Engineering + MBA

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I understand </p>

<p>I guess what I mean to say is this: With an MBA I would have the opportunity to work in a business role with a technical background, meaning I could do a wide range of tasks correct? However, if I get a masters in a specific portion of an engineering discipline, will I still be able to take a leadership role when employed or will I simply be condemning myself to one much more specific line of work?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

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<p>I apologize for sounding elitist, but I feel strongly that if you're currently at Purdue, and you have the grades/opportunity, definitely aim higher than UC-Irvine. Ideally, you'd want to attend a MS EE program that is ranked similarly to your undergrad school. In your area (but not within commuting distance), UCLA, USC, and UCSD are ranked higher than UCI.</p>

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<p>An MS is lower risk (cost and time wise.) You don't limit/narrow your employment options (as a PhD definitely would), but you get a modest salary boost. Most hightech companies that hire college-grads at "$X/yr" will easily substitute "$X + 10k/yr" if the candidate has an MS degree (instead of the basline BS.) </p>

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<p>That depends on you. Many, many BS EE students go straight to grad-school (without any work experience) -- that's what I did. Others will work 2-3 years, then go back. The choice is yours -- do you need to work a little in the industry before you can figure out what you like? Or are you still in the 'school-learning mode' and happy to jump right into taking more courses and possibly do a little thesis-writing? Career-wise, don't worry about one path 'limiting' you more than the other.</p>

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<p>With EE, it's also acceptable to go to a coursework only MS-program -- basically, you pick a specialization of your liking, then select from a group of 'tech electives.' Stanford's MS (terminal) EE program is like that. I didn't do the more research-oriented route, so I can't comment on how it compares to future employability.</p>

<p>As others have pointed out, the MBA-route is really for people looking to transition from a purely technical role into one that has more management. Some people work 5-years in their first career, decide they'd like to try something completely different, then earning an MBA gives you the opportunity to do so. (For example, a few of my friends worked as ASIC EEs, got tired of it, went back to B-school full time, then changed fields completely to management consulting.)</p>

<p>MBA programs are expensive, so you really want to hold off until you've gotten a good feel for your career's direction. And yes, most (good) MBA-programs expect their applicants to have 3-5 years work-experience</p>

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<p>ptpatil - you took the answer right out of my mouth.</p>

<p>And to the original poster. Truly ask yourself is your drive solely to become wealthy? If that is the case here are the only ways to become wealthy:
-develop revolutionary new process (invention, discover something that will become a staple to life) think Bill Gates microsoft, the oil barons of old, etc
-entertainment industry (NBA, NFL player etc, music industry - either a platinum selling artist with a great contract or executive, actor/actress)
-be born into a wealthy family (Paris Hilton)
-marry someone wealthy
-investment banker
-get a law degree from a top school and land a job from a top law firm
-investments (real estate, stock market)
-working your way up to the top of a fortune 500 company will require much luck, skill and time. I doubt this would happen by your age goal
-win lottery or game show</p>

<p>Like ptpatil said, your best bet would be through investments. That is what I am doing. </p>

<p>Or you could change your plans altogether. If you opt out of having kids you can try to work for an oil company or another top company that has many field positions (which will subsequently mean per diem or other pay increases) and make about 80-90/yr with just a BS. This is pretty wealthy for a single person with no kids in my opinion.</p>

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<p>LeBow</a> : Prospective Students : Undergraduates : Undergraduate Programs: Business and Engineering :</p>

<p>Drexel has a program called the BS in Business and Engineering Dergee which I am in. It take their prestigous engineering and research school and puts it in a program with a business and operations management focus. I'm in the program right now and its absolutely outstanding. Graduates go on and work in investment banking, accounting, run businesses, or becoming hardcore engineers, or anything in between. Most rise to upper levels in engineering firms or get technical and quantitative based business jobs. Its no argument that the 21st century engineer is very different from what it used to be.</p>

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<p>A related question: Is it easier to get admitted to a top MBA-program with bachelors in business/econ rather than engineering?</p>

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<p>you dont even need to come up with a huge breakthrough idea to become successful. my dads friend is an EE and he worked for a consulting firm for a while, did a good job, got his name out there, then started his own, now hes really rich. he has a BS from cal poly slo no mba and didnt invent anything. he just worked hard and went for it.</p>

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<p>As several have pointed out, an MBA puts you into business or program management instead of engineering. Your undergraduate degree strongly influences the field to which you can take your MBA, though - finance is a hard switch with a BSEE.</p>

<p>If you have your MBA, an MS does not usually help much - remember, you are not an engineer any more. It might help in getting the job, but will not translate to $.</p>

<p>And while engineering can give you a comfortable life very quickly, you will only get rich by inventing something significant on your time. Since most engineering firms own ANYTHING you create while employed (or even after, if it is related), this is progressively harder each year.</p>

<p>This is why there are fewer and fewer engineers each year.</p>

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<p>You do realize an MBA won't get you into management, right? You can't get into management with a degree, you have to get a job, play the game, kiss ass and be in with the right people. Management hires and promotes people they like, not people who are good at their job. And besides, there's too many Ph D's with MBAs. Why would companies hire a BS when they could hire a Ph D?</p>

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<p>An MBA will not get you the management job, but it will get you qualified for it.</p>

<p>Thinking that a job, kissing ass, and internal promotion is the only way to "get the job" is a good way to keep yourself thinking inside the box. An MBA teachs skills that can be applied, of course this doesn't mean they will or should. However to say that you can't get this job or that because you have an MBA is obsurd. In fact, many jobs require an MBA just to be considered, and those are generally management jobs.</p>

<p>IMO, if you are a good engineer than you will be less likely to become a manager. You will be kept a subject matter expert, kept at senior level roles, or given some made up title just to help with your pay banding. They only promote mediocer engineers to manager without them getting an MBA because they aren't all that technical and are good with people or they are way to technical but can do everything themself. If you want to get into business and are a good engineer your only chance may be to get an MBA.</p>

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<p>I am currently an undergrad at UC Berkeley studying Mechanical Engineering and am interested in finding a graduate dual-degree program (MS and MBA). I have been having a hard time, though, sifting through the schools that offer this kind of program. I believe MIT is most well known for the dual program there, but I'm not sure if that's the place for me. So, does anyone have a list of the "top" schools that offer this kind of dual engineering-MBA program? Thanks.</p>

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<p>You might want to talk to the school. I knew someone that did an MBA / non-thesis MS AE at Georgia Tech. He applied to both schools separately, was admitted separately, then had the schools agree to accept some of the other's courses as electives. He graduated in two years with an internship during the summer. </p>

<p>I know MIT has a program specifically designed for this, but other schools might be willing to let you work it out on your own.</p>

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<p>Pitt has the dual degree program for MS/BA. The Katz business school is a good value and I think is ranked fairly well for a public school.</p>

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<p>Patent lawyers, of whom I know a few, are pretty high earners--they earn salaries over $300K. The three I know got engineering bachelor's degrees, then went straight into law school, then into established patent law practices. Of course the hours are heavy especially in the early years.</p>

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<p>I honestly think half the people on here have lost their bloody minds. 7 fig salary at 30, 6 figs out of college for engineers, 70 hours work weeks. 150k working for a corp, lol, I had to be recesitated 3 times after I read that one, lol.</p>

<p>Listen, for the love of christ. If you are going into engineering for some kind of financial reward or large salaries you have another thing coming. You can forget about 150k a year with a corp, lol. It takes years, and years, of experience working in the oil industry, explore/production end to even get on a project by yourself without being supervised. You electrical and computer science majors are pretty screwed if you don’t plan on working for a gaming corp or developing your own business. You become outdated so fast in that field it isn’t even funny. Consider starting your own firm or something along those lines. Good luck with all of that. Another thing, anyone considering pursuing a PhD/masters in engineering for money purposes needs to come back down to planet earth. Oh my, you shall perish fo lack of knowledge. Since when does everyone make 6 figs. That seems to be the content of every post I have been reading.</p>

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<p>Ok, I have to agree with Forever LSU. Some people on this forum think getting a degree automatically gets you 6 figure salaries. What’s even worse is that some people think piling on degrees will only increase your salary. While this is an optimistic approach, it is the wrong approach. As some people said earlier, when you get more than one degree, you HAVE to make tradeoffs. You cannot get a job where you utilize both your degrees effectively. Thus, your salary will also reflect these tradeoffs. So if you get an engineering degree and an MBA, you’re going to end up getting a slightly higher salary than a regular engineer or a person with a MBA. Does that mean you’re gonna get $150k? Perhaps, but certainly not until you’ve proved yourself to the company. No one in life gets a free pass. There’s always going to be obstacles.</p>

<p>Now, another way to go is to start your own firm. But just like I said above, you need to gain sufficient experience to back yourself up and sell your service. Just like any other start-up business, there is unlimited potential in terms of money, but you need to know how to harness it. So you can make anything from $0 to $1 million+ in your business, depending on how you conduct your business.</p>

<p>Either way, some people on this forum really need to get their heads straight. They’ll eventually find out the truth, hopefully sooner than later.</p>

<p>I am a Civil Engineer running a construction business. I got an engineering degree and got all my business skills from my family. I was lucky that my family knew more real world MBA than what are taught in the schools.</p>

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<p>Note how the media gives you the median salary figures, not the salaries of every single person in a field. There are engineers earning both ridiculous (high) and pitiful amounts.</p>

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<p>sorry, accidental post.</p>

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<p>This thread is precious. I, too, am trying to at least learn what size of engineer+mba workforce is. I have BiochemE+MBA plus USPTO patent agent. I don’t make squat because I live in the backwoods teaching college chemistry… so I probably make about 10% of that alleged $150k that I am owed by the world… plus interest. </p>

<p>I opted not to be a corporate robot so I taught college chemistry while also keeping a foot in a solar firm developing new products. I would probably go camping and grow weed in the woods for 6 months out of the year rather than taking a 9 to 5 for the rest of my life. Oh i drive a car that cost me less than my watch. To each their own, I guess.</p>

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<p>I think your best route is to get a masters degree in your engineering field of interest before pursuing an MBA. This will allow you more technical options and will increase the odds that you’ll be exposed to PDRs, CDRs, business development, and proposals earlier in your career. Once exposed to these aspects you can decide if you enjoy the business aspects and pursue your MBA. It will also improve the odds of your company funding your education since you can immediately apply what you’re learning.</p>

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<p>I got a mechanical engineering degree and then my company paid for an MBA while I was on the job. 25 years later I make the 150K (and could be making a lot more if I had cared about office politics a bit earlier on in my career). I think the key is to work really hard on the job and become valued to your company. Also, make sure management views you as a partner in the business, no matter how large or small the firm.</p>