Graduate Certificates for Engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi, I am a BSEE and am looking to break into the world of integrated circuit design.</p>

<p>My question is aimed at generally these online certificates that some universities are offering. I just recently found out that some are even applicable to Electrical Engineering and the like. Most take 1-2 years to complete, up to 3. And require 5-6 online courses with exams before being considered for the certificate.</p>

<p><a href="http://extension.berkeley.edu/cert/icdesign.html"&gt;http://extension.berkeley.edu/cert/icdesign.html&lt;/a>
This is UC Berkeley's Cert for IC Design. What's attractive is the flexibility and cost but how will this look to employers? In my current situation, I graduated from a smaller private college with a BSEE and am employed in engineering but which to get into a design position but lack the necessary skills. Most job postings go something like this:
"Bachelors required. Masters preferred."</p>

<p>I understand what I ask is sort of ambiguous but will a certificate be a good step forward or just a waste of time and I should go to grad school?</p>

<p>Thanks for any constructive feedback.</p>

2

<p>I think it will be viewed as an “in-between” and valued accordingly. I think the big questions for you should be “what is my goal?” and “what will this cost?” and “how long do I have?”</p>

<p>If you have the time and the money (preferably through employee reimbursement) I would recommend the masters hands down. If either of those are short then a certificate may be enough to get you into a new field, but it will not be as competitive as some other candidates, and you will likely need some other boost to help you get the job.</p>