Hi, guys, I hold a BA in History, BS and MS in Math (plus 15 grad. credit hours in STAT). I have been a teacher for the past 7 years and I’m considering getting a MS in EE/IE/CE for higher pay/promotion opportunities (in teaching we typically max out at around 60k).
I never took any Physics/Chemistry/Biology but I don’t imagine they would be too difficult for me. I took all Calculus, DEQ, Linear Algebra, Real/Complex Analysis, Linear Model, Mathematical Stat, Bootstrapping, stochastic process… I can program with SAS, R, and a little bit of SQL (did a brief stunt as statistician).
Anyway, the reason I want to go straight into a Master’s program for EE/IE/CE is because I can finish faster and cost less money… But how will that limit my employment marketability afterward?
I’m also aiming for the online programs from NC State and Georgia Tech, and even North Dakota U… Is that a wise decision?
With a BS degree in EE/IE/CE you would be more versatile, but employers more often hire specialists so this is not much of a downside. Once you have the MS you will generally stay in the vicinity of that specialty, and to the extent that you are asked to stray from it you would usually be given extra time or resources to allow you to catch up. So you should be fine from a marketability standpoint.
That depends entirely on your chosen specialty. Remember that a masters degree is not “one size fits all”, you will need to specify a subfield on your application as well as the general ballpark of your thesis research. Once you know the specialty you want (signal processing perhaps?) you can see if it is offered at those schools and how feasible it is to do it online.
The joke is that MS stands for “More of the Same”. The joke is not far from the truth. An MS program is shorter because it does just concentrate on the chosen subject but it also assumes you have all the background from your engineering BS. I would think it would be almost impossible to get into an MS program without the prerequisites. If you did, you’d either struggle a lot or spend much time taking the prerequisites first.
It also sounds like you are pursuing an engineering career just for the money. The good engineers have had a passion for the subject probably their whole lives. They are the ones that hold down the good jobs and make the good money.
Thank you for the responses and they are very helpful!
Yes, money and opportunity for promotions are definitely reasons for my desire to move. Keep in mind that while I love my job teaching math, it is a career that offers no pay increase and no room for advancement. I make decent pay right now (take home about $4000 a month after tax… Safe retirement pension at 60) but since it is hard to get pay raise that my pay will just go down relatively to cost of living.
I honestly cannot tell whether or not I love engineering. I am a first generation college student and immigrant, both of my parents were minimum wage workers who work 2/3 jobs in order to make ends meet; they didn’t even finish high school… So when I got to college I have absolutely zero idea what I can do. So I chose to major in two subjects that I was good at in high school - History and Mathematics. Teaching was really the only job available for those degrees, especially since I did pure math.
So I was never exposed to engineering nor did I know if I have what it takes for the degree… Until I met my wife, who holds a MS in IE from Purdue. While she supplied me information regarding the program, she really doesn’t know how marketable someone would be with just a M.S. and how those online programs would fare in this economy… And she is probably a little bit of an elitist since she graduated from a high ranking program.
Have you thought about a job as a programmer? Leverage your math background. There used to be ( and probably still are, it is just not something I track) certificate programs in several areas in the programing area that could be useful to a career change. Would get you going into a field with more opportunities more quickly.
Honestly I have never thought of that (even though I program with R, SAS, and SQL).
I am just under the impression that programming is not a viable option since there are plenty of computer science majors around. I thought that getting an engineering degree would open up jobs that would more “exclusive”.
For example, I worked as a statistician before. What I realize soon after getting there was the degree is almost irrelevant. My boss (who was a demoralizing and outright idiotic one) has a master’s in Interactive Multimedia (don’t ask me what it is) and a BA/PhD in Education. Doesn’t know how to program, doesn’t know any math/stat, and yet he lead a division of people with expertise and education on statistics… And yes, he often ignore our advises and imposed unrealistic expectations.
In engineering, from my understanding, you can’t get a job or go into management without at least an engineering degree, right? I’m sure there are bullshit engineers have to deal with, but I don’t imagine engineers would be lead by a Education PhD idiot…
I did some distance IE work with New Mexico State a long time ago. Pre internet. Worthwhile. I still refer to the texts and notes 25 years later, although I “do” embedded software. The systems and reliability material applies.
I kind of feel that a lot of the IE stuff is worth studying for its own sake, and the knowledge can be a useful differentiator between you and some other candidate. But study it at least partly for the inherent beauty, especially if your district covers tuition. Software engineers will always need adult supervision, and learning how to descramble complex systems on top of a strong math background…sounds powerful to me.