I’m a civil engineering major. This will be a second career for me so I’m in my 40’s and time is precious. Do most civil engineering firms prefer engineers with a Master’s degree? My school offers a dual program where a student can get a Master’s in one year. It sounds great, but I don’t know if the extra expense and time are worth it. I’d appreciate any feedback.
Maybe you should take up teaching. 
Seriously though, are you behind or ahead on your curriculum path?
Are you getting a second bachelor’s? With a bachelor’s in Ce you can get a job and the company may pay for the master’s.
Second bachelor’s. I’m in California and everyone has told me that a bachelor’s is needed to get you PE. I thought about going for a master’s in CE, but in the end it wasn’t practical
A bachelors can get you a job, but some employers may ask that you return to get a masters later.
Employers pay for masters if they think you need it (although time off is rare and part time masters take up all your free time and take years to complete).
What is your specific interest within civil engineering ? I know of a lot of civil engineering jobs that would really not need a masters, but maybe design firms or high tech companies would. Maybe take a look at firms that interest you and see what they typically expect.
Make sure you take the principals of engineering test senior year and the PE test as soon as you can.
In your 40s, you still have 20 years or more to go … so finding the right field that makes you happy is still very worthwhile. And one year out of 25 is not quite as important long-term either.
PickOne1, thank you for the great advice.
Do you want to be a civil or structural engineer? If you want to be structural, I think the master’s degree is important. There is so much to learn!
Seems like a Masters may also help if you want to improve upon your credentials. It is easier to get into a name school, for instance, for a terminal MA than it is to get in for college or for doctoral training. Getting recruited may be easier from the name school too. On the other hand, most large companies know the meaning of the name school’s exclusivity when it comes to the college degree vs the MA so getting that name on a diploma isn’w worth as much if it is a MA (which is a cash cow for many top schools). What would be your goal in pursuing further education?
I live in Napa, CA. This is wine country so firms build wineries, vineyards, and wine caves. I’m interested in geotechnical or structures. I want to work for a local firm.
Structural engineering and geo-technical are specialties in civil engineering, but I would think quite different ones. If you are still finishing up your BS, I would recommend you take tech electives from civil to get ready for a masters program maybe later and to get familiar with either structural or geo-technicial. The permit office for anything you build in Napa will be filled with Civil Engineers …
In the aerospace industry structural engineers are mechanical engineers and do stress and dynamic analysis as well as design work … but I don’ t think that is what the OP is asking about.
An MA degree in engineering sounds really odd to me, typically you get a MS or a Masters in Engineering … and for ME it is a technical program, no arts or non-technical electives of any kind. An MA would only be helpful for someone who is interested in the business side of engineering … but that would more likely be an MBA (even from a non-top school, that might give you access to the glass-walled executive jobs).