Is a BS in Engineer Project Management worth it?

[jathan]

Hello everybody, my name is Jathan, and I am currently going into my sophomore year at CCU studying engineering management. I like the idea of the degree because I like to problem solve, work with people, and face new projects/tasks often too.

However, talking with the professionals at my internship this summer, they have given me very mixed signals as to the value of my degree. Doing research online usually turns up project management positions hiring people with 5-10+ years of experience.

I am limited to posting in the student forum, but I would like to hear from both working professionals and my fellow students what you guys think of this degree.

I don't expect to be in management positions immediately after graduation, but will there still be opportunities for me if I were to graduate with this degree?

 

[drawoh]

jathan,

What are you going to do immediately after graduating?

If I need an engineering manager, why shouldn't I just promote an experienced engineer?

If you are just not the manager type, will your school explain this to you in time for you to switch majors?

--
JHG

 

[jathan]

drawoh,

You bring up a good point, I go to a small school so I have a pretty good relationship with my professor, and I will ask him if he sees me as the manager type.

I think part of the problem is that I am not super confident in what I want to do after school yet. I just know that I don't want to sit at a desk all day, and getting an engineering degree that mixed more with people would help prevent that.

 

[Gr8blu]

jathan I've been a practicing engineer for nearly three and a half decades, and involved with engineering tasks for roughly a half a century. IN all that time, I've spent about 25% of my time at a desk - including sitting around in meetings where I am asked to provide my subject matter expertise. The rest of the time I am either involved directly with equipment manufacture (read "out on the floor troubleshooting process or testing finished product"), testing/troubleshooting issues at industrial facilities and utilities (read "out in the field in front of the end user"), or providing technical expertise during face-to-face meetings at all stages of a project.

I did not take "engineering management" - I took engineering. Most "management" types in all industries are not all that technically oriented (in my experience) - either because they never took the appropriate technical training, or because they lost their "edge" somewhere along the way by having to "run the business side" of things.

You did not mention which branch of engineering interests you: chances are good that as long as you're not heading to the "soft" side of things (coding, for example) then you'll be able to be as interactive with the public and the "nuts and bolts" side of your field as you'd like. It's all about finding the right fit for you after graduation. Whatever way you decide, best of luck to you.

Converting energy to motion for more than half a century

 

[phamENG]

In my small corner of engineering, about the only thing I think you could use that degree for would be going to work for a large contracting firm and managing construction projects. It wouldn't do anything for you at a design/consulting firm. Managers in that realm get there by learning to design, and then (hopefully) learning to manage a design, and then (hopefully again) learning to manage people.

I think of formal project management education as the sort of thing I can take a few classes and get a certificate for it...the rest is OJT. I can't imagine a whole degree devoted to it.

A BA/BS should be fairly broad. Focused in a general area - civil engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. - but not super focused on a particular piece of engineering or job role. That's what a Master's degree is for if you want to stay in academia, or selecting an available career path and focusing through OJT. I see project management as a role, not an area of expertise.

 

[IRstuff]

I just know that I don't want to sit at a desk all day, and getting an engineering degree that mixed more with people would help prevent that.

I think your perspective is a bit off. A project manager doesn't necessarily not sit a desk all day. I think you'll also find that project management is way more about paper-pushing than you think, developing/managing/modifying schedules, developing/managing/modifying budgets, lots of meetings, etc. As a manager, you job is to make it easier for those solving the actual design problems to do their jobs.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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[jari001]

I didn't know there were BS level programs for this, I thought engineering management was only available at the MS level.

I like to problem solve, work with people, and face new projects/tasks often too.

Unless you have a rare type of job or are terrible to other people, you will do all of the above mentioned things in every engineering field even with a Bachelor's degree in a specific field of engineering. My advice would be to get your BS in a technical field and orient your career path into management if you have a desire to be in project management via what you learn and the assignments/new jobs you take once you start working. Maybe you decide to do the MS degree after working for a few years to show employers where your focus is.

As for entry level opportunities with the current degree you are pursuing, maybe a junior costing engineer or junior project engineer? But you could also get those jobs with a degree in a specific engineering field.