<p>So I'm going back to school this fall after a year off to get my Master's degree in engineering from a top notch school in my field. However, I'm wondering how far ahead of the game will my Masters put me.. ever since Bachelor degrees have become more commonplace, it seems that many undergrad programs put together a 5 year BS+MS program, which is starting to make Masters degrees more common. I plan on getting a PhD after my Masters but now I'm wondering that if I decide that grad school isn't for me, what can a Masters do for me?</p>
<p>MS holders have a better salary - enough to make up for the tuition spent & salary lost by going to grad school instead of working. Take this for example (for EEs) --</p>
<p>10th percentile:
BS $60,000
MS $72,650</p>
<p>25th percentile:
BS $76,090
MS $90,850</p>
<p>Median:
BS $97,610
MS $111,500</p>
<p>75th percentile:
BS $120,310
MS $138,000</p>
<p>90th percentile:
BS $150,000
MS $167,000</p>
<p>Source: IEEE Potentials June 2008</p>
<p>I have found that many higher level managers/technical leads hold Masters degrees but it certainly isn't the norm.</p>
<p>You should think about what you want our of your degree. A Ph.D is typically a research degree and isn't always suited for those who want to enter the industry. However, if you want to enter the industry and work, perhaps a Masters would be better or a terminary Masters of Engineering degree?</p>
<p>ab-so-lutely nothin! say it again! oh! ooo, good god!</p>
<p>I have a pre-engineering class at my high school, and we had a visitor from Ball-Aerospace come in and tell us that different companies actually hire engineers based on what degree they have. If the need someone with a bachelors someone with a masters or doctorate just wont make the cut, so it really just depends.</p>
<p>Getting a masters is generally good in helping you get higher paying jobs... but I wouldn't bank on it. Its not like you're suddenly entitled to earn more. Experience trumps everything in industry.
The main reason for pursuing a master's should be a valid interest in the subject. The other advantages, such as better pay and better career mobility, are like perks.
If you want to make more money, or make a more career oriented decision, then you could look into getting an alternate degree... go to med school or law school, for instance. Or, I would suggest getting a job and seeing how things go. That way you can even get your company to pay for your masters, and you can also decide whether you want to get more technical, or move into the business side of things.</p>
<p>Kind of depends upon the field.</p>
<p>Some of the higher-up places bank on your having a certain degree in structural engineering. It's kind of a "you must be this tall to ride" thing. If you have a bachelors degree, certain places will hire you. If you have a masters degree, you're qualified for a lot of the companies that get more complex work, and the places that hire people with bachelors degrees would love to snag you. If you have a PhD, you're more qualified to do research with universities or government research facilities, many of the places that hire masters-and-above candidates will recruit you heavily, but you'd probably be overqualified to work at the places that hire people with bachelors degrees. </p>
<p>It takes one to two years to get a masters degree, so with the number of opportunities it opens up in my field, it's generally considered to be really worth it. PhDs take upwards of 5 years, so you typically only really go for it if you want one of the research gigs.</p>
<p>Does this only apply to engineering masters degrees? I was interested in getting an M.S. in technological entrepreneurship (maybe in four years) through Olin. How I would apply that kind of a degree to an actual job though is still beyond me...</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm not really sure what a "Technological Entrepreneurship" degree would entail. I feel that a terminary masters would be better.</p>