<p>I know dozens of people who got jobs with a BS in EE, and that is only because I only know dozens of BS EEs. I have friends who went on to be hardware engineers at National Instruments, for example. I had friends go to various aerospace companies and automotive companies as BS EEs. A few I knew went to Microsoft and Google. They work literally all over the place as engineers with only a BS. Some of them have since gotten graduate degrees, but they did not need them to get hired. Sometimes you need them to advance beyond a certain point.</p>
<p>I have to say it depends on what you plan to do. Depending on your engineering discipline it may require a master for anyone to even consider hiring you. If you have a good generally engineering background you can always find a job, maybe not doing exactly what you wanted but engineers are very employable. On the flip side having a Master may hurt you could be too specific in your field of study there by limiting who would hire you or the are very few people looking for those kills.</p>
<p>When I graduated with a BSEE from a very good school and spent my entire senior year studying Semiconductors and wanted to get a job designing Chips, I found out real fast no company doing chip design will hire some with a BSEE you needed a MS or PHD. However all my knowledge allowed me to get a good job with a very good company doing something completely different. I always plan to go back, and took classes off and on to keep my knowledge up to date and the company paid for it. I finally went back for my masters 15 yrs later after I had lots of various experiences under my belt and got a Business Manage Degree in Technology. Again my company paid for most of it. I personally am glad I did not stay straight engineering since my field I was working in was slowly declining and have my masters degree today allow me more flexibility and I am still in the Engineering field.</p>
<p>I do not think there is one write answers, you have to look at what your end goal is and how you want to get there. There are many paths to and you have to decide if the master now or later is going to help or hurt you.</p>
<p>What are the benefits of going to grad school for engineering? Do most engineers go? Why go?</p>
<p>I think it is hard to give you a general answer that holds true for all.</p>
<p>Going to grad school for MS has a few benefits.</p>
<p>It allows you to change your field of specialization. From EE to CS, EE/ME to BME and so on.</p>
<p>It gives your profile a boost if the school you go for graduate studies is a noticeable step-up. A person with a BS from a second or third tier state university will definitely benefit from spending a year to two doing MS at a university well known for engineering. </p>
<p>Does prestige even matter much in engineering?</p>
<p>Not really as long as the university attracts enough recruiters.</p>
<p>If someone has a bachelor’s in a non-engineering field say in liberal arts, however wants to go into say computer science than a MSCS would be worth taking a look at.</p>
<p>In what research I’ve done when looking at jobs I’d like:</p>
<p>Regular “I sit and program simple things or I so general basic stuff” kind of job, Bachelors is fine. And despite not being intellectually difficult, these jobs can pay well, so it’s not something to be disappointed about or anything.</p>
<p>Masters programs vary. At my school a Masters is usually 1 year of just taking classes and ending up with a degree. However, there are some “specialty” masters programs and other Masters programs at other schools are different and often include significant research and thesis components. These can take up to 3 years sometimes. The “just classes” masters is mostly just to facilitate a career transition, maybe a small salary boost, but that’s it. The more specialty masters which take longer do a lot more for you, and can help you get a specialized job that would otherwise require a bachelors and several years of experience or a more research oriented job. </p>
<p>Most research oriented jobs will strongly prefer a PhD but sometimes these highly research based Masters degrees will suffice. </p>
<p>Now, I didn’t read through all the responses, and I haven’t even graduated yet. A lot of the other posters here have been working in industry for a long time, so they’re a better source, but I’m posting what my observations have been.</p>
<p>Assets - liabilities = Net Worth</p>
<p>Do you want to be an engineer or a teacher of engineering?</p>
<p>If you want to be an engineer, be an engineer. Get a project list going. Your project list is your “prestige”. Your interests and acumen will work themselves out. Once they do, you can go for the right certifications and, if it matters, get a Masters. The reason more practicing engineers aren’t finishing their Masters is that they’re opting for doing work and getting certified to do more.</p>
<p>If it’s important to your firm to build THEIR assets and add to THEIR project list, they’ll pay at least a chunk for your schooling.</p>
<p>If you want to be an engineering teacher or researcher, go to grad school. But if you are paying for it, you’ll be adding more liabilities than assets for the time being.</p>
<p>The industry is steadily moving toward making the MS, or equivalent education (30 semester hours has been suggested), the first professional degree in engineering. This has been adopted by NCEES, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, in 2006 through their “Model Law” for licensure. The Model Law suggests that state licensing boards adopt the MS (or equivalent) as the new educational standard, instead of the current ABET-accredited BS, by 2020. </p>
<p>The National Academy of Engineering as well as most of the engineering societies have also endorse this change. The final decision is up to individual states (in the U.S. professional licenses are issued at the state level) and I believe that the issue stalled during the great recession. However, several countries in Europe did begin the transition and the MS, or equivalent, is now the first professional engineering degree required for licensure.</p>
<p>To the current or soon to matriculate students, it is possible to find work in the U.S. without being licensed. However, you may find that the unlicensed engineers must work under the supervision of a licensed engineer. That should also inform you that if you intend to climb the corporate ladder, your ceiling may be lower if you are not licensed.</p>
<p>However, there is an “industrial exemption” that permits private industry to employ engineers to design their products which will be sold in other states in addition to the state in which the facility is located. According to the NCEES, 29 states are known to have the industrial exemption and 14 are known not to have the exemption. However, an examination of the history of the industrial exemption reveals that the companies involved in its creation were not acting in the best interest of their engineer employees, but rather in their own best interests. By codifying this exemption the private companies enabled them to employ engineers who did not, or could not obtain a license. This lowered the wages they would have to pay and made it more difficult for engineers to leave their employ for other work.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many engineers see this exemption as a means to not take the rigorous licensing exams required of architects, attorneys, accountants, physicians, veterinarians and dentists, to name a few professions. Can you imagine traveling to a clinic for surgery knowing that the surgeons opted not to take the “boards” needed for certification in the US or any other country? </p>
<p>However, there are valuable benefits to becoming a registered Professional Engineer. In most, if not all states engineering firms must have a PE as CEO or the Principal Engineer. Some states require that all principals be licensed. Government bodies and courts of law require engineers to be licensed if they are to give testimony. Engineers acting as consulting engineers must be licensed in most states and almost all require licensure of those engineers providing services to the public. </p>
<p>Also, in any litigation such as product liability (perhaps your design for your industrial exemption company), non-performance, negligent design, etc. one question plaintiff’s attorneys love to ask engineers in front of a jury is are you licensed to practice engineering. Similarly, should you decide to leave your industry and offer your services as an expert witness in what has been your field of work for say 25 years, without a license you would not be recognized as an expert in your field.</p>
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<p>Given the volatility of the engineering job market, I think it would be quite foolish to require everyone to obtain Master’s degrees. Let’s not forget, the purpose of a Master’s degree is to become a specialist in something. Engineering, as opposed to something like medicine, is a very dynamic field… things change frequently, certain disciplines become obsolete in a short amount of time, and most importantly, the economy has a BIG impact on demand in certain fields.</p>
<p>If you have a bunch of people specializing, those people are going to have a very difficult time finding work should their specialty area fall victim to a weak economy.</p>
<p>Spaceman is on the dot, I couldnt agree more. Plus, alot of employers offer to pay at least partially for masters or mba…</p>
<p>I didn’t think many employers still paid for a Masters or MBA, anyone have a list?</p>
<p>Nowdays, even with employers with tuition reimbursement, there is a dollar limit. So if the limit is $5,000 for the whole year, that is only 2 courses for NON-top-15 programs. Of course the higher-ranked MBA programs will cost more.</p>
<p>bay area mom… There are no lists for which employers still offer tuition reimbursement. If there was, it would be about 800 pages long and would probably be outdated within a month due to the frequent changes that would occur.</p>
<p>In my experience, 95% of companies mention and offer tuition reimbursement on the “Careers” section of their website. From what I have seen, it is pretty rare for companies NOT to offer it. The one thing that they will rarely mention is the dollar amount that they will reimburse each year or which employees it will apply to.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a few company’s offerings and they can vary anywhere from $500 per year, $1500 per year, up to $10,000 per year or more… The differences in those values can really add value to a specific job if the applicant intends to utilize it.</p>
<p>I work for a company that is on the high end of those values and actually doesn’t specify a limit on reimbursement only stating that it has to be approved before taking the courses and has to apply to your position. If I told them I wanted to take courses through an expensive private school I am certain they would not agree, but a state university course that applies to my position is fine.</p>
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No, but they are definitely out there. I know (from experience) that most to all of the major defense contractors will cover a master’s in a related field, although many companies are reluctant to fund an MBA because those receiving them often strike out for greener pastures. Likewise for PhD’s and professional degrees - the company wants to pay for training in your CURRENT job, not for training associated with position/career/company changes.</p>
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I am very fortunate that my employer does NOT have a dollar limit! My last one did, and the other sectors in my company do as well, but ours does not! But this can be a big deal, although you are as often limited by your work schedule as the dollar limit.</p>
<p>For making a good career you have to do engineering from a recognized college or university and get good jobs and then you can do your further studies later on .Most companies fund their employee for further studies so you can always take the benefit out of it.</p>
<p>What’s your definition of “a recognized college or university?” Many folks here on CC whom know a thing or two say that job success in Engineering is greatly dependent on regional factors. That is, some schools that may not have the cache of a Georgia Tech, or Stanford or Michigan or Renssalear but still do quite well in placing their graduates in companies/divisions in their region. For example, Clemson U Engineering and U of Alabama Engineering have good connections to the automotive companies in South Carolina and Alabama and perhaps have as many alumni at those companies as UMichigan and UIllinois or MIT.</p>
<p>Well I can say from experience that I believe the prestige of Michigan helped me. Our engineering career fair in the Fall had 300 companies from across the country looking for engineers. You really wouldn’t be limited in any way in that regard with a Umich degree. My degree has also opened up career opportunities through alumni at some companies. I was able to skip some round one interviews in some cases. If you can afford it, I would think a more prestigious university is the way to go. </p>
<p>As for getting a masters right away, it is up to the individual. I can tell you why I am not getting one right now though. We have a 5 year masters program here, but there are limited options in what that masters can be. I am not sure what I would want to specialize in (what would be most beneficial long term) so I don’t want to commit to anything now. If anything I think I am going to work for awhile and get an MBA. </p>
<p>Also, I’m done with school. I want to start working, start making money, start making myself an asset for a company. </p>
<p>Finally, the company I took a job with will help pay for the degree. I am not looking to go into debt over something I don’t even need right now. It makes more sense to me to get a company to help out.</p>
<p>No list but sons employer (he graduated in 2013) pays 75% for grad school classes and then the other 25% when you graduate.</p>
<p>I find this thread very interesting. I will be graduating in a year with my Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and I don’t know if I should pay the money (debt) and go to grad school or just get a job. To be honest…I don’t want to go to graduate school (although I have considered and MBA). Tough choice and I find the comments here interesting. </p>
<p>Graduate school should be a refuge between employments or part-time. </p>
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<p>Get a job, work a few years, and then figure out if grad school is right for you.</p>