High-rise and bridge projects - Master degree a must? 2

[StructIntern]

I know for a fact that for conventional industrial building and low-rise 2/3 story buildings, a bachelor degree + motivation to learn/continuing education might suffice. However, I want to have a hand in larger and high-profile projects. I've heard ppl saying that a Master is almost a must to handle these kinds of buildings/structures along with architects.

I am close to finishing my undergrad with a likely offer to work on mostly industrial/conventional designs. However, I was wondering if a master is truly worth it in the long run in lieu of continuing education on/off the job.

Any tips and suggestions are greatly welcomed

 

[JedClampett]

The engineering industry is going more and more to the Master's Degree being the entry level degree to begin your career. I'm not sure I agree with this, but it's being pushed from several directions, especially requiring a masters to apply for a PE.
If you have the time and resources, it's probably worth it.

 

[DRWeig]

I think this trend is limited to the structural field, so I'm going to abstain from commenting, but I did have one question for the original poster:

What is "ppl" ??

Good on ya,

Goober Dave

 

[cvg]

goober, here is essential reading for dealing with gen y - and yes, ppl is on the list...

http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php

 

[jorton]

I think the requirement varies by company. One of the reasons I took my current job was that they didn't require a graduate degree. However, I quickly noticed that almost all the principals have one. I worked a few years and then got mine. I think this progression has some great benefits: I started making money and getting raises earlier, my employer helped pay for grad school and I had a better frame of reference for my graduate studies.

I found it usually takes a lot of time on the job/experience to get the higher profile assignments. I think you'll have time to better evaluate your further education needs while you're getting the experience. I finished my graduate degree just before I sat for the PE. I think the timing helped tremendously as my brain was still operating in study/exam mode.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[TheTick]

I don't know about the masters degree, but it would be nice to trust such work to one who writes in complete words and sentences.

 

[DRWeig]

cvg, thanks for the link -- OMG! I don't want to learn all those things.

My post was a tad facetious -- I wanted to start the thought for the OP (StructIntern) of what Tick so eloquently put. Looking for career advice? Here's some more:

While it may broaden the living experience for older folks like me to learn text-message shorthand, it will do nothing but spell disaster in the professional world. It's tough to change from years of text-typing, but it's still a must. I consider it a bit amusing, myself -- but most of my peers consider it disrespectful, some highly so.

Perhaps when Gen Y makes it to our age, they'll begin to convert the workforce to a new mode of communication -- if the next generation doesn't come up with an even more convenient way.

Meantime, proper grammar is the rule.

Good on y'all! (Including StructIntern)

Goober Dave

 

[StructIntern]

Ha, good point. I do proofread and carefully phrase all my emails at work, no matter big or small. Unlike text messages, they can be sent in a controlled manner: I can take 5-10 minutes (more than enough) to phrase and proofread the content.

If I spend 10 minutes to type and proofread my posts on a forum after work at home, that would drive me nuts. But anyway, grammar and diction rule. I can't contest that.

 

[FeX32]

tiz all about ppl aint it


Fe

 

[cvg]

it takes an extra 10 minutes to type the full word? not on a full size keyboard, only on your droid

 

[vandal06]

Jed, I've heard that about "them" making a Master's the new requirement for the PE. I'm eligible to sit for mine this April, but I won't until Fall 2011. I do not have a Master's degree, should I be worried?

 

[JedClampett]

I doubt it. There will be tremendous political pressure resisting such a drastic change. See:

https://www.ncees.org/About_NCEES/Engineering_education_initiative.php

for the push behind this initiative. It's very tough reading with a slew of links that say nothing. It's now been watered down to a Bachelors plus 30. Once again, it seems like there's a lot of inertia resisting this, but it might happen someday.

 

[vandal06]

The Bachelor + 30 is pretty much the same thing as a Master's degree, especially since you can get a Master's of Engineering and not have to worry about a thesis. I don't want to derail the thread too much on this topic, but I'd be curious as to why they are pushing for Master's degrees for PE licensure. Sounds to me like another way for universities to get more tuition.

 

[StructIntern]

Because in a typical civil degree, you only get to specialize in your last year. So practically and academically speaking, students only receive one year or less of practice-based professional training.

Let alone the responsibilities of a structural engineer

 

[msquared48]

That's why I went two years further... All structural.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[abusementpark]

To answer the original question: Yes, a master's degree is pretty much mandatory if you want to work on high-rise building structures. Almost all of the firms that specialize in high-rise building structures require a master's degree for entry level positions. Just visit the website employment page of a few of them and you'll see what I mean. The same will be true for firms that work on long-span bridge structures.

In general, a lot of structural firms value the master's degree. You'll see a good bit of them state that a master's degree is "preferred" in their job advertisements, even if they primarily work on low-rise and mid-rise structures.

If you have the opportunity right now, I would highly recommend going for the master's degree. JedClampett has already touched on the push for high education requirements. I'll also argue that getting the master's degree with a structural emphasis greatly hones your technical background and will leave you with a greater confidence as you practice throughout the rest of your career, whether your work on high-rise buildings or not.

If you have a job offer upon completion of your bachelor's degree, then you may want to consider pursuing the master's degree as you work part-time. Your employer may be receptive to you working 25-30 hours a week while you take graduate classes. I did it this way and was able to finish my degree in 2-1/2 years. I enjoyed getting the degree in this manner because I was able continue my technical background while gaining a lot of real-world experience. I thought that work gave me a better context of what to look for in each course and how to choose independent research topics.

 

[Hurricanes]

Just to add my 2 cents, even though I am mechanical, I'd wait. I did my Masters straight after finishing my Bachelors. If I had my time again, I think I would have been better to work out in the real world for 3 or 4 years before going back to school. I feel that then I would have pursued a thesis and courses more targeted to what I wanted to do.

Even though you might be deadset on working on highrises now, a few years doing lowrise or industrial structures may change your mind (or harden your resove).

 

[rscassar]

I guess it is more about your place of employment. If you want to work in a US, British or Australian city then you will need to scope out how much demand there is in the city you wish to work and which companies specialize in that field.

The very high budget projects are more often then going to be located in China, Dubai, Abu Dubai, South East Asia and Doha. The with the majority of the structural design for these projects will come from offices in the US, China, Hong Kong, India and Dubai.

Best if luck.

 

[francesca]

If you want to be a serious structural engineer and you attended an ABET-accredited undergrad program then yes, you need a Masters degree. You just don't spend enough time on structures coursework in an ABET degree to get up to snuff on complex structures.

Apologies, I went to university in South Africa where we didn't have to do "core curriculum" in the humanities and I have twice as many engineering credits as ABET requires from my undergrad alone.

 

[cvg]

"core" is somewhat a misnomer - why would social and cultural anthropology or Colorado State History ever be considered "core" to my rounded development as an engineer? I am glad that I spent 10 years paying off my college loans to take those classes. Much cheaper than buying the book on Amazon and reading in my spare time. Francisca, you were lucky to be in SA, unfortunately the registration boards in the US are almost as backwards as the deans of most american colleges...