Well why would it not be? I would of course want to be CEO first! I believe that most CEO’s for engineering companies have a master’s degree in engineering and/or an MBA. I believe the CEO of Google has a master’s degree in Materials Engineering (and no MBA).
Also, an update, it actually wouldn’t cost 110k. It would be more around 80k. I was assuming I would need two years, but I only need 1-1.5 years.
@boneh3ad I applied for M.S. non-thesis because I have no intention of getting a PhD AND even the thesis M.S. students do not necessarily have funding at most T20 schools. I called and verified at many of them. What would you suggest I had done?
Right… but a lot of those CEOs were successful engineers because they liked the field. (Usually it is easier to excel when you love what you are doing.) Then over time they changed gears. I don’t think they all intended to be CEOs from the start. Of course this is speculation on my part - I’ve enjoyed staying in technical jobs, with no interest (or talent) for leadership roles.
I would suggest you should have done the thesis option. It’s not just for people who want a PhD. And the fact that no non-thesis students are funded but some thesis students are funded is enough of a difference to make it worth it.
Otherwise, you could go work for a few years and then let the company pay.
Maybe it is just my way of thinking, but I would think that anybody who has the personality, mind set and drive to be a CEO would have figured this out on their own, made their mind up and wouldn’t need to ask random people their opinion.
Actually it feels like OP had already decided… and was hoping we’d agree. Maybe there are friends/family waring about debt burden.
Still not going to be easy to construct a functional financial model that greenlights an 80k financial hangover.
Starting Median salary after UofM with Mechanical Engineering major last year was $68,500. U of Michigan will forever be an impressive line on your resume.
What engineering company pays enough more for a UM masters over one from Clemson (wasn’t it?) to give even a 20 year ROI for an 80k hole?
@HPuck35 I guess you two are both right. I had made up my mind on UMich, but my family is leaning towards Clemson. You’re right @HPuck35, I was looking for confirmation from people on the internet. I feel like a potential CEO should be willing to defer his judgement to people who know better than he does. And I am certain that neither myself nor my family are experts. So that is why I am asking people here.
If everyone insists it is not worth it, then why do T20 engineering universities always have the highest ROI’s??? I believe MIT’s is around 2 million and UMich not that far below that. I can’t even verify if Clemson is in the millions to be honest. Can someone please explain to me why “ROI rankings” aren’t meaningful?
“ROI rankings” - Those results may partially be due to the high caliber students accepted, not necessarily the program. Who is to say that a really talented student that attended MIT would not have done just as well getting grad degree at a different school?
Personally don’t think many of those techie CEOs originally intended to end up down that path. To me, your questions sound a bit about a kid saying they want to be President someday. Yes - it’s nice to have a lofty goal, but it’s also good to pick a more likely shorter term career that will be meaningful along the way. If you become CEO - great. If not, that’s OK too if you like your work.
Disclaimer - Although I am an engineer and know a lot of them, I am just a worker bee that liked her work. My advise is probably closer to that of your parents, wise enough to know that it is A LOT Of debt. (Years ago I started a thread about “ballpark” repayment… I think $25K/10 years was $300/month payment. That would put yours around $1000/month, Ouch). Perhaps you can find a way to get input from CEOs too.
ROI is a highly flawed methodology, but if that’s your metric, U of M doesn’t even have the highest ROI in Michigan. Kettering does.
@eyemgh SO you think Clemson is the better choice?
@eyemgh Even though by attending Clemson I am automatically excluded (for all practical purposes) from certain jobs?
Which jobs do you feel will automatically exclude you if you attend Clemson?
^^^^^
That!
In the work place it’s common to find a dude from Stanford (or any other insert impressive name here school) on your left and a dude from Podunk U on the right, all three of you doing the same work, making the same money.
" I feel like a potential CEO should be willing to defer his judgement to people who know better than he does." - There’s a good chance that your parents better understand finances and the burden of an 80K debt load than you do. Would they need to cosign the loan?
@boneh3ad @eyemgh We all know there are jobs which people from mid-tier state schools have no chance of obtaining.
By the way, do you think 80k debt for MIT is worth it?
We DON’T all know that there are jobs from which mid tier state schools have no chance at. Because you don’t provide any concrete examples. I’d be extremely surprised if you could find any examples. Any employer wants the best candidate for the job and it doesn’t matter where that person got there knowledge, just that they have it.
Debt is a form of shackles. Lack of debt is one true source of freedom in our society.