<p>I'm an engineering major at one of the top engineering schools. I'm graduating in the spring and debating on going to graduate school for a M.S.</p>
<p>Here's a bit about my background:
I hold a competitive GPA (3.8), have had 3 internships (all different companies and different areas - latest one is in product management), have held vice president and president positions in extracurricular organizations, and am graduating a year early (3 years in college - no transfer or anything). </p>
<p>Here's the problem: I have no interest whatsoever in being an engineer. I want to work in corporate or have my own business (I want to be around technology but not in the engineering world - product management, strategy, or project management). </p>
<p>Long term goal possibilities:
1. If I stay in the corporate world, I want to be a CO.
2. If I go into management consulting, I want to be a partner.
3. Have my own business </p>
<p>So with less than a year to graduate, here are my options:
1. Go to graduate school for M.S. and a certificate in management of technology - this gets me one extra year to think about my options (and time for one more internship), a decent pay raise, and a pretty piece of paper that I in all likelihood will not use. After the year I will go with option 2 or 3.
2. Graduate and go work in management consulting for 2 years, then get a)MBA B)industry job C)stay. I have heard that a job in that field gets you a lot of experience in different places and really opens up your options - but they do work you to the bone.
3. Graduate and go work in corporate. I consider this the safest option. </p>
<p>So, from your experience and from what you have heard from others, is it worth getting a MS in Engineering?
Financing the degree is not an issue. What I'm concerned with is wasting a year and losing out on a year's salary for a degree that won't make me more competitive. I'm apprehensive about only having a B.S because an undergrad degree doesn't mean much to anyone anymore. However, I've heard mixed reviews about getting a Master's. Do employer's not want to hire graduate candidates because they have to pay them more (Especially if you hold an engineering master's but are in the business world)?
I cannot get an MBA right out of college because I want to get into a top business school, for which they require some work experience. </p>
I would say no. A technical masters is really only valued and rewarded in technical positions - if you go into a business role, they are not generally going to care about an MEng one way or the other. </p>
<p>
For technical positions, BS and master’s holders are hired more or less equally - while the master’s holder may get more salary, they are also expected to deliver more return. For non-technical position, most companies will only credit you for “relevant” experience and education, so your MEng would be ignored - there are exceptions, especially in union-represented or government jobs where rules are often taken very literally and applied rigidly.</p>
<p>Some questions and comments for you, for clarity:
I would avoid any degree like this without experience - while an MBA has some value without experience (primarily as a means of entry into finance), a masters in management of technology is probably only going to be worthwhile for experienced engineers looking to transition into management, and may actively inhibit your ability to get into a basic engineering job.</p>
<p>
What does this mean, exactly? The corporate world is vast, and it is not clear what role you are referring to - engineer, business, what? And did you mean CEO? I am not sure what a CO is outside the military.</p>
<p>
Not entirely true, many top programs WILL take some students straight out of undergrad, and the cost of applying is relatively low if this is what you want to do. This route would probably make it harder to get an engineering job (which you don’t want anyway) but would open some other doors for you.</p>
Well these are very different jobs, and relatively few people will work in even two of them at any real level! CFO’s are financial professionals and usually have a background in accounting or finance. CTO’s are technical executives and usually have advanced technical degrees. CEO’s can come from anywhere but generally have a long background in management in the core business of the company. You should try and think about which position you are most interested in because the routes are generally going to be different to each.</p>