Going back to school at 30 for a BS in Engineering

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'll try to keep this short.</p>

<p>Currently I am 29, live in Denver, and work in the Land Department of an Oil and Gas Company. I graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in History. My job is largely administrative and I make decent money, but less than 50k. Because of a childhood spent in operating rooms, amongst other things, I really did not ever focus on what pleased me, what interested me, or what I wanted to become. Additionally, I suffer at least on some level from social anxiety, and feel that climbing the ladder at my company - or moving to other companies - may be difficult for me. Never mind the fact that, in the Land Department of an E&P company, pretty much everything is administrative. If you really set yourself apart and fit in, you may get involved in mergers and acquisitions, but that's it - even as a "Landman" you'll just be running title and figuring out the division of interest, usually just off the Title Attorney's work. </p>

<p>I also am not convinced that fracking is going to be around for another 20-30 years. </p>

<p>So anyway, I'm grown into myself a lot the past few years, and am thinking of going back to school for a degree in engineering after testing myself at a community college with some higher-level math (including Calc 3, Diff EQ, Linear Algebra, etc). I am very interested in alternative energy, as well as maintaining and improving currently existing energy infrastructure. I think I would be happy working in a job like that, and would like to go straight through my masters. Currently I am focused on New Mexico Tech, as it costs less than 1/3 of what the Colorado School of Mines does, never mind housing costs. </p>

<p>I have a few questions:</p>

<p>1) I've heard Obama say that we have a major "engineering shortage," but I've also heard that it is a complete myth, and there is actually a huge surplus of STEM majors, with the job market also continuing more and more to shift offshore or to H1Bs. What is your take on this?</p>

<p>2) Is there any age-ism within the industry? Would I struggle to find work because I would have my bachelors in my mid-30's, at best?</p>

<p>3) If I wanted to work with energy, which focus would work best? Electrical?</p>

<p>4) I am technically disabled and may at some point in my life not be able to work on my feet, or doing any of the manual work engineers do. Is it realistic for an engineer to hold down more of a desk job?</p>

<p>5) Is there anything else you think is helpful for someone in my situation - basically, just someone thinking of going back to school for an engineering degree in his early 30s?</p>

<p>Thanks so much</p>

2

<p>You should look at Wyoming too. The have the nation’s first and so far only ABET accredited program in Energy Systems Engineering. It’s housed within the ME department, but is a degree unto itself not just a certificate. Price wise it’s very good, even less than NMT. You’d be eligible for WUE. With WUE, their tuition is $4800. Yes, that’s per year. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Thanks a lot, I had no idea. I would rather live up in Wyoming I think, as it’s only 2 hours from Denver. I guess it would come down to the strength of the program, access to internships, job placement, etc. I definitely know UWyoming lawyers and other grads get decent jobs here in Denver.</p>

<p>My only other concern would be regarding majoring in such a specialized field of engineering. Apparently most people are told not major in Biomedical or often even Chemical Engineering these days… But in any case, UWyoming has a Mechanical Engineering program too it looks like.</p>

4

<p>Biomedical Engineering is not a great choice for getting work after a B.S. or even an M.S. Chemical Engineering is perfectly OK as is Mechanical or Electrical Engineering. All of these majors are hired in the energy industry if that is your goal.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>As a faculty member at a technical university, i have seen many engineering students get jobs recently. I think the market is pretty good, at least for students graduating from my university.</p></li>
<li><p>Mid-30’s is no problem, particularly if you have significant work experience as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Lots of engineers have more desk-oriented jobs.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are excited about making a career in engineering, go for it!</p></li>
</ol>

5

<p>As someone who has been at this 25 years or so, here’s my best shot at your questions -</p>

<ol>
<li>There may be a surplus of STEM majors, but remember that includes the “STM” which I cannot address. I can say that there is not a surplus of engineers. </li>
<li>I worked in an office a few years ago where we had a co-op student who referred to himself as “the world’s oldest co-op.” He was 30, working on an engineering degree.</li>
<li> Energy is a very broad area. I work in nuclear with a mechanical engineering degree, and work with electrical/material/welding/chemical/nuclear engineers. Virtually any engineering degree would work.</li>
<li> I have sat in a padded box (some call it a cubicle) for some time now, but have worked in field service. So the range of options is there.</li>
<li> I know several people who have gone back to school in a variety of fields and not just engineering. They wanted it, and could pull it off. Ultimately it’s your call.</li>
</ol>

6

<p>So from what I understand, you have a decent but not great job, and you would like something better. Knowing your specific situation, I recommend you don’t go for another degree. The grass really isn’t greener on the other side.</p>

<p>Most of the pluses of going back have already been covered, so here are a few downsides:

  1. The debt of 4 years of school will pretty much erase any increase in salary. At best, that will put you into a job you may or may not like, and you have to work to pay off your debt. I can assure you that whatever your problems are, having a debt on your shoulders makes things worse. That also doesn’t consider the other possibility: that you won’t be able to finish or to find an adequate job, which makes things worse. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Engineering school is far from pleasant; it’s just too much tedious detail to ever be fun, even if you like it. The line of work is not much different from what you already do. Engineering work is a lot of that sort of thing - administrative work, attention to detail, dealing with regulations etc. You work on whatever you are paid to work on, not on whatever you find interesting.</p></li>
<li><p>On job prospects: They aren’t bad, but there are more engineers than there is a need for them. Also, it’s absolutely getting worse; many students are enrolling in engineering in response to the apparent shortage. That means harder job searches and lower salaries. Employers can absolutely afford to be picky right now.</p></li>
<li><p>On ageism: definitely real. You cost more, especially because you have a disability. If your employer has to pay more for insurance, you will be the first to go during layoffs. Engineering is, fundamentally, a worker’s job (rather than a professional’s job), so you are subject to the same troubles that affect factory workers. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>There appears to certainly be room for improvement within your current position. Rather than committing yourself to a career change, I suggest you start with improving where you are now. You aren’t in a bad situation by any means, and I don’t see much merit in throwing that away for certain debt and uncertain benefit.</p>

7

<p>

This depends on which area of energy you want to work in. Yes, electrical engineers work fairly directly in energy but chemical engineers work in the oil and petroleum industry. ChemE always seems to be at the top of the salaries for engineers. On the other hand, ChemE is often regarded as the most difficult engineering major.</p>

<p>So, if you want to work directly with energy, EE and ChemE are probably the best choices. Mechanical engineering does have some relationship with energy, but it is often indirect.</p>

<p>You might want to avoid Civil Engineering because it has the most outdoor jobs. Also Industrial Engineering tends to be a job with lots of time on your feet.</p>

<p>All engineering majors have excellent job prospects. So, I suggest choosing the field that sounds most interesting to you.</p>

8

<p>

Please provide a source for this view point. This will come as major news to almost everybody.</p>

<p>Also, ageism is not a factor for people in their 30’s. Most people agree that this issue rarely occurs under the age of 50.</p>

9

<p>

My source is just about every single engineer I know that is looking for work, and every employer I know that is hiring. Guess who is more capable of being picky? If what you want is statistics, that might be a little harder, because it could be quite hard to ask the correct question there. Not that the pickings are atrocious, but it’s disingenuous to imply that everything is great and always will be.</p>

<p>Ageism starts in the 40’s, from what I’ve seen. Once you have a family and possible health problems, you cost more.</p>

10

<p>Many sources talk about the need for more STEM majors. If there are too many engineers, for example, in the market today, is it a function of the current economy? Is the need for additional STEM majors being projected out into the future to replace retirees? I am confused, because I read articles on this all the time, and currently the major university my son is attending in planning to increase their engineering enrollment by almost two fold by 2025. What is their thinking?</p>

11

<p>You are probably still too young for ageism.</p>

<p>Your best best would be to try to get a technician job, and get some on the job training, and go to school part-time. Do you know that you would want to be an engineer? You mention math classes, do you want to do something more math-oriented?</p>

<p>The trick is that most people get their jobs via networking. If you can get a job first, and then work on the appropriate degree, that would be better.</p>

<p>Changing companies to one with more chance for advancement might be a good idea. </p>

<p><a href=“SPPC Directory Search Results”>SPPC Directory Search Results;

<p><a href=“SPPC Directory Search Results”>SPPC Directory Search Results;

<p>(CO doesn’t have one)</p>

<p>If you get into government, you can try to transfer more easily and they pay for tuition. The government is a great source of jobs for disabled people.</p>

12

<p>

Is the economy responsible? Somewhat. There is the recession, there is outsourcing, there is increasingly efficient technology (which needs less engineers to maintain), and there’s overproduction of graduates. As far as a greying engineering workforce in need of replacement, I’ve personally never heard anyone make such a claim. </p>

<p>Universities get paid for students, not for finding them jobs. It makes sense to have more students regardless of their employment prospects. But if they plan to double the engineers produced in 10 years, do you expect demand for engineers to increase that fast?</p>

<p>As far as articles go… I will say that “Johnny can’t read” type stories (i.e. “we need more math and science and engineering”) are very effective. People tend to eat those up.</p>

13

<p>“As far as a greying engineering workforce in need of replacement, I’ve personally never heard anyone make such a claim.”</p>

<p>In the PetE industry, for example, they do have a harder time finding qualified engineers in the mid level range with 15 or so years experience to replace to many PetE engineers who are going to be retiring in the near future. This from talking to people in the industry…</p>

14

<p>@NeoDymium‌
Yes, I would like statistics. Personal, anecdotal, data is not relevant. </p>

<p>How about these statistics?:
<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The OP is not yet 30. Sure, ageism can start as early as 40, but it hardly gets serious before 50.</p>

15

<p>Here’s one date point I read regarding the need for more STEM:</p>

<p>This initiative began to address the critical and growing demand in Texas and the United States for more engineers. The Texas Workforce Commission is projecting a 19 percent growth in engineering jobs in the next 12 years. This equates to more than 43,000 jobs. This projection mirrors a recent call by the President’s Council of Advisors on STEM for the nation to increase the number of STEM graduates to one million in the next 10 years</p>

16

<p>Be aware that it make take a long time starting with the History background… especially if you want to go straight thru to Masters. </p>

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<p>I know, Colorado Mom. I figure I can probably shave off a semester at best with my History degree. I should probably not go back, but I kind of feel like Oil and Gas work doesn’t equip you with transferrable skills, and that as a History major I’d go back to call centers or something else like that - even if I had previously been making great money in oil.</p>

<p>So I have to think about it anyway. </p>

18

<p>My father, after a BS/MS from MIT and years of experience went back to medical school. He was 30. If it’s in your heart, do it. You get one shot at this dance. You might as well be happy. </p>

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<p>I think that you can shave off at least a year. Total courses probably only amount to about three years, maybe slightly less. Engineering probably requires more prerequisites than any other major.</p>

<p>I suggest signing up for both calculus and physics (or maybe chemistry if you are interested in the ChemE) at your local community college. If you do well and like it, then look to transfer those credits to an engineering school with the field of your choice. No need to jump in, full time, with both feet. </p>

<p>Take a look at the Electrical Engineering curriculum at Ohio State below, and drop all the general education requirements:
<a href=“https://engineering.osu.edu/sites/engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/ECE%20EES%20Curriculum%20Sheet%202014-2015.pdf”>https://engineering.osu.edu/sites/engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/ECE%20EES%20Curriculum%20Sheet%202014-2015.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>Thanks, NROTC. That is the plan, I think. Two years would be awesome. I’ve heard that engineering majors contain very few electives, though. I think engineering is a “five year major,” (I think its 150 credits at most universities, although I may not know what I’m talking about).</p>

<p>Ideally, I’d like to just have my BS by the time I’m 33 or 34 - that would be ideal. I still have 9 months left until I’m 30, so I might as well get started now.</p>