<p>UPenn: Masters in Environmental Studies, concentration in Environmental Geology and GIS</p>
<p>NU: MPPA, Masters in Public Policy and Administration, concentration in Urban Policy/Planning</p>
<p>They're both different degrees that will take me in different directions, but I was wondering which one would pay off in the long run. </p>
<p>NU will leave me with relatively little debt, but the one from Penn will have me hoping for a high figure salary. </p>
<p>How is NU's reputation outside of the Chicago/Mid-West region? </p>
<p>Is the school on par with Penn? </p>
<p>Does Penn's reputation overshadow anything from NU (besides Kellogg)?</p>
<p>Which program is the better investment, especially in this economy?</p>
<p>Your next to last question seems to imply that Penn does overshadow Kellogg. Is that what you intended? Because it certainly is not the case. Kellogg is rated on a par with or even above Wharton.</p>
<p>I highly doubt anyone on this board knows enough about such specialized degrees that they can give you a good answer.</p>
<p>I guess I am just hesitant to pass up UPenn because the bills are piling up. </p>
<p>Northwestern offered a good financial aid package to where I didn’t have to rob a bank to go to school. </p>
<p>I was just wondering about how reputable Northwestern is outside of the Chicago/Mid-West region. </p>
<p>Is it as reputable and academically recognized as Penn?</p>
<p>I was just hoping that giving up Penn for Northwestern would be a wise investment or should I just suck it up and go to Penn hoping the high dollar degree will pay off?</p>
<p>Penn and NU are peer schools. Your decision shoud be based on your career goal and finances. If you are not sure about what direction you want to pursue, NU seems to be the safer choice because it leaves you little debt.</p>
<p>I am not aware that environmental studies degree would lead to high-paying jobs. There are enviromental consulting firms offering environmental services such as site investigations, remediation…etc for clients but those are not high-value projects that lead to huge profits. Don’t expect to earn more than 50k to start in those firms. There are govts hiring but they hire urban planners (your another choice) too. The oil companies are the ones that may pay more nicely to geologists that help them explore reserves. But that doesn’t sound like what you want to do, does that? Not to mention why pay so much more to Penn when you can go to cheaper Texas schools like Texas A&M/UT Austin with much better connection to the oil industry and superior programs in general in that area? In the environmental field, where you went doesn’t really matter all that much. Penn’s high-dollar degree seems to be a poor investment even if NU isn’t in the picture. </p>
<p>With Urban Planning/Policy, you can work for govts or consulting firms that usually have cities/states as their clients.</p>
<p>1.) Penn degree was originally going to be in Environmental Policy but I decided against this because of the debt I would be in vs. the job I would get afterward. So instead I decided to jump into their most technical concentration which is in Environmental Geology and GIS. I would be studying mostly Applied Geoscience courses and GIS Spatial Analysis. </p>
<p>I am hoping that once out, I would get hired by an oil company, a geo-science service company, a mining company or a government agency that does hydrology work. </p>
<p>2.) The Northwestern degree is really more in lines with I originally wanted to do in life; public administration/policy. I would love to just totally pursue this as it offers what I want with very, very little debt. </p>
<p>But I just didn’t want to pass up Penn’s program. I would get into some debt if it meant a lucrative career in the end, especially with a geoscience degree. </p>
<p>My undergrad was in Economics.</p>
<p>Put aside money, debt, etc.</p>
<p>What do you want to do with your life? Is one of these two fields your passion? If so you have your answer. Or is neither a passion, and are you looking for a job that will pay you the most money in the long term. I think you have your answer here too.</p>
<p>Finally, is one your passion, and the other more lucrative? Only you an decide which is more important.</p>
<p>The MPA is more my passion but I could also do the Penn program. </p>
<p>Environmental Geology seems like it would be more lucrative, I honestly don’t know for sure. </p>
<p>Do you think so?</p>
<p>Environmental work is usually “not” lucrative. Enviromental projects are all regulation driven and compliance is costly to companies. Companies would put in $0 into it if they can get away. </p>
<p>Like I said, if you want to work for the oil companies, I don’t know why you want to pay so much for Penn’s program when you can pay a lot less in schools in Texas. Schools like Texas A&M and UT Austin have much better connection with the oil companies. Penn is not known for environmental sciences/engineering/policy and there’s nothing special about it. Also, I speculate it’d be a long shot to get into oil companies with that degree as they probably prefer someone with geology, chemical engineering, or petroleum engineering background. You can try to get into their environmental compliance division but I don’t know if they have the need to hire many. You should call the people in Penn’s program to see what typical jobs graduates get.</p>
<p>I know that UT and Texas A M would be better for oil companies but I am already at Penn and have most of everything ready to go. </p>
<p>Just trying to make the most of it. </p>
<p>I am just hoping that concentrating in Environmental Geology and GIS would land me a good job in oil, mining, geo-services company or with government agencies.</p>
<p>Go to NU.
They are peer schools and people who know education know it.</p>
<p>You mean you already started the program? You already live in Philly…etc? Well, maybe it’s a bit late to change then. GIS is useful and you should be able to find a job with some environmental consulting firm or government. Don’t expect they pay much though.</p>
<p>You know the pros and cons of both education and both careers but can’t decide so you want total strangers to decide for you???</p>
<p>I am securing the funding and I should be in Philly by August in time for fall semester. </p>
<p>There is still a chance to switch and go to another school but for the most part Penn is waiting for me. </p>
<p>I am not expecting extremely high pay but I would at least like 60k considering the debt I will accrue during the program.</p>
<p>wellwellwell, </p>
<p>I don’t know the pros and cons, I am only assuming what they are. That is why I am here.</p>
<p>I figured a Masters in Environmental Geology and GIS would trump an MPA salary wise, but I guess not.</p>
<p>The funny thing is we never really know the pros and cons.</p>
<p>We can analyze things all we want, and there will still be surprises down the road, both pleasant and unpleasant. Further, once you make a choice, you will never know what would have happened if made the other choice. This isn’t true only of graduate school decisions, basically, it’s LIFE.</p>
<p>This being said, if you were my child, my advice would be go with your passion. </p>
<p>Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>Reading the entire thread, this seems like the OBVIOUS choice was to go to NU, where you could follow what you ACTUALLY want to do, for little or no debt, especially since neither career is likely to make you much money, and since NU is “Is as reputable and academically recognized as Penn”</p>
<p>I’m shocked that a 26 year old from Texas who’s looking at grad schools doesn’t realize NU is a peer of UPenn- I’d expect that more from a 17 year old from Connecticut.</p>