<p>So I am a senior in high school and I plan on majoring in computer engineering when I get to college. I know I am looking very far down the road but I want to learn as much as possible so I am not troubled with these questions later on. I always thought that the higher degree I got, the better right? Well my mom told me that its not like that with all majors. Do most jobs/any prefer/require a masters in Computer Engineering? Im assuming that a PhD would just be for being a professor. Is it a waste of money and time to go farther than a Bachelors degree? Obviously everyone wants to make more money but I have very high aspirations for myself and I want to succeed as much as possible. Would stopping after Bachelors be my best bet?</p>
<p>A PhD is definitely not required for work in industry. A Masters degree might be helpful but it depends on what specialty you end up in. Most jobs do not require a masters.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about making a decision until your Junior year when you have been exposed to various aspects of Computer Engineering and have a better idea of what path you’d like to pursue.</p>
<p>A lot of hardware jobs do require a masters. For software, BS is enough.
PhD is not only for becoming a professor but unless your passion is research it may not be a good use of your time. </p>
<p>Like eclark6 said, postpone your decision for a few years.</p>
<p>Agreed with the others that it’s too early to make up your mind.</p>
<p>Also depends on what area of computer engineering. Software? Hardware? And also the sub-field within software and hardware.</p>
<p>Generally a MS is not needed or even particularly advantageous (starting salaries for software engineers with an MS are higher than bachelors, but if you factor in the 2 years it takes to get the MS and the cost of tuition, usually you actually end up losing money).</p>
<p>However, make no mistake, <em>some</em> (read: very few) jobs are easier to get with an MS or PhD. These are usually very high-paid research positions at companies like Google/Microsoft/Apple/Amazon where you are working on cutting edge technologies (to give you an example, Google basically hired all the PhDs/MS’s in Stanford’s computer vision lab to work on its self-driving car). But also consider that you could achieve that same career outcome by getting a Bachelors and then working in a research role for 2 years.</p>
<p>I never regretted getting a PhD in EE. I definitely work on the cutting edge. It’s great fun and pays well.</p>
<p>I have a couple friends who are MS CE’s and both work alongside BS’s every day at work. There really isn’t any difference in the level of work between the two degrees from what they’ve told me.</p>
<p>Essentially though, you can expect higher starting pay with an MS, and be more competitive for lead positions later on down the road. Same thing pretty much applies to all engineering disciplines for that matter… PhD is a different animal though.</p>
<p>I am planning to go all the way to Phd in ME as it is like a back-up plan just in case can’t find any job at my industry then I can always go back and teach or do research, etc. Just my two cents.</p>
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<p>In general, graduate study in computer engineering and science should be funded, so there should not be out-of-pocket costs, though you would be foregoing income from a job you would otherwise be at (though if you graduated with a bachelor’s degree during an industry downturn like 2001-2003, you might not have had a job during that time).</p>
<p>A bachelor’s degree should be fine for most jobs in the computer industry, though more advanced degrees can be useful in some contexts (e.g. PhD for cutting edge research in either academics or industry).</p>
<p>This thread has some useful info
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1326892-phd-engineering-worth.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1326892-phd-engineering-worth.html</a></p>
<p>Having an MS does open up some career doors, vs. a BS. Having a PhD opens up some additional doors, including but not limited to academia.</p>