<p>Hope everyone is doing well. I will keep it the point. After how many years of related work experience does work experience become more important, for future jobs than engineering college degree?</p>
<p>How much more important, say when one apply for a Structural Egr position for a Aerospace/Defense does a Master in MECHANICAL Egr with a Structural focus, as compared to Master in CIVIL Engineering with a Structural focus. For most Structural position, required qualification simply states BS or MS in Civil (Structural), Mechanical, or Aerospace. With several years of related work experience, does it matter? </p>
<p>I would imagine your work experience is going to be all the hiring company cares about.</p>
<p>I have zero experience so take this with a grain of salt, but I’d imagine after 5 years of relevant work experience, it won’t matter what degree you have.</p>
<p>In general, any field of work is going to prefer someone who has a degree with work experience over someone who has a degree with zero work experience. Experience can come in the forms of internships, relevant part-time jobs, or even student clubs. I graduated from Boise State and they had this engineering club called Greenspeed, where they broke a record for the fastest vegetable oil powered vehicle. Chances are, those involved with the club will be able to get some cool jobs once they graduate. You should learn more about it on the Boise State Beyond the Blue website: [Beyond</a> the Blue Faculty Podcasts - Boise State University](<a href=“http://beyondtheblue.boisestate.edu%5DBeyond”>http://beyondtheblue.boisestate.edu)</p>
<p>First off; when I was hiring college grads as engineers for my company (I am now retired) I would not care so much what the “title” of the degree was, be it civil, aero, mechanical or whatever. I would take a look at your transcript and look at the specific courses you took and the grades you got in those courses. I was looking for courses relevant to the job being offered and the GPA in those.</p>
<p>Five years is a pretty good number for the minimum years of experience that one would be looking at your professional track record rather than your college performance. However, I knew a lot of people at other companies in the area doing similar work. I would usually do a little checking around to find out how you were doing at your current job. If I couldn’t find out, I would pay a little more attention to your transcript even after five years. </p>
<p>I would always ask for your transcript as it would note that a degree was awarded. Working on government contracts and representing you as a degreed engineer meant I needed to do due dilligence that you really had a degree. (and I found a few that came close but didn’t have their degrees)</p>
<p>When my S was looking for his 1st post-college job, the prospective employers were very interested in the fact that he had 2 summers of paid internship (one at another university, one at NASA). They are were also interested in his 2 years of researching for a prof at his university. He received three job offers. Classmates without as much work experience tended not to have as much success in their job hunting. </p>
<p>I have been told and believe GPA is a screener–if it’s too low, it’s hard to even get considered for some/many jobs. If the minimum GPA is met, then practical experience is considered. Have never hired an engineer so don’t have personal experience.</p>