Lets look at some numbers. This isn’t the number of folks that go directly to grad school, but it does give an idea of how many folks end completing a master’s program.
Using 2011 data (I’m too lazy to look for anything more up to date).
of Bachelor's Degrees awarded: 83,001
of Master's Degrees awarded: 46,940 (or about 56.6% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
of Doctoral Degrees awarded: 9,582 (or about 11.5% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
In 2002, 66,781 BS were awarded to 31,089 masters or 46.5%, so the trend is increasing.
How does this compare to Aerospace?
of Bachelor's Degrees awarded: 3,459
of Master's Degrees awarded: 1,398 (or about 40% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
of Doctoral Degrees awarded: 280 (or about 8% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
Aerospace is in line with the overall average for engineering.
And how about Biomedical?
of Bachelor's Degrees awarded: 4,066
of Master's Degrees awarded: 1,558 (or about 38% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
of Doctoral Degrees awarded: 812 (or about 20% as compared to the # of Bachelor's degrees awarded)
You would think Bio would have a higher ratio earning a Master’s degree (especially when you take into account ME/EE etc. can also earn a Masters in Bio), but I think that reflects how many Bio engineers go to med school, law school, or earn a master’s in another field. Those that do earn a Masters tend to continue on to earn a Doctoral degree (at a 2 to 1 or better ratio, vs. 1 to 5 ratio for engineering in general).
So, what can we tell from all of this? In general, it’s becoming far more common for engineers to earn a masters degree (at some point), while Doctoral Degree’s are still far less common.
My employer “rubber stamps” requests for technical professionals to get a technical masters - every manager has the authority to authorize those degrees for those employees. Getting a JD, MBA, or PhD requires that a VP sign off on it, something that they do very rarely as people who earn those degrees tend to change roles, and quite often, employers.
It happens, though. I am doing my PhD right now on my employer’s dime.
Yes, but I’ve had two employers pay for three degrees, and both of them required some term of employment after completing the degree. I doubt you will find many employers willing to pay for a degree without doing such a requirement.
@colorado_mom The numbers only included engineering degrees.
That’s one reason it’s common advise around here to get a job after earning your BS, and then having the company pay for your masters. It’s a good question to ask during interviews (How does the company support continued education?).
MBAs are approved for those deemed to be on a “Leadership” path. This usually isn’t done until the person is a manager (or even a Sr. Manager/Director level).
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I just was curious about why certain schools seem to send more engineering grads to graduate school because I do not want to limit DD’s option of going straight into the workforce.
Fortunately my DD has excellent communication skills (both verbal and written). She is definitely persuing engineering but she still wants to be involved in clubs such as Model UN. DD would prefer a larger more urban campus in a city where you can actually walk around off campus, but is open to other possibilites as long as the school isn’t too small (Lafayette, Union and Olin for example.) Given her diverse interests I think a non-tech school would be best for her and U of R and Case have excellent academics outside of engineering. She is enamored with BU but I do not think that school is worth the premium over a school like Pitt.
That being said we all liked WPI because of the program and they have a very active model UN.