<p>A lot of people talk about degrees being worth the money, well here is a twist on this issue.
I am considering two schools for my grad studies: one is of the nation's top 10 engineering, the other is a decent regional school (say top 5 in state) the tuition differential for a 30 credit masters program is close to $30 000. What do you do if you had the choice?
I am pretty sure paychecks for top schools grads are usually higher than 'other school's grads, but still is the investment worthwile? Is 30k worth the 'luxury name-plate'? Or is a masters degree still a masters from any DECENT university out there?</p>
<p>Also, it depends on how much experience one has. In the scenario of the first post, if you take 2 engineers, each with 10 years experience, the name of the graduate school will not make a difference.</p>
<p>If you JUST RECEIVED you B.S. degree and have very little to no experience and go on to get a M.S./MEng, then maybe…just maybe, the graduate school may mean something. Once there is experience involved, the school means less and less.</p>
<p>Having said all of that, if you have experience, just opt for the state school UNLESS your employer will pay every dime for that Top-5 school. Most employers have a $2500-$5000/year limit on graduate coursework.</p>
<p>Well i can definitely say I have no 10 yrs of experience… I am entry level, and I hope by getting a degree from a reputable school I can get ahead in the company FASTER and EASIER and those two terms seem to justify the investment… or do they? What do you think?</p>
<p>to put things into perspective, i am looking at the Rackham school of Univ of Mich (UM) against the similarly named Univ of Mich - Dearborn (UM-D which is my BSME school) if somebody has an idea about those two.</p>
<p>Well, personally…I would get some experience first before grad school…but that’s me. I can tell you this, your proven track record (read: experience) will get you promoted. Companies, do not look at candidates with similar experience and say “well he/she went to Georgia Tech for grad school, so I will choose them”. It doesn’t work that way.</p>
<p>If the interest is pure industry and no research, then it does make a major difference. An MIT M.Log is worth probably about $30,000 - $50,000 more in just the first year (depending on your abilities, the higher you are in your class, the more it’s worth) than an Auburn MS in industrial engineering. Why? Bain, McKinsey, BCG, et al. will come to MIT but not Auburn.</p>
<p>Edit: however, if you already have a career and are simply using the MS to advance in that career, the school doesn’t necessarily matter that much. But it sounds like the OP is looking to start a career.</p>
<p>Yes, I can go to Dearborn for free, other than that the full tuition there is around 18K. (and so the situation wouldn’t be as complicated)
There are other things I am considering, namely the student body (i.e. future contacts) and the professors. @gobaltraveler: so you suggest an entry level employee gets experience and then starts thinking about grad school. Why is that? can you elaborate please.
One last thing: it is known that an MBA or MD or JD from a reputable univ is well worth the money, why is it, or is it not, like that in engineering.</p>
<p>The number one criteria for advancement is proven experience and proven success on prior projects. Now maybe a high entry-level start has happened at an employer without my knowledge, but companies are not going to start some fresh MS/MEng with no experience over a bunch of folks with experience…not even as little as 5 years experience.</p>
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<p>Because there are more MBA’s and overall more business majors competing for jobs than there are available engineers for engineering jobs (as least in CS & IT). That is why the first thing a recruiter for a position asks is “what is your B-School?”.</p>
<p>OP: In my experience, companies will tailor their offers based on several factors, including the quality of your program and your performance there. Even at the same company and for the same position, a B student from MIT will generally get a better offer than a B student from South Central Louisiana State (go Muddogs!), plus that MIT student is going to get more and better offers in general. BUT, as Global is noting, the difference between MIT and SCLSU is less than the difference coming from a few years of experience at a given company, and after a few years it is that experience that counts more - if you have been an engineer for 10 years, no one cares where you went to school any more, and your pay is based on what you have done for the past decade.</p>
<p>Also, in case you are wondering, having a BS from MIT is not going to qualify you for a job where they expect an MS.</p>
<p>That’s simply not true. Despite the wisdom of such a policy, there are more than a few firms that will only consider top school graduates, regardless of experience.</p>