Very common to get a job with just a BS in engineering. That is the case with the majority of engineers.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Was getting worried reading some of these threads. I don’t know if my son plans to get a masters or not. I kind of thought he might just get his B.S and then get a job and get his masters while working but I wanted to make sure he could get a job 1st!</p>
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<p>These days that is probably the most common thing to do for people that have MS degrees. He will be fine.</p>
<p>I have never been in the job market, but going straight into industry with a BS seems like the far and away most common path.</p>
<p>I read it’s getting more and more common and in some field will be the standard at some point, but in MechE and most others, it looks like most people either get an advanced degree for a specific reason (i.e. are really interested in becoming an expert in something specific, or interested in a career in research), or are just sort of doing it to do it.</p>
<p>There is always debate as to whether an MS for its own sake (i.e. the only aspect of the career you are looking to effect is money) is the best option for making more total money, and I really can’t weigh in there, but the fact that there is debate at all makes me feel like it’s close enough that if you are making the decision based on it, you are probably not looking at it the way at least I do. (Not to sound like I look down on that.)</p>
<p>Also, there is a strong bias on a board like this toward higher education. Most people who care enough about school or engineering to be on here in our downtime will be more likely than an average engineering student to want to continue down the path. </p>
<p>But again, I have never been in the job market, and your son will probably have his BS before I have mine, so take it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>I will chime in and agree that a BS is and will be fine.</p>
<p>I would, however, recommend that your son identify a career path after 2 but before 5 years of employment (once he gets his BS). I personally feel that the MS not worth as much as it could be if he decides he doesn’t like engineering and wants to go into management say. So, I recommend getting the BS, give the engineering 2 years, and then decide if a) he wants to stick with it, and then pursue a MS, or b) he wants to pursue a different path other than technical in which case another masters might be more worthwhile, i.e. an MBA.</p>
<p>A bachelor’s (with decent grades) is perfectly sufficient for engineering. </p>
<p>It’s important to note that, with a few exceptions, advanced degrees can potentially pigeonhole you into a specific area of engineering. This may or may not be a bad thing, but if positions in his specialty field are scarce, he might have to apply for jobs outside of his specialty area. Job recruiters may see that as a negative thing.</p>